Life On A B-I7

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 #355

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”

— Haruki Murakami

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.

Day #339

Am I a good father? I suspect not. How does one know? Obviously, ask your children…

But, will they tell you? Therein lies the rub. If I were to rely on my own analysis, it would go something like this.

Yes, and no.

Big surprise. I think probably more “no” than “yes.” How many of us can say, without hesitation, honestly, that we have been great parents. Ultimately parenting comes down to love, guidance and example. I have tried to be a good example for my children when they were in my presence, occasionally even when they weren’t. I can’t be the judge of how well I did at that.

Bottom line, I tried, but I think I could have done better. This is an attempt to tell myself it’s not too late to try a bit harder.

Only those we are responsible for can make that call. Its likely we’ll never know the answer, because they might not even know the answer themselves until sometime after we have shed the parenting role (which not surprisingly corresponds to our shedding of everything else…)

That’s okay. In the interim, we need to do the best we can.

My cat thinks I am a pain-in-the-ass because I make him stay in the yard. I think that qualifies as parenting, sort of, right?

Day #338

“In 1978 Haruki Murakami was in the bleachers of Jingu Stadium watching a baseball game between the Yakult Swallows and the Hiroshima Carp when Dave Hilton, an American, came to bat. According to an oft-repeated story, in the instant that he hit a double, Murakami suddenly realized that he could write a novel. He went home and began writing that night.”

Now, 46 years later, Haruki Murakami has written 14 novels, 6 short story anthologies and 5 nonfiction books.

It’s hard for me to imagine that sort of productivity. Even harder to imagine is the focus and determination required to accomplish a body of work so prolific, so varied and so down-right fun.

I’m envious.

It would be nice to apply something like his focus to what remains of my own creative endeavors. Perhaps taking in a few Seattle Mariners games would help.

Day #337

There have been few musical groups that have created more depth of sound and emotion with just three instruments than Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. After ELP, I’d take Steely Dan in a heartbeat.

Day #336

The attitude that dogs are okay and cats are not, is, from a feline perspective, unwarranted. It would be much better if both cats and dogs were treated equally. Cats would appreciate that. I’m not sure dogs would even know there had been a shift in perspective.

Day #335

I realize the dates on my posts do not align with reality. Some that know me might say that is not surprising. If I were to offer an explanation, I would tell you I’m a bit over my skis because I’m excited about finishing my “Year of Living Thoughtfully” Project. So much so, I forgot my sister’s birthday… I’m sorry sis. I have to hand it to you, while I am aging (normally I hope) you seem to be aging in reverse.

Will you allow me to use that as an excuse?