Journey of Thousand Miles. . .Where's my Nike+ Sensor?
All of us walks alone. At times, if we are lucky, we walk as a couple. Other times, if blessed, we walk in a group. Sometimes, I followed. Other times I led upfront. I liked coming back from behind. Other times, I needed to be a front runner. Trouble is that it feels like I have walked alone for some time. Not that this bad. It’s just most of life’s best moments were with company. (Thanks, George Clooney, Up In the Air)
Phil Collins, I Don't Care Anymore
Introversion, my default position.Not that I don’t enjoy other’s company. It is just that I have felt comfortable conquering my personal demons and climbing that mountain alone. Be admired from afar. What a farce. I was firstborn in my family. I was first among others. I was the child that visited others. The child that others would babysit. GATE, Advanced, AP Classes, Combined classes. I traveled around and I got used to being the center attention. So much, I no longer wanted the limelight.
So secluded, I forced myself to be out there. Joined clubs. Ran for office. Became Secretary. Became Treasurer. Became VP. Became President. Became Manager. Pushed self to be better. Pushed self to be more. Leadership was a science. . .my art. . . my love. Holding position of power holds a special place in my heart, a responsibility. A trust that is inviolate. Got pissed when people were just resume building.
I no longer care. What happened? Simply, hated the politics. Just stopped caring about that stupid little stuff anymore. Its just part of the games. Trouble is I no longer cared about titles--about accolades--about rewards. What moves me is a job well done--a sense of accomplishment. I strive for the Flow. Flow is the moments of happiness in when the act is mastered.The Heavens open and Angels sing.
I Love Lone Wolves
When I was in the closing bookstore, Borders, I found myself reading the graphic novels. The story of my misspent youth. Comics, I loved them so. My love for the heroes. Whether they be Green Lantern, Wolverine, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Rom, Silver Surfer. I admired their commitment to duty. I identified with the noble soul. The quest for their personal Excalibur. Their never-ending struggle—their devastating defeats—and eventual conquer and vanquish of foe and inner demons. All were part of team. All played a vital role. All mastered skills to become warriors elite. Best of the Best. The First among Equals.
A line from West Wing jumps out. “Why not be a hero? I stick with my team. I wish people would stop trying to talk me out of it.”
Self-Help Books Neuters the Soul
I’m sure whatever followers (if I ever get any) will analyze the themes, the word choice, the storyline, the prevailing themes of these musings of mine. Knock yourself out. I already did the self-therapy and self analysis of me. I have taken the counseling classes. Read and tutored the psychology of whatever. Did the psychology of men, psychology of women, psychology of prejudice, general psychology, motivation, social psychology, personality psychology, physiological psychology, urban psychology. I have owned, read, and borrowed the litany of self-help books.
I threw them all away.
Psycho-babble books come from the premise there is something wrong with me and I need to be fixed like a dog. I will not be neutered from the history that has made me who I am. Came to the realization that everyone has had some personal problems that has hardened their emotional makeup.
Yeah, I Got A Problem. I Need You To Piss Me Off
Personally, I need this angst to move me. I need that personal effrontery. Michael Jordan stated in his Hall of Fame Induction speech that he was always looking for something to be angry about. His constant searching for something to fire him up. Cut from his high school basketball team. Target and definer of the Jordan Rules. His fight against icons. His fight against history, he battled the Legends of Magic and Byrd. He overcame.
Looking at the heroes of comicdom. Looking at heroes in the sports world. Looking at the heroes of history. They were all faced with some mounting evil. Some incredibly giant. Some monster to beat. At times, the heroes won. At times, lost. Each one persevered. Each one kept on. Each one survived. Each one paid the price. Each one was better.
I don’t know who your personal Xerses is. Everyone needs one.
Ben Grimm Faces Defeat and Smiles
There was comic book story. The Thing Of Fantastic Four renown was battling some alien champion warrior in a boxing match. An Elder Being, a Gladiators gladiator, (I think he was called the Champion). Body Broken. Towel ready to be thrown. Crowd aghast. Waiting for the Death Blow from Hulking Giant Alien warrior, our Rocky hero Ben Grimm said, "You will never beat me. You may break my bones. Tear my limbs from body, but you will never win. You may destroy my body, but you will never defeat my spirit." Like Ali facing the young George Foreman, Ali Bum aye. Our Spirit is strong. Our will is indefatigable. Our ability to be reborn, to be remade. To be better, it is in us. It is in all of us.
Shortest Poem In History
Muhammad Ali was giving a speech to some Ivy League graduating class. The crowd shouted give us a speech. He smiled and said, “Me, We.” So much said in so few words. This once, braggadocio, verbose, arrogant, confident fighter encapsulates the Human Spirit in two monosyllabic words. The best and worst of us are in each one us. We are capable of some terrible atrocities, yet we are capable of so much compassion. We can be the victims of our past or we can be the masters of our future.
There is no doubt in mind that Freud’s Unconscious keeps percolating to the top as we struggle against our own private personal demons. We can go through the slew of defense mechanism—Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. My former HR instructor once said, remember the perfect candidates for job also has some heavy baggage. Jung’s Collective Unconscious and Archetypes are our roles we play until we graduate from these silly games of good and evil. In time, we will just Be. In time, that will Be enough. In time we will all be part of the Flow. We will suffice to be part of that big, lights in the sky Smile.
Be a Hero.
