Life - One Less Dog In The Hunt

February 3, 2024January 1, 2024

Cool, Clear Water

I stood at the kitchen sink not too long ago, staring as the water from the faucet filled up a pitcher of water. The light from the window glistened off of the moving liquid, sending sparkles of diamond beams as its shape changed. In that moment, that simple beauty of movement and light, I thought about the liquid filling the vessel; how vital it is to our very existence; how wonderful it looks in natural movement. In a world filled with chaos, there is order, natural law, and organization of which this simple liquid plays a major role in life on the big blue ball.

This may seem low brain activity to some, but in the world of convenience to which our society has become accustomed, we often overlook things which our ancestors struggled to obtain and which they treasured. There are places in the world where this life sustaining puzzle piece is scarce, impure, or unavailable. Though in the United States, we concern ourselves with the possibility it may be depleted, we are far and away from a time when our pioneer relatives had to carry it from a well or a stream into the cabin or soddie.

January 29, 2022January 8, 2022

Fear Itself 2

It continues. Two years and we still have fear dominating our lives. Folks, it’s pretty simple.

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You… Yes, You… are going to die. You are going to be boxed or burned. They’ll be tossing lilies at you. Shoveling dirt. Taking the big sleep. Feeding worms. You will look like the Crypt Keeper. You are a carbon based life form. Your inevitable end is only a matter of time. And time is the one thing you can’t control.

February 18, 2021February 7, 2021

The Edge

I intend this to be my last post which is COVID related. As an exception, I may have a throwback article about the impact to business, but it’s not planned. For this post, I’m going to talk about something more directly related to the virus and its impact on individuals. It’s something I’ve touched on briefly in past posts. It’s fear. More specifically, it’s the fear of death that surrounds this illness.

One of my favorite movies is TOP GUN. It’s fun, it has planes, and it has relationships. I really shouldn’t have to insert a spoiler alert here, because by now everyone on the planet should have seen this movie, but here it is: **SPOILER ALERT** – The scene where Goose dies, has a huge emotional impact. But there is another scene I want to hit on today. It’s early on in the movie and really sets up the situation for TOP GUN’s story line. Cougar, a Navy F-14 pilot, has just come face to face with a Russian MIG. The experience forces him to realize he is in a life or death situation. It shakes him. He is married, has a young son he hasn’t even seen yet, and death scares him.

September 6, 2020October 24, 2020

Embrace Your Fear

“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and
Demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life,
Beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and
Its purpose in the service of your people.

Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend,
Even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and
Bow to none. When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and
For the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks,
The fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and nothing,
For abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.

When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts
Are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes
They weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again
In a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”
― Chief Tecumseh

A generation stands upon the edge of life, yet they fear death so deeply that they waste life fighting it. I don’t suggest death is something to be taken lightly… that it should be mocked… that it is cause to throw caution to the wind. Yet, for man (humans for those who get hung up on a word) it is inevitable. We are born to death. We cannot cheat the reaper. What matters is what lies between the beginning and the end, and for some, what waits on the other side.

December 12, 2019April 11, 2020

LOYALTY

Loyalty. It’s a deep word, or at least it can stir deep feelings. It often inspires images of someone you can count upon, or perhaps someone who counts upon you.

How about Loyalty in the workplace?

Most of us think of loyalty as a good quality. We often want to be considered loyal. We want our co-workers to feel we are loyal. We want our supervisors and our company to feel we are loyal. Loyalty is important to good relationships both in life and in work, but it isn’t always a two-way street. And that can sometimes, though not always, lead to blind loyalty.

What’s blind loyalty?

It’s being loyal to someone or something that can’t or won’t return it. It is being loyal even when loyalty is not deserved. It is being loyal even when the target of loyalty fails to earn the honor. Perhaps your committed loyalty is to a person or entity who has become involved in something from which you should have divorced yourself. Possibly we are being loyal to a company which has forgotten how to care for its employees or has become involved in unethical issues. Blind loyalty can even apply to ideals, philosophies, and causes which fail to deliver on their intended purpose. Staying loyal under those conditions would be examples of blind loyalty.

May 28, 2019April 11, 2020

Goodnight

My all-time favorite movie is Lonesome Dove, which is based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Larry McMurtry. In addition to enjoying the four part series, I’ve read the novel more than once. The nearly six and a half hour epic runs at my house at least a couple times a year, usually more. It’s a story of the epic journey of two former Texas Rangers who are determined to be the first to drive cattle from Texas to Montana. Through the course of their travels they encounter devastating obstacles, the loss of life, and incredible disappointment.

The sweeping scenes of wide open frontier and the life along the trail are some of the best ever recorded. The interactions of the characters creates depth and authenticity. The relationship between Woodrow F. Call and Augustus McCrae is so tightly woven that it is often used as an example of true friendship. As dramatic as Lonesome Dove paints the story of human relationships, and committed friendship overall, it falls short of the depth which can be found in non-fiction.