Faith, Family, Frivolity

"When we mentally give a person, place, or point in time more credit than ourselves, we create a fictitious ceiling. A restriction over the expectations that we have over our own performance in that moment. We get tense. We focus on the outcome instead of the activity and we miss the doing of the deed. We either think the world depends on the result or it's too good to be true. But it doesn't and it isn't. And it's not our right to believe it does or is.

Don't create imaginary constraints. A leading role, a blue ribbon, a winning score, a great idea, the love of our life, euphoric bliss... Who are we to think we don't deserve these fortunes when they're in our grasp? Who are we to think we haven't earned them?

If we stay and process within ourselves, in the joy of the doing, we will never choke at the finish line. Why? Because we're not thinking of the finish line. We're not looking at the clock. We’re not watching ourselves on the Jumbotron performing. We are performing in real time where the approach is the destination."

— Matthew McConaughey (Greenlights)

Well, good morning, world, it’s me, just an ordinary white guy living in this world trying to make sense of what is happening around us.  My dog PVHT is currently gnawing on a bone, well, a cow penis to be exact; she enjoys her cow penis. To be politically correct, cows don’t have a penis; cows have vagina’s; it is a bull penis my dog is currently chewing. Sorry for the misunderstanding.  Did you know the average length of a bull penis is 3 feet? The bull penis is not girthy, coming in about 3 to 4 centimeters; I’m doing God’s work here sharing bull penis facts.   

I spoke to my granddaughter last night, she didn’t say much, she turns one in a week, she looked pensive, her father and I chatted, soon M and M will have a voice, but for now, it’s just strange looks at the older man on the screen. I love you, young lady, and I can’t wait to show you this magical world.  Will, you someday read these words? I’m dropping bread crumbs for you to follow. 

So how was your week? Did you kill it, or did it kill you? I killed it; it tried to kill me, but I won’t let it or anything else kill me; I’m here to slay the days, conquer during the light and rest during the dark; it’s served me well these past 51 years. I finished Green Lights yesterday; I was a little sad. If you don’t know, Green Lights is a memoir by Matthew McConaughy.

For the last week, I’ve listened to Matthew share his life story, I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, and when it was over, I wanted more.  Yes, he is an actor, but his feet are firmly planted on this earth with a foundation of faith, family, and frivolity. I see a little Anson in Matthew; we are the same age, we were raised on the same music and life events.   There is a postscript at the end of the book; he found a list of ten things he would accomplish in his life from 1992. He forgot he wrote this list, but at 50, each one was checked off, dutifully done as he aspired to do as a young man.

The book is filled with stories, note’s to himself, prescriptions, bumper stickers, and poems he has constructed during his time on this earth. He is married, has three kids, and loves his mate as I love my Queen. The older I get, the more I become convinced of the power of love to enlighten and inspire humans to be their best selves. If you have yet to find love, keep searching, it’s out there, and you will become self-actualized when you find it—a little Maslow for your Saturday morning.

I’m currently involved in a mean game of puppy toy throw and retrieval. In between word jousts, I’m throwing multiple toys, wash, rinse, repeat.  To my right is a cup of dark rich coffee, my guitar is not far, and my Queen is asleep. She will rise soon; I’ll get my morning kiss, she will sit with me as I pen these thoughts, compliment me when done, and then our day of silliness will begin. We have no plans today; I think we might get in a little trouble. 

I had a funny thing happen recently. My friend asked me to speak at his leadership conference, think 20 of us, doing a ted talk to inspire others, it’s a day of leadership and soup for one’s soul. I reached out to his assistant to firm up my time to speak, length of chat, and if I was to Zoom or sent in a video. I was told I was speaking in person in Denver; somehow, I missed this message in the request. I’ll be boarding a plane and keeping my commitment to speaking live, sharing some thoughts and ideas about things I deem essential.  My chat is not to sell but to spell out a path of enlightenment. While in Denver, we will stay at the condo and do a quick inspection of our mountain home, the work being done, the photos look fantastic; a live lookie will be fun.

We will return to Indy for a day and then board another plane south to Mexico. We’re going to seek some Vitamin D along with some fermented beverages with some friends.  We will get a covid test before coming home, and if we contract the virus, we will be stuck in Mexico for 14 days while we quarantine, praying for exposure.

When we return home, we will load up our Toyota Forerunner, our pup, some stuff, and head west.  We will live in CO until May when we make the return trip to Indy to celebrate 52 trips around the sun for this cornfield kid.  If I was a betting man and I am, I would put money on our living in Indy December, January, May, and September, the rest of the time, we will be tucked away on a mountain top colluding with others who live in Galt’s Gulch.

I think I hit a nerve yesterday with my thoughts about a $15.00 minimum wage. It’s just my opinion, man, lighten up. People want to solve the income disparity, but government policy is not the right recipe for solving this conundrum.  Government officials are about the dumbest people on the planet, next to college professors. These two groups serve as the bench for entrepreneurs and business owners.  If you want theory, call upon government or professors; if you prefer action, call upon someone in the trenches doing God’s work.

So what is the solution? Well, not rewarding single motherhood might be a good start. Incentivizing men to stay in the homes with the women who bear their children or at least take some responsibility for their offspring—encouraging young men and women to enter a trade and understand that college is not for everyone. I’ll double down on my comments from yesterday; I think the college education model might be broken.

Let me share a story about a young man that saw the folly of college, took a couple of business classes at Ivy Tech, and now at 28, is living a life of freedom and frivolity. As a high schooler, he had his own DJ business; when he graduated, instead of heading off to a university, he entered the workforce with his own company. He now splits time in Denver and Indianapolis; he has found his Queen, he is the example for other young men and women.

So young men and women, not a key demographic of mine, but if you are out there, spread the word, college is a waste of time and money. Use those funds to travel the world for four or five years; the world is the real university. Those hallowed halls are empty with promises and student debt. Instead of attending school, seek out wisdom from other cultures, experience life and then return to your home or a new location and practice the art of life you learned on the road.

I’m a little bit of a hypocrite, having gone to university for undergrad and graduate work. All my kids have a college education, all are successful, but I’m not sure that we made the right decision. How much more free and enlightened would we have been having we not followed the traditional path? I will encourage all my grandkids to not go to college, giving them money to travel. With age comes wisdom, and I’m now much wiser than my 40-year-old self.

My Saturday soup is a little long; I’m sorry, just have extra time to pen a thought, or two, or more. I hope these words hit you and made you think, maybe they pissed you off; I can’t take credit for your anger, but I will take credit for your joy and happiness. Anger is not an emotion I endorse or encourage, that my friend is on you.

"When we mentally give a person, place, or point in time more credit than ourselves, we create a fictitious ceiling. A restriction over the expectations that we have over our own performance in that moment. We get tense. We focus on the outcome instead of the activity and we miss the doing of the deed. We either think the world depends on the result or it's too good to be true. But it doesn't and it isn't. And it's not our right to believe it does or is.

Don't create imaginary constraints. A leading role, a blue ribbon, a winning score, a great idea, the love of our life, euphoric bliss... Who are we to think we don't deserve these fortunes when they're in our grasp? Who are we to think we haven't earned them?

If we stay and process within ourselves, in the joy of the doing, we will never choke at the finish line. Why? Because we're not thinking of the finish line. We're not looking at the clock. We’re not watching ourselves on the Jumbotron performing. We are performing in real time where the approach is the destination."