So tonight's post is about something we all hold onto very deep inside of us, something that is at times infinitesimal and sometimes it is bigger than your mind can even imagine.
Tonight's post is about Hope.
We all have it. For some of us, it's all we have, but universally speaking, it is the most important thing that will ever bind us as a species. I say species because as far as I know, dogs, cat, gorillas, no one, other than humans, has hope. Which is to say (and I know there are religions/belief structures that disagree, but leave the semantics at the web browser) we are the only species with a soul.
Which leads me to this French proverb (note in you ledger, possibly the only time I will commend the French for anything....):
“Hope is the dream of a soul awake.”
Think about that for second......what is it saying? There is the age old cliche "a fire burning in your soul." I would tend to agree with that assessment. What has driven us for as long as we have existed is Hope. Hope for wars to end, for racial equality, for a better job, for someone special to say they love you, for that little stick you peed on to say yay (or nay?).
My first question is: What do you hope for? Start small then work to the bigger stuff.
I am going to follow this up by raining on the parade. Hope is not always enough. The other old cliche: "Wish in one hand, shit in the other and see which one fills up first." Hope is merely the motivation, the driving force that dictates our actions or dedications towards that next step. Unless you do your work well, you say "I love you" first, or unless you bump uglys (excluding the Immaculate Conception, but then again, Mary did kind of "make it" with God....or was it the angel who appeared that was the guilty culprit....maybe Mary just sat on the wrong toilet seat that night?), Hope won't ever be enough.
The point is, you can have Hope, but without the mechanics of action, Hope is nothing. "Many men lead lives of quiet desperation." Those men failed to act, no doubt.
So my second question, to directly follow the first, is: What the fuck have you done about it lately?
When I talk with people, we invariably cover what they want (read: Hope for) in life. Then we cover how they are going about getting to that point. If you are the person who just gives me roadblocks when I try and suggest paths to take to get there, YOU ARE THAT MAN OF QUIET DESPERATION. And for that, I pity you.
Going "balls to the wall" isn't just an expression of working hard. It means you risked something, because if you know (and judging by my current following of readers, you don't) what slamming your testicles into a wall feels like, you would know that whatever it is you are trying to achieve must be hoped and wanted pretty damn bad (PS slamming your testicles into anything FUCKING HURTS, do not try/ask a male friend to do).
I'm not going to post another "Classic Man" tonight because I think it would be silly. A "Classic Man" in this case, is a man who takes that hope and acts on it. A man who risks his well being for his betterment, to achieve his goals, or to protect/care for his family. Think about someone in your life that has risked something to achieve a goal. They took their Hope and acted on it. That person is the "Classic Man" for today, the person that refuses to lead a "Life of quiet desperation."
So again:
What do you hope for?
What are you going to do about it?
Great, now go get 'em, Tiger!
I HOPE you all have fair winds and following seas......
Friday, January 28, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Loss of words
So today I am at a loss for words, meaning this probably won't be much to read. I won't be doing a "Classic Man" today because I'm too tired to be clever, so I'll do 2 tomorrow to make up.
Instead of trying to entertain, my goal today is to cause self reflection. I've been doing a lot of it lately, it has brought back some very unpleasant "what if" memories back.....
Why do we do what we do? Why are we who we are? It's a classic debate, nature vs. nurture. Are we ourselves because of our genes or because of our life ezperiences? I don't know. The thoughts now are that it's about half and half. But what if we experience something in our lives so traumatic that it redefines, reprograms who we are? And how do we define what is, in fact, traumatic for each individual? Just some thoughts....
I'll leave you with this:
It wasn't ever supposed to hurt. You weren't ever supposed to cry. And I never dreamed you'd sometimes feel so helpless.
Yet, as things have turned out, lots of folks have trouble getting out of bed on cold, dark mornings.
Anyhow,should there also be the occasional pain, tear, or touch of sadness beyond that, please realize these were anticipated, bargained for, and even sought after. As each would illuminate your resiliency, prove your strength, and help you blast through every flimsy notion that would otherwise keep you from seeing that even now I hold you in the palm of my hand and that all things are possible.
Such a deal,
The Universe
-Fair winds and following seas......
Instead of trying to entertain, my goal today is to cause self reflection. I've been doing a lot of it lately, it has brought back some very unpleasant "what if" memories back.....
Why do we do what we do? Why are we who we are? It's a classic debate, nature vs. nurture. Are we ourselves because of our genes or because of our life ezperiences? I don't know. The thoughts now are that it's about half and half. But what if we experience something in our lives so traumatic that it redefines, reprograms who we are? And how do we define what is, in fact, traumatic for each individual? Just some thoughts....
I'll leave you with this:
It wasn't ever supposed to hurt. You weren't ever supposed to cry. And I never dreamed you'd sometimes feel so helpless.
Yet, as things have turned out, lots of folks have trouble getting out of bed on cold, dark mornings.
Anyhow,should there also be the occasional pain, tear, or touch of sadness beyond that, please realize these were anticipated, bargained for, and even sought after. As each would illuminate your resiliency, prove your strength, and help you blast through every flimsy notion that would otherwise keep you from seeing that even now I hold you in the palm of my hand and that all things are possible.
Such a deal,
The Universe
-Fair winds and following seas......
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Glutton for punishment
What's up ya fuckers!?
Tonight's post won't be long since I need to get to bed soon.
I have a question to ask all of you: What weird little thing makes you feel good? It's something that no one else may understand, but to you, it's what you live (or die) for....
For me, it's pain. I am (as the tittle states....think ahead people, think ahead) a glutton for punishment. The greatest feeling I ever have is pain. And I'm not so sure it's the pain, but that millisecond after the pain when your mind just goes black, and then everything refocuses......and you're alive...if only barely. That pain pretty much rules much of what I do my entire life. I live to push myself to the point where I break; mentally, physically, whatever. It's why I run hard, probably why I drink whiskey (though I've heard it's because alcoholics like the burn of the drink more than the drink itself), probably why I put myself out there emotionally only to be metaphorically burned, time and time again.
So, like I said, what is THAT thing that you live for? Do you know? Have you ever even thought about it? If you haven't, you might want to. Why? Because at some point, you are going to be asked to draw a line in the sand about something; work, play, libations, relationships, exercise, et al. Maybe if you put some thought into now and figure out what that thing is then the next time you look down to try and figure out where to draw that line, you'll see you've unknowingly already drew it.
Now for the "Classic Man" of the day. This one is a bit unsual, if I do say so myself.
Photo Courtesy of Steve Friedman, July 2004 Runner's World
Now, I would imagine you have no idea who this individual is, which is fair. His name is Gerry Lindgren. He won the 10,000 meter race in 1964. He beat the USSR runners, who, to that point, were an impenetrable force in this particular event (Think of the move Miracle.... got it? Yeah, they were THAT good). I'll go into a little background so you get the point:
The Soviet style of running was to run one lap (a "pace" lap) at 70 seconds, then run a "sprint" lap at 60 seconds, then return to the pace lap. They would do this at particular points during the race, key intervals within the 10,000 meters. So what did Lindgren do? He ran 7 sprint laps in a row.
Why is he the "Classic Man" today? Because he was the underdog, the smallest man out on the track that day, because he beat the Soviets at something they never lost (beating Communists is always "Classic American Man") and because he gutted it out through utter PAIN and AGONY, all for his country (The '64 Olympics took place right after JFK was assassinated by a want to be Soviet named Lee Harvey Oswald). THAT is why he is a "Classic American Man."
That's all for today.
Until next time,
-Fair Winds and Following Seas.....
Tonight's post won't be long since I need to get to bed soon.
I have a question to ask all of you: What weird little thing makes you feel good? It's something that no one else may understand, but to you, it's what you live (or die) for....
For me, it's pain. I am (as the tittle states....think ahead people, think ahead) a glutton for punishment. The greatest feeling I ever have is pain. And I'm not so sure it's the pain, but that millisecond after the pain when your mind just goes black, and then everything refocuses......and you're alive...if only barely. That pain pretty much rules much of what I do my entire life. I live to push myself to the point where I break; mentally, physically, whatever. It's why I run hard, probably why I drink whiskey (though I've heard it's because alcoholics like the burn of the drink more than the drink itself), probably why I put myself out there emotionally only to be metaphorically burned, time and time again.
So, like I said, what is THAT thing that you live for? Do you know? Have you ever even thought about it? If you haven't, you might want to. Why? Because at some point, you are going to be asked to draw a line in the sand about something; work, play, libations, relationships, exercise, et al. Maybe if you put some thought into now and figure out what that thing is then the next time you look down to try and figure out where to draw that line, you'll see you've unknowingly already drew it.
Now for the "Classic Man" of the day. This one is a bit unsual, if I do say so myself.
Now, I would imagine you have no idea who this individual is, which is fair. His name is Gerry Lindgren. He won the 10,000 meter race in 1964. He beat the USSR runners, who, to that point, were an impenetrable force in this particular event (Think of the move Miracle.... got it? Yeah, they were THAT good). I'll go into a little background so you get the point:
The Soviet style of running was to run one lap (a "pace" lap) at 70 seconds, then run a "sprint" lap at 60 seconds, then return to the pace lap. They would do this at particular points during the race, key intervals within the 10,000 meters. So what did Lindgren do? He ran 7 sprint laps in a row.
Why is he the "Classic Man" today? Because he was the underdog, the smallest man out on the track that day, because he beat the Soviets at something they never lost (beating Communists is always "Classic American Man") and because he gutted it out through utter PAIN and AGONY, all for his country (The '64 Olympics took place right after JFK was assassinated by a want to be Soviet named Lee Harvey Oswald). THAT is why he is a "Classic American Man."
That's all for today.
Until next time,
-Fair Winds and Following Seas.....
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Payback is a b***h
Hello Nation,
Remember how I said yesterday that you need balance in your life? Happy/Sad, Active/Passive, et al. Yes, you do, how could you forget....
Anyhow, today, Life decided to kick me in the ass after trying to reveal its secret by giving me a work day from Hell. Up early for another workout, more attempts to push the earth and ab work. Normal work day for the most part. Played my quasi-typical role of whipping boy which after not actually doing work for a good 3 weeks (thank you meetings and jury duty) was a stark reminder on why I need to achieve goal numero uno (if you don't know what this is, look back to the original post). This was followed up by driving home (quick commute today-remember what I said yesterday?). THEN, I got to do more work.....which I am still doing......6.5 hours later......FUCK. I realize this isn't work, but I wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to read this and dream of tomorrow's posting while they slept.
Random side note before I wind back around to my original topic for today's "Classic Man" posting. I get an email daily from a site (tutuniverse.com) with little, interesting, thought provoking comments. Today's was particularly interesting. It was about how a lot of people wished they made and were able to spend a million dollars a year. You could shower yourself and the people you love with everything and be happy. Do you know what the means on a per day basis? $2739.93. Now, how much is your happiness really worth?
Now, back on topic. As I said previously, I have a number of tasks to do tonight that I SAID I would have done for tomorrow. People SAY a lot of things, yet rarely do them. A man's WORD has started to hold very little value in the world today. Today's "Classic Man" is a man who kept true to his word:
Photo Courtesy of armytimes.com
General Douglas MacArthur! Classic American Man! The general said he was going to return to the Pacific Islands victorious and he did. A man true to his word! He took every step to make sure it happened. How many times have you said you were going to do something, only to fall short because of the "effort" it required? The point is, sack up, grab a corn cob pipe and get that shit done!
That's all for today-Fair Winds and Following Seas-Company Whipping Boy out!
Remember how I said yesterday that you need balance in your life? Happy/Sad, Active/Passive, et al. Yes, you do, how could you forget....
Anyhow, today, Life decided to kick me in the ass after trying to reveal its secret by giving me a work day from Hell. Up early for another workout, more attempts to push the earth and ab work. Normal work day for the most part. Played my quasi-typical role of whipping boy which after not actually doing work for a good 3 weeks (thank you meetings and jury duty) was a stark reminder on why I need to achieve goal numero uno (if you don't know what this is, look back to the original post). This was followed up by driving home (quick commute today-remember what I said yesterday?). THEN, I got to do more work.....which I am still doing......6.5 hours later......FUCK. I realize this isn't work, but I wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to read this and dream of tomorrow's posting while they slept.
Random side note before I wind back around to my original topic for today's "Classic Man" posting. I get an email daily from a site (tutuniverse.com) with little, interesting, thought provoking comments. Today's was particularly interesting. It was about how a lot of people wished they made and were able to spend a million dollars a year. You could shower yourself and the people you love with everything and be happy. Do you know what the means on a per day basis? $2739.93. Now, how much is your happiness really worth?
Now, back on topic. As I said previously, I have a number of tasks to do tonight that I SAID I would have done for tomorrow. People SAY a lot of things, yet rarely do them. A man's WORD has started to hold very little value in the world today. Today's "Classic Man" is a man who kept true to his word:
General Douglas MacArthur! Classic American Man! The general said he was going to return to the Pacific Islands victorious and he did. A man true to his word! He took every step to make sure it happened. How many times have you said you were going to do something, only to fall short because of the "effort" it required? The point is, sack up, grab a corn cob pipe and get that shit done!
That's all for today-Fair Winds and Following Seas-Company Whipping Boy out!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Monday Morning Traffic
It's 8:02 and my facebook is officially deactivated....but more to come about that in the coming days...weeks....years (?).
Now to get to the points of the day:
1)Thanks to my SONICBOOM alarm clock (Lights, Bed Vibrations and an OBNOXIOUS tone) and a call from the mother of my atheist god daughter, I was up at 5:30am to start my day like a big boy.
2) Got 2 workouts in: The morning- Pushups and abs, The evening-3.5 mile run....pull ups to come later. Gotta get lean and mean!
3) My longest observation of the day:
The title of this blog isn't coincidence, today, amid the crappy weather, I sat in crappy traffic. This didn't bother me today though (perhaps because of delieriem from being up for 3 hours before I started my commute on 4 hrs sleep). WHY!?-you may ask.
Two reasons mainly, first, traffic is stressful. But we need stress in our lives, without it (according to human physiology, not JUST some asshole with a blog) we would die. That's right, without stress, we would die. I don't remember the exact specifications as to why, but I'll poll some of my smarter, former classmates as to why and get back to you on that.
The second reason it didn't bother me is because I am increasingly finding that life is all about balance, a yin and a yang, if you will. We get stressed out doing activities-speaking in public, working out, sitting in traffic, thinking about an upcoming date. We also get very relaxed doing activities-watching TV, smoking, eating comfort foods, having sex.
Both of these factors must be in balance. Too much stress and you have a heartattack, hyperventilate, tear muscles, or are all stinky and sweaty (And no one will find you attractive at that point). Too much relaxation and your muscles atrophy, you get cancer, balloon up to 400 lbs, or get REALLY chaffed.
Several articles I recently read on realsimple.com centered around being happy. Scientists are reevaluating how they study happiness in humans. Two of the conclusions reached are these:
-You can't be happy all the time, happiness is mostly a high we get from doing something, and like anything else you can get a high from, you can gain a tolerance to.....so be happy responsibly and in moderation. It follows a fundamental tenent of childhood: Too much of a good thing ceases to be a good thing (Drink a glass of whuskey, then drink a BOTTLE of whiskey and see how happy you are).
-Happiness also follows a yin/yang pattern that is echoed throughout life. Nothing tastes sweet without something tasting bitter, you never know your true love until you've dealt with your un-true loves, people in Hawaii who live in a paradise, are typically miserable because they fail to appreciate the beauty of their surroundings-because they don't deal with 8 degree winters. The point I'm making is that without being miserable at some point or another, you will never know when you are really happy. I.E. When I sit in traffic for eons, cursing the 90 year old Asian woman driving the SUV while talking on her cell phone and failing to recognize that a solid merging line means you should have merged 100 feet ago, not pull a left turn into the express lanes right when the median is on top of you (and more importantly ME), it will just give me that much more reason to smile when I am pulling 70mph and get home in 40 minutes that afternoon.
Hopefully some of that made sense. Work hard, play hard people. If it's good enough for Hugh Heffner, it's good enough for me.
Speaking of a man to epitomize all men, (or at least the dreams of all men-800 years old and still sleeping with co-eds=MAN DREAM, brought to you robot technology and Viagra) that brings me to something I am going to try and do everyday, "Classic Man of the Day."
This man can be real or fictional, doesn't really matter. He brings some facet of what all men (and by all men, I mean myself-again, deal with it) strive to be in one way or another.
So without further delay, today's "Classic Man of the Day":
This clipart is courtesy of http://library.thinkquest.org
That's right, Paul Bunyan! American Folk Hero Extraordinaire! He was a classic man, if ever there was one! Legend has it Bunyan created the Great Lakes, the Grand Canyon, and being a great lumber jack in general. He helped other men with their troubles in business, was humble, intelligent, but didn't take shit off anyone.
That's about all I have for the day. On the topic of stress/relaxation balance, I still have more work to do for tomorrow relating to my J-O-B. I hope you learned something and maybe laughed a bit too.
Until tomorrow, Fair winds and following seas.....
Now to get to the points of the day:
1)Thanks to my SONICBOOM alarm clock (Lights, Bed Vibrations and an OBNOXIOUS tone) and a call from the mother of my atheist god daughter, I was up at 5:30am to start my day like a big boy.
2) Got 2 workouts in: The morning- Pushups and abs, The evening-3.5 mile run....pull ups to come later. Gotta get lean and mean!
3) My longest observation of the day:
The title of this blog isn't coincidence, today, amid the crappy weather, I sat in crappy traffic. This didn't bother me today though (perhaps because of delieriem from being up for 3 hours before I started my commute on 4 hrs sleep). WHY!?-you may ask.
Two reasons mainly, first, traffic is stressful. But we need stress in our lives, without it (according to human physiology, not JUST some asshole with a blog) we would die. That's right, without stress, we would die. I don't remember the exact specifications as to why, but I'll poll some of my smarter, former classmates as to why and get back to you on that.
The second reason it didn't bother me is because I am increasingly finding that life is all about balance, a yin and a yang, if you will. We get stressed out doing activities-speaking in public, working out, sitting in traffic, thinking about an upcoming date. We also get very relaxed doing activities-watching TV, smoking, eating comfort foods, having sex.
Both of these factors must be in balance. Too much stress and you have a heartattack, hyperventilate, tear muscles, or are all stinky and sweaty (And no one will find you attractive at that point). Too much relaxation and your muscles atrophy, you get cancer, balloon up to 400 lbs, or get REALLY chaffed.
Several articles I recently read on realsimple.com centered around being happy. Scientists are reevaluating how they study happiness in humans. Two of the conclusions reached are these:
-You can't be happy all the time, happiness is mostly a high we get from doing something, and like anything else you can get a high from, you can gain a tolerance to.....so be happy responsibly and in moderation. It follows a fundamental tenent of childhood: Too much of a good thing ceases to be a good thing (Drink a glass of whuskey, then drink a BOTTLE of whiskey and see how happy you are).
-Happiness also follows a yin/yang pattern that is echoed throughout life. Nothing tastes sweet without something tasting bitter, you never know your true love until you've dealt with your un-true loves, people in Hawaii who live in a paradise, are typically miserable because they fail to appreciate the beauty of their surroundings-because they don't deal with 8 degree winters. The point I'm making is that without being miserable at some point or another, you will never know when you are really happy. I.E. When I sit in traffic for eons, cursing the 90 year old Asian woman driving the SUV while talking on her cell phone and failing to recognize that a solid merging line means you should have merged 100 feet ago, not pull a left turn into the express lanes right when the median is on top of you (and more importantly ME), it will just give me that much more reason to smile when I am pulling 70mph and get home in 40 minutes that afternoon.
Hopefully some of that made sense. Work hard, play hard people. If it's good enough for Hugh Heffner, it's good enough for me.
Speaking of a man to epitomize all men, (or at least the dreams of all men-800 years old and still sleeping with co-eds=MAN DREAM, brought to you robot technology and Viagra) that brings me to something I am going to try and do everyday, "Classic Man of the Day."
This man can be real or fictional, doesn't really matter. He brings some facet of what all men (and by all men, I mean myself-again, deal with it) strive to be in one way or another.
So without further delay, today's "Classic Man of the Day":
That's right, Paul Bunyan! American Folk Hero Extraordinaire! He was a classic man, if ever there was one! Legend has it Bunyan created the Great Lakes, the Grand Canyon, and being a great lumber jack in general. He helped other men with their troubles in business, was humble, intelligent, but didn't take shit off anyone.
That's about all I have for the day. On the topic of stress/relaxation balance, I still have more work to do for tomorrow relating to my J-O-B. I hope you learned something and maybe laughed a bit too.
Until tomorrow, Fair winds and following seas.....
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The ultimate goal
I am starting this blog in an effort to regain the epitome of what it means to be a man. I find myself overwhelemed by technology in my day to day life. Facebook, twitter, myspace; it all sucks humanity and simplicity from our lives. That being said, I plan to take it back (And yes, I realize the irony of starting a blog to remove technology from my life, but deal with it).
This blog serves as a conduete to communicate my efforts to reach my life goal:
1)Become an Officer of Marines
2)Learn to hunt, farm, and fish-live off the land so to speak. No more handouts.
Secondly, this blog will most likely become a journal for my workouts (post yours in the comments if you feel so inclined), rants, and raves. The two latter points being stated, if you are easily offended, best sign off now. As a preview of my personal cranial ongoings, I will let you in on a few things about myself:
-I do not believe in being politically correct, that is for fuckers, and it is what is killing America and causing people to go on shooting sprees. If you suck, I plan to tell you so, so at least someone can say they did.
-I have a very strange and dry sense of humor, usually to the point of annoying others and causing me to sit alone at large parties. I don't really care, but if you don't get a joke, I ain't gonna slow down to explain it. Google that shit.
-I believe in soul mates, ipsofacto, I am a romantic at heart. Maybe mine has passed me by, maybe it hasn't. Maybe I'll be married 50 years, maybe I'll die alone. I don't have the answers.
-I don't have an auto-"I'm so sorry for you and can totally empathize" button. If you don't like something, change it. Hence my blog.
For now, that's it, but I'm sure there will be more to come. This will hopefully all workout and maybe I can make some people think.
This blog serves as a conduete to communicate my efforts to reach my life goal:
1)Become an Officer of Marines
2)Learn to hunt, farm, and fish-live off the land so to speak. No more handouts.
Secondly, this blog will most likely become a journal for my workouts (post yours in the comments if you feel so inclined), rants, and raves. The two latter points being stated, if you are easily offended, best sign off now. As a preview of my personal cranial ongoings, I will let you in on a few things about myself:
-I do not believe in being politically correct, that is for fuckers, and it is what is killing America and causing people to go on shooting sprees. If you suck, I plan to tell you so, so at least someone can say they did.
-I have a very strange and dry sense of humor, usually to the point of annoying others and causing me to sit alone at large parties. I don't really care, but if you don't get a joke, I ain't gonna slow down to explain it. Google that shit.
-I believe in soul mates, ipsofacto, I am a romantic at heart. Maybe mine has passed me by, maybe it hasn't. Maybe I'll be married 50 years, maybe I'll die alone. I don't have the answers.
-I don't have an auto-"I'm so sorry for you and can totally empathize" button. If you don't like something, change it. Hence my blog.
For now, that's it, but I'm sure there will be more to come. This will hopefully all workout and maybe I can make some people think.
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