Arthur Schopenhauer once said, ~The first 40 years of life gives us the text. The next 30 supply the commentary.~ Without a doubt, turning 40 is considered an absolute milestone that not only has its perks, but at the same time there are countless jokes associated with it as well. In any case, when it comes to reaching the quintessential 40th year of age plateau you're provided with detailed, as well as firsthand accounts of an individual's personal experiences. For its a truly interesting situation indeed finally reaching a point of adulthood that quite literally sneaks up on you. Yet, like our predecessors before us who have reached then surpassed the 4 decade mark were we've hopefully gained insightful wisdom pertaining to life experiences to where we're able to express what has been mentally noted down over the years.
As I said before, when it comes to reaching the quintessential 40th year of age plateau you're provided with detailed, as well as firsthand accounts of an individual's personal experiences. When I was your age. Essentially, those 5 words are in all intents and purposes the springboard of nostalgic reminiscing to our peers and not to mention the younger generation who are either willing or unwilling to listen in order to learn from our life lessons thus far. In other words, helpful advice in not repeating the same mistakes in hopes of forging a positively present path toward the flourishing future. Thinking about it further, it's those life lesions we've mentally noted down over the years to where there's a Morgan Freeman stylized commentary happening like with his character Red in the movie The Shawshank Redemption.
If you think about it, being able to reach a seemingly pivotal age that is the number 40 having the voice of Morgan Freeman automatically kick in would certainly be an added bonus in growing older and wiser. True, life would become considerably more entertaining if you suddenly heard Morgan Freeman in your head commentating from the moment you woke up in the morning till you closed your eyes to go to sleep. I think it would be safe to say having his voice in your head giving opinions and observational views is by far more soothing instead of your own inner voice. It's an inner voice who can be very irritating, annoying, and will never shut up no matter how hard you try so much so it drives you completely insane. Hey, at least with having Freeman being the voice in your head the daily commentary will sound significantly more epic don't you think?
Let me ask you this question to those who are 40 or reaching a particular stage well past their 40's, what sort of commentary do you freely express that you stick by no matter what? Personally speaking, I was born in 1977 and because of that I grew up in the era of the 80's where I dare say with utmost confidence it had the best music not unlike the music being played today. Of course, this may be my inner "get off my lawn" commentary as it pertains to the music industry today and how it doesn't hold up to the music and artists of the 80's. Phil Collins, Hall and Oates, Prince, David Bowie, Kenny Loggins, The King Of Pop Michael Jackson, etc. are the quintessential standard bearers who wrote, produced, and/or performed legendary songs that will never be duplicated due to longevity and how they've continually stood the test of time.
Today is my 40th birthday and I will be celebrating it by participating in some fun indoor skydiving. In retrospect, you don't realize how much you've done and been able to accomplish in the 1st 40 years of your life because it feels like it went by in just a blink of an eye. However, it's within the first 40 years of my life I've laughed, cried, and everything in between all the while giving glory to God as he watches over me. I've failed and then triumphed on the metaphorical road to finally graduating college after nearly a decade of trying. Skydived twice. I gained new friends while letting go of others. I've said a bittersweet, tearful farewell to my best friend. I became an uncle to 3 awesome kids who I love dearly. Ultimately, I've met Stan Lee and I consider myself a lucky geek, which I can now cross off my bucket list. Plus, so much more. In the end, I will look at my face in the mirror on August 25, 2017 and hopefully my inner Morgan Freeman voice begins narrating by saying the following 3 words: This is 40.
Friday, August 25, 2017
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Oh Captain! My Captain!
Robin Williams' Dead Poet Society character John Keating once said, ~To quote from Whitman, 'O me! O life! Of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?' Answer: That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?~ If you think about it, the powerful play that is life itself gives each one of us the opportunity to most definitely contribute a verse that is deemed meaningful and so impactful it lingers on for years to come. For it's a verse or verses that certainly have different variations indeed as we all try to eloquently put into our own poetic words, which can be quite difficult at times to convey. So, what verse/verses have you been contributing to for your life thus far?
Without a doubt, for a number of people they've contributed the verse of adventure in which the goal of fulfilling dreams involving various recreational activities both planned and unplanned is considered to be poetry that's constantly in motion, so to speak. In other words, the call of the open road and/or having your passport stamped. A poet such as Henry Van Dyke can truly be appreciated by any avid adventurer as it pertains to his poem "Life". Essentially, it's deeply soulful embarking on the quest to go to wherever the journey leads you and no matter what happens you take nothing for granted knowing full well it leaves you hopefully wanting more. What it primarily comes down to is having the persistence in not allowing any obstacles to hinder you from writing your own adventurous verse or verses to proudly reflect back on.
As I said before, every person's verse or verses of life has different variations in trying to eloquently put it into our own poetic words, which can be quite difficult at times to convey. Thinking about it further, the verse/verses of utter heartbreak is a subject totally familiar and relatable that for certain individuals it's what he/she unfortunately solely focuses on. True, one can have a Sylvia Plath poetic mindset where there is a seemingly constant mental, as well as emotional chaos brewing within their heart and mind like in Plath's classic poem "Mad Girl's Love Song". Sadly, when it comes to the possibility of being able to rewrite the verses of sadness to happiness it's a considerably difficult task to undertake due to the fact that their dark and dreary outlook concerning love/true love will never come to fruition.
Let me ask you this question in regards to the friendships you share, how would you so eloquently put in verse/verses in being able to be a great friend as it pertains to your best buds/gal pals? Gillian Jones captures the essence of true friendship in the verses of his poem "A Friend". In summary, it basically lists all the wonderful qualities about her friend Ian. Yet, at the same time she also reminds the reader through a particular verse that even though you've established a strong bond it has the potential to be lost. You see, we all have in all intents and purposes a golden friendship where it should be a more give than take type situation. However, if it's more take than give, the friendship loses its shiny golden luster, in a manner of speaking. Hey, how many of you can freely say they have a purely golden relationship despite experiencing moments of losing the shiny luster?
On August 11th, 2014 Robin Williams passed away leaving a meaningful and not to mention deeply impactful verses that were shared on and off the screen. Of course, it's been 3 years since his unfortunate passing and yet the verses he has conveyed still make a significant impact so much so it makes any person who grew up watching him tear up or even cry for that matter. Ultimately, the powerful plays of life have given you a stage or in this case a desk to stand up on and articulate whatever verse in the form of art, music, dance, etc. What will you say? What's your message? Will it be heard? Will it linger and make a lasting impact? Will it even be remembered? All good questions. In the end, give credit to the person who helped you express those verses as you stand on your metaphorical desk and say with a proud smile on your face the following 4 words: Oh Captain! My Captain!
Without a doubt, for a number of people they've contributed the verse of adventure in which the goal of fulfilling dreams involving various recreational activities both planned and unplanned is considered to be poetry that's constantly in motion, so to speak. In other words, the call of the open road and/or having your passport stamped. A poet such as Henry Van Dyke can truly be appreciated by any avid adventurer as it pertains to his poem "Life". Essentially, it's deeply soulful embarking on the quest to go to wherever the journey leads you and no matter what happens you take nothing for granted knowing full well it leaves you hopefully wanting more. What it primarily comes down to is having the persistence in not allowing any obstacles to hinder you from writing your own adventurous verse or verses to proudly reflect back on.
As I said before, every person's verse or verses of life has different variations in trying to eloquently put it into our own poetic words, which can be quite difficult at times to convey. Thinking about it further, the verse/verses of utter heartbreak is a subject totally familiar and relatable that for certain individuals it's what he/she unfortunately solely focuses on. True, one can have a Sylvia Plath poetic mindset where there is a seemingly constant mental, as well as emotional chaos brewing within their heart and mind like in Plath's classic poem "Mad Girl's Love Song". Sadly, when it comes to the possibility of being able to rewrite the verses of sadness to happiness it's a considerably difficult task to undertake due to the fact that their dark and dreary outlook concerning love/true love will never come to fruition.
Let me ask you this question in regards to the friendships you share, how would you so eloquently put in verse/verses in being able to be a great friend as it pertains to your best buds/gal pals? Gillian Jones captures the essence of true friendship in the verses of his poem "A Friend". In summary, it basically lists all the wonderful qualities about her friend Ian. Yet, at the same time she also reminds the reader through a particular verse that even though you've established a strong bond it has the potential to be lost. You see, we all have in all intents and purposes a golden friendship where it should be a more give than take type situation. However, if it's more take than give, the friendship loses its shiny golden luster, in a manner of speaking. Hey, how many of you can freely say they have a purely golden relationship despite experiencing moments of losing the shiny luster?
On August 11th, 2014 Robin Williams passed away leaving a meaningful and not to mention deeply impactful verses that were shared on and off the screen. Of course, it's been 3 years since his unfortunate passing and yet the verses he has conveyed still make a significant impact so much so it makes any person who grew up watching him tear up or even cry for that matter. Ultimately, the powerful plays of life have given you a stage or in this case a desk to stand up on and articulate whatever verse in the form of art, music, dance, etc. What will you say? What's your message? Will it be heard? Will it linger and make a lasting impact? Will it even be remembered? All good questions. In the end, give credit to the person who helped you express those verses as you stand on your metaphorical desk and say with a proud smile on your face the following 4 words: Oh Captain! My Captain!
Monday, August 07, 2017
Stacked
Someone once said, ~Love really is like the game of Jenga: a tower built with individual pieces that can build up or break down. It's in a constant state of motion and change. Sometimes they move just in the right spot to give more strength while others are considered to be the weak link. One wrong move topples your efforts and it's game over.~ In a sense, Jenga and love/true love are synonymous with each other in such a way that there is a quintessential build up of the individual Jenga blocks known as one's own thoughts, feelings, and/or emotions. For it can most definitely be an incredibly heart pounding situation indeed in choosing and then carefully placing one on top of another the aforementioned blocks where you want them to go without having it all suddenly collapse in front of you, so to speak.
If you think about it, when you're facing your "opponent" who you're potentially interested in you first start out having fun and at times take some surprising calculated risks. In other words, taking time for making seemingly harmless moves in the form of friendly banter and flirting in order to set the proverbial tone. A tone where you start out with a seemingly steady hand or in this case a steady heart. In any case, a person can certainly anticipate and adapt to whatever moves that are initially placed in the game of Jenga knowing full well it's all in fun in the beginning. However, what can't be anticipated and adapted to are the unpredictable thoughts, feelings, and/or emotions becoming absolutely real that it leaves you second guessing yourself as the potential relationship possibly moves further along.
As I said before, Jenga and love/true love are synonymous with each other in such a way that there is a quintessential build up of the individual Jenga blocks known as one's own thoughts, feelings, and/or emotions. The aforementioned 3 blocks are constantly in motion and changing spots, whereby making the experience itself truly challenging. Thinking about it further, they're also a representation of trust, faith, honesty, hope, respect, patience, understanding, commitment, communication, etc. that are considered to be strong instead of weak blocks of support. Women, more of than not, want that type of support in which it runs personally, mentally, as well as emotionally deep to the point where it hopefully creates a shared solid balance in every sense of the word.
Without a doubt, when you find yourself lacking the solid balance of block support in regards to matters of the heart involving past painful heartbreak it's quite difficult to fill in the empty gaps, in a manner of speaking. You see, the empty gaps I'm referring to represent doubt, anger, fear, hatred, worry, confusion, frustration, bitterness, utter contempt, disappointment, etc. that make it much harder to in all intents and purposes carefully slide in a block of strong support in hopes of gradually establishing a worthwhile relationship. Hey, it's only natural to be highly guarded when there is even the slightest possibility of a certain guy/girl coming into your life who has their own unique way of replacing/filling in the empty gaps of the Jenga tower of your heart. So, does this describe anyone in particular for you?
In retrospect, one of the main things associated with Jenga is stability and that's what those living the single life like myself want as it pertains to true happiness. Sadly, not too many people have that level of personal, mental, emotional, and not to mention spiritual stability in which if shaken to its core the blocks of strong support you're given will never completely fall over. Granted, it may teeter from time to time causing you to hold your breath; but as long as you and your future forever best friend share a level of commitment in playing all the way though, in a manner of speaking, then you've been able build up something together far greater than you could possibly imagine. In the end, don't ever think the odds within the empty gaps of your heart are constantly being stacked against you and there aren't any more moves to make because you may actually be looking at it with only one point of view.
If you think about it, when you're facing your "opponent" who you're potentially interested in you first start out having fun and at times take some surprising calculated risks. In other words, taking time for making seemingly harmless moves in the form of friendly banter and flirting in order to set the proverbial tone. A tone where you start out with a seemingly steady hand or in this case a steady heart. In any case, a person can certainly anticipate and adapt to whatever moves that are initially placed in the game of Jenga knowing full well it's all in fun in the beginning. However, what can't be anticipated and adapted to are the unpredictable thoughts, feelings, and/or emotions becoming absolutely real that it leaves you second guessing yourself as the potential relationship possibly moves further along.
As I said before, Jenga and love/true love are synonymous with each other in such a way that there is a quintessential build up of the individual Jenga blocks known as one's own thoughts, feelings, and/or emotions. The aforementioned 3 blocks are constantly in motion and changing spots, whereby making the experience itself truly challenging. Thinking about it further, they're also a representation of trust, faith, honesty, hope, respect, patience, understanding, commitment, communication, etc. that are considered to be strong instead of weak blocks of support. Women, more of than not, want that type of support in which it runs personally, mentally, as well as emotionally deep to the point where it hopefully creates a shared solid balance in every sense of the word.
Without a doubt, when you find yourself lacking the solid balance of block support in regards to matters of the heart involving past painful heartbreak it's quite difficult to fill in the empty gaps, in a manner of speaking. You see, the empty gaps I'm referring to represent doubt, anger, fear, hatred, worry, confusion, frustration, bitterness, utter contempt, disappointment, etc. that make it much harder to in all intents and purposes carefully slide in a block of strong support in hopes of gradually establishing a worthwhile relationship. Hey, it's only natural to be highly guarded when there is even the slightest possibility of a certain guy/girl coming into your life who has their own unique way of replacing/filling in the empty gaps of the Jenga tower of your heart. So, does this describe anyone in particular for you?
In retrospect, one of the main things associated with Jenga is stability and that's what those living the single life like myself want as it pertains to true happiness. Sadly, not too many people have that level of personal, mental, emotional, and not to mention spiritual stability in which if shaken to its core the blocks of strong support you're given will never completely fall over. Granted, it may teeter from time to time causing you to hold your breath; but as long as you and your future forever best friend share a level of commitment in playing all the way though, in a manner of speaking, then you've been able build up something together far greater than you could possibly imagine. In the end, don't ever think the odds within the empty gaps of your heart are constantly being stacked against you and there aren't any more moves to make because you may actually be looking at it with only one point of view.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)