Life as a Simple Thing

Life is not a simple thing yet many, and by many I mean most, live their lives as a simple thing. To be brunt, people have a tendency to take the easy way out, to do what is safe, what is comfortable, what is acceptable. I'm not a lot different although I'm beginning to not like that well traveled path. I mean, the dividends are nice, the end results are OK. I've got a good life, a decent house, a nice wife, good kids, and I'm somewhat respected.

That's not enough?

Don't misunderstand me. I'm not exactly unhappy, I don't have that right. For whatever reason, I've ended up in a pretty fortunate position. While I'm sure hard work had a lot to do with where I'm at, I'm well aware luck had quite a bit to do with me and my lot. So, I am grateful!

Yet, there's something missing, something I can't quite put my finger on, something left undone. Now anyone who has ever spent time reading anything I've ever wrote, knows that in my younger years, I believed in manifest destiny, not yours, mine. That's not what this is. It's not about saving the world, the whales, feeding the poor or spreading liberalism across the land.

That sense of leaving something undone is cause for a sense of guilt I can't justify. I think it's because I took the easy way out, I took that path that lead here. I could have done more but didn't want to. I'm not going to lie about it, that's the truth.

The question is, why didn't I care? It's not that I wasn't busy working, not that I wasn't busy raising a family, not that I wasn't busy in politics, not that I wasn't busy in building my life... I certainly was.

I've done everything I was supposed to.

But see, the thing is, I've always been a radical, I've always thought in radical terms, and it turns out, I'm not even close to being a radical. I've done everything right, everything to help myself out, help my family out, but I've done very little, if anything to change anything, to make anything better.

I've kept it simple, kept it safe.

Through the Tunnel and Around the Bend (or financially, things are starting to suck)

Yes, my pickled, pie eyed friends, while you were snoozing off your lustful, wanton night of debauchery and cheap whisky, thieves broke into your abodes, raped your women, abused your children and took off with your new 60 inch, high def moving picture screen, so their is no football today.

Uh, why did Fred just put a bullet through his brain?

Oh, I'm sorry, took the easy way out, did he? Well, seems the sensible thing to do when you can't see the forest through the trees. What? Dave's left his wife and kids and is running for the hills?

Sheeeeeesh..., over a tv!

I think very slowly, but surely, people are waking up to how much financial trouble we are in. Before you go wild and beat my thin ass, I'm not talking about the poor, the homeless, the tea partiers, the occupiers, as much as I'm talking about hard working, middle class Americans, the backbone folks. People I hang with!

Middle class America knew there were problems, and in fact were tightening their belts just as I have. I've cut back on groceries, changed how I pay bills, tried to work some overtime, don't go out to eat or a movie at all, anymore! We've cut a lot of the fat. OK, I've still got my smart phone but I'm seriousely thinking that will be going when my contract is up in April.

And now my property taxes are going up, substantially!

After 17 years of never really missing a mortgage payment, I'm wondering if it's all worth it. I don't want to spend the last half of my life struggling financially. I guess I'd be allright if I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, or even a bit beyond, but I don't. What I do see is everything getting worse, and a lot worse.

I don't see anyone paying attention. Yes, I get the nightly news but screaming about the financial ills and political diatribe isn't paying attention.  Really! Who gives a shit if Hermain pinched a girls ass some twenty years ago? I don't! Politicians are not dealing with the problems. At both state and federal levels, our politicians are playing political games and you and I, are the game pieces.

When will you have had enough? When will it be imporatant to you, that your voice be heard? Probably when it's too late and no one cares. I almost don't care now.

I would hope that our media is asking tough questions, and I mean some god damn, ball splitting, holdin' 'em accountable type of questions. Questions that don't let politicians run from the facts. That's not happening cuz the media, and all of the media, is part of the problem. They care about ratings and entertainment or in their language, profit.

It's up to us, the backbone, the working class to stand up and change things. No one else will.

If you don't speak, no one else will.

Shot w/ Rob

On leadership

Leadership is defined as having the ability to socially influence others in such a way to get something done. Of course there's a bit more to it, and in fact there's an entire cottage industry that has sprouted up to teach us all exactly what good leadership is. Now it all goes without saying, there's a vast difference between what a boss is, what a manager is and what a leader is and yet at heart, all three need to have a unique awareness of the other and what those differences are.

Of course you can't delve too far into what makes a good leader without understanding what our current school of thoughts are. The first has to do with inherent traits, as in you're born with certain traits that rise to the occasion when needed. The second is basically one of process, in which you learn how to lead through interaction with others. Truth is, you and I know it's probably a bit of both, a little of this and some of that.

Some years back, OK, a whole lotta years back, I worked for a person who was just an ass. Yep, you know the kind. He would from time to time, sneak out at 2 or 3 in the morning and peek in windows just to make sure people were not sleeping. As a young kid entering the worlds work force, I found this a bit frightening when I head from my co workers that our boss would do this and I resolved he'd never catch me sleeping.

He never did! The take away is that after a few months I quickly learned that those he was responsible for supervising, ridiculed him for his behavior. He might have been a boss, but he was certainly no leader.

On another occasion, I asked him a simple question and he basically brushed me off and said something stupid about it wasn't my job to question.

Point being, a leader is one who trusts, who teaches. The catch is all this is why would any manager take the time to trust his employees or bother to answer their questions?

And that answer is what differentiates a leader from a generic boss or manager.

That's right, he cares! The fact that a good leader cares, isn't all inclusive, but it's the starting block for good leadership. If you don't care about the goals that need to be obtained, if you don't care for your employees, you're probably in the wrong position.

Missing....

I'm missing summer sunsets, campfires, smores, beer, shots of tequilla, grilled burgers over coals, coffee with grounds, cool mornings, poision ivy, weed wacking, neighbors up and down the road, fire flies and of course, summer friends.

and it's been in the 80's all week!

Shot w/ Rob

Are you a common man?

There was a time when I thought I would change the world. Not could, but would, as in that was my sole purpose for being born. For a very long time, I believed in destiny, in fate, in God and in myself. So much so, I thought myself somewhat special. Not special in the sense that I was better, but special in that I had a specific job to do. Specific and special, assigned by God (or perhaps by aliens but that's a different story) to make the world a better place.

I've always had a personal view of how the world should be laid out, along political, social, cultural and religious veins and the relationship of each, to the other, and to the body. Always thought my ideas were somewhat solid, even if they were somewhat simplistic but I think it's a fair and substantive question to ask if a Nation should seek respect before power, if belief proceeds needs and determines ritual, if education enhances compassion, and in what way?

30 years ago, I really believed that by the time I was in my fifties, we'd have a moon base, moved on to Mars, beaten back poverty, experiance the beginnnings of a spiritual awakening as well making inroads into prejudice.

I guess I kind of figured the human race didn't need my input. That you'd all be allright, that you'd get to where you need to be with out my help. I kind of haven't worried about humanity for the last 30 years as I went about raising my kids, working and having fun but a funny thing happened the other day.

I woke up!

 I realized I really don't like the world we've made for ourselves simply because I know we can do better, a hell of a lot better. Thing is, I'm a dreamer, and I do happen to believe that dreams do come true, but I'm also smart enough to understand, that they don't come true without hard work, sweat, hard faith and diligence.

Maybe my destiny is still in play? May be, that I'm not a comman man?

And You?