Youthful Life: X

" Little by little we human beings are confronted with situations that give us more and more clues that we are not perfect. " Fred Rogers Some days we're overwhelmed, while others we are underwhelmed. When are we just well ... whelmed? I think of how often I hear from others that they are overwhelmed, and that feeling leads them to paralysis. It's that moment of having too much, excess, or more than we can bear that scares us into submission. We shut down. We break down. We stop moving. The irony is what we really need to is to keep moving but do so strategically, in ways that give us back control. We just need to do or handle one thing, and one thing only before moving on to the next thing. I think about what happens when my laundry piles up. I've done one load and need to fold it, but then here comes another, and another, and suddenly I have a mountain of clean clothes that seems so insurmountable that I cannot even begin to imagine tackling it. So I do...

Truth - There is a time to usher in peace and a time to wage war. Knowing when those times is an imperfect process of trial and error. The art of war truly is one that requires a specific finesse just as the notion of peace is not so easily accepted. It's a delicate balance between raising hell and bringing heaven to Earth. Learning how to pick your battles and knowing when to bite your tongue is complicated. It never gets any easier either. Sometimes you really just have to be a firestarter.    " I think of myself as a catalyst of action and a messenger of hope, turning people onto themselves and turning people onto their dreams."  Les Brown One of the few things I miss about my college years was the implicit self-determination and autonomy I had. At a moment's notice I could go from class to a meeting with administrators or to a protest. There were times where I could placate and dialogue to an understanding. On other occasions I had to be nothing more than ...

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 ...

The 20s are all about coming into your own. You know what's funny - how much time we spend trying to fit in and feel comfortable when in reality we are most at peace with ourselves when we stop trying. When we let our guards down, cease striving to be what we think others want us to be, and embrace ourselves we see how extraneous all other attempts at finding us had ever been. We already know who we are, we just have to accept it. Being you should be the easiest thing you ever get to do in your life and it's a real privilege to be able to so, one that too few people get to enjoy. Take advantage of it and let you're most you  you on through. This is how to build a better boy.  One thing I am always thankful for about my parents was that they let me do my own thing in figuring out my interests. They ignored the social pressures to force children to adhere to this absurd binary that delineates everything as male or female. Toys, colors, clothes, TV shows and all the res...