Read, Write, Think

Many, many moons ago, when my hair still lived above the bottom of my ears, I resided in Gretna, Louisiana; right across the river from the French Quarter in New Orleans.  It used to be a 10  minute drive, at most, to possibly the biggest party spot in the entire U.S.  Quite an amazing and inviting back yard for a bunch of 22 year olds.  It was very easy to get lost in that laid back southern lifestyle.  By the time I came home my hair was entering its current hippie-ish like state, I traded bandanas for kangols and I could not stop using the phrase ya'll ( to be accurate, I still find myself using this particular phrase).  Those months spent in the South will always be some of the fondest of my life.  And not because we lived right near a party so immense that it lasts 2 whole weeks, although that was very cool. 

Now, there is many things I remember about that trip, and, interestingly enough, many things I do not.  Certain moments are a little more hazy and vague than others, but there are also those moments that are as clear as day.  Like when we literally took an entire street sign, post and all, loaded in our SUV and brought it back to our condo.  I was never quite sure why we took it, but I can never forget going over the Mississippi River Bridge with a street sign pole hanging out the window.  Classic!

The inspiration for this reflection comes from the fact that this upcoming Tuesday is Fat Tuesday and my friends are making the joyous journey back to New Orleans for some pure southern fun that, in this humble opinion, the whole world should experience at least once. Most of the travelers are first timers.  But there is a wise Prof Thug Nug (finally got this hyperlink thing down) going on the trek and he will be able to show the others the correct partying path.  Without question, fun will be had by all.

When I was living in Gretna, I told my roommates that instead of wasting the remaining days I had left partying day/night I would rather , READ WRITE THINK.  This was met with laughter that is still heard today.  It was an absurd notion that those three things were going to be able to be accomplished while living in such a lively city. I tried my best to do all three, although the time I fell asleep on the porch probably is a good example of occasional failures.  I read a Hesse novel.  I did write in notebooks, about what I read as well as any and all topics.  Every now and then I stumble across those literary "gems"and read what I wrote.  I kind of laugh at myself because it truly is so funny how at 22 I thought I had a good idea about how life would go. I thought I knew exactly where I would be when I was 31.  I wrote about emotions that I thought I completely understood, and made philosophical assumptions without true experience. I did think.  In fact, I did this more than anything else.  I went on walks by the river, would sit on a bench for an hour or so and just watch people walk by.  I thought about a lot of things.  Some way more than others.  I thought about my mother having breast cancer, I thought about my father man-ing up like always to deal with it, I thought about my brother and sister and the 2 beautiful twins they were about to have.  I thought about my life, what would I do, who would I love, where would I live.  The crazy part is the life I have is not even close to the life I imagined during those contemplative days. NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!! The life I lead is exponentially better than what my emotionally/spiritually feeble 22 year old mind could come up with.  At that youthful age I could not mentally construct a vision of  the future that took into account all the twists/turns, love/loss that would come to embody my own existence.  But really, at 22, who can.

We all change.  Acceptance of that fact makes a lot of things easier.

But something that has not changed is that I have not stopped reading, writing and thinking.  I do it in different forms now, with different people in different ways, but I still do them all with the same passion I had as that young man with short hair stuffed underneath a baby blue kangol.  I like to think that I have gotten smarter, we all do.  But in reality, it is not smarter we get, it is  only more experienced, wiser.  Are You Experienced????

Thinking about New Orleans and writing about it so that other people can read about it...wow...circle!!!

Thank Ya'll for reading, come back now ya'hear!!!!

That Spirit of Christmas

Look around!!!!  Did you lose it???  Have you found it???  Want some help????

It isn’t about presents, or food, or decorations or music.  It isn’t about what you do or do not get.  And it certainly isn’t about YOU.

It is about the Christmas Spirit, and nothing else.   But what exactly embodies that spirit???  In a simple, but loaded word that holds different meaning to us all, LOVE. 

Love for the family you only see around the holiday times.  You know they love you, you know you love them.  Nothing else really matters

Love for traditions and family “rituals.”  Whether it is singing the “Chipmunk Song” with your sibling on the edge of your parents bed every Christmas morning or embarking to the same destination for Christmas dinner every year, it is that  perpetual familiarity that we all reminisce about, and as we get older, long for.

Love for the wonder, innocence and imagination of kids.  They believe in Santa.  They love to sing simple songs like Rudolph. They can get more excited over an inexpensive plastic car that makes noises than any adult can for anything at that point in the season. 

Love for the generosity of adults.  In my parents house they had to build an addition just to be able to have enough space to keep all the gifts my mother buys.  I am sure she is not alone in this notion of trying to appease and please everyone with the gifts they want.  It is the ultimate form of unselfishness, and something more people should replicate.

Love for surprises, good conversation and even better laughter.  When I was young, it was the enjoyment of hanging out with my cousins, looking out the window for Santa or sitting at the “kids” table. Now, nothing could take the place of seeing your family all in the same spot, sharing stories, cracking jokes and reflecting on the Christmases past while laying the foundation of “family” for the Christmases in the future.

Love for embracing sadness and creating happiness.  There are people we have loved and lost, and, at the holidays, we always remember them more.  That is good for the soul, even if it is accompanied by tears.  And as we lose people to the inevitability of life, we continue to watch as our families fill in those gaps with news faces that stem from          marriages and births.  The cycle of life always continues, and Christmas reminds us of that.

Love for the hope of better and brighter days to come.  Christmas is a time of renewal and rebirth.  It is a chance to reflect on the years journey, and an opportunity to prepare for the days ahead.  It is a reminder that as one year closes, a new one has just begun (Thank You John and Yoko).

So, as the late, great Ray Charles said, lets keep the true Spirit of Christmas with us, “ALL THROUGH THE YEAR.”

It is who I am

I have been on this Earth, during this episode of existence, for over 11,000 days so far. I am hoping to go another 11,000. A lot of people like to measure their own mortality in years, giving into the idea that the concept of "age" really exists. I have shunned such thought (albeit logical) for a more radical outlook on personal growth. I have never bought into the notion that your age matters, but instead, it is the experience and your interpretation of those experiences that matter. Age is just a way for us to try and measure someone’s life in a comprehensible way, a way that makes sense to us. People always ask each other, "hey, how old are you?" Regardless of the answer, what does it really tell you about the person? NOTHING!!!! Telling someone my age does not given them any insight into me as a human besides the fact that I have survived this long. I know some 18 year olds that are more mature and serious than a lot of 30 year olds; some 30 year olds more mature than 50 year olds. I am sure we all do, and that has really been the sticking point for me to think of myself, and others, in terms of days, not year. Every day is a new experience. Every day is a chance to learn something, to evolve, to become a better person. Not every year, EVERY DAY. If more people took the time to slow down life and see that we all are just living in a collection of moments then it is of this humble opinion that people would be generally happier, more content and more satisfied with what they DO have instead of what they DON'T have. It sounds very hokey, but live for the moment. Life is fleeting.

You wake up one day and someone you love is gone. Do you think about how old you are at that moment or do you begin to reflect upon fond experiences you had with that person???? Age does not matter; how a person makes you feel does. Call me crazy (and a lot of people do) but if we treated each day with a passion for betterment of self and society, with a thirst for experience (good and bad) and with a desire to make tomorrow brighter for everyone, would the world not be a stronger, more harmonious place??? Of course, this utopian outlook is usually called foolish, impossible and downright hippy-ish. But just for a second consider it. Consider if people were no longer stigmatized by age, but instead what they know. Consider if people were encouraged to give back, instead of take. Consider if people forgot about time and ALWAYS just enjoyed the moment.

We are all we have done, all we have felt and all we have thought and that is all we are.

Blog 2

Trying to figure this blog thing out.....juicy details to come.....

Tryout

This is the first of many....but still the first.....yut