Thank you Titanium :)

So, it has been MONTHS since I have really published a blog post. In the meantime I have copied some of my Facebook statuses and reposted them. I have also started a catch-all post that touches on some of the ridiculous adventures I've taken part in during this absence. I tend to hold them up as my "too busy to write excuse too.

A funny thing happens when I don't post for a while - when I lose my momentum. I start wondering why I started writing to begin with. Wondering if anyone even cares about the somewhat self-indulgent ramblings I produce. And then the inertia sets in.

Thus, I am very grateful to "Titanium", a stranger who commented, tonight, on my 6 week old post Post-Marathon Bedtime Ramblings (yes, one of those "copied Facebook statuses), saying this ...

"I love this. I've come back to it again and again over the past couple weeks, on the heels of a spectacular failure of my own. Thanks for living it, for writing it. I needed the reminder that life is Now. Not then, not later. Now."

For some reason, I was especially grateful for that feedback tonight. And I reread it a few times. And decided it was time to write something again. Which is this.

Titanium's statement that "Life is Now. Not then, not later. Now." is exactly the topic of an Eckhart Tolle lecture I was watching this morning. It is actually fairly light, and even humorous, but it IS 2 hours long, so don't click for a quick look. I DO recommend taking the time to watch it at some point. He is a brilliant thinker and, as importantly, a wonderful "explainer".

PART ONE (1hr)

PART TWO (1hr)

The other thing that Titanium's message brought to my mind is an exchange I had a few years ago with the great Canadian writer/musician, Paul Quarrington. I had met Paul in 2008, spending an eventful day with him in Midland/Penetanguishene. Two years later I knew he was dying of cancer (as he had written a brilliant 3-part essay in the National Post about how he was dealing with his diagnosis - and dismal prognosis), and I sent him an email letting him know about the profound, positive impact he'd had on me.

Within hours, Paul sent me this reply,

"John, thanks for writing that. It really makes me feel good, to note that such paltry little pissants as words have a beneficial effect on people. So, I reckon I better keep it up for the time being!"

And he did, completing a final memoir "Cigar Box Banjo", that I read and enjoyed immensely, on last summer's canoe trip.

Here is a great video synopsis of the National Post interviews. It is ten minutes and absolutely magnificent!!

I think Paul finally got what I finally get that Titanium has also realized that Eckart Tolle has been telling us...

"The thing is, if you decide that life is beautiful, then one year isn't any less beautiful than thirty years."

Paul Quarrington

The only thing you will ever have is NOW. 

Enjoy it. 

 

Thank you for being "___er" than I am :)

Something I have been thinking about all day...

I used to worry that I wasn't ____ enough.

And any time I needed to prove to myself that this was true, I just had to look at someone more ____ than myself.

And there was always someone more ____ than me, so it ended up being a bit of a trap.

And I found myself resenting people simply for being the way I wanted to be. 

Which is quite crazy really.

So, somewhere along the way, I decided to stop doing that. Instead of comparing myself with everyone else, I would just love myself as I am and love them as they are. 

And a great thing happened - suddenly I began to appreciate them for their "___ness", and the very characteristic that used to threaten me now made my world bigger and better. 

And I usually found that people (at least the ones who find themselves loved and appreciated) are quite happy to share their "___ness" and that I ended up being way more ___ too, which was the exact result I had always wanted anyway.

Now, I am crazy blessed to know many of the "___est" people in the world.

Insert whatever awesome adjective you want ... nice! funny! cool! fit! fast! strong! smart! sexy! groovy! kind! inspiring! (Hell, so far that is just Olof Dallner! Haha!) 

Some of them are my oldest friends and some are the newest. Every one of them is in some way "___er" than me, and I am so blessed by that.

So, my advice is simple: always find the best in people and celebrate the shit out of it. 

Know that the easiest way to grow, joyfully, in the direction you want your life to go, is to be around people who already embody it.

And be equally appreciative and loving towards those people who see something great in you.

That is it. Carry on. I love you   :)

P.S. If you are wondering if you are the one who is "___er" than I am, the answer is YES! Thank you for that.

P.P.S. Thanks to everyone who has been moved to share this post. It really resonated with me when I wrote it and I am glad that it resonated with you when you read it <3