A Fluid Situation, Changing Genders, It’s Not About Me, It’s About YOU, Hitting Bottom

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”
— George S. Patton Jr.

Good morning, it’s chilly here, I suspect 60 degrees or less, the sun is starting to come up, it’s 6:00 a.m. here, I got nine glorious hours of sleep, oh and it’s FRIDAY!  My fireplace is on, coffee is made, my pup is to my left, and my wife is slumbering.  I trust you are reading these words in an excellent shelter filled with joy, love, and hope.

We worked from home yesterday, mid-morning. Then, we began getting news reports about the bombings in Afghanistan. As we watched, both of us had a sickening feeling in our stomachs; our great country lost 13 men and women yesterday; I think about their families and the devastation it will cause for generations to come. 

I now wonder if the women in Afghanistan who identify as men could be spared from torture and rape? Thank you, Jeremy.  I keep hearing the word fluid from the government; this is a fluid situation; as we know in our country, gender is fluid, let’s have our work folk share the news and maybe help protect the young women of our new enemy.

Speaking of our new enemy, you have to hand it to the Taliban.  They look at time in the 1000 year blocks; we tend to think year by year.  I caught an interview with a marine that served in Afghanistan; he was to process the captives heading to prison.  During one conversation, the young Taliban fighter stated, “we want to kill you, but we will wait, you will eventually leave, and we will take back our country.”

Their army is made up of sheep and goat farmers, but they just defeated the greatest military in the history of the world. So maybe our love with the now can be shown to be flawed; perhaps we need to extend our purview past today and look ten or 20 years down the road.  In looking for a gift and opportunity in this situation, I think it is an inflection point for our country; how did we get here, and how can we move forward in a positive light?

I’m not a military man, but I saw one retired military general offer a different approach to our withdrawal.  First, get our people out, then destroy our military equipment, and then remove our troops.  This approach seems to make sense; I wonder why we did this operation ass-backward.  History will show the errors and who to blame; for now, I think we should support our brave men and women.

The sunrise is simply amazing; I’m fortunate that I get a front-row seat to nature’s daily rising of our central star.  It rained last night, the smoke seems to have moved on, it will return, but a nice clear day is on the table for we mountain folk.  Speaking of mountain folk, our friend, neighbor, and Gardner came over and looked at our garden; our plants are looking good. 

He is also an executive chef; he shared that he had made some jerk sauce to burn your face off.  My wife and I like spicy stuff, so we ran over and picked up a little bit for our shredded pork.  As I was walking out, he asked how I was going to prepare the meat. First, I shared simple fold-over tacos. Next, he went to his garden and handed me some mint, and recommended we add some cucumber with a little bit of his sauce.  I’ll share it was a culinary delight; I like to get creative in the kitchen.

I got a text from an old friend from Pekin, IL.  He and his wife are in town to see their son; we will meet them at our home and give them a tour and then head down to Brooks Place Tavern to have a drink.   I expect a couple of hikes this weekend, hanging out with friends, enjoying our little mountain community.

One of the things I teach my students is that life is not about me; it’s about you, so I’m going to ask you a question.  How are you?  What can you do to improve your life?  Are you in love, do you love your work, do you love where you live?  If you are not in love but are partnering with another, maybe it’s time to move on.  If you don’t love your work, perhaps it’s time to realign it with another passion.   Look around. Do you appreciate your view, your surroundings, your community? If not, it’s never too late to move.

At 52 years old, I have learned there are no limitations in life.  The only restriction is between your two ears.  If you choose to limit your thoughts and beliefs, it’s on you. So many people want to blame their problems or current life on others.  If my mom and dad had done this or that, life would be different. If the government would pay my rent and give me free money for life, my life would be better.  If only I had gone to college or a trade school, life would be better.  Some of the most successful people I know did not graduate high school but yet found a vein of success that allows them to do anything they want, anything they can dream. 

If you can dream it, you can do it.  I’m living proof, don’t let your head trash limit who you are or what you can achieve.   Life is a series of small changes, movements towards a small goal, and set another when you reach that first goal.  Start small; maybe you need to drink more water, get a gallon jug of crisp water from the grocery store today and by the end of the day, suck it dry.  Tomorrow when you get up, your newly hydrated body might want you to move a little more, go for a walk around the block.  Small incremental changes are vital to living your best life.

I suspect the next few days are going to be hard to watch.  Things will get worse before they get better, now might be a time to focus on the micro vs. the macro.  Try not to get upset; there are places worldwide that are in disarray; thank your God you were born in the most open and free society on the planet.  Although the U.S.A is not perfect, I’ll take our imperfection over any other lands on this spinning blue ball.  God bless America. Is this a time we can come together as one?  Time will tell.

“The test of success is not what you do when you are on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.”
— George S. Patton Jr.