Life On A B-I7

Adjectives are used to describe nouns and pronouns. They can also describe other adjectives. They are used to tell how many, what kind, or which ones.

There are a couple special adjectives, but their function is the same.

Demonstrative: this, that, these, those.

Proper: Thanksgiving dinner, Italian food, Catholic religion.

Articles are sometimes thought to stand alone, but they are a type of adjective. The words: a, an, and the, are articles.

I went away for 3 days and my cat was distraught. The third day I was away he only touched a bite of his food. He had a companion in the house all but the third day too. I’m back now, it’s the next morning, he has been shadowing me all morning. He’s sitting on my desk right now as I write this, head on the book I was reading so I can no longer turn the page — I’m sure he does this because he knows that prevents me from ignoring him. He has learned my ways thoroughly.

He’s not going to be happy in June when I go away for three months. I’m going to feel almost as bad as he will. I regret that. Someday I will come home and he won’t be there any longer. He’s been my companion for well over six years, I’ve stopped counting. I adopted him after my second divorce. (He and I both have sordid backgrounds.) He has stood faithfully by me, never holding back his affection. Cats are marvelous creatures. I have tried to be there for him as completely as he has been there for me. It makes me sad to think that when I go away in June, he won’t understand what is going on.

Always ask yourself before you act, is what I am about to do consistent with who I am, is it consistent with who I want to be.

The big deal last weekend was the Emerald City Ride in Seattle. Over 3,000 cyclists rode from Lumen field in South Seattle over the West Seattle Bridge to Alki Point then along the West Seattle shoreline and back over the West Seattle hill returning to Lumen Field. There was just over 1,000 feet of climbing. I added an additional 5 miles to and from my hotel in Georgetown for a total morning ride of just under 30 miles. I was mildly surprised that I made it without having to give up on any hills. There were two rest stops. The first I stopped at briefly to quickly snap a photo and the second briefly to use the port-a-potty. Grand total rest time, perhaps 10 minutes. I completed the entire 30 miles in just under 3 hours. (That’s solid touring speed.) At the second rest stop I chatted with a fellow, He complemented me on my Davidson. He said he has a friend that owns seven of them. That is hard to appreciate. You could probably buy a Porsche for the price of seven Davidson’s.

There is nothing as good for the soul as wisdom. Seek it out. Avoid adopting the opinions of others as wisdom. Don’t be lazy, do the work.

On my Social Science journey this week, I’ve learned a tiny bit about what constitutes meaning in life. (There are many possible answers to this question.) It’s a theory called the “Discovery Loop of Romantic Love.”

It goes something like this.

1. Fall in love
2. Take risk
3. Fail
4. Suffer
5. Learn

It is possible to exit the loop when you have not failed. When you succeed you find the meaning of love (and a lot of other things.) Let’s step through this one experience at a time.

A couple of things worth noting. I did more learning than suffering, I hope that is true for those persons that were along on the ride with me. If you are fortunate to exit the loop successfully, there is still suffering — just a lot less. There is always learning. The longer I live, the more wonderful the meaning is. “The Cat” is a stand-in. No one (not even The Cat) could reach the level of, let alone replace, the meaning that the LOML and I have been fortunate to acquire. In case there is any confusion — that would be our children.

Credit where credit is due. I learned this from reading “The Meaning of Your Life,” by Albert C. Brooks.

Doing wrong is only doing wrong to yourself. It may feel good, but if you are honest with yourself and reflect on your action, you will realize the damage you are doing is damage to yourself.

Celebrate your friends’ success as if it were your own.

When an opponent on the Pickleball court makes a good shot, say “Good shot.” It’s that simple. Life is not a zero-sum-game.

Words cannot be unsaid once spoken.

Spend time often meditating. Reflect on the interconnectedness and mutual interdependence of all things in the Universe.

“Cosmopolitanism” was first articulated by Marcus Aurelius. This is the notion that we are not only citizens of our local community and our country, but we are also citizens of the world. A concept lost to many people today.

Stilpo was Zeno’s teacher. He taught Zeno that to develop a strength that cannot be broken is to develop true strength. The only way you can loose true strength is if you give it up.

Beware of success. Don’t let success lead you to want more. It is better to have less and be thankful than to have more and need even more.

Section 1, Anacortes, WA to Sandpoint ID, 460 Miles

Section 2, Sandpoint, ID to Cut Bank, MT, 450 Miles

Section 3, Cut Bank, Mt to Dickinson, ND, 550 Miles

Section 4, Dickinson, ND to Fargo, ND, 350 Miles

Section 5, Fargo, ND to Walker, MN, 175 Miles

Section 6, Walker, MN to Stillwater, MN, 260 Miles

Section 7, Stillwater, MN to Muscatine, IA, 370 Miles

Section 9, Monroeville, IN to Orchard Park, NY, 420 Miles

Section 10, Orchard Park, NY to Ticonderoga, NY, 450 Miles

Section 11, Ticonderoga, NY to Bar Harbor, ME, 440 Miles

The problem with hemorrhoids is similar to “hanging chads.”

I never thought I would need to go into depth on this, and indeed I don’t. One final thought on this subject however: Politics and the people make for strange bed fellows, but also strange bathroom fellows

Control.

To put it simply control, is the one thing we control.

Do we look around us and see all the things that are out of our control, or do we look around us and focus on those things that we can control?

We should focus on those things we can control.