In this season of “commencements”, I couldn’t resist linking to this wonderful address delivered by Charles Wheelan — Adapted from “10½ Things No Commencement Speaker Has Ever Said,” by Charles Wheelan. To be published May 7 by W.W. Norton & Co.
A few highlights:
1. Your time in fraternity basements was well spent.
2. Some of your worst days lie ahead.
3. Don’t make the world worse.
4. Marry someone smarter than you are.
9. It’s all borrowed time.
10. Don’t try to be great.
I’ve heard many times that every 7 years, our body is completely regenerated. A completely new me every 7 years – every single cell a new one.
Sun setting on the eastern edge of the Flint Hills yesterday
I’m a firm believer that facts should never get in the way of a good story. Whether this “7-year renewal” notion is actually 100% factual or just generally true doesn’t matter – it’s a fun notion that gets ‘ya to thinkin’. (I understand from those who choose to watch political advertising these days that I’m probably not the only one who believes facts shouldn’t cloud a good story…) Read more »
Ours is a useful trade, a worthy calling: with all its lightness and frivolity it has one serious purpose, one aim, one specialty, and it is constant to it – the dividing of shams, the exposure of pretentious falsities, the laughing of stupid superstitions out of existence: and that whoso is by instinct engaged in this sort of warfare is the natural enemy of royalties, nobilities, privileges and all kindred swindles, and the natural friend of human rights and human liberties.
– Mark Twain
“If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows.”
Image from PaulKozal.com
I’ve enjoyed watching the first sliver of the setting moon this week in the evenings, as first Jupiter, then the Pleiades, then Venus have emerged in the evening sky close to the waxing moon. I enjoyed these words from Chabad.org in my mailbox this morning:
What can we learn from the cycle of the moon, how she ever waxes and wanes and waxes again?
Image from TheAngelsWearFins.Blogspot.com
That a time of smallness is a time to become great;
And a time of greatness is a time to become small.
And greatness endures only through its power to be small.
Yet another in a series of posts on the notion of ambiguity. Last time I talked about the fact that navigating ambiguity is really a matter of maturity of our ability to think critically and solve problems.
As much as anything else, I suppose it’s a confidence thing. When we’re confident in our ability to think critically and gain understanding, we welcome opportunities to use those skills.
On the other hand, when we lack that confidence, we only want to face easy problems. For anything that requires real thinking and independent reasoning, we prefer to have someone tell us what it is we’re supposed to think.
I see it nearly every day in people I talk to. Have any discussion of politics, and you’ll immediately hear people spouting the “party line” and the propaganda from whatever brand of faux news they listen to. Challenge them a little – ask some hard questions – and most folks start to splutter and spit. They don’t feel confident in their ability to arrive at an independent opinion – they need their opinion shaped for them.
We all complain about how polarized our country has become over the past 30 years, with everyone becoming more extreme. In my opinion, that’s 100% a result of the kind of “news” programming people watch on TV or listen to on the radio. They plug themselves into a propaganda machine, and drink the Koolaid. I believe that if we all shut the media off and refused to allow ourselves to be the sheep they want, we’d find that we’re not nearly as polarized as we’re led to believe.
Give it a test drive. For 90 days, refuse to consume any “news” or opinion programming on radio or TV. Refuse to read the OpEd page. Just talk to people, and discuss what’s going on. Talk to people with new and different opinions than your own. After 90 days, I give you a money-back guarantee that you’ll find you are far less in lockstep with whatever brand of propaganda you consumed before.
Disclaimer: All opinions are those of the author. 
Ambiguity.
Every day we’re faced with it. Some of us deal with it well, some not so much.
A friend and I discussed this not long ago, after I started a series of postings on the subject. We both agreed that for most folks, we get better at dealing with ambiguity as we move through life.
Each step along most chosen paths in life presents problems – problems we learn to navigate through improving critical thinking skills. The better our critical thinking skills become, the better we are at moving through problem-solving mazes.
And at the end of the day, ambiguity is generally just one of those problem-solving mazes to navigate. When things seem gray or fuzzy, it’s generally not for a lack of information – quite the opposite. The more information we have, the more ambiguous a situation can often become. With strong analytical and critical thinking skills, we’re better able to navigate those mazes, and make peace and reason out of ambiguity.
It’s interesting to me to notice all the things about “aging” that are actually an advantage. I wrote recently about the art of aging finely, and I’m often surprised to find just how many things in life we get better at as we move along the timeline. Maybe all of us don’t get better, but we certainly have the opportunity to get better. Some just seize the opportunity better than others do.
Seize this one – look for those little moments of ambiguity that surround you, and explore them honestly.
Borrowed from a cycling discussion board:
Cyclists are notorious sandbaggers. They’ll say anything to soften you up for the kill.
Don’t let this happen to you. Study this handy rider’s phrasebook to find out what they really mean when they say:
“I’m out of shape.”
Translation: I ride 400 miles a week and haven’t missed a day since the Ford administration. I replace my 11-tooth cog more often than you wash your shorts. My body fat percentage is lower than your mortgage rate.
“I’m not into competition. I’m just riding to stay in shape.”
Translation: I will attack until you collapse in the gutter, babbling and whimpering. I will win the sprint if I have to force you into a pine tree. I will crest this hill first if I have to grab your seat post, and spray energy drink in your eyes.
“I’m on my beater bike.”
Translation: I had this baby custom-made in Tuscany using Titanium blessed by the Pope. I took it to a wind tunnel and it disappeared. It weighs less than a fart and costs more than a divorce.
“It’s not that hilly.”
Translation: This climb lasts longer than a presidential campaign. Be careful on the steep sections or you’ll fall over — backward. You have a 39×23 low gear? Here’s the name of my knee surgeon.
“This is a no-drop ride.”
Translation: I’ll need an article of your clothing for the search-and-rescue dogs.
“It’s not that far.”
Translation: Bring your passport.
Peggy and I watched a young family with amusement the other day. The dad sat the girl down in a chair at our local Panera, with a plate of pastries in the middle of the table. He sternly admonished her, “Don’t touch anything on that plate yet.” He made sure she said yes, that she understood. Then dad went back to the counter, to help mom with the rest of the order.
He was only gone for a couple minutes, and the little girl never took her eyes off those delicious looking pastries. There was real longing in her eyes. After 10 or 15 seconds, she slowly reached her hands toward the plate that held the pastries, touched the edge of the plate with her fingertips, and quickly Read more »
I’m no connoisseur of wine or whiskey, but I’ve listened as connoisseurs talk of the value of “aging”. Some wines, for example, age very well, while others don’t.
It might be said that all wines start on an equal footing – fermenting from grape juice into wine. But grape genetics and the growing conditions have a big impact on what happens to the wine once the fermentation is done. Some are ready to drink right away, and can be quite good at a young age. They’re good their first year, and second and third maybe, and then they start to lose some of what makes them special.
Other wines benefit greatly from aging. They develop character and depth, a complexity that’s rare in wines that are young. These are the wines that are highly sought-after – those that age well and become better with each passing year.
We’re like that too.
Some of us peak at a young age, blooming best in the beauty and strength of youth. As the brief season of early bloom passes, it’s easy to look back on those days of youthful beauty and strength, longing for a return that’ll never come. It’s hard not to do this, bombarded as we are with media messages extolling the virtue, strength, and beauty of youth.
But when I look around me, I find a great many folks who defy the media message. They’re building greater strength with each passing year, a strength informed by wisdom, a strength of endurance, tolerance and perseverance. Read more »
Later in 2012, I’m planning on completing the second half of my cycling pilgrimage across the US. I’ll start in eastern Kansas, crossing Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia. From there, I’m still working on the route, and would love some first-hand advice on whether to take a northern fork through Cumberland and then down into Annapolis from the north, (much like the RAAM route), or take it straight east and through the DC area.
For now, here’s the route that’s pretty well-defined:
The route uses the Katy Trail across Missouri, but other than that, stays on secondary highways for now.
The Perfectionism Demon – Part 3
Image from National Geographic
I’ve been writing about the perfectionism demon this week, and how counterproductive he (or she) is for most of us. I imagine many folks who imbibe in the creative process are haunted by this demon, and I suspect they only succeed when they find ways to trick, evade, or outrun the nasty fellow. Destroying him would be true joy, but I’m just not sure that’s possible once he’s dug his claws deeply into the way we live our life.
The demon plagues some folks with the inability to even start a project, for fear they won’t do well enough. I have a writing colleague like that, who struggles to move ideas from his mind to the keyboard for fear they won’t be good enough.
In my case, I’ve got enough dominance over the demon to start the creative process, but deeming a finished product “worthy” to be released to the world is a chain I’ve yet to wrap consistently around the beast. I can sit down to the keyboard and write, but I rarely think I’ve written something that’s “good enough”. Read more »
The Perfectionism Demon. Part 2
I talked in my last post about how the the demon of perfectionism can cripple everyday things like planning. The demon is far more vicious and unforgiving when it comes to the creative process.
I like to write. It’s a creative process for me. When I write, I’m releasing something from within myself for the rest of the world to read. Is it good enough? Does it really say what I want to say? Will I sound foolish? Read more »
It’s approaching burning season in the Flint Hills of Kansas and elsewhere on the Great Plains, a time when gigantic prairie fires consume thousands of square miles. The fires are set intentionally, when conditions are perfect to allow controlled burning, usually at night.
Image compliments of Larry Schwarm
It’s a beautiful sight, if you can find a safe promontory from which to watch. Large swaths of flames washing across the plains, consuming everything in their path. Destructive, yet essential for the future of that sea of grass to survive and thrive.
There’s a lot in life that can be like the prairie fire. Things that consume wantonly, or cause great pain, but if controlled, can be a crucible from which new life springs. Read more »
We all like to think of ourselves as generous and giving – I know I do. And I suppose we are, each in our own way.
The old Shel Silverstein book – “The Giving Tree” – was a favorite of one of my children. We always read at least a couple books at bedtime each night, and I’ll bet more than half the nights for many years included “The Giving Tree”.
In many ways, the book never made sense to me. It talked about a tree that seemed to exist only to give. Even when the result of the giving was misused or misunderstood, or the gift was poorly used. The tree just kept giving.
I suppose it didn’t make sense to me because the act of giving, at it’s most extreme level, makes no sense. Read more »
Great Bicycle Song!
Lyrics to “The Acoustic Motorbike” in Middelburg
The day began with a rainbow in the sand
As I cycled into Kerry
Cattle grazing on a steep hillside
Looked well fed, well balanced
Close to the edge
Pedal on, pedal on, pedal on for miles
Pedal on
Pedal on, pedal on, pedal on for miles
Pedal on
I take a break, I close my eyes
And I’m happy as the dolphin
In a quiet spot talking to myself
Talking about the rain
Talking about the rain
All this rain
Pedal on
Pedal on, pedal on, pedal on for miles
Pedal on
You see whenever I’m alone
I tend to brood
But when I’m out on my bike
It’s a different mood
I leave my brain at home
Get up on the sattle
No hanging around
I don’t diddle-daddle Read more »
A friend recently shared her support of a piece of legislation folks here in Colorado would like to move through the process. The legislation would require that folks who are over 75 need to re-take a driving exam and an eye test every 5 years.
There’s a fair amount of resistance to the legislation – mostly from seniors as you’d expect.
My friend strongly supported the bill – for reasons both logical and personal. Read more »
T.S. Eliot:
“Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? And where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”
A Guest Post by C.A. Kendrick
“No,” I repeat, using my best I’m-in-charge voice as I stare into the defiant face of my three year old son. “Absolutely not.”
He glares. I struggle to keep from smiling when he starts growling at me. “I don’t like you, Mommy!” he declares as he stomps from the room.
Fifteen minutes later we’re snuggling on the couch reading books together. Devoid of any self-consciousness – as only small children are – he throws his arms around my neck and says, “You’re my favorite mommy in the whole world!” Kisses are exchanged. Read more »
I had a discussion with my grandmother a few years back. She lived to be 101, so had a deep history to draw from in conversations. We talked about how people related to each other these days, and how disappointing it was to see the lack of civility. When you turned on the news, she said, you no longer saw reasonable and intelligent people reporting, you saw crazy people jabbering on about their own point of view. Discussions were hateful and personal, almost like nobody had the intelligence to think for themselves so they needed the news to tell them how to think. Nobody had the courage to express their views sensibly, and had to try and rely on intimidation in a discussion.
I certainly agreed with her, as we commiserated about the sorry state of discussion and dialogue in our culture. She commented about how much my dad had liked to argue, and how refreshing that was. I wrote about his love for argument in this post.
Image by Larry Schwarm
Day 14 – Grafton to Romney in West Virginia
Later in 2012, I’m planning a bicycle trip from Kansas to Annapolis. While I’m in the planning stages, I’d love to get input from folks familiar with individual portions of the route, with suggestions on changes I might want to make.
Below is a map of a day across West Virgina. Also, here’s a link to the map on Google if you’d like to drag the route around with suggested changes.
Thanks a ton for any suggestions that will make the route safer or more enjoyable, or things along the way that I’d regret missing. Of course, I’d welcome participation along the route as well. If you’d like to ride a section of it together, let me know, and we’ll see if we can coordinate schedules.
Day 13 – Parkersburg, WV to Grafton, WV – Cycling in West Virginia
Later in 2012, I’m planning a bicycle trip from Kansas to Annapolis. While I’m in the planning stages, I’d love to get input from folks familiar with individual portions of the route, with suggestions on changes I might want to make.
Below is a map of Day 13 of the trip. Also, here’s a link to the map on Google if you’d like to drag the route around with suggested changes.
Thanks a ton for any suggestions that will make the route safer or more enjoyable, or things along the way that I’d regret missing. Of course, I’d welcome participation along the route as well. If you’d like to ride a section of it together, let me know, and we’ll see if we can coordinate schedules.
Day 12 – Chillicothe, OH to Parkersburg, WV
Later in 2012, I’m planning a bicycle trip from Kansas to Annapolis. While I’m in the planning stages, I’d love to get input from folks familiar with individual portions of the route, with suggestions on changes I might want to make.
Below is a map of Day 11 of the trip. Also, here’s a link to the map on Google if you’d like to drag the route around with suggested changes.
Thanks a ton for any suggestions that will make the route safer or more enjoyable, or things along the way that I’d regret missing. Of course, I’d welcome participation along the route as well. If you’d like to ride a section of it together, let me know, and we’ll see if we can coordinate schedules.
Day 11 – Resting in Chillicothe, OH
Later in 2012, I’m planning a bicycle trip from Kansas to Annapolis. While I’m in the planning stages, I’d love to get input from folks familiar with individual portions of the route, with suggestions on changes I might want to make.
RIght now I’ve got a rest day planned in Chillicothe, because I thought it was a place folks went for weekends when I lived in Cincinnati. Problem is I can’t remember why folks went… Any thoughts on why Chillicothe’s a great place to spend a rest day, and what to do?
It didn’t freeze last night. It’s a wonderful thing to walk outside with the dog in the morning, and be greeted by moist 35 degree air.
And…
Something else in the air this morning. A smell come tickling my nose across the bare patches of ground peeking through crusted snow.
The promise of Spring on the horizon, of Winter waning.
Like most smells, this one didn’t hit me in the face and scream its name. Instead, it was a subtle little “scent image” deep in my brain – one that made my eyes snap open and look around for the thing that was different.
The world around us is saturated with the smells of life, but the fact that we don’t pay attention has let most of the scent neural pathways in our brain atrophy. Our nose picks the smells up, and sends the message to our brain, but our brain figured out a long time ago that we don’t really care about all those smells, so it used the neural pathways for something else.
But the smells are still there, and the message is still being sent to the brain.
Now and then, when it’s quiet, and my mind’s washed pretty clean, the brain recognizes a little hint of message that the nose is sending, and pays just a little bit of attention.
This morning, that little hint felt a lot like winter starting to lose it’s grip on the world around me.
Day 10 – Eaton, OH to Chillicothe, OH
Later in 2012, I’m planning a bicycle trip from Kansas to Annapolis. While I’m in the planning stages, I’d love to get input from folks familiar with individual portions of the route, with suggestions on changes I might want to make.
I really need some feedback on this day – is US35 an OK road to ride? What about the route through Dayton?
Below is a map of Day 10 of the trip. Also, here’s a link to the map on Google if you’d like to drag the route around with suggested changes.
Thanks a ton for any suggestions that will make the route safer or more enjoyable, or things along the way that I’d regret missing. Of course, I’d welcome participation along the route as well. If you’d like to ride a section of it together, let me know, and we’ll see if we can coordinate schedules.
Day 9 – Plainfield, IN to Eaton, OH
Later in 2012, I’m planning a bicycle trip from Kansas to Annapolis. While I’m in the planning stages, I’d love to get input from folks familiar with individual portions of the route, with suggestions on changes I might want to make.
Below is a map of Day 9 of the trip. Also, here’s a link to the map on Google if you’d like to drag the route around with suggested changes.
Thanks a ton for any suggestions that will make the route safer or more enjoyable, or things along the way that I’d regret missing. Of course, I’d welcome participation along the route as well. If you’d like to ride a section of it together, let me know, and we’ll see if we can coordinate schedules.
Later in 2012, I’m planning a bicycle trip from Kansas to Annapolis. While I’m in the planning stages, I’d love to get input from folks familiar with individual portions of the route, with suggestions on changes I might want to make.
Below is a map of Day 8 of the trip. Also, here’s a link to the map on Google if you’d like to drag the route around with suggested changes.
Thanks a ton for any suggestions that will make the route safer or more enjoyable, or things along the way that I’d regret missing. Of course, I’d welcome participation along the route as well. If you’d like to ride a section of it together, let me know, and we’ll see if we can coordinate schedules.