An Invitation to Get Really-Really-Really-Really HIGH, A Diversity of Ideas, No Jerks

“If a man is to survive, he will have learned to take delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life’s exciting variety, not something to fear.”
— Gene Roddenberry

This Substack might be the first time you have “found” me; I welcome you to my daily word soup for many of you.  I pen a thousand words a day, and I invite you to check in now and then; I attempt to be a light in the seas of darkness we seem to be living through these days. Although I have never witnessed humanity torn as we are today, I try and be a voice of reason and logic in a wide-woke world.

I typically pen these thoughts in the early morning, but today am called to write some midday thoughts; why?  I got higher than I have been in many months yesterday.  What kind of bud did I smoke?  Was it Indica?  Was it Sativa?  Maybe a Hybrid?  Did I smoke a joint, or did I rip a massive bong hit?  Did I use a volcano?  How did I get so high?

I believe there are many ways to get high.  Yes, you can drink, smoke, maybe take some pills or trust me, you can get high on life.  Yesterday morning I got high online, no drugs, just conversation with a collection of unique humans being.  What is this magical group of humans called?  It’s a virtual call I’ve been participating in since the beginning of COVID.  The group was started by a legend of the Denver Community, Greg Greenwood.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/greggreenwood/

It was a collection of humans in leadership positions around the country brought together to help make sense of the pandemic. So every Friday at 8:00 a.m., mountain time, I joined and nourished my mind.

At first, we had a young man step up and lead the discussion.  Joseph Imbriano  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephimbriano/

A great leader would fashion a question, and then leaders from around the country would weigh in, giving their thoughts and ideas on the topic.   Early in the pandemic, it was more about managing the new world, and I always left the call with a full heart.  It was one thing that helped me understand and cope with the changes that were happening.

About six months ago, it was decided that Friday morning was not a good time to run the call; we decided to move it to Monday; one of our members, another outstanding individual, Luke Wycoff,

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukewyckoff/

stated, “if you move it, momentum will die.” So if you follow my logic, I hope you are looking at the LinkedIn profiles to see the quality of humanity that showed up for this call.  It was like swimming with some of the best swimmers in the world.  I often wondered how I got picked to be a part of this group, both Greg and Joseph had been friends, but they are on a different level of success and knowledge than this kid from a small town in Indiana.  But here I was learning and adding my “two sense” to the conversation.

Over time, I began to meet some more fantastic humans with hearts full, and each week we joined in nourishing each other.   I met Jude, a famous musician and who also runs a nonprofit in a troubled community in Denver.  I asked my friend Brandon to join; Brandon is a leader and teacher in architecture.  Soon friends from my Indianapolis community began joining and bringing their perspectives.  We had liberals, conservatives, pronoun fans, and people who didn’t care about pronouns; we met each other where we were and listened as people shared their ideas and input on the day’s topic.

I will not share all who have joined the call; I don’t want to out any more people willing to listen to others with differing opinions.  I shared I had lost a long-time friend this past week based on our disparate ideas; he let me know via text that he could no longer spend time with me; I said in return something to the effect, “Fair enough, good luck, I still love you.”  We discussed those that live in bubbles and how you are limiting yourself by not opening your mind to other ideas.  Another member shared he had been asked to leave a subgroup committee in his company because of his beliefs.  I shared that diversity is more than skin color; we must have a variety of ideas if we are going to grow into our best selves.

So I’m asking that you consider joining our call.  I promise you will not be disappointed; if you want to expand your mind, shoot me a direct message, we have a few spots open. We want to grow the group with people with a diversity of ideas. However, we have one rule; you can’t be a jerk if you are a jerk, don’t message me; we don’t tolerate people who do not respect others.

Well, there you have it, an attempt to grab your attention,  maybe meet some for the first time and add a few good people to our group of thought leaders.  We are going dark until 12/3/2021 and on that day will rejoin and return to our weekly discussion.  The call runs from 8:00 a.m. mountain time and ends at 9:15. So it’s ample time to discuss the question of the day and other happenings in our world. 

We are at a time where some are trying to divide us, and this is one thing we can do to help bring people back together.  We know you have to meet people where they are; we seek enlightenment from others that are kind, heartfelt, and don’t get upset about an idea or thought to which they disagree.  I’ve got a board meeting this morning; I’ve got some issues to address; we will build back better and be the best version of our company.  I trust you are well and wish you all the joy and happiness you can eke out of this beautiful world.

“If a man is to survive, he will have learned to take delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life’s exciting variety, not something to fear.”
— Gene Roddenberry