It’s Been a Great Ride, Thank You, and I’ll see you in the Funny Papers.

"There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all life offers with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We must learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life."
— John Lennon

Happy Saturday morning, I slept in, but I got up, made myself some ice-cold water and some coffee, and now am sitting with my wife, cat, and dog attempting to cleanse my mind.  I worked until 3:00 yesterday and then took a long walk with our guest Joshua. He’s an insightful fellow, always asking me questions about why I do what I do; it’s like friend therapy.

During our walk, he asked why I do this “writing” exercise every day. What do I hope to gain? What is my intention?  Since this is a unique thing a human does, I thought it a good question, and I attempted to answer with an honest reflection as to why this is a daily ritual. His perception was I had a plan; if this is true, it is a subconscious schedule; I never write to anger or offend; I write to share my ideas, thoughts, and opinions about what is happening in the world. I look for things that do not make sense to me and try to make sense out of the senseless.

It's my way of starting my day, cleaning my mind off the clutter before starting my workday. I have written most days for over 15 years; my early work was poor, I think I’m a better writer today than when I started, but some might disagree. I dream that one day, a family member, maybe a grandkid or a great grandkid, will find out Granson was an author and begin reading my work, understanding the times of my life. If not, no worries, but someone might find the thousands of daily musings valuable.

I understand someone hearing about my work and thinking, “who does he think he is? Does he think people care about his life?” I don’t, I don’t think I’m special, but I am a human with a unique perspective. Some might find my work interesting, and I have a small group of folks that enjoy my daily writings, which I’ve labeled word soup. I was born in the cornfields of Indiana and found a way to split time between living on top of a mountain and maintaining a presence in the valley.

At one point during our walk, Joshua asked what would happen if I stopped writing? I’ve never been asked that before, so I thought and said, “I don’t know?” He encouraged me to take a break, instead of sharing with the world, self-reflection and letting the thoughts and ideas flow, but not sharing them with the world. Was this idea radical? Take a daily practice of 15 years and stop?  The idea was unusual, quit doing something you love and discover what happens.

So I have decided to stop writing. I will write until May 31st and stop. I’ll shut off my daily offering and spend that time meditating, trying to make sense of the senseless, but not put my thoughts or ideas out there for others. I’m going introspective. I have decided to take 45 days off and retire, if you will, from my daily tales, quick takes, and news aggregation.

My question is, “will anyone care?” I suspect a small group will miss my daily rants and ravings, but most will be happy not to see my daily work on various social media platforms. The idea is to let my brain sort things out without this daily exercise.  When and if I return, I hope I have improved my craft.

Today we are having a gathering for my and Bailey’s birthday. We are having an event called Gemini’s Rule, and we will have about 30 of our friends and family join us to get a taco, maybe a beer, and celebrate life. I look forward to seeing my people in person.

Tomorrow my family is coming over to celebrate and listen to the Indy 500, a yearly celebration we’ve been doing since moving to Indy in 2014. Monday is a day of rest before getting back to work on Tuesday.

As I wind down this chapter of my existence, I want to thank those who have encouraged me over the years. I would also like to thank those who took exception to my work and called me out for flawed perceived ideas. I do not believe the same things today I felt when I began writing. I’ve moved my position to that of a libertarian on most items.  Smaller government, individual freedoms, solutions to fair societal problems, and reward for those who choose hard work over bitching and moaning.

I do not know what the future holds, I have a lot going on, and my wife and I are in a particular place of love and happiness. Our family is great; our friends continue to support us with love and kindness in both communities we live in. Our business is evolving and is providing opportunities I never dreamt possible.

After chatting with Joshua, I realized I have some work to do, and maybe spilling my guts daily might not be the best way to become the best version of myself. Then again, perhaps it is my destiny to provide this information to the universe. I’ll know my future when I decide how to move forward on July 15th.  I’ll pen some thoughts tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday before signing off and retiring. I am reminding myself that life is a journey, not a destination. A special thanks to my sister Paige Palladino who has served as my editor for my 13 books.  I have enough material for five more, but I’m not sure I’ll continue publishing; I’m taking a good hard look at my life and wondering, Am I doing this with intention, love, and harmony?

"There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all life offers with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We must learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life."
— John Lennon