As the storms of life rage around us, finding the harbor where we can tie up and be safe is essential. The harbor can be inside, as well as out.

We live minute to minute, believing every moment is life or death. No wonder we're stressed out. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Pacing is key.

Free to be me

I was talking to a friend about quirks, and the different ones we have. It’s those things, those ticks, those idiosyncrasies that make us interesting. That chat, and seeing a Saab 9-3 hatchback, made me lament the wringing out of quirks around us. That Saab was different from most cars–the hatch, the mudflaps between the [...]

Ramblings (from the afternoon)

Is it another step toward certainty? Or uncertainty? Who knows where this journey is going. Maybe this way, maybe that way. The hardest thing is not having any control over the process. All you can do is watch what might happen and be ready for whatever comes.

Feeling woobly

Gotta push the reset button on my vision. Nothing major, but I want to make sure I’m taking the right steps to where I want to be. I feel a little unmoored and want to get right. This is a good exercise to do occasionally to make sure you are driving on the right road.

New stuff

I’ve been derelict in updating the tumblelog, but there are some new articles of interest up. They cover building the proper mindset for abundance, how to switch to an online job, and a key point to remember about Zen.

When you wish upon a star

When it seems like the whole world is caving in on you, it’s hard to find hope. Crushed under the weight, you look for any sign of daylight, any life preserver to cling to. Then little by little, you dig and dig, clawing your way through. Sometimes the hole looks like it’s closing, but you [...]

Sacred spaces

On the way back home last night, I listened to a podcast with Bernard Henri-Levy, and he was talking to travel guide/talk-show host Rick Steves about his book “American Vertigo.” The subject was on the differences between U.S. and French cultures, and Henri-Levy mentioned how the French make a break between work and home. The [...]

Riddim section (under a full moon)

I was in New York tonight, and traveled out and back with my train buddy, Mr. Jobs’ fantastic plastic machine. It’s such a boon on a ride that can be interminable. Some people say if you put it on shuffle, it can somehow since your mood. Poppycock, right? Check out the four songs that came [...]

Let the rain come down

I was getting ready to go to bed last night, when it started to rain. After a few days of beautiful, but dry, weather, it was a gratifying sound to hear. Of course, it took me back to that place, and listening to the rain fall on the windows of my old place. It’s amazing [...]

I know how he feels

These are really deep lyrics, and I can understand where he’s coming from. Especially the third stanza. All I can do is try with what I’ve got around me. It’s never easy.

More riffs

I heard this song today in the local coffeeshop, and it brought me back to this post. AS hard as it is, you can’t give up on it. It would give up on you.
(It’s not enough to read the lyrics–you have to listen to the song. One of Stevie Ray Vaughn’s finest.)

Up, up and away

The stock market lost 300 points the other day. Ouch. The markets have been going up for awhile, so you had to wonder when the bottom might fall out. It couldn’t have kept going up forever. It’s never done that, yet people have an expectation that it will. If it loses some steam, that’s fine. [...]

Addendum

Eric Dickerson was on a radio talk show saying some the same things I wrote about Michael Vick. And saying how it’s usually black athletes in this position, and how they put themselves in these predicaments. It’s what fighter pilots call situational awareness: knowing where you are in a given space at all times.

Clarity and the driver

There comes a moment–mostly fleeting–where everything comes together. The look, the feel, the sound fit like a jigsaw puzzle. And when the moment comes, you don’t throw a parade, or shoot off fireworks. You simply note the moment inside, for future reference.
I spent about 20 minutes hitting golf balls this morning. I’m not a golfer, [...]

Why can’t we be friends?

I’ve been thinking lately about friends. Should I get a new circle of friends? Why should I? For a shy, retiring type like me, my friends are a good leveler for me. In other words, they are all nuts, in their own sweet way. They’re a fun, good group to be around. The shop talk [...]

The circus returns to town

Richmond, Va. often leaves me running hot and cold. It’s a naturally beautiful city, sitting on the James River. If you visit Belle Isle, you’d swear you were in the mountains and not in the middle of the city. It’s got a great music scene (these guys used to play there often), a great arts [...]

Cross purposes

Sometime opposites don’t make sense, don’t mix. Conventional wisdom says two things on the opposite side of the spectrum should never meet. Or can they? Here’s a quote from Albert Murray’s book “The Hero and the Blues” that I think should shatter that idea.
Nevertheless, the image of the sword being forged is inseparable from [...]

Tempo

Why is it that on some days, some songs sound better than on others? I’m listening to “The In Crowd” by Ramsey Lewis, and it just sounds better this morning. Maybe it’s the weather (sunny and 67 today). But some (rare) days, music drags. It’s probably not the music, but me and my mood.

Rainy days and Mondays

It’s rainy and 63 degrees out. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was March and not July. There’s something weird going on.
This is one of those days where I’d rather be writing than working. I’ve got things in the hopper that I can cover, but I need to just do it. Or [...]

If it weren’t for bad luck…

Here I was, all ready to write about how golfer Sergio Garcia won today’s British Open using a belly putter–the first to win a major championship with one. See, Garcia has had trouble with the flat stick, and switched to the belly putter for a change. Most golfers steer clear of them, though–an ego thing, [...]

A great sentiment

These are great words to remember, and to live by.

The greatest game of all?

The Great Game normally refers to the power play between the British and Russian Empires for control of central Asia. Later, to a lesser extent, it referred to the Cold War. I think (have thought for awhile) it refers to the greatest game of all–the game of love. Or trying to find someone to love. [...]

Flashbacks

One morning, I was sitting at my desk, looking at the clock, and wondering, “Gee, I should head out to the airport if I want to make my flight home.” Then I stopped: what flight? Even though it was the middle of the afternoon in Brussels, and I would have missed that flight, my body [...]

Suitably impressed

The little town I call home is between two major cities. As such, there isn’t much of a social scene. I usually have to go elsewhere for entertainment. So imagine my surprise when I pull back into town after a mind-cleansing drive, and hear the distinct sound of a saxophone and drums outside my local [...]

Addendum (emphasizing dumb)

Following up on this afternoon: Another championship fight, another group of knuckleheads who can’t wait till the actual fight. This has to be the lousiest week in American sports.
Oh yeah, nearly forgot this one, too.

Momma said there’d be days like this

I’ve had bad weeks. But nothing like this–NBA referee reportedly bet on games–or this–Vick may be asked to take paid leave.
What in the world has happened in sports? Has everyone seemingly lost their collective minds? A ref possibly on the take and a star quarterback possibly involved with dogfighting? It’s hard to build–or rebuild–trust in [...]

I’m just not feeling it

I know I need to be writing. I should be writing. But I’m not quite feeling the writing bug right now. And that’s ok, too. I need some rain for my well. Then I can get back into the maelstrom.

Dreaming while you sleep

Lately, I’ve been sleeping well through the night, with some help. For whatever reason, though, pzizz kicks off some dreams. Last night, though, it very strange. I felt like I was dreaming all night. Good dreams, mind you, but weird–I felt giddy when I woke up. I can’t explain it, but I want more of [...]

In the still of the nights

For the second night in a row, the summer air is perfectly still. It’s been raining off and on all day, leaving the air damp. There was an orange sky again tonight. There’s no breeze to speak of, and a light fog is rolling in. A perfect night? If you want it to be.

A ray of enlightenment

Is it ok to be selfish? Let me put it another way: Why should you always sacrifice yourself for others? What about you? What are you doing to take care of yourself? You work eight hours (or more) a day so someone else can take the glory? Who’s looking out for you? You have to [...]

Are you experienced?

I heard a radio talk-show host say the other day that life isn’t about the things you have, but your experiences. The truth of this can’t be overstated. The repo man can take your house, car, trinkets, photos, your favorite lava lamp. But he can’t take away your first trip overseas, a walk in the [...]

This or that?

We are presented with stark choices in life–a or b; 1 or 2; black or white; up or down. We crave definition in a time of ambiguity. Here’s another choice: innovation or imitation? Which one do you choose? A better question is does it have to be either/or? Why can’t it be a mix? It [...]

Softly as a morning sunrise

This morning, I woke up to …

stillness
tennis players
birds chirping
a train passing by
thoughts of a wonderful friend

It’s better than caffeine….

Think different(ly)

Apple is one of the world’s most creative and innovative companies. Whatever field they enter, they become a game-changer. They constantly amaze and confound consumers and competitors alike. The Economist recently ran an article on four ways Apple out-innovates other companies. My question is: how do those points relate them to personal development?
1) [...]

Heavy things in a heavy bag

I have two mobile phones. I know, overkill. One is a Treo, the other a Razr. I was charging up the Treo yesterday morning, and when I picked it up, it felt heavy. It is heavy anyway, but it didn’t feel right in my hand. I didn’t use it yesterday. I don’t know why it [...]

Welcome to the big show

In the 1990s, Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann put ESPN’s Sunday SportsCenter on the map with their great repartee and tongue-in-cheek style. Now, Patrick is leaving ESPN after 18 years. Why? He was starting to take the job for granted. That’s never a good place for anyone to be. Whatever you do–from taking out the [...]

Don’t give up

ESPN is doing its annual fund-raiser for the Jimmy V cancer fund. Jim Valvano was a college basketball coach who died of cancer in 1993. Two images of him will forever stick in my mind. In 1983 his team, the North Carolina State Wolfpack, shocked the basketball world by winning the national championship. When the [...]

Paralyzed by fear

The immigration debate in the U.S. scares me a little. A lot of folks seem to be frightened of the possibility of illegal aliens taking jobs from those already here. It’s a little absurd, since most of the jobs are menial and ones most would turn up their noses at. What’s the fear? Is it [...]

You’ll Never Walk Alone

It’s Liverpool FC’s anthem, and it’s a way of life on my morning walks. They’re only 20 minutes long, but invariably, there are four or five people out at 6.30 in the morning taking a constitutional. Joggers, walkers, cyclists, dog walkers. Some say good morning, others don’t (A woman on a bike always scowls at [...]

Connecting the dots

I started this morning a little down, not sure how the day’s going to go (a false emotion?). I turn on TSF jazz, and the next song they’re playing is John Coltrane’s “Naima.” It’s possibly the best ballad I’ve ever heard. And it’s a song I’ve wanted to learn. I don’t know if I’m looking [...]

Riffin’, part 3–motor city

I love cars. Since I first read Car and Driver in high school, I’ve been a car nut. Nick at Nite used to show Route 66–basically, two guys in a 1960 Corvette driving around the country. I died and went to heaven.
Fast forward to today. There’s something about Detroit that bothers me. The Dodge Charger, [...]

Riffin’, part 2–bend it like Becks

David Beckham is one of the world’s most well-known athletes. At least outside the U.S. Nobody give a rip about the game here, but it’s steadily finding a toehold stateside, and Mr. Posh Spice is expected to start playing here shortly. This New York Times article points out the slow growth track Major League Soccer [...]

Riffin’, part 1–kicking the tree

Not really a riff, but…
There’s a TV commercial for Wendy’s, where a bunch of people are mindlessly kicking trees, and one of them, a guy in a red ponytailed wig finally wises up and understands the futility of kicking. He rises up and leads the people out of the forest. Are corporate cube farms that [...]

Late-afternoon interlude

John Coltrane’s excellent “Out of This World” is spinning in my head now. I read Ashley Kahn’s “A Love Supreme” a few months ago. It details the journey his quartet took to make the seminal album. Now, lots of people have listened to it and have described it as a near-religious experience. I don’t doubt [...]

Going in the right direction

In the middle of an ocean storm, it’s difficult to know which direction you should be going in. Are your navigational systems giving you the information you need? Do you trust them? We all have doubts about the direction we should travel. You can’t tell if that wave in front of you is five feet [...]

Beth Orton, again

I can never really explain why certain songs go off in my head at certain times. This morning it’s Daybreaker, by Beth Orton. Best as I can surmise, there’s something in the lyrics or rhythm that matches the mood I’m in. Or something in my head is fighting off the doldrums.

Energy to spare

Some nights I don’t feel like going to bed. I have too energy, anxiety to fall soundly asleep quickly. When I was in college, I used to feel this way a lot. To burn it off, I’d hop in the car and drive. For six hours. Really. Do I long loop, an out-and-back, and when [...]

The best way

Robert Frost once said, “The best way out is always through.” In life the adversity that we face is daunting. It’s difficult to face head-on. The monsters, demons and dragons in the way are tall, ugly and soul-sapping. That’s enough to not start out, or continue, the journey. Sometimes those dragons are of our own [...]

Orange sky

“Red sky at night sailors’ delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning.”
I was eating a nice dinner at the local (!) jazz club this evening, and in between darting my eyes among the baseball game, the poker game and the jazz trio, I noticed how orange the sky had become. Well, not really orange, [...]