1st TAKE/2nd LOOK: #20
Permission to speak freely?
Exhilaration conquers fear.
Sometimes, the cowboy don’t make the eight. That’s the way it goes. If something is worth doing, then it’s worth failing at. What are you riding?
The minute we stop learning, we begin death, the process of dying. We learn from each other with every action we perform. We are teaching goodness or evil every time we step out of the house and into the street.
Don’t walk in my head with your dirty feet.
Click on the wave to check out some of the last cowboys on earth. I want to feel as alive, as scared, and as free as they are riding an 8-story building.
Take five minutes watching a guy chase 8-seconds. A cowboy in a spaceman’s age. His simplicity is his superpower.
His lack of expectations sucks you in. He doesn’t care what you think. Or what you think of what he thinks. He just thinks. Out loud.
So a professor, a surfer, and a bull rider walk into a bar . . .
Fear is when we're thinking about the past or thinking about the future, two things that do not exist. If we stay in the moment, do our best in the moment, enjoy the moment, there is no fear.
Life lived for tomorrow will always be just a day away from being realized.
Leo Buscaglia
If you want to do something, and it brings you joy, and it brings you happiness; if it brings something to your life that you don’t get, why not go chase it?
Steven Wiersma
I had to learn how to be Ric. Just me the man. Ric the human being. I am not Ric the Dad to me. Only to my children. I am not Ric the husband anymore. I am Ric, a mother’s son, but that in and of itself is a whole ‘nother diagnosis. I’m not Ric the employee. Or Ric the devoted friend. I’m just Ric. I choose to live without others expectations.
Our individual circumstances lead us to discount universal situations. We believe that we are the only ones feeling certain emotions. These are stories of love, vulnerability, risk, failure, loss, and, ultimately, freedom on their terms. It’s the same story, told by immensely different people.
The good doctor talks about teaching an old dog new tricks, which is all and good. Crazy thought here: what if we teach a young dog valuable life-long tricks? I mean, coming from this old dog learning new tricks daily, it might’ve led to some different choices.
I’m not sure it would have led to different outcomes. Because each choice has impacts of its own. That’s why humans hate choice. Yup, I wrote about that disdain. Scroll down for additional reading links.
Same taco. Different salsa. Receiving affection throws people more into crisis than being yelled at. People need both. It’s the sound of two hands clapping. That is the introduction to this clip.
Here is another ten-minute clip. This is important stuff. Please take a moment to learn something new today. Just for yourself.
As I talk and think about these new concepts in my life, I am discovering that many people struggle with accepting a compliment. Why is that? Dr. Buscaglia speaks to that.
If your eyes cannot see my mouth, your ears cannot hear my words.
As a leader of teams in various industries, I’ve had life-altering opportunities to work with incredible souls. I soak up their knowledge. Something stuck in my head from an amazing supervisor that led her pre-shift huddles by standing on a banquet chair.
Whether a brunch for 10 with two servers or a plated sit-down for 1000 with 100 servers, her attention-grabbing opening was always the same. And always powerful.
If your eyes cannot see my mouth, your ears cannot hear my words.
She did not change for her audience. Her audience changed because of her. Guests served on her shifts were consistently happier and reported more satisfaction on anonymous surveys than on other team-leader shifts.
They even reported that the building temperature was more comfortable and the building staff more responsive. (Not F&B job, you’re welcome) Overall scores are raised by attentiveness to our neighbors. Not to ourselves. Kinda like life.
I’m smart enough to know that I don’t know shit. But I’m dumb enough to know what’s essential. The cost of that knowledge is greater than any student debt my kids have. At least they won’t pay the price I did. What does your freedom cost you?
Risk and danger are real. Fear and worry are imagined. Permission to speak freely? The past is for relishing, not regretting. What is the future, then, if that is the past. We can’t change the moment. So live that moment on your terms.
The difference between anticipation and expectation is satisfaction. Try it sometime . . .
Ric
Additional reading.
Five Elements of Life Create Culture
My faithful readers know all about my formula for life. My writing process always starts and ends with the formula. I sincerely believe that Food, Music, Art, Craft, and History are the threads that weave all of us together.
The playlist has eight tunes to keep with the theme. Listen to the lyrics, which speak to me about the issues we explored in this post. Let me know if they speak to you.
Last week I wrote about my visit to the Huntington Library, which is a temple for the worship of these elements. When I click publish, I hope to bring those elements alive with my words.
Chris Hall talks about his struggles to edit and produce his own songs in the interview I conducted for mxdwn.com. Please give it a quick read. I share those struggles with my writing. It’s a phenomenon called self-editing.
A creative and talented soul I was fortunate to meet and now call a friend is Nishant Jain. He is a tremendous Urban Sketch Artist. His back story is basically a Hollywood movie waiting to be made. His latest post hit home for me. It’s about his process.
Three things humans never tire of watching:
Fire burning
Water running
People working
Reading, listening, and watching Nishant is peaceful and informative. It’s honey for ears and brain alike. Take a look, you will be happy.
My photos are a novice’s attempt to pump the brakes on my self-editing. I am learning to take my guard rails off and look at the beauty before me. Take stock of the elements in your life. They’re all about you.
History
Six of my ancestors are buried in the cemetery at San Gabriel Mission. My nomadic life has taken many twists and turns. I have laid my head to rest in varied locations. Turns out I have a hometown and unwittingly returned there. Much like the Prodigal Son. Irony never escapes me.
Food
All American Bacon Spaghetti is a Sunday favorite for one. Wish you were here.
The best (and laziest) way to cook bacon. Eat some now and save some for later. WIN-WIN. Make sure to put crinkles in the foil. From here, go crazy. Sprinkle with brown sugar or black pepper. Slice peaches or apples to sweeten up.
Finished product. Quite delicious and Second-Day Spaghetti is even better.