I'll write again later this afternoon, but I wanted to say hello. Marie sent me a text and she asked me to meet her at the gym, and I texted back and eagerly said yes, so I'm headed over there in just a little while. She'll no doubt be wearing one of her cute workout outfits and the sight of her will drive me crazy, in a good way. It's good to feel that alive, and connected to someone, even it's a little frustrating.
I celebrated payday and the end of the work week with a slice of tomato-basil pizza and three ginormous bread sticks from Sparky's Pizza on MLK, took a nap in my car, picked up some toilet paper and dental floss at the Dollar Store and had a good workout, a quick shower and scraped four days of crusty beard off my head and face. By then it was nine but my weekend was kickstarted, a celebratory meal, some exercise and cleaning up. I went home and won $30 in low stakes poker tournaments, reaching the final 18 of a $3 no-limit hold'em tourney with 1243 players. I manuevered and avoided trouble as long as I could, but the blinds rose until I had to take a stand with a mediocre hand, king-ten of spades. The big blind called me down with king-queen offsuit. Sooner or later you reach a place where you have to give yourself a chance to get lucky; you can only wait for a hand or steal and dodge your way to survival for so long. I've made five final tables in the last month. The top two or three spots are generally equal to the better part of a week's pay. On the weekend there are large-field events that the top prize money approaches a month's pay, and that would be a nice outcome. It will happen one of these weeks, and in the meantime I make a little pocket money and keep myself out of the clutches of some woman who would only bring me sorrow and ruination.
I'll see Stephanie and the grandbabies today, and my favorite girl. Truly I am a blessed man. So are you, in the place where you are today. I encourage you to take a few moments and consider why. Stop by later this weekend if you have time and tell me about it.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
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This is the Way the Transformation Begins
"Some men see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say "Why not?"
George Bernard Shaw, Robert F. Kennedy
This is the way the transformation begins.
It begins in me.
It begins now.
It begins with small incremental changes and shifts in attitude
it begins with positive action
failing forward
and suddenly I start looking at the world and my place in it in a new way. I speak differently and dress differently and project a different energy, and the world opens up like a glorious pink azalea bush, eight feet tall and blooming like mad.
photo by Kajo123 from the website flickr.com
Good morning!
An engineer builds a bridge and every bolt and weld has to be exactly right; every measure has to be perfect, or the bridge collapses or fails to take its place. Fantastically detailed blueprints have to be laid out. Impact statements have to be filed, sediment has to be studied, years of effort, months of planning, and a man-made marvel rises in the sky. Park somewhere and take a good look at a bridge, and think of all the skill and knowledge and hard honest work it took to create it. Consider how a few thousand years ago we were living in caves.
It is not so with a dream. Some people are remarkable dreamers and dreams spring whole from them, or they can leap up from bed and pages of creative genius flow out of their pen, intricate and perfect. Most of us though are baby dreamers, new at it and tentative to the trust the power of what we wish for.
Start the dream! Whether you want to go to nursing school or college or learn to play the guitar, take a first step, now, even in the wrong direction. Don't wait for the blueprint to come to you, the environmental impact statement, the permits and the 200-page budget and legislative dream approval. Rough it out, sketch it on a napkin, tell a friend, and take action. Your dream begins the moment you step out in first moment of believing, and the result can touch a thousand souls. Listen to Jim Valvano: never give up, never surrender. Believe in the audacity of action and your fantastic potential for change and new opportunity.
It is not so with a dream. Some people are remarkable dreamers and dreams spring whole from them, or they can leap up from bed and pages of creative genius flow out of their pen, intricate and perfect. Most of us though are baby dreamers, new at it and tentative to the trust the power of what we wish for.
Start the dream! Whether you want to go to nursing school or college or learn to play the guitar, take a first step, now, even in the wrong direction. Don't wait for the blueprint to come to you, the environmental impact statement, the permits and the 200-page budget and legislative dream approval. Rough it out, sketch it on a napkin, tell a friend, and take action. Your dream begins the moment you step out in first moment of believing, and the result can touch a thousand souls. Listen to Jim Valvano: never give up, never surrender. Believe in the audacity of action and your fantastic potential for change and new opportunity.
The Hawthorne Bridge at sunrise, Portland Oregon. Photo by Joe Collver, from flickr.com
Genuine happiness and success start with an attitude of abundance
Make it a daily practice to begin your day with five minutes of thankfulness. You can even do it in your car on the way to work. Do it in your own way, whether it's thoughtful reflection or a prayer or singing out loud, but focus on your rich, amazing, abundant life.
Feeling grumpy or resentful or worried instead of thankful? Change direction! Consider the incredible gifts you have--mind, body, spirit, senses, your family, your friends, your clothes, your car, and the breakfast you enjoyed this morning. By the standards of 99% of the world, Americans are incredibly, amazingly rich. You truly have no idea how richly blessed you are until you start thinking about it. Even the heart that beats within you and the lungs that breathe your air are an intricate and amazing miracle.
Some of my favorite movies are ones that feature a once-defeated character waking up to an absolutely new day: "It's A Wonderful Life," the various versions of Dicken's "Christmas Carol" and "Groundhog Day." How exhilarating it is for George Bailey to wake up and realize his life isn't over, it's just beginning, and that today truly is a brand new day.
"It's a Wonderful Life"
George returns home to everything he ever wanted.
2 comments:
did you read yesterday's Oregonian? The story on the front page of the "How We Live" section. anyway if you didn't you should or go to www.fieldreport.com. there are also a few other web site listed in the article for writers.
You are welcome any night this week to come over and watch the Olympics with us just give us a call the day before or day of just be be sure.
Gretchen,
I read that article this morning with great interest, about a Portland postal clerk who won a substantial prize for her web essay on the people she serves on her route, particularly the residents of a retirement community downtown called the Portland Towers. Two things struck me. One, from the excerpts it's clear she's a thoughtful and insightful writer. And two, there are more opportunities than ever for writers to be read and heard and rewarded for their efforts.
At times I feel this blog has the potential to be a source of fulfillment and possibility for me, and others I feel like I'm just spinning my tires.
I saw another article in today's paper, about a writer named David Carr who wrote a powerful memoir about his drug addiction. Clearly there's a market for personal stories. But the stories have to be interesting and well told, and true, and that is the challenge.
Thanks so much for your interest and encouragement. I'll check out the resources.
Dale
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