Why I don't write

MY STORY

Knowing how it ends, is kind of a downer. I don't feel like stitching it together, and making it cohesive. Have discovered a lot about writing, and will keep trying on my own.

Thanks for reading! It was fun while it lasted!

EXPECT VICTORY

Which also means that you should prepare for what happens after you win. One of the observations that I have made, is how much more prepared for success, successful people are. It is part and parcel of what they do. Not only do they take advantage of the opportunity in front of them, but the one AFTER it as well.

That is because they know like Aristotle knew - 'Success is not a singular act, but a habit.' Is it any wonder that people who have lives that they are unhappy with, find themselves in miserable situations? How much have they really changed about themselves, that will let them understand how the things around them contribute to where they are currently.

Do they find and institute a process, a thinking that they can believe in, one that they can repeat and fall back on when they are climbing towards their goals?

Being 'not only the president, but a club member', I look at folks who have suffered similar losses, and wonder why they persist in living there, and letting the agony linger.

Married my ex-wife, who was essentially the first girl I saw 'off the boat' when I came home from the service. Had in mind that I wanted to get married young, and that is what I got. When it didn't work out, the lesson was, 'Next time, be more precise in what you ask for, you just may get it!' She was simply the wrong person for me.

Went to school in Carolina, and started to 'chase'. Was one of the most thrilling rides of my life, doing what I can't believe I was doing. But like other things that I have done and watched other do, it forever took 'can't' from my vocabulary. Like with the Presidential election, agree or no, you aren't able to look at 'impossible' the same way again, because ANYTHING is possible.

Three very important and dear people have transitioned in my life ... and because I remain, I have grown stronger for each experience. When my Best Aunt was called, I was too full of what I was doing to really 'feel' it. When my Mom was called, that was when 'my hair fell out', so to speak.

Last year, when my Brother got his orders, I had to believe I was ready. It made me look at my life and ask myself if this is all there is to it, and if not, what was I going to do about it.

MISERY LOVES COMPANY...

... but it is your choice to open the door. When it came to leaving Mookie, I took the idea of 'letting my experience work for me', and freakin' put it to use! I had an idea of what I was heading for, and could prepare for what was to come. Mind you, things did not go 'dress right dress and cover down', but few things do. I kept the goal in mind, and moved the hell on. Period. Doing the right thing, for the right reasons, is justification enough. The reason that you don't catch a lot of 'Mookie talk' is that I have chosen to put other things in the space left by that experience.

I can't go into how many times 'good stuff' have fallen into my lap. I think it falls there because I don't have that 'boo hoo' stuff from places that HURT ME more than it helped me, in the way of something better coming and finding its place in my life.

That is how I 'knew' the tone of my journal was going to change. A funny thing happens when I start working on what I want to go for ...

ACCORDING TO YOUR FAITH...

Because faith and spirituality is internal, can't recall a time where I felt assaulted by someones proselytizing. It isn't their decision what happens to me, they aren't high enough on 'chain of command' to make that call. It is within reason for them to show concern, but that is that about that.

Wisdom, in its infinite forms is available to all of us to use. I have kept the comment about 'faith' close to my heart, because it is about what DO you belief in? I mean, you can make your case about what lies beyond everything and all, but do you belief in yourself?

That is one of the more annoying traits a person can have around me, always 'schleprockin' through stuff. ENOUGH OF THAT CRAP, jeez. If you are in the States, and have access to a computer, then it kind of shoot holes in the 'poor me' story that you tell yourself.

Could really get into 'but you don't live in ...' but I won't. You know it, like I know it. I ride my bike past places and homes where light won't shine in, no matter how bright. But the home I go into to lay my head ISN'T one of them. That is why I have to have the outlook that I do. Everyday, someone from one of those 'abandoned by hope' places is going to make their splash somewhere.

I ask aloud, 'why can't I expect to make it happen for me?'. When I get no answer, I take it as 'believe that you can, and it will, Mark'. And that is what I do.

BIG FINISH

I have allowed the word 'try' to creep into my language. One of the reasons it did, is because I see so many people, who put the 'tough racket' in their lives as an excuse for not going out and getting after it.

When I tell my girls that it is better to have tried than it is to wonder, it will be from experience. Picking on both my ex and Mookie, in comparison, I would not say that they have 'tried' to do too much, even in maybe meeting Prince Charming. I don't think they tried to make themselves available for that.

This is not to say there is anything wrong with that. But to simply wait on things, and remaining stagnant yourself is not the way that it happens.

Which is why I want to go to Nebraska. If I can't find it here, then I need to get up and go to where I think that I can, right?

one day: A side by side direct comparison!