Can I Live forever

"I intend to live forever. So far, so good." -Steven Wright

I have wondered from time to time, what it would be like to live forever. Or live for at least one-seventy five years as Abraham, from Bible stories did. Maybe two-hundred or more years would be sufficient to see tremendous change. And then again, maybe only ninety years will be enough.

My grandmother lived to be 93 years-old and I remember how she was enthralled by the changes she had seen. She was born at a time when telephone service was in its early infancy. She died when the first cell phones were coming out. Moving pictures went from silent films to the big screen and back down to the small screen with VCR tapes. Even the cameras used to record them could be held (on your shoulder) and instantly seen. Not to mention television sets, cars, the moon, and so many things.

What I believe would be hard if living longer would be the loss of family, friends and familiarity with every day life. Of course good health would be essential and money. Heck, who is going to hire a one-hundred twenty year old man even if I do have my wits about me. Life would be a gradual adaptation to seeing so much change.

Don't get me wrong, I will live as long as God gives me to live. I am happy for each day and each moment with my wife, kids, grand kids, and friends. The experience of life is a joy to behold and whether it is sixty years or six-hundred, I will be thankful for each of them.

The important part of living forever though is living the years you are given such that the memory of you lives on. If the life I live is a good one, as good as one can strive for, then you do live on forever in the minds and hearts of those that knew you.

My own mother lived to be almost seventy-eight years of age until Pancreatic Cancer left its mark on us. We firmly believed that she would live into her nineties and beyond. She was that rock-solid to us and invincible. She lived though for others, for her children, for her family. And she enjoyed life even with all of the heart-break and pain that comes with simply living.

The interesting part is that she continues to live on inside each of us. She lives in the stories we tell our children and grand-children. She will live on in the stories that they tell the generations. So in a way, she is living forever and so far, so good.

He Is My Son

"It takes a long time to grow young." -Pablo Picasso

I remember a boy sitting in a laundry basket, smiling from ear to ear.
He may have been one year old or two, but this I know, he is my son.

He was proud of his trick, having gotten into the basket to surprise Dad.
So proud of him and everything since, for he is my son.

Years flow by like cool mountain streams, winter's store of snow racing towards the sea.
Each drink of water quenches the soul, for he is my son.

As time runs on and age consumes, rocks will wear and new flowers bloom.
But forever it remains, for he is my son.

Happy Birthday my son.

Temptation

"Ever notice that the whisper of temptation can be heard farther than the loudest call to duty." -Earl Wilson

I guess it happens to all of us. We could be walking down the street and when we turn the corner, we find temptation standing right there in front of us. It is seductive and does very well at playing to the inner most parts of us.

Recently it happened to me and did so in such a quiet and sneaky way that I am still surprised. You see I am one of those people that like cars but not enough to pay the large sums of money required for a new one. So I tend to buy a car that is a couple of years old and drive it for quite some time.

I took our 2004 Chrysler Concorde in for some new tires, which turned into a stripped lug nut bolt. From there I went to the dealership for a new lug nut and bolt replacement. Of course the brakes were getting a bit thin so I decided to have the front brakes replaced and yes, the front rotors as well. It was all going well until they brought the car around front and the brake pedal sunk to floor and they needed to use the emergency brake to stop the car.

Back in the service bay it went to find that the rear seal of the master cylinder had broken. The ensuing explanation of what and how that could have happened took place. My only reaction was just how much and lets get it fixed. I've gotten to a point in life where I can't change what just happened, I just need to deal with it and move forward.

The dealership offered a free rental car and thus the temptation began ever so quietly. When I had walked in originally for repairs, the service manager and I spoke about the new 2012 Chrysler 300 vehicle. For me, it piqued my interest and we had a nice discussion about them. Now I found myself riding to the car rental facility in a courtesy vehicle, the drive and I also talking again about the 2012 Chrysler 300.

There was paperwork and a bit of a wait and it shouldn't surprise you, they provided me with a 2012 Chrysler 300 of course. I slipped in and grasped the steering wheel, adjusting the seat perfectly to accomodate my frame. The satellite radio kicked out a concert hall sound as I placed the transmission into reverse. The large screen lit up with a view of the ground behind, no need to turn my head as everything behind me was perfectly clear.

Onto the highway I turned and the car's Hemi V-8 engine lifted and pulled me forward down the road with the greatest of ease. As I had expected, this car was all that I had expected. The seduction of a new car was taking hold of me. Temptation had me looking at financing options. The three sirens were clearly tempting my spirit.

Yet I found myself and looked beyond the temptation of a new car. The car payments, the insurance costs, worrying about this and that when it comes to keeping a new car looking new. There are other things higher on my wife's and my priority list. This car was trying to push its way to the top and nearly made it there.

We are all tempted by the slick marketing advertisements and the material want for new things. The yearning for these items usually starts in our emotions, which can be quite powerful. But you also have to step back from teh temptation, examine the reality of it and the longterm consequences of it. For us, buying a new car wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. It would mean placing other things lower on the list, reprioritizing.

When I stepped back though and looked at what was really important in our lives, the car just didn't match up. The temptation almost worked, but understanding that once the emotional excitement drifted away, the temptation ended up holding no power over me. I ruled the day and made the right choice.

Don't let temptation pull you into the rocks like a crashing wave. Settle back and consider beyond the moment of excitement. Take a clear view of what you want in life and avoid the sirens. You will find life a whole lot better without the aggravation of a hangover from choosing a wrong temptation.

Color Outside The Lines

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." -Albert Einstein

As I write this article, I am a couple of days past having submitted the manuscript for my fourth book. You will hear more about the book as the days progress, but writing it had the usual ups and downs. I am not a very disciplined writer in respect to creating an outline to frame a story. I do get a general idea in three or four parts of how I want the story to flow. But then I simply begin writing, letting words flow from inside like water flowing from a spigot.

Sometimes though, the spigot gets turned off with barely a drip of water. The flow stops and you could definitely call it "writers block." It is a frustrating thing to go through because the harder you try, the more void that occurs. It happens to many people so I know that I am not unique in that sense.

It was interesting recently to find that a sister-in-law of mine, very talented in the arts, was having something kind of similar happening. We were gathered as a family due to the recent passing of my mother-in-law. The siblings and their spouses all sat around eating, drinking wine, and talking about our lives with Mom. So I was surprised to hear my sister-in-law indicate that she had gone dry in her creativity. She was struggling to find the inspiration that would turn the spigot back on.

A brother-in-law offered a very good idea that can push you to creativity as well. The method is to force yourself into a deadline. In example, I had a deadline in order to get my manuscript completed. That can be a very good motivational thing, but a lot of times it doesn't unleash the creativity of the writing. I could tell that deadlines were not what she wanted or needed at this point in her life.

She then told us a story about her mother. One day when she was quite young, Mom was sitting with her at the table, chatting as a mother and daughter do. Mom was coloring in her daughter's coloring book. The story sounded as if they were talking about life in general and as they talked, the coloring Mom was doing was outside the lines.

Now most of us have taken crayons to a coloring book when we were young. We are instructed to stay inside the lines and use the various colors to fill in the picture. But this time Mom was coloring the areas outside the lines. I had to stop and think about what my sister-in-law was saying.

It occurred to me this was an expressive way of saying, "think outside the box." Step back and look at things differently from what conventional wisdom tells us to do. In my regular job, when troubleshooting a technical problem, when all logic fails, I employ this same method. You might call it "whacky" thinking or even "crazy" ideas, but it works. Like a broken record, trying the same thing over and over keeps you in the same spot.

I told my sister-in-law to keep after it, the creativity will come back. Take a piece of paper, just start pushing ink lines across the empty space of white. Crinkle up the paper, unfold and neatly fold it, wet the edges, and maybe end up throwing it away. Just change up what it is you are doing.

My own writers block got solved during the writing of my book by simply writing random words. I began typing cryptic and nonsensical phrases, and then printed it out and drew on it. An example is shown below. Don't ask me how it works but it works for me.

It takes several of these to get it happening again. Sometimes it is other things, but what it takes is thinking outside the box. Trying something different can be the thing that sparks a change. What we need to do though is change it up, don't sit and wait for it to happen. Movement causes change, movement will give you the chance to intersect with opportunity, and movement will keep your life moving forward.