Live your best life today

It’s Super Bowl weekend, the end of football season, and the beginning of that stretch of winter where it feels spring will never come. It often seems like a period of waiting. Waiting for ice to melt. Waiting for spring break. Waiting for better weather. In the midst of a pandemic, we’re all waiting to get back to the new normal. Waiting to see our friends and family without worrying about infecting them. Waiting to eat in a restaurant without wearing a Darth Vader ensemble.
But this is all a state of mind that is under our control. We don’t have to wait for tomorrow to come. Today is here and we should make the best of it.

The pandemic has opened some unique opportunities. Working and schooling virtually means you can be anywhere! My family and I decided to take advantage of this. We booked a rental in Florida for as long as we could and planned a trip to the Grand Canyon. We could have waited, but we would have missed a great opportunity to experience a warm winter and a trip of a lifetime!

You can do the same. There are many ways to make the most out of today. Whether it’s planning that trip you’ve always wanted to take, doing a body weight workout in your garage, or simply picking up a book and reading a chapter. You can live the life you want today.

Planning for the future is necessary, but living here and now is the path to fulfillment. Don’t wait for the future to come. Make the moments you will remember. Yes, there are obstacles. Yes, we still have to deal with the tail end of the COVID pandemic. But there are an abundance of opportunities for you to take advantage of if you choose to take action.

Seeing how football season is coming to an end, the quote that hangs in the tunnel at Notre Dame stadium comes to mind: “Play like a champion today.” Waiting is wasting time.

Figure out what you want. Plan how to get it. Then, take action! Pursue your dreams. Live your best life today. To steal a quote from an old friend, “this is the moment. The only moment of all eternity.”

What are you going to do with it?

February 7, 2021 0

Focus on the Inputs

I naturally enjoy planning. As a kid, I used to make elaborate drawings of skyscrapers I wanted to build. As an adult, I like to look at different certifications I can get, competitions I could enter and hobbies I could take part in. Execution, however, is a different story. I often struggle following through on my grand plans.

Yesterday, millions of people decided to make a New Year’s resolution. Unfortunately, most of them will give up before February. I used to be one of these people. I would make a resolution, but life would get in the way. Executing the plan seemed too difficult. Results didn’t come fast enough. I would get bored, distracted, discouraged and frustrated.

Then I found a better way to plan.

Most resolutions are results oriented:

“I will to lose twenty pounds.” – “I will to read twenty books” – “I will improve my relationships”

These results oriented resolutions fail because 1) they do not tell you what to actually do and 2) they do not give you a path to daily success.

Successful resolutions focus on the inputs rather than the results. Four years ago, I stumbled across this solution by accident. In an effort to complete my results oriented solution to run a half marathon, I made a second resolution to run three times a week. Better yet, I decided I would run in the mornings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This gave me a resolutions I could control and focused on the daily inputs that drive toward a long term objective.

Input oriented resolutions are more likely to be successful, because they prescribe the action you need to take on a daily basis.

“I will eat 2 servings of vegetables at each meal.” – “I will read for thirty minutes every morning” – “I will call my mom every Wednesday at 5p”

Not only do these prescribe the necessary action, but they give you a way to accomplish your resolution today. Every day I got my run in was a victory. The specificity of the resolution allowed me to know exactly what to do and when I was going to do it. Execution was still a struggle, but I had removed several barriers simply in the way I structured the goal.

I ended up completing my half marathon. More importantly, I learned how to succeed at making life-altering resolutions. Focusing on the inputs has allowed me to continue running, and add several other healthy habits to my life over the last four years. As you contemplate your resolution (or contemplate if you should make one), look for the ways you can identify the inputs that will lead you to success.

Change doesn’t come overnight. Execution will be a struggle. But you have the ability to take control of your life; to drive toward the best version of yourself. Making a resolution that focuses on the inputs will start you down the path that leads to success.

For further reading on successful execution, I would recommend the 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, & Jim Huling. It is business oriented, but can be applied to your personal life.

January 2, 2021 0

A legend in leadership

Some leaders in history are greater than fiction. Lieutenant General Lewis “Chesty” Puller is one of those examples. Widely considered the greatest U.S. Marine in history, Chesty’s career spanned four decades over which he accumulated five Navy Crosses. His life is biographied by Colonel Jon Hoffman in the work “Chesty: the story of Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller”.

On first appearance, Chesty was the “Marine’s Marine”. A gruff voiced, profane warfighter who led from the front. He frequently determined how much courage a leader had by the casualty counts, and boasted that his officers had higher casualty ratios than his enlisted men. His Virginian ancestry gave him a love of Confederate tales and both he and those around him had a tendency to aggrandize the stories of his own careers as he progressed in age. Nevertheless, the historical records of his leadership under fire need no embellishment. Winning skirmishes in Haiti and Nicaragua in his younger years, then on to the legendary battles of Guadalcanal in World War II and the Chosin Reservoir in Korea, Chesty’s reputation was well deserved.

But his legendary leadership was more than a blood and guts desire for military conquest and glory. Chesty had exemplary conduct of how to lead his troops, on and off the battlefield. He was known for treating everyone with the same amount of respect, from the lowest enlisted man to the commanding general. He had unwritten rules for the officers under his command, requiring them to eat last in the chow line and ensuring they were ready to perform any task they asked their men to. He was a superb trainer, and on multiple occasions led the training elements that prepared Marines for the future battles the country would face. Beneath the image Chesty displayed to the world was a man who cared deeply about the people around him and who held everyone accountable for their actions, particularly those in authority.

Chesty’s example reminds me that leadership is a complex task. To lead myself and others effectively, I must look the part of the role, but also be present with the people I lead. I have to set high expectations and then show my team how to accomplish the mission. I have to work beside them through their efforts to accomplish our collective goals. Moreover, I need to set increasingly higher levels of achievement and accountability for my senior team members, as they are responsible for assisting me in creating a culture of accountability. Most importantly, I must care deeply about the people I lead and the mission we are trying to accomplish. People are capable of surmounting seemingly impossible feats when inspired by the presence of a leader who is fully invested in them and fully committed to the task at hand, as Chesty Puller demonstrated throughout his career.

May 17, 2020 0

The Upside of Globalism

I recently returned from New Delhi, where I spent two weeks getting to know six new members of my team. They were all eager to take on the work, to learn, to grow, and to help the enterprise I work for succeed. The world becomes stronger when we build meaningful, lasting relationships across cultures. International business has been vilified in recent times, but history demonstrates that lasting peace and prosperity belongs to those who build partnerships that reach across the globe.

Would you believe that global poverty rates have been cut in half since the year 2000, that malaria outbreaks are being thwarted by mosquito nets, or that the literacy rate has went from 42% in 1960 to 86% in 2015? These statistics are all true, although you won’t hear about them often by tuning into the news. Globalism has been slowly increasing the welfare of humanity.

This is not to say that globalism does not have its difficulties or frustrations, but the solution to these problems is not to create a cloister of separation from the rest of the world. Doing so will inevitably leave you behind. The solution is leaning into the challenges that globalism creates, building fair trade policies, protecting the interests of workers and entrepreneurs alike and having honest conversations between citizens and governments.

There are six intelligent and enthusiastic people who work on my team halfway around the world. The opportunities they have been given due to globalism is slowly modernizing India. The same is happening in China, Africa and Latin America. The most powerful person is not often the biggest or strongest or even the smartest. The most powerful person is the one with the most friends. When we reach out and form relationships, we become more understanding, dynamic and interesting people. Global business allows us to broaden our relationships, build partnerships, and change the world for the better.

After experiencing India, I am more thankful than ever to have been born in the United States of America. I am also more confident than ever that the country I call home is stronger, more prosperous and more enlightened when it forges builds partnerships with the people beyond the artificial borders we have created. We have only one world to live on. The quality of that life depends on our ability to work together.

February 10, 2019 0

What keeps you from excellence?

You were born to live a life full of excellence. Each person, regardless of their deficiencies and disposition, has something they can offer the world that will lead to a life of enrichment and add unique value for the rest of us to enjoy. Unfortunately, the majority of us will pass up this opportunity of personal fulfillment and outward success by failing to act on what drives us.

We look at superstars who have soared to the top ranks of their field and wish we were them. We wonder what it took for them to achieve and envy the luck they must have had to get there. But upon closer examination, it becomes apparent everyone has the capacity for greatness within them. The difference between champions and couch potatoes has little to do with talent and everything to do with grit.

Angela Duckworth, a University of Penn professor, defines grit as passion and perseverance. Passion is the starting point. If you’re going to excel, you have to love what you’re doing for the sake of itself. Whether it’s social work or sports or science, what you love to do is the starting point for where your greatness lies. Passion gives you the initial interest, but more is needed to become excellent. The grittier a person is, the more effort they put into their respective field over time. It is this persistence that turns skill into greatness. In combination, the love of an area of expertise combined with continued intentional practice is what creates human excellence (For more on this, read Grit: The power of passion and perseverance, Duckworth, 2016).

Passion is the spark. Persistence is the fire. Excellence lights up the world.

But too many of us trifle our time away either believing we’re not capable or wasting our lives doing things we’re not passionate about. “I can’t” is the biggest lie you’ve ever told yourself.

There are two types of this doubt. This first is saying “I can’t” when you truly believe it. Of course, there are strict physical limitations where “I can’t” may be true, but we use this term of disbelief in far greater circumstances. It may be true that you can’t swim across the Atlantic, but it’s false that you can’t find time to pursue what you’re passionate about.

This leads to the second type, using “I can’t” as an excuse to avoid trying. In doing this, you’re choosing to limit your own potential, because it’s easier to allow inertia to keep you on your present course. Belief in and acknowledgement of your own ability is the first step on your journey to live your best life.

The next step is to stand up and do something about it.

Evolution has caused our bodies and brains to desire repetition. It simplifies life. When we have learned behavior, we don’t have to think as much about what we’re doing. This works both for and against you. I would argue that people who workout everyday and people who shoot heroine are both addicts. It just so happens that one addiction results in a six pack and the other results in a body bag.

You are what your habits have made you.

You have the ability to change them.

Most of us don’t have habits that will kill us (at least immediately), but have the more mischievous, time-sucking, life draining habits of mediocrity. These are things you do everyday that add no lasting value to your life. It’s the job you hate. It’s the event you attend only because you feel obligated to. It’s binge-watching Netflix. It’s your Facebook newsfeed. These activities are keeping you away from what you’re passionate about. They’re taking your time away from perseverant, intentional development of the passion which internally gives purpose to your being. And over time, this is what separates the average person from the person who excels.

People who make a significant impact have an unwavering resolve to improve themselves, particularly in the areas they are passionate about. They purposefully remove the distractions.

We waste so much time distracting ourselves, wishing we had something different, or complaining about how someone else is holding us back. If we transformed this time into productive effort in an area we love, we would not only transform our own lives into the lives we desire most, we would also transform the world into a beacon of prosperity and abundance.

We don’t all have the same skills. We all didn’t start with the same resources. But what creates the biggest difference is what we believe about ourselves. In case you’ve never been told before, you have a unique ability to add greatness to the world that no one else can offer.

Pessimists will tell me I’m wrong; that everyone won’t be excellent. While this may be true, it’s not because they can’t be. It’s because they won’t spend the time aggressively pursuing what they love. They won’t persevere though enough early mornings, late nights, road blocks, naysayers and failures that are required to become excellent. Most people will give up because they don’t believe in themselves.

But the general mediocrity of humanity shouldn’t matter to YOU, because what most people do is irrelevant to what you choose to do with your life.

You can believe in yourself. You can discover what your passion is. You can persevere through the challenges you encounter and become excellent in the area you love. And in doing this, you will create the life you want to live, a life of excitement and fulfillment, and at the same time, improve the lives of everyone you encounter.

September 16, 2018 0

Arguments of Identity

For most of my life I have been wrong. In fact, I am less certain now than at any prior point in my life that I know anything at all. This is not out of a lack of effort. Several years ago, I set out to expand my horizons by reading the Top 100 books of all time. At this point, I have read nearly half of them. As I have learned from the great writers of history, the more I have come to realize the vast extent of what I do not know.

This perspective is starkly different from the absolutism experienced in today’s world. As a people, we have become certain of so many ideas. We have become Internet experts on topics ranging from economics to ecology. We are so convinced of our expertise that we are willing to berate and belittle others who hold opposing points of view. Our opponents, being equally convicted of their beliefs, return they volley of vitriol with an escalating sense of fervency.

The hardest lesson I have learned is these arguments cannot be won by the presentation of facts. The logical form of persuasion is the weakest one. Fundamentally, these arguments are not based on disagreement over factual evidence. They are grounded in the perception of divergent identity. Presenting facts that undermine a person’s sense of self creates a cognitive dissonance that is likely to backfire. Such is the reason “fake news” has caught on like wildfire. It allows people to discount anything that opposes their core beliefs as falsehood.

So, how do you win an argument without using facts? I have struggled to answer this over the past year and have finally arrived at an answer. You don’t.

Frankly, I have been asking the wrong question the whole time. You cannot win an argument without using facts. You cannot use facts to win an argument based on identity. Therefore, arguments based on identity are unwinnable and attempts to win such arguments are futile.

Rather than asking how I can WIN, I should have been asking how can I COMPREHEND? How can I see the good intentions of the person I disagree with? How can I understand the life they live? What are the principles we both believe in? What are the deeper beliefs that have brought on this instance of disagreement?

The goal of this is not to change the other person, but to change myself. In doing so, I transform from the expert into the learner. I realize that while my facts have been right, my approach has been wrong. I switch from crafting an argument to listening for similarity. I begin to have compassion for those who disagree and begin to comprehend that my identity can coexist with theirs. I may never convince another soul of the facts I know to be true, but my soul will be uplifted by understanding the good intentions from which disagreements are born.

blue body of water with orange thunder — Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com

September 9, 2018 1

Be Independent

Perspective is often gained by changing the place you sit. It is easy to get lost in our daily hustle, thinking ourselves the center of the world. But if you take the time to stare at the stars or watch the sunrise, you find yourself part of a much more expansive and extravagant universe.

Perspective allows us to see things from someone else’s point of view. Too often we allow ourselves to believe the echo chambers our news sources have created for us. This has given us a false sense of certainty in the correctness of our opinions and created a phantom enemy, our political opponents.

242 years ago, a group of comparatively ordinary citizens signed a document that declared, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” And thus, the American Dream was born.

The American Dream is constructed upon individual freedom, the ability for a person to hold their own beliefs, choose their own profession, and travel freely from place to place. It is also constructed upon a deep sense of community, the knowledge that living with purpose calls us to care for each other, that two are better than one and a cord of three strands is not easily broken.

Unraveling the spirit of America has been an unfortunate consequence of seemingly noble desires held by short sighted men. Although some will make attempts to convince you otherwise, individual freedom and collective action are mutually beneficial, not mutually exclusive, ideals. The man with the most freedom is free even of his own wants, and has his spirit set on right action. His freedom leads him to a higher purpose, which is to aid others in their pursuit of freedom.

Such freedom is rarely found, and to often we lose perspective of our principles by focusing on specific actions. Some call for our country to be made great again. Others say it was never great. Both may have valid points, but their proposed remedies do not uphold the values set forth by American philosophy. We have made enemies of one another, which is by no means a feat of greatness.

The enemy of individual freedom and collective action is the centralization of power. Since America’s inception, it has fought empires, tyrants and dictators. We have constructed internal systems attempting to diminish the ability of any official to obtain too much authority. We have broken apart monopolies to ensure a single capitalist could not wield too much influence.

The central thesis of both political parties is a perversion of the American Dream, because both ignore half of the Dream itself. My Republican friends will tell you that individual freedom is paramount and too much power has been centralized in the government. They are right. My Democratic friends will tell you that collective action is paramount and too much power is centralized in corporations. They are also right.

What neither party will admit is that too much power has been centralized in the political parties themselves. Democrats are not a good countervailing force to Republicans, because their massive influence undermines an individual’s freedom to solve a collective action problem. The political parties have defined who can play the political game, what you have to believe and who you should associate with. All of this is the antithesis of the free thinking that wrote the Declaration of Independence, that fought a war to abolish slavery, that overcame a depression to stop fascism, that continued fighting for equal rights and continues on the path to a better life for so many today.

So on Independence Day, it is my hope that you would be truly independent, that you think freely and deeply. We need to expunge the thoughts regurgitated to us about who we should fear and remember that our neighbors fundamentally desire the same things we do. We need the perspective to understand that individual freedom can work in tandem with collective action, and the harmony between free thought and right living has always been interconnected.

America’s greatness does not lie in the strength of its weapons or the size of its wallet. America’s greatness lies in the spirit of its people. But don’t take my word for it.

Be independent.

Think for yourself.

Find your own perspective.

July 3, 2018 0

Finding Leadership

Can humanity reach its fullest potential without inspiring leadership? Are title, rank, and formalized power necessary to lead us from where we are to where we need to be? What are the characteristics, criteria and credentials that make a person a leader? If history is any indication of future events, we should expect the most exhilarating leadership to come not from formal authority bestowed upon economic or political elites, but through personal power derived from within, many times induced from people of the lowliest circumstances.

In 1838, a man travelled from Baltimore to New York, and after a short time, settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He had imagined life in north to be significantly inferior to that in the south, due to the affluence created by the institution of slavery. To his surprise, it was a flourishing town, where both laborers and merchant class workers shared in the wealth created by industry and trade. He acquired gainful employment and started a family with his newlywed wife. He went on to write an autobiography of his life in the sweltering plantations of south, the moral masquerade in the city of Baltimore and his admirable journey to the north.

The Narrative of Frederick Douglass became one of the most influential writings of the 19th century, and was a spark to a fire that ended the institution of slavery. Douglass could have lived a quiet life in New Bedford, where although racism was not absent, it was minimal compared to abhorrent conditions he had known in the fields of Maryland. But Douglass remembered his brethren still trapped in bondage and was compelled to act on their behalf. Still a slave in 1845, he published his famous work, which propelled him to the forefront of abolitionist thought leadership.

But before Douglass became a leader of the abolitionist movement, he became the leader of his own destiny. He resolved to satisfy his insatiable yearning to breathe free. He taught himself to read and developed a skilled trade. He developed a plan, and executed it in the face of over-whelming odds with life-threating risks.

Through his story, we can see the first step to leadership is self-leadership. If you cannot successfully lead yourself, leading others will not be possible. Secondly, we can see the evidence of thought leadership. The first step in advancing society is to believe in a future that is brighter than the current reality. The words we speak and the thoughts we believe become the lives we lead in the future. And third, we can see how the resolve of an ordinary person, even from the lowliest of circumstances, through their dreams, words and diligence can change the fate of the world.

Douglass’ story of extraordinary resolve is only one example of how everyday people influence the outcomes of our lives. Before institutions are changed, before laws are passed, even before society changes its mind, a thought leader emerges who changes the course of history.

In the absence of quality leadership from our politicians, religious figures, and business people, we must be resolved to develop our own self-leadership. Deciding to lead yourself on a course of self-improvement is the first step to living your life to its fullest potential. If we lead ourselves individually in this manner, we will undoubtedly advance society collectively.

We need the thought leadership which will break the deficiencies of the status quo to move us toward a more perfect union. We need thought leaders who speak truth in the face of opposition, even in the face of the majority, because the thoughts that change the world are rarely those originally held by popular opinion. We need to listen to those who are speaking the truth of our times, with a vision for the future founded upon the knowledge of the past. We need to actively seek out our own errors, and refine our own positions, to draw closer to the evasive, omnipresent truth which brings harmony to our lives.

The world will be no better than the best its leaders can offer. A compelling vision of the future, combined with a sober judgment of our current state is required to move humanity forward. Both true leaders and demagogues have assumed positions of formal authority in the past and present, but those with formal authority have not always, or even usually, produced the most progress. It is the common person arising above their station, who leads in thought and example, which creates the most leadership known to the world.

The leader the world needs to find right now is you, in whatever capacity you’re in, to achieve your fullest, and by example, lead those around you to do the same.

The question remains, where are you going to lead us?

Photo courtesy of PBS.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2962.html

January 15, 2018 1

Character, Virtue and Spirituality

Aristotle described virtue as the mean between two extremes, but today, we live in an age where the two extremes are just increasingly mean. We have inflicted retribution upon one another, taking an eye for an eye so many times that most of us walk around blind. The ancient philosophers and mystics warned against the perils we face, but we heed their advice no more than the contemporary masses of their own times. We are a people who have fooled ourselves into believing we can have leadership without character, righteousness without virtue, and peace without spirituality.

We need look no farther than last year’s election to prove the foremost. Perpetual dishonesty, habitual marital infidelity, underhanded business practices and cash exchanges with foreign officials are the antithesis of qualities to be sought in a leader. In describing this list, you cannot determine if I am referring to the candidate who won or lost. In some absurd series of unfortunate circumstances, the electorate decided it best to vote for the lesser evil. But the lesser of evils is still evil, and thus, a conscious decision was made to vote in support of evil.

The foundation of leadership is the ability to lead oneself. Said otherwise, character is the bedrock upon which leadership is built. When we’re looking for a leader, we should look first for those qualities that make for an upright individual. We should look for character strengths like honesty, humility and perspective. It makes no difference what policies a governor supports if their personal qualities lead the people into a state of corruption and moral filth.

However, I am skeptical to believe that those in power have led to our state of corruption and am more inclined to think we ourselves are to blame. Predominantly, this is a Christian society and the church has long been the standard bearer for morality in America. Today’s Christian community wants to claim the righteousness of Jesus Christ, but chooses to live with the virtues of Mel Gibson.

Mainline denominations are in discord trying to appease opposing points of view and, meanwhile, relegate preaching the Gospel to a secondary status. The non-denominational and evangelical movement gravitates toward a narrow view that claims to take the Bible literally, but upon examination, takes literally only those parts that are convenient for its culturally homogeneous constituents, and performs theological gymnastics anytime a scripture is opposed to the constituency’s prejudice.

This has created a moral void in our society. It is unclear how virtue ethics can regain footing in a time where the primary religion is already certain of its own righteousness, while those on the outside see the church for what it has let itself become.

On the other hand, there is a growing number of us who are religiously unaffiliated. Many of these individuals seek a world peace based on rationality and science. They see those who are vocally religious and rightly identify the hypocrisy of their actions. Paradoxically, these people are equally as intolerant of religion in the same way they claim the religious to be intolerant. Nietzsche is the greatest philosopher who claimed God is dead, but he also went mad from his own internal disharmony.

There is no peace without spirituality. All of the science, knowledge and rationality obtained throughout human history cannot replace the intrinsic, unspeakable peace that is only found through the introspective realizations brought about by the Spirit. If you acquire all the knowledge of the world, but are out of touch with your soul, you will be unable to achieve the peace that rationality tells you is possible.

We have a problem. We lack character, virtue and spirituality. We need leadership that reflects these qualities. We need to work harder to cultivate these qualities within ourselves. And yet, I remain optimistic about the human condition. For all the troubles we face, there are those among us who have the answers, and if we quiet ourselves long enough to listen to them, I am confident we will continue to progress as a people.

At the intersection of character, virtue and spirituality lies an inner peace that cannot be taken from you. If you have taken the time to read this to the end, then I am confident that you are person who values strong character, moral virtues and deep spirituality. If so, then I challenge you to look at your own thoughts and actions, and find the places where you can develop your character, expand your virtues and connect with your spirit. One by one, we can become the change we wish to see.

July 29, 2017 0

The Traveler

A traveler walks through wilderness, where few would dare to go,

Unraveling his bewildered thoughts relearning what he knows.

A thousand miles yet to come, a thousand miles past

Though he took little with him, much more now he does have.

On foot or train or riverboat, the means of his long quest

Only explains the what, not why he put himself to test.

The traveler is the only one who knows what’s on his mind.

If Peace is what he searches for, then Peace I pray he finds.

Each city filled with children without shelter while they slept,

Trapped inside the shadow of the valley of their death.

They respirate in toxins to achieve deceiving highs.

Their desperation drowns the Light until it cannot shine.

What will happen to these people, when did they come, where will they go?

Why do we ask the questions that no man can ever know?

Sitting with the homeless was a traveler in disguise.

If Peace is what he searches for, then Peace I pray he finds.

The traveler carried onward to the highest mountains base.

Perspective granted to him by the Himalayas grace.

The air was thin and, as he rose, so hard to catch his breath.

But what was all around him was the one we resurrect.

Unspoken Truth that cannot fade and will not ever die

Bestowed upon a simple man who was just walking by.

As he climbed down the mountain, he reflected on his time,

And Peace will never leave him if he keeps it on his mind.

The traveler still moved forward till he reached the ocean’s shore

And dove into the water where he saw the ocean floor.

He flew amongst the fish and floated by the massive shark

The sound of bubbles rising, looking down into the dark.

What a world he’d never seen and he would never want to leave,

And so he stayed and lived in life a dream that he had dreamed.

But he remembered all of those that he had left behind.

He knew that Peace and Light are lost if we don’t let them shine.

The traveler traveled thousands miles unto the crystal sand.

And as all travelers do, returned to that which he began.

I did not see him come, but he was sitting in a chair.

I do remember feeling Peace to know that he was there.

This was not the first occurrence here, nor will it be the last.

Some moments cannot be defined by future, present, past.

And as we spoke I knew that we had meetings of the Mind.

If Peace is what we’re working for, then Peace we’re sure to find.

————————

Written about the journey of an old friend. May he be well and happy.

July 8, 2017 0

Author: Travis