I Am Alive!

Busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.

Top of the Hill. Sometimes, one just has to see things from a different perspective. What’s your perspective?

My Friends,

Do you ever got to the point of wondering how days can feel longer or shorter than each other? How and Why is the perception of time altered by the business of the self? Are self-imposed deadlines really deadlines?

I’m at that point now it seems. This project, this Substack that I share with all of you, has pushed me and prodded me onto each and every new thing that is happening in my life. Writing this post on a weekly basis (forgiving my day lates and dollar shorts!) creates a space for me to examine my thoughts and become alert to my feelings.

Please share this work with those you feel might like to spend to time over here.

I took a personality test for work over the last two weeks and we had the half-day seminar yesterday to learn more about ourselves. It seems every corporation I’ve ever worked for is searching for the formula to improve and perfect team chemistry. This program is one of the more insightful approaches I have experienced. There were 19 of us and all seemed to agree that the assessments were “spot on” as one of the team put it.

As soon as the individual assessments were passed out, the facilitator approached me saying that he was interested to meet the person with the results I presented. Oh great! Can I ever just blend in to the crowd?

I was the only of of the 19 to have a shaded red-line in the neighboring section. The seminar leader thought it interesting enough that he invited me to email him to discuss it further. He called it a blended style. I’ll just leave it at that for now.

My mxdwn.com portfolio is growing, and my latest addition will be an interview that I’m currently editing. The subject of that interview is one of the most soft-spoken and thought-provoking people I have ever talked to. Not that that fact surprised me, but it might surprise you.

I spoke to Ivar Bjornson, the founder of the band Enslaved. It was a 45 minute philosophical good time. Eschewing labels, like Scandinavian Black Metal, Bjornson gives thoughtful answers to almost a dozen inquiries.

Listen to their new album below - and visit their website. It’s pretty awesome(ly dark), but light-hearted at the same time. As they say - Always Chaotic but Never Satanic. As Ivar pointed out more than once during our chat, “There can be no light without the dark. We look for both.”

In other words, a shallow post but deep with feeling. Opening Night is Saturday - check out Janet Jackson at the Bowl. I’m blessed to be where I am.

As I leave you with this picture I snapped today - look around you for things to love. When I do that, I’m always rewarded.

Ric

Bonus Picture from a friend on vacation in Alaska.

Thanks friend! Photo Credit: DM