The Higher Path

“In every crisis, doubt or confusion, take the higher path - the path of compassion, courage, understanding, and love.”
— Amit Ray

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, or whatever time you happen to be consumed this batch of word soup.  It’s a beautiful morning here in the valley; a slight chill is in the air; it’s May in Indiana. Flip a coin as to the quality of the weather each hour.  

We got up and discovered both our cars had some issues.  My battery is dead, my wife’s car has brake issues.  We are down to one car; I’ll take hers to the dealership for service; I’m thinking of donating my vehicle; I need to figure out the process.   I don’t need it, aside from required a battery; it’s an excellent little ride; someone less fortunate than myself will be driving my baby soon enough.

I had the good fortune of meeting Felix yesterday; he’s a young man born in Mexico; his father traveled the world and expanded his mind living in cultures all over the world.  He has settled in Indianapolis, has a great relationship with his partner, and will be heading to Denver soon.  He is a translator and works with a company that translates English documents into various foreign languages—an interesting and engaging young man with moxie.

I left there, picked up my Queen, and met a couple of friends.  Their firm is looking to get some training for their salespeople.  I shared my curriculum, and they found it aligned with their needs.  I’ll start working with them to help develop their people.  It was good catching up, and I look forward to assisting them in developing their talent pool.

We headed back to the office, ran a call with a possible new teammate.  We headed back to our home; I cleaned up email, walked the dog, and then headed to meet some friends.  We have a restaurant in our hood called the dugout; it’s an excellent spot to meet.   Four friends showed up; we caught up, shared some recent covid craziness; my wife went to look at the wedding venue with our kid.  It was a good conversation as we walked home. I was surprised to see we had sat there for 3 hours; time flies when you are having a joyful time.

We all shared our recent experiences of being told to wear a mask.  I should add some of the group were not going to get vaccinated; others got their second shot that day; we agree that whatever your choice is, it’s your choice: no judgment, just love and understanding.  One of our friends got in trouble for removing his mask to kiss his 6-year-old daughter when getting a bagel.  People do like their newfound power to control others.  

I was reminded of the story of my friend who forgot his mask. He got on the elevator with another person without a mask.  A young lady got on with a mask and asked why they couldn’t just wear a mask.  One of the men replied, “why can’t you just lose weight?”  The young lady was in shock, but the man said, “I’m sorry, I thought we were telling each other how to live our lives. If you think it ok to tell me how to live, I can tell you that one of the most significant risk factors to COVID is obesity, and you need to lose some weight.”  You do you; I’ll do me.

We got home, turned on some mindless programming, and went to bed when it was still light outside, a sign of our age.  There is something special about a great night of sleep.  I dreamt last night; I visited many different places. Is it possible we see our other selves in other universes when we dream?  Are there other selves, or is this the only life we live? A question to ponder on this Tuesday morning.

Today is a clean-up day; I’ve got to wrap up a few things, position myself for the rest of the week.  Tomorrow I’ll get back on the road and start visiting with some clients.  My life in the valley is different than when living on top of a mountain.  I drive more here; it gives me time to educate myself through audiobooks.  My friend Bryndon recommended a book, The Truth About COVID-19, Exposing the great reset, lockdowns, vaccine passports, and the new normal.  Fourteen months since we sat for two weeks to slow the spread, I’m looking forward to an unbiased look back at this unique time and find out what happened.

Well, there you have it, a few words form a mountain top valley dweller.   I hope you are having the time of your life; I hope this life is treating you well and if not, make some choices to change and find your best life.  You can’t blame the life you have on others; every decision is yours, life is hard, but don’t give up.  There is always a way, a path forward, you can achieve great things, but you have to have the correct mindset.  If you are successful, help others, that is our job, show others the way forward.  Enjoy the day, be kind, and wear your mask or else.

“In every crisis, doubt or confusion, take the higher path - the path of compassion, courage, understanding, and love.”
— Amit Ray