Life On A B-I7

Day #365

The project “A Year of Living Thoughtfully” is over. That does not mean living thoughtfully has ended (with any luck).

The effort put into this project over the last 365 days has reaffirmed that every day should be a day for thoughtfulness. It does not have to be remarkable, most of what I have taken the time to share on these pages has been unremarkable. My ambition for these pages was for them to be instructive to me. If you take away anything from this effort, That makes me happy.

My next project should probably be “A Year of Living Grammatically.” Goodness knows I could benefit from a project like that. I don’t know if there will even be another project. I have enjoyed this writing and I intend to keep on writing for as long as I can. Nothing long-form, that’s not my bag. If the urge ever magically struck me, I would certainly listen, just don’t hold your breath.

My wish for you is that you too can find a project or an activity that brings you peace, satisfaction, and progress toward a personal goal, no matter how small the progress nor how small the goal.

Day #364

Who votes for Donald Trump? Insecure white men for sure. (That includes Christian Nationalists from Idaho.) The election of 2024 has become a referendum on race, gender, and all manner of life choices. (It was in fact even prior to Vice-President Kamala Harris entering the race.) The country has been leaning towards toxic masculinity for the last decade or so, and the trend continues. This is not just a United States phenomenon but is being echoed around the globe.

A fireman in Greece asked me who I was going to vote for in November. I like to keep face-to-face, political, discussions, lighthearted, so I told him Harris because “Trump is crazier than I am.” he replied to me, in all seriousness, saying Trump was the better choice of the two. I probably should’ve pursued the conversation a bit further, but frankly, I wasn’t interested. It’s probably rash of me to assume that all firemen are the same everywhere in the world (I’m sure that’s not true) but I found his answer reflective, if not at least typical of his profession. What did surprise me is that this was coming from someone living in a country whose economy could be seriously harmed by the election of Trump.

I find it difficult to fight back against such absurd views.

I consider myself a liberal, not in the sense of whom I should vote for, but in the sense espoused by the post enlightenment philosopher John Stewart Mill. That is, someone who believes in standing for the rights of individuals, consent of the governed, political equality, private-property rights, and equality before the law. nowhere in Mills political thought did the role of race or gender come into consideration.

Day #363

Cribbage

I spent a good bit of time playing cribbage with my dad when he was in assisted-living. He taught me the game and he was patient with me. I’ve never been a good card player. I appreciated the fact that he enjoyed playing with me and I enjoyed playing with him. He beat me regularly. I was fine with that. I wasn’t really there to play cards, I was there to be with him. I think he knew that was what was going on and I think he appreciated that.

I remember as a kid, I would ask him to play catch with me. I would do my best to throw the ball perfectly but if I didn’t hit him right in the chest, after the third or fourth miss he would say “we’re done”. That was earlier in life. By the time we were playing cribbage, I think he realized that patience is a virtue. At least I assume he did because I actually won from time-to-time.

I’m teaching my partner to play Cribbage and I haven’t won a game yet. I must suck pretty bad at it…

Day #362

A new science has recently been born, comparative thanatology. How animals react to individuals that are dying or are close to dying, and what that behavior says about how animals relate to death.

I find this interesting in light of that fact that I now am living with a pet that is, or soon will be, facing his own end of life. Hopefully of course, I will not precede him, that said, I agree with the song by Curtis Salgado and Alan Hager, “I Want My Dog To Live Longer,” only in my case it is my cat.

Day #361

I’d like to be a bit more like Mr. Nakata…

Mr. Nakata is a good looking man in his 60’s. He is an excellent cook. He’s a bit on the dumb side, but it serves him well because he doesn’t ask a lot of questions of the people he meets. He can also talk to cats and rocks. Two skills that I think would be marvelous to have. I suspect there would be a lot to learn by having a personal relationship with both. I do have a cat and I think we have a special bond, but it would be even better if we could converse with one another. My interest in history would make the ability to talk to rocks all the more fascinating. The most admirable trait that Mr. Nakata possesses is his acceptance of other people. He never criticizes others and seems to get along with everyone. The trait I envy the most is his ability to keep things simple. There are a lot of reasons to adopt that view of life.

Mr. Nakata can find in Haruki Murakami’s “Kafka On The Shore.”

Day #360

Now, on to a somewhat touchy subject…

The highest level of wealth, and the way it is amassed, not through labor, but via money making money, is structurally deforming. It makes it harder for those of us who are primarily paid through our labor to be properly compensated. The minimum wage is a perfect example. The highest levels of wealth, by and large, are responsible for the breakdown of society as they pursue their agenda both personal and social that benefit only themselves and others of their class.

Day #359

Metaphor

_ A word or phrase for one thing that is used to refer to another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar._

I’m not sure that definition nails it. I think it can be much deeper than that. I think a metaphor is a way to explain some aspect of reality that can’t be explained any other way. If you have ever been confused and can’t resolve what it is that is actually happening to you, a metaphor is probably the only explanation that you can reach for to explain what it is you are experiencing.

It may be that we can’t fully understand life unless we look at it through a metaphorical lens. What do our daily actions mean. What do they lead us to. There may be no way of knowing without viewing them as symbolic of something greater than the events themselves. In other words, viewing them as a metaphor.

Day #358

Donald Trump will have to answer to your God for all his depravity and destruction. If his punishment in the next life is commensurate with his acts, it will be severe. Let’s hope that you won’t have to answer to your God for the act of having voted for him, or if you do, the punishment you receive for that won’t be as severe as what he is going to receive…

Day #357

Songs that move me

Don’t worry about the neighbors, turn the fu#%ing volume up to 10 and get into it.

“Honeycomb” Luke-Winslow King
“Waiting On The World To Change” Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal
“Scratch My Back” The Fabulous Thunderbirds
“Sweet Inspiration” The Derek Trucks Band
“Been Around A Long Time” Delbert McClinton & Glen Clark
“Simple Man” Robert Randolph and The Family Band
“Watch Me Go” Luke-Winslow King
“Give Me One Reason” Big Daddy Wilson
“Life Is Beautiful” Keb’ Mo’
“Revolution” Eric Lindell
“Call Me The Breeze” John Mayer

You get the idea…

Day #356

I got to thinking the other day (yes, I can hear you congratulating me) if I could express in three words what it means to live fully and freely, I think those three words would be “It’s not cake.”

What does that mean? Simple really. It means there are no limits. The more we give the more we receive in return. There is not a fixed quantity of life, or for that matter, there is not a fixed quantity of anything of value. we can participate in life as fully as we are able or not, it’s up to us. Unlike cake, which disappears once all the pieces have been handed out and everyone has set down their fork, the best things in life can be experienced over and over again. The only requirement is that we recognize those things.

Day #354

You never make the same mistake twice. The second time it’s called a choice…

Coming up to the kitchen line after serving is never a choice… Serve and Stay…

Day #353

When I have nothing else to write about, I write about my cat. Today he was sitting with me on the patio. He sat down on the chair next to me. There was a book resting on the chair when he jumped up. That didn’t seem to bother him, he laid down on top of the book looking quite comfortable. He was the perfect picture of contentment (if you can read such a thing on a cat’s face). The spine of the book was sticking out from under his chest. I had to admire his choice in “resting literature”. The title of the book was “The Buddhist Boot Camp.”

Day #352

Less is More

I seem to have spent my lifetime trying to absorb this maxim. All-in-all, I have not had a great deal of success. That does not mean I’m not trying, I am. Tomorrow might be the day I start taking steps to realize that goal. If not tomorrow, then definitely the next day for sure.

Day #351

Day #350

I can’t think of many things more rewarding than being a writer, unless it is creating beautiful woodwork. I chose to spend my life as a computer programmer. Nothing wrong with that. We choose what our life will look like. I suppose the best we can say is, once we’ve chosen our path, how did we do in fulfilling that destiny. We should never regret our choices. It’s all about how we fulfill those choices.

Day #349

Was Diogenes of Sinope (400-325 B.C.) happy?

Diogenes was a Cynic. Cynics in that day were people that lived without the trappings of ordinary life. (Different than today’s cynics.) Diogenes and his followers believed that it did not take a lot of earthly possessions to live well. It is possible Diogenes may have taken his philosophy to the extreme. He admired dogs. He preached that dogs are unashamed of bodily functions, were not picky about what they ate, and cared little for where they slept, all admirable traits in his mind. This led him to choose a wine barrel as his home. It’s possible my cat eats better than Diogenes did. Diogenes even gestured with his middle finger to those who would presume to insult him over his lifestyle. (Apparently the middle finger has a long history.) Once Alexander the Great paid a visit to Diogenes (Diogenes was a famous philosopher after all). Alexander found Diogenes bathing in his wine barrel. Alexander offered to give him anything he wanted, Diogenes was reported to have said “Please get out of my sunlight.” It is not know if he showed Alexander the middle finger, I suspect if he had, this story might have ended differently.

Day #348

Give compliments.

If you want to live on the plus side of the social register, always give more compliments than you give complaints. I was walking down the sidewalk today, as I passed two people I heard one complaining about how unfair his boss was. I could not help noticing, and feeling a bit sorry for the person listening. If you want to help people flourish, give them positive feedback. If they don’t deserve it, give them at least more positive than negative… Everyone deserves a chicken dinner once in awhile

This raises the obvious question, what is a good compliment. It is not use of the words “nice,” “good,” “beautiful,” “pretty,” or “great.” You have to be creative for your compliment to have a positive effect.

The bottom line is, give compliments, be sincere, and make your compliment genuine.

Day #347

I went into my favorite Taproom while I was waiting for my truck at Les Schwab. They have a brew called “Mystic Daze.” I told the barkeep I knew the perfect song to go with that beer, Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic.” I asked her if she would mind playing it. She was cool with that. Once the song came on I asked her if she had heard it before. “No,” was the answer. I guess that’s the definition of old.

Day #346

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

What a cool title. It’s not mine. It’s the title of a Haruki Murakami novel. Reading this novel makes me want to read all of Murakami’s work. I think I will. The novel is 400 pages of split brained dialogue between the protagonist and himself. I have to admit I had no real idea how the story would end until I got to page 399. There were plenty of hints along the way, but Murakami has a special skill when it comes to unfolding a story. Even after I closed the book at the end of page 400, there was still room to take the story further. I’m sure that was intentional. It makes you want to carry the story with you and think about it from time to time, not to mention read more of his work.

Day #345

When you pass a church and the reader board says “We grow in Christ and love for one another,” What does the word “We” mean? Are they talking about just the members of their congregation or are they talking about everyone in the world? I hope it’s latter, but there are plenty of reasons to think that “religion” is not the answer to why there is a lack of love in the world.

My job is to remember what the world needs, even though I’m not a member of any particular “We.”

Day #344

We must take a moment to appreciate what we have and who we are. To find fault in other people is to be looking in the wrong direction. The key is to look clearly at ourself. It’s not hard to pick out the person with no self awareness, those are the people that blame others for their shortcomings. If you are able to give other people credit, even if you don’t agree with them, you are making room to give yourself credit. If we see ourselves as superior, we won’t be able to see anyone else as worthy of our respect.

Day #343

The Fourteen Risk Factors for Dementia

Perhaps the most important factor is social isolation. I really need to change my wardrobe when I play Pickleball. I’ve been told that wearing green socks with white court shoes might tend to ostracize me. My advice, choose your socks wisely on your first and second date… I got lucky.

The other risk factors are:

• Vision loss
• High cholesterol
• Hearing loss
• Air pollution (lung issues?)
• Cognition loss (unable to keep score in Pickleball)
• Depression
• Brain injury
• Lack of physical activity
• Diabetes
• Smoking
• Hypertension
• Obesity
• Excessive alcohol

Fortunately for me, coffee is not on that list. Addressing all of these factors could reduce the risk of demential by as much as 45%. I’m doing fairly well as far as most of that list goes. The whole social isolation thing could be a problem for someone like me. I don’t spend a lot of time ingratiating myself with other people just for its own sake. I’d rather build something.

Day #342

Where do writers get their ideas? Perhaps a bigger question is, once they get an idea how do they go about building the detail that is necessary to make their work convincing and worth sharing.

If only I could solve that mystery… I think I’ll google that…

A college degree in English, Communications, or Journalism is generally required for a full-time position as a writer or author. Experience gained through internships or any writing that improves skill, such as blogging, is beneficial.

I don’t find that terribly helpful. I studied Political Science and spent my working life as a computer programmer. No hope. Or perhaps that answer is just bull shit… I do write (here) but I hardly think that makes me a writer. I do this for the satisfaction. I’m not really sure what that means. I suppose it just means I am satisfying a desire that I don’t fully understand. Nevertheless, when I read someone that can really write, say Haruki Murakami, I am mystified and just a bit envious.

Day #341

Thought

It is a fact of human nature that thought defines our reality. We literally choose what we will think. Someone does something stupid on the freeway, we choose whether to get upset, or whether to ignore what happened. Someone says something to us in what sounds like a harsh voice, we choose to take offense or we choose to dismiss the words.

Reality is quite literally the present moment. Everything else is past or future. That may seem obvious, but the truth is the present moment is all that we control.

We are thinking creatures, we can’t exist without thinking. The beauty of that is it gives us tremendious control over our reality, what we think, more control than most people realize. The trick is to listen to our thoughts, when they go astray, we need to engage them and steer them back onto a positive track. In other words, actively create the thoughts that we are experiencing, rather than letting our minds drift in random directions.

The old analogy that each thought is like a stone dropped into a pond is more true than not. The ripples created by the stone move out in all directions, changing the surface of the water. The influence created by a single stone is surprising when you watch its effect. So to is the influence on ourselves and on others with each thought we engage and each word we share. We create reality simply by how we choose to perceive the current moment.

Day #340

I’m quite proud of these. They are a long way from traditional and the craftsmanship isn’t close to journeyman standards. That said, they look okay and they certainly enhance the look of the room.