Day Four, Dharma, Digital Reference Book Recommendations, Your Contribution

"I'm not ashamed of what I am - of how I pass through this life. What I am has given me the strength to do it. At my lowest ebb, I have never contemplated suicide. I value what is here too much. I have a contribution to make. I am not just taking up space in this life. I can add something to the lives I touch. I don't like everything I know about myself, and I'll never be satisfied, but nobody's perfect. I'm not sure where the next years will take me - what they will hold - but I'm open to suggestions."
— Lauren Bacall

Good morning, day four of "the flu" I would like to say I'm getting better; body aches are gone, throat is still sore, cough is lighter, and I hope I can get back rocking by tomorrow. Today will be another day of rest. We are dog-sitting our kid's pup, so I'm watching them fight over a stick.

We laid around, binged the new Ozark, another great season, one of our top five shows. In between, we watched some UFC preliminary fights; I took my two-hour mid-day nap, I think another one is in my future, my wife is still sleeping, I'm on dog duty.

In the news, a man who lit his six-and-a-half-month pregnant wife on fire after dousing her with gasoline was let out on $5000.00 bail. The woman carrying twins is in critical condition; the twins may not make it. One of the main issues in our criminal justice system is the district attorneys who allow such low bond amounts. So you catch a person on fire and walk free for $5000?

I have to be careful with my thoughts, my mental health is usually excellent, but when I get a little sick, I start having doubts about myself and life. I think mental and physical health are integrated; when those negative thoughts come, I remind myself I'm not 100% and will soon return to clarity. My stress now is can I achieve everything I need to accomplish before heading back to CO. I now have a compressed window, I'll get my work complete, but this unexpected downtime sucks.

Watching these puppies is getting me ready to watch grandkids. Whatever one wants, the other wants, there are many minor skirmishes, who's the alpha, which the beta, it's interesting how they learn to play with one another. Our female dog has begun doing male humping to show young Grif the boss. They are about the same size; they play for 3 hours, take a 30-minute nap and then go back at it. Now they are in the backyard doing laps; soon, they will come back inside and run the house.

As a child, I had a cat, then I got married and had kids. When the kids left, I traveled and joined another community. Then I got a dog, next up will be grandkids and then more travel and then I'll die. I think that sums up most existence. So if you are playing at home, life can be boiled down into child, animal, marriage, kids, travel, grandkids, animal, travel, death. So the nine stages of my life are neatly outlined in words.

I finished reading the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. The final law is The Law of "Dharma," or Purpose in Life. The concept is that everyone born has a gift, and once we determine these gifts, we are to use our skills to support our communities. I often joke when God was giving out gifts; I only got three, the ability to write, speak and teach. Limited skills, but I try and use these gifts to help others.

The book points out that we are not human beings; we are spiritual beings that occasionally have human experiences. We are here to find our higher self, and once we understand that role, we use it to benefit others. We must express our talents, and when speaking our unique gifts, you lose track of time. The base idea is to serve others; that is why you are here; find your gifts and talents and use them to help others.

I intentionally downloaded the book on my phone and iPad to use it as a reference for my life. So I think now, and then I'll open that book up and read a spiritual law to remind me why I'm here and what I can do to impact our world. Our men's group has decided to group read Jordan Peterson's twelve rules for life, I have a paper copy, but life the Seven Rules, I'm going to get a digital copy to use as a reference book for life moving forward. So I would ask you, what books do you use as a reference guide for your life? I'm looking to add to my digital collection.

Well, I'm out of gas; I'm going to take some time and enjoy my coffee. Soon my wife will get up, and we will rest and relax today to hopefully get ready to return to work tomorrow. For now, I'm on puppy duty; I just put them outside to get a little peace, but soon they will return, and I'll play the role of referee in their many wrestling matches. I hope these words find you with solid mental and physical health, and if not, it's ok; sometimes we need to enjoy the ebbs of life.

"I'm not ashamed of what I am - of how I pass through this life. What I am has given me the strength to do it. At my lowest ebb, I have never contemplated suicide. I value what is here too much. I have a contribution to make. I am not just taking up space in this life. I can add something to the lives I touch. I don't like everything I know about myself, and I'll never be satisfied, but nobody's perfect. I'm not sure where the next years will take me - what they will hold - but I'm open to suggestions."
— Lauren Bacall