South Of Someplace

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Goals, Risks, and Rewards

A goal is more than a plan to reach a stated objective.

A goal is the launching point of a journey.

If you undertake that journey and follow it to its conclusion, you'll gain more than they outcome that you sought initially.

Follow your goal, and you will become stronger, wiser, more skilled, more experienced, more resourceful, more resilient, more focused, more capable, more content, more fulfilled, and more ALIVE than you would have been if you had decided to take the safe route and do nothing.

Does setting a goal seem frightening or intimidating? Some apprehension is natural. What if you fail? What if you're not up to the task? What if you fall flat on your face and everyone laughs at you?

Criticism is painful, but you can endure it. Missing your expectations and the expectations of others can be devastatingly uncomfortable, but you'll survive and you'll be stronger for the experience.

No one succeeds without failing along the way. No one. The people whom we recognize as great successes didn't magically have all of the right answers when they started their journey. They failed repeatedly, and they were criticized mercilessly every time one of their ideas didn't work. They dealt with it and kept going, just as you will.

Give yourself the freedom to try something that might not work. If the only risk that you're willing to take is a sure bet, you'll never get very far. Sometimes, you have to take a chance on the long shot, the dark horse, the big payoff. If that horse stumbles, jump on another horse, and another. Each time, you'll learn lessons that you could never have learned without taking that risk.

A goal provides us with the opportunity to reap two rewards, our stated objective and the challenging but life affirming journey that leads to it. You might not reach that objective. You might need to reassess and recalibrate your trajectory and set new goals. But you won't know which way to go until you have taken the journey.

Eventually, you'll meet up with the rewards that were meant to come into your life, precious, bountiful treasures that reflect who you are and what you were willing to work for along the way. Everyone's journey is unique, as unique as the rewards that await you if you're willing to take the steps to reach them.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Federal Funding of Abortions and Other Distortions

The latest "buzz" is that federal money (I.e. your taxes) is being used to fund abortions. This, of course, is a lie. They Hyde Amendment has prevented federal funding of abortion since the 1970's.

No federal money is used to fund abortions. None. Zero. Nada. Public policy decisions should not be based on ignorance, propaganda, or lies. But people with an agenda love to tell lies and spread propaganda. And people who don't actively seek the truth often make decisions based on ignorance. Don't let that happen to you.

Monday, August 3, 2015

New York Minute 14 - Garbage Night

Walking down the sidewalk on a sultry, steamy August evening, trash bags piled high awaiting their early morning pick up. That's an odor that will linger with you for a while.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Go Ahead And Dance

Go ahead and dance. Music hates being invisible.

Say The Important Things

Say the important things. Find the will and the courage to do it. Do it soon.

Friday, July 31, 2015

Eleven

Eleven was a pivotal age in my childhood, not for any dramatic reason, but because that was the age where I began to have time to myself. When I was younger, Mom would chauffeur all four of us around as she ran her errands. When I turned eleven, she started leaving me at home (my three sisters still went everywhere with her).

With more time to myself, I had more time to read and to think about my own interests. I began to study music theory that year thanks to a book that my mother gave to me as a gift (thanks again, Mom!). My skills as a composer started with the hours that I spend sitting at the piano working through the chapters of that book.

Three other events occurred when I was eleven. I don't know whether these events had an impact on my personal development, but they definitely made an impression.

First, I developed an interest in the science fiction genre. I remember perusing my grandfathers' TV Guide and circling any science fiction programs or movies. I noted the times and took my handwritten schedule home for future reference.

I also attended my first wedding at age eleven (at least the first one that I can remember). I remember the beautiful music that they played during the ceremony. I also remember running out of gas and walking home that night. I haven't run out of gas since.

Finally, at age eleven I began to listen to a weekly radio broadcast featuring the top selling music recordings.

It's interesting how experiences from our childhood live on in our memories. Even if those experiences didn't seem all that shocking or important at the time, they can add dimension to our lives and shape who we are in subtle and not so subtle ways.

If You Don't Approve of Abortion

I you don't approve of abortion, don't have one.

If you don't want other people to have abortions, open your house and get ready to adopt a couple of hundred children.

In your spare time, if you have any, you can calculate how the planet is going to support 20, 30, 50, and then 100 billion concurrent inhabitants. I would love to see the proposal.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Pull Yourself Up

At a difficult time in my life when I had no assets, dim prospects, and serious questions about my own potential, I heard someone say this:

"Sometimes you need to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps."

It wasn't the first time that I had heard this well-known idea, but it was the first time that it made me angry. I was angry because I understood what the message really meant and how it applied to my own life and my own failures.

As I regained my composure, I pictured how difficult it would be to do what was being suggested, to physically pull oneself up by the shoes. This image provided a sobering metaphor for the demands of real improvement.

Change Is Difficult

In order to climb to a higher level - or as in my case to pull myself out of a big hole - we must expect to work hard. And don't be surprised if we don't make much progress, especially in the beginning.

To move ahead, be prepared to struggle. But realize that struggle also has a bright side. As we toil and overcome challenge after challenge, we become stronger. We become smarter. We become more capable. As time passes, we'll be able to take on bigger and bigger challenges and accomplish impressive results. Keep struggling. Keep working, and progress will come in its own time.

Taking Responsibility

Change requires personal responsibility. It's not enough to have someone else elevate us to a new level. We might spend some time enjoying our new heights, but eventually, we'll slip back down to where we started.

But when we raise ourselves through our own efforts, the strength and skills and knowledge that we gain stay with us. When we build our own foundation of competence, we needn't to rely on other to elevate us articially. We make our own fortunes. We reap our own destiny.

The Effort

Yes, I was angry that day, but I didn't direct my anger at the speaker who mentioned the idea. I recognized that I was angry at myself for wasting opportunities and for putting myself in a position of weakness. I felt a sudden realization of desperation. But I also saw a path that could lead to bigger and better things. I chose to take that path. I chose to pull myself up even if it meant facing difficult challenges again and again.

From time to time, most of us need a wake-up call. How we respond to that call makes all the difference. We can curse our misfortunes or we can rise to the challenge and do something about them. Doing so won't be easy, but the effort will lead to a better place.

Friday, July 24, 2015

The American Firearm Crisis

In the United States, almost anyone can buy a gun. This includes some of the worst human scum imaginable - paranoids, xenophobes, abusers, racists, members of hate groups and criminal gangs. Provocative radio, television, and Internet commentary stirs up their fears and their hatred of humanity, and eventually they blow up and take their outrage out on innocent people in a hail of automatic gunfire. It's like a horror movie that never ends. And yet, no one does anything to fix it.

A Crisis of Rage

To the citizens of Lafayette, LA: Please accept my deepest sympathies and hopes for healing.

To the rest of America: When are we going to recognize untreated rage as a public health epidemic and do something about it?