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New Ramblings

Monday Afternoon Ramblings – 8/12/19

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I’m happy.

No qualifiers, no hyperbole, no BS. I’m happy.

I can’t explain exactly why. My life is far from perfect, and by many objective standards, my career has been a failure. I don’t have many creature comforts, and I basically live day to day financially. However, when I wake up each day, I’m grateful for the food in my fridge, the roof over my head, the opportunities in front of me, and the people who are close.

Many of my clients have plenty of money, but I wouldn’t classify any of them as happy people. Some are too petty to find joy in anything. Some are too selfish to appreciate the warmth that comes from sharing with those less fortunate. Some are just miserable individuals. I wouldn’t trade lives with any of them.

I know that a major contributor to my happiness is the gratitude I feel for the positives I do enjoy. If you are not happy and want to change your life, that’s the first and most important step you can make. Find the good aspects of your daily life and take a moment to feel real, sincere gratitude for those items or moments or people. That simple act transforms your perception. Instead of dwelling on all the things you don’t have, which is an infinite loop of dissatisfaction, you will begin to appreciate the little stuff that enriches you.

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. Happiness is choice. So is misery. You are in control of which way you perceive the world.

That’s all for now.

New Ramblings

Monday Afternoon Ramblings – 8/5/2019

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I took the boys back to Jacksonville last week. That trip is so bittersweet. The drive down is always fun as we laugh and joke through each state. I’ve become intimately familiar with every rest area on the path and have a handful of travel centers I like to use. The boys have become quite familiar with the scenery as well. This particular trip down Collin actually drove a little, his first time doing so on the interstate.

The drive back is much more subdued. The car is too silent, and typically I just want to get home. It always takes me a couple of days to shake off the blues.

For the first time in a long time, I took a week off to enjoy the last couple of days with them, make the drive down and back, and rest up afterwards. Now I’m getting back into my flow, so I’ll try to knock out a few new posts this week.

That’s all for now.

New Ramblings

Monday Night Ramblings – 7/15/2019

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Really busy couple of weeks, so I haven’t been able to write a post recently.

This summer has been one of the best of my life. My kids have been here with me since early June, and they have helped me with the business quite a bit. If you’ve known me for any time at all, you should already know how hard my divorce and the loss of custody of them were on me. For the last 11 years, I have felt like a part-time parent, relegated to nightly phone calls and twice a year visits that always ended way too soon.

I missed too many firsts to catalogue, and I’ll never get those back, but this summer, I have gotten to be a real dad again. I got to teach my oldest how to drive and my youngest how to put in a full day’s work. I’ve gotten to talk to them for hours on end and joke and be silly and be stern and instill values and all of those things a father is supposed to do.

My hope for everyone is that they can find healing and love and purpose for their lives. If I could give everyone the blessings I’ve enjoyed these last three years, I would gladly share them with all. Life is too short, too fragile, too beautiful to allow anger and bitterness to consume you. Gratitude and thankfulness are much more pleasant paths to traverse.

That’s all for now.