Rollin' (500th Yodaism)

Susan B. Anthony once said, ~Sooner or later we all discover that the moments in life are not the advertised ones; not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these.~ Without a doubt, many of you have been sitting in the so-called passenger seat as I've been behind the wheel, so to speak, taking you on a mental journey when it involves my own thoughts. A journey in which the moments of my own observations of not only every day of life, as well as matters of the heart have led me to a quintessential milestone moment as this particular thought marks the 500th yodaism.

Let me ask you this question, how long have many of you been in all intensive purposes sitting shotgun right along with me as you took a journey with me on a semi-daily basis into a place that I refer to as the inner sanctum. For its a place that family, friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers have in a sense entered into the proverbial hallowed halls of my mind and read my thoughts. It's those thoughts that are oftentimes personal that have initially given you insight as to what is going on in my head, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. You see, it's from my own experiences in facing a seemingly long, winding road of disappointment and frustration that it has given me the opportunity to have an open forum to express how I feel, gradually making the mental journey easier to tolerate.

I think we can all agree it's good to have friends along for the ride, in a manner of speaking, who are able to try to keep you focused on the positive rather than the negative aspects of the journey of life. You can most definitely be truly appreciative for the words of encouragement when encountering mental potholes that are a representation of frustration, confusion, anger, angst, etc, leading you to doubt whether or not you're capable of experiencing true happiness. Looking back at the miles of road mentally traveled I've had my ups and downs, but if it weren't for those words of encouragement that have made the ride a little less bumpier I would be absolutely lost. Let me tell you something, to each and every one of you who have given not only words of encouragement, but also words of wisdom concerning matters of the heart I tip my hat to you.

Thinking about it, it's the ideas, as well as, the memories I've been able to tap into whether they were bad or good are the fuel that have kept my mind firing on all cylinders for so long. Yet, it's not so much my own ideas and memories that have helped me gain the mental mileage over the years as it is the ideas and memories coming from many of you who have shared your own sometimes deeply touching personal experiences. Experiences that are either heartfelt, humorous, serious, and thought provoking, and you felt comfortable enough to trust me to share those particular stories. I have to admit, writing and sending out what has been on my mind as of late is something that I enjoy doing, but what I thoroughly enjoy even more are the responses that I get back as people add and/or give their own insights as to what I've put my 2 cents on when it pertains to a particular topic.

In retrospect, it's amazing how far you can mentally stretch yourself and see where your thoughts can take you. I would have never believed in my wildest dreams that when I started writing my first Yodaism after graduating High School in 1996 that 12 years later I would be writing what would now be my 500th yodaism. What it comes down to is being able to break through those mental barriers and not be afraid to be open, honest, as well as, straight forward with everything that your thinking about to the point where you're able go beyond what you're mentally capable of as you talk about things that weigh on your mind such as love. In the end, I say to those of you who have been on this mental journey with me from the start are you read to keep rollin', which is a song from Limp Bizkit that best reflects this thought.