Musings
Fake Plastic Trees
Are you tired? Not “I only got three hours of sleep last night…” tired, but weary, soul heavy, worn-out tired. Have you ever used a paper towel to scrub the stove? It works for a few swipes, but then it rapidly starts falling apart and turning to mush. The paper towel wasn’t meant to be…
Read MoreTrue Leaders Gone
True hunting is overNo herd to followWithout game, men prey on each otherThe family weakens by the bite we swallow – “Three Days”, Jane’s Addiction I watched a very disturbing thing happen on social media recently. A post by someone I know and care dearly about became the subject of a…
Read MoreInto The Storm
What are you afraid of? Not the small, temporary things. I’m afraid of spiders, but that doesn’t alter the course of my life in any real or meaningful way (unless not being willing to go camping except in winter months is meaningful). I’m talking about the big things—unanticipated change, being alone and lonely, failure, rejection,…
Read MoreGary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana…
I made a significant mistake recently. I went to Gary, Indiana. I know, you’re thinking, “How can Gary, Indiana be a mistake?” Gary, Indiana of “Music Man” fame. Gary, Indiana, birthplace of Michael Jackson. Gary, Indiana, home of Robert Kearns (inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper system.) Turns out things haven’t gone so well for…
Read MoreShow Don’t Tell
I visited a very dear person in my life this weekend. While travelling, I was struck by how often we are told to do (or not do) something but are rarely shown. Often the very people who tell us what to do, fail to follow the instructions they are giving everyone else. Telling people what…
Read MoreGrateful Vigilance
A great friend of mine recently left a lucrative job because the person they were working for was “ungrateful, unreasonable, and unfair.” That first word, “ungrateful”, caught my attention. What is so important about gratitude, and why do we find the lack of it so distasteful? We just observed the Fourth of July, Independence Day…
Read MoreGetting To The Top
Mean people don’t climb mountains. I have yet to meet someone on a mountain that wasn’t pleasant, friendly, and helpful. Above the tree line, the climate and topography are trying to kill you, so people must stick together. Every year while on vacation in Colorado, my kids and I summit at least one fourteener. It…
Read MoreThe Shape Of Things
In a convenience store in Deer Trail, CO, I was behind a man at the checkout who had the F-word tattooed on the back of one arm and “OFF” on the back of the other. I assumed many of the same things you just did. Then I noticed he was with a child, who I…
Read MoreCatching Up
I used to be a runner. I used to be fast. I need you to trust me on this. Several of us would run around a local lake and often would have newer runners join us. They were usually slower. So, we would slow down and stay with them until we reached this one spot…
Read MoreAntisocial Media
I recently made the mistake of commenting on a post on social media. Two words in that sentence are critical. A “mistake” is an action or judgment that is misguided or wrong. Something is “social” when it relates to society or its organization. I have decided that engaging someone online that you disagree with is…
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