Jefferson Missouri, A Three-Legged Dog, God’s Land, The Charming Gardeners

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
— Marcel Proust

Love and greetings from Jamestown, Missouri, the garden spot of goats, joy, and happiness.  First of all, I am in awe of the beauty of this place, winding roads, green foliage, I mean, green as green can get.  This Air B and B is a wedding venue; we have a three-bedroom home to ourselves; PVHT has been running the property since we arrived.

Our hosts are Anita and Shannon; we met Shannon when we pulled in; a nice man, this is a place of faith.  The property’s name is God’s Land, and there are about 10 acres of rolling hills, a lake, and a wedding venue.  It’s a perfect spot; 6 hours from our Indy home, we will be back.

We arrived at about 4:00 p.m., realized there was no food within 30 miles, so we headed back to the interstate and grabbed a pizza at the local convenience store.  We walked in, and the sign said “deli,” but they had no deli, false advertising, but they did have pizzas to go.  Coming out of the oven was a beef and bacon special; we promptly picked that up and headed back to our paradise.

We got home, walked the property, PVHT met some new friends, three terriers, one missing a leg, all new friends of our pup.  As of this moment, she is walking around the house in distress; guys, “let me out! My friends are out there!”  Settle little miss; I need to pen some thoughts before starting my day.

We will hit the road about 10:00; it’s 5:23 a.m. mountain time, but I’m in the central time zone, so it’s 6:23, but it feels like 5:23.  The coffee is vital; it’s warm out, a sunny day in Missouri.  We will arrive home about 5:00, unload, probably head over to Mr. Tequilla for taco’s; we won’t want to cook after a long day in the car.  Tomorrow we get back to work in the Midwest; meetings are stacked; I’m looking forward to hitting the road and connecting with other Hoosiers.

My wife is sitting next to me; we have a blanket across our legs.  She jokingly said, “we’re old people,” but I don’t think it’s a joke; we are getting older by the day, but we are leaning into this phase of life.  Speaking of life, we finished The Midnight Library yesterday; if you are a reader, please do yourself a favor and pick up that book.

I mentioned yesterday the book was about quantum physics, and today I’ll share it was about the multiverse.  The idea that each decision you make allows for an infinite number of lives, more in a second, I need to let the pup out.  I’m back; I just met Anita in the flesh; a nice lady encouraged us to “go to the lake, it’s beautiful.”

In this life, I’m at a Christian resort, in another I’m in London, England, with a cup of tea, and in another, I’m in China working in a sword shop.  I’m married to my Queen in this life, but in others, I’m married to an African princess, and in another, I’m a gay man with two husbands.  Each moment you make decisions that cause your life to move in a specific direction, but every other decision allows you to live another life in the multiverse.   Imagine being able to live all your lives.

But you can’t; you need to tend to this life, the one you are living now.  As of this moment, I am a father, love, writer, teacher, and small business owner.  That is my life, and I have no regrets.   I am where I am supposed to be, I am with whom I to be with, and I am living my best life.  Can you say the same?

I think we will listen to Matthew McConaughey’s Green Lights on the way home.  My Queen has not heard it; I’ve listened to it once, it is good enough for a second listen.   He’s a man that has found his vein, his life, and is living a life that most would envy.  But here’s the thing, he still has issues, he still has something that causes him to have a bad day, and we must understand that a bad day is part of life.  It’s the bad days that allow for the good days, and without bad days, there could be no good.

Life ebbs and flows, and you must understand that we must learn to enjoy both.  Maybe you lose a loved one, perhaps a pet, or maybe you lose your job.  The reaction should not be sadness, although understandable; when you lose something, no matter what it is, you should be thankful the universe allowed you the time with that noun.

Live life with a heart of gratitude no matter the situation; it’s been my foundation since I was a young man.  I am thankful for everything, those things that irritate me. I say thank you for the irritation because without irritation; I have no pleasure.  Are you tracking what I’m saying, or do you think,” what the hell is this peace and love bullshit?”  I believe some of you will pick up what I’m laying down, and others will question what I put in my coffee this morning, but that’s fine, I’m not for everyone, and neither are you.   

I had about twenty minutes this morning where I could not do what I do.  I had my coffee, I had my laptop, but my phone was dead, and I could not get the password to the wifi, and my first thought was, “what does a writer do that cannot write?” And my answer was I should sit; I will just be.  And that is how my morning started, not with angst due to the lack of a password, but gratitude for the fact I was where I was, with who I wanted to be, and alive, breathing in the fresh Missouri air.  I’ll be home, well, at one of our homes in a few hours.  I’ll be thankful for the safe travels and will bring another bowl of steaming hot soup to you tomorrow.

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
— Marcel Proust