Youthful Life: X

Truth  - Connections are what make us human. We have this innate longing to be with, to know, and to be around other people. We are not meant to be alone. It could be argued that our modern day communities, neighborhoods, and social structures are nothing more than dressed up tribes. It's what we do. We group together, gather,  and commune. We strive to find others like us or at least find some commonality amongst strangers. Fear of difference has powerful ramifications (no need to outline the cycle of oppression here, I'll save it for another post) but what is even more monumental is when we are able to overcome that fear and unite. Who could ever take down the network? "We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”   William James The normalized American life cycle really is rather peculiar. Think about it. As an infant and as a childhood you spend as much time with your famil...

Truth - Falling back may very well be exactly what you need to do before you surge forward. Thinking of all the things and processes in life that take their time gathering up their potential energy before flying forward brings the sentiment to mind. Arrows being drawn back in a bow,  undulating waves coerced by the pull of the moon, or even a stockpile of wood being gathered only to be set ablaze with a single match - the metaphor works on so many levels. Often times regrouping is viewed as a sign of defeat but it is what follows that makes all the difference between disgraceful failure and a cunning  counter attack. It's time to master the art of the retreat.  "In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion." Albert Camus When I think of retreat's I think of movie scenes and montages where the protagonists are being overwhelmed in battle and must gather their remaining forces to restratigize. The enemy might declare victory but ...

Truth - The older you get, the finer the line that separates truth from lies. It's rather uncanny the things that we can convince ourselves of, if we believe hard enough. Sometimes the lies we tell ourselves can become the truths that we accept. Little white lies growing bigger and bigger until they threaten to consume to the entirety of who we are. Then there is the guilt that plagues us as we do so. Our conscious reprimands in cross quips of chastisement. Our hearts can't take it. Our minds have trouble keeping up. It all leads to one big blabbermouth reveal. This is confession. "Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession" Mahatma Ghandi   Catholicism is an orthopraxy denomination of Christianity. That word "orthopraxy" means to emphasize correct practice or conduct in both the ethical and liturgical sense. It serves as antithesis to orthodoxy which is a...

Truth - Each and every person has something they are particular gifted with. The greatest disappointment in life is not being able to discover what you're talented with and/or using it to the fullest of its potential. While some people are task oriented and can get things done others are cartographers, charting the path that gets those task runners where they need the be. Oftentimes those qualities are mutually-exclusive but what happens when those people collaborate or someone comes along who has been infused with both sides of a false dichotomy ... simple, foresight turns into dynamic action. You can argue you are able to do without having a plan, but having a plan and not doing anything with it comes to the same result. Both are necessary to see something through to completion. This is vision. " Visionary people face the same problems everyone else faces; but rather than get paralyzed by their problems, visionaries immediately commit themselves to finding a solution....

Truth - It is not the end until the end arrives. Prematurely counting yourself out does nothing for you other than take you out of the equation. Sometimes breaking down is part of the process but what comes next is the important part. You build yourself back up, put yourself back together, and you press on. What other option is there? Bounce back, move ahead, and find your resilience.    " All of us need to begin to think in terms of our own inner strengths, our resilience and resourcefulness, our capacity to adapt and to rely upon ourselves and our families." Steven Pressfield Each year begins with the cliché sentiment of starting over but the point that is missed in understanding yourself to be restarting is that you don't really ever do so. We are the sum of our identities, beliefs, actions, words, and experiences. Our past, to some extent, writes our futures. We have to acknowledge where we came from, who we have been, and what we have done before we can p...