Monthly Archives: February 2015

Music Continues To Save My Life – A Bit Long But Gives Rise To A Smile

27 Friday Feb 2015

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11/24/14

“Music enters our bodies, commandeering the pulse in our veins, and reminds us that pleasure isn’t a matter of feeling good but of feeling more alive.”

To be honest, music has continually saved my life! It has a lot to do with my upbringing and how important it was to my family and I guess the Hispanic culture. This is even more true in the last year although not in a literal or dramatic way (okay maybe at certain times) but it has given me direction and power in how to live better. All that I imagine, whether it be in the past or even well into the future, music and song mystically has transported me so they seem real if even for a moment. It reminds me of who, what, and where I was and in many ways, hope to be. More importantly, it has taught me how to expand relationships that exist in my present whether they be longstanding ones, or those of shorter or temporary duration.

Simple story but with a huge meaningful impact on me: When I first got out of the hospital fresh with anger, frustration, and dealing with a reality I was unwilling to accept, I began intense therapy. It included the involvement of this kind, unassuming speech therapist whose job was to help me regain and improve my memory and cognitive skills which were pretty basic at the time. Part of her approach was to play old songs and see if I could recall the words and names of the artists. To illustrate how limited I was, I could not recall the name of one of my favorite bands which should have been easy since it involved one letter and one number – U2. Funny now but it took me a week to finally remember their name.

Early on she shared with me how much she liked the band “Bread” because it reminded her of some of the best times of her life which was a few years beyond my 51 years. I actually was a fan of theirs after my uncle introduced them to me when I was younger. The words in their songs about love and heartache stuck with me throughout my later years so in a very random act of kindness (at least for me at the time), I downloaded 6-7 songs to take with me to my next session. Maybe it was in part to distract from the actual therapy that was frustrating or something to make me feel “human” again by doing something for someone who shared that she was struggling with some personal issues.

Anyways as she started therapy the next day, I stopped and surprised her with the songs I downloaded and tears immediately formed in her eyes and I watched as her thoughts were transported back to a more uncomplicated time with memories that gave life to her at that moment. We spent the whole hour listening to each song (sometimes twice) and sang the words together. Amazingly, I remembered the lyrics and recalled times I personally associated with them even though I struggled recalling basic other things, words, names, memories, etc., that should have come easier. Her face as she looked off in the distance at a meaningful part of her past is carried deeply within me to this day and that event began the redirection of my journey.

The morel of this part of my story! When I was at one of the shittiest periods of my life, I stopped being “f’ing” consumed with what was happening to me! I found by doing something so simple for someone who really needed it was the most therapeutic part of those first three difficult months. It made me forget about where I was and I began to be more aware of who was around me and where they might be in THEIR lives. It gave me hope in my medical recovery because I found there were things still stored in my damaged brain that could be unlocked. More importantly, I found hope in my heart about what I could achieve on a daily basis through kindness to others if I just took a risk and reached out to them. In that regard, I don’t ever take a lazy step when more can be accomplished by not resting and stepping quicker. That moment with her made me accept my situation as more than a recovery. It became a rediscovery of the best part of who I was and a discovery of who I could and should be. I’ve said it before that this injury and thereafter has been, in many ways, one of the best things that’s happened to me when at first, it seemed like the worst!

So music has been one of the most instrumental parts of my life because it connects me with every part of my existence. It has allowed me to explore my strengths, courage, beliefs, passion, emotions, imagination, flaws, vulnerabilities, and insecurities. It has shaped my heart each time I’ve shared it, tortured and repaired it when it was broken, and redefines it in the words that strike true to me with each song I hear.

I was told about love when I was young but truly felt it its connection with music and continually define it by the words captured in them. My soul is controlled, carried, and soars towards every place I want to be, and distance from those places I want to escape. My days are energized and inspired throughout each day with music, and the nights end comforted and at peace after every conquest and defeat.

I was taught about God through Catholic school and church. However I didn’t fully understand and feel his presence until I incorporated the songs and music created by mortals into my world. Maybe that’s why almost all religions and cultures express joy, sorrow, success, failure, appreciation, remorse, beauty, love, and unfortunately violence through the emotions and messages contained in music and expressed further through words and dance (no matter how comedic the moves may appear by the “rhythmically challenged”).

So if you see me singing out of tune and undulating like I’m having another seizure, do not be concerned (you should see and hear Deb, Jason, and Christian). Just part of my recovery and allowing the magic of the music cure me and continue to save me. If I see you doing the same, I won’t criticize you because I understand and will just smile to myself and then go back to my own songs.

Oh in case you’re wondering, I’ve been listening to Anita Baker pretty much this whole time.

PS. “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”

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Serve as the “God” of Your Dreams – Suggestion to My Sons

26 Thursday Feb 2015

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In the place of praying to The Lord to fulfill your dreams, act like your own “god” to see them through to completion. You have been gifted by and through Him so do more of the work for yourself than ask Him to do more of the work that you want Him to do for you!

You should rejoice in life by being “comets” racing through the sky rather than be imprisoned as mortal stargazers left only to witness from earthly confines. Speed unhindered around the ever expanding boundaries of the galaxy and return with the dust of the multiple particles of the universe that your journeys have traveled through. Fret not over the uncertainty of that which you may not foresee, and escape with dedication the servitude of self-doubt and hesitation. Waste not one heartbeat, squander one minute, nor dismiss one moment, until you have left your mark on the path of your celestial orbits. If passing a star within your grasp, reach out and grab it rather than wait for God to hand it to you!

If only I could travel with you but I have already unveiled the treasures from my similar youthful journeys with only slight regret over the offerings never appreciated or accepted. I only pray those endowments never be sacrificed nor extinguished through your lack of awareness, or your eyes be led astray by distractions for only you can be the “god” of your dreams. I will faithfully wait here for your orbital return anticipating the wealth of the colors and fires of your comet as it eclipses the surrounding sky and be mesmerized by its view. Display this love of your youth through the breadth of infinite galaxies you shall explore and the discovery of their once hidden mysteries. Remember you shall one day exit them and in time, your ability to uncover more will be antiquated so until that time, serve as the “god” of your dreams so the Lord can serve those less fortunate than you!

Looking Back On The Year – Message to My Family

24 Tuesday Feb 2015

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10/29/14

“Whoso neglects learning in his youth, loses the past and is dead for the future.”

Kind of extreme in translation but the message should resonate for those of any age. Any of us who can measure the progress of today is still young enough to make the simplest and greatest changes that will benefit not only that day but expand our hopes for the next ones.

Prime example: one year ago today, I went down literally and figuratively with little more than a still beating heart to measure from that day forward. Not a noble or enviable position to be in at 51 “years young”, I had several choices. The first was to say “enough is enough” and what I’d done up to that point had been all I was ever going to do. Another was to say that I’ve had “enough of it all” and just leave it to God and “fate” to sort it out. Or maybe keep praying to God, asking Him to solve everything with little or no input of my own. Finally, I said I had “enough of this” and instead of praying to God, I became a “god” of all my dreams and did well more than enough to make most of them come true and working on newer ones created every day!

Just because you fail to recognize the start of a moment of life’s simple elegance does not preclude you from joining and being part of it. As a result that moment becomes a part of you, shaped by your own unique contributions. We cannot predict or measure the worth of any situation unless we join it at any time and the value of our return is reflected by the amount of our involvement.

My personal journey has been improved by doing many things but the simplest are as follows. Never betray my existence by ignoring the obvious beauty in my everyday life. Never ignore the opportunity to acknowledge the obvious and subtle offerings of those that are parts of my life, even if they are part of it momentarily. Share the best part of me even when I may not be feeling the best about myself because it gets me closer to where I want and need to be. I understand that what I have is really more than what I need and that what I have within me is enough to obtain what I’m entitled to.

Finally, good things still happen to “bad” people. Also bad things eventually happen to all people (good or bad) without rhyme, reason, sequence, or continuity. If karma exists, then get to it first instead of letting it find you. Young or old, please accept what I’ve discovered – everyday I’ve been on this planet I’ve been living so many dreams and every dream that faded in the past is because I didn’t do enough to keep them alive. For every day I’m alive now, I’m still creating additional dreams which cannot be extinguished without anything less than all I can do to make them come true as well as keep alive the ones that have been fulfilled for the sake of myself and those around me.

I thank God for: allowing me to rediscover who I am during the last year to get to where I needed to be, who you guys are for meaning so much to me, and that looking up from the bottom actually was where I needed to be to see how high I could climb.

Thank you!

A Soliloquy For Deb (All Moms) – Reminding My Children

22 Sunday Feb 2015

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9/12/14

Sitting at the beach right now and as always, it’s my way to connect and reflect about my time with my parents.

I was thinking about whether I did enough for them while I had them? Of course the answer is “no” because I was too young and to self-absorbed to realize any shortcomings. In addition, I didn’t appreciate the concept of the uncertainty of their existence until they were taken away from me. Not really looking back with any shame but a bit of regret. Still I think they had a greater understanding of why my actions were less than desired because of their own experience through their own upbringing coupled with their role as my parents. At least that’s what I tell myself.

I sometimes think back about the stupid fights I had with my Mom with the causes and escalation shared between the two of us. One thing I know now is that when my mother got really enraged, she was not necessarily raging because she carried the weight of her world but raged because of the weight of MY WORLD! I want you to think about that when Mom and I ask for a brief break. It’s not because we want a break from being parents but because sometimes we just need to rest because carrying the weight of YOUR WORLDS feels a bit heavier on certain days.

This is not so much about me but more for Mom. I’ve known her going on almost thirty years now and really loving her for 26 years. Have I done everything that I could for her or was I derailed due to my youth and/or the same self-absorption I exhibited with my parents? Of course! Has Mom done more for me (and probably all of us) than what she’s gotten in return? Absolutely! We know Mom and trust me, most of her relationships have been that way and it will continue to be so because either by title or nature, she undoubtedly will be recognized as a “giver” who demands little in return. Sometimes it frustrates me because she deserves so much more than people offer her in return which frequently leads to others’ drama and chaos creating the same for her. Still gotta love that woman either way.

The point: During my recovery this may be one of the few times in her life that someone (me) has done more for her to keep her happy while expecting little in return. I’ve done the same for you boys because I have the time, desire, and ability. I have enough to carry my world on my own shoulders with a sense of harmony making it easier to carry all of yours. Just the way I roll you know? All I ask that when Mom reacts sometime in a way that seems like rage, remember she is just raging like my Mother in carrying the weight of OUR WORLDS! She always recognizes where her initial responses were out of proportion to the situation but none of us are perfect. Remember that what we may feel is “wrong with her” is still perfect for us in the end. So this is what I ask – give her a break when you see she might need one and do a bit more for yourselves. Of course she’ll do it and you know she will but why should she have to? Just thinking but by doing so, how good would it make her feel and how good would you feel about yourselves? Again, just thinking.

Thinking Like Superman – Message to My Family

19 Thursday Feb 2015

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“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”
— Christopher Reeve

The “Superman” of my generation authored this following a horse riding accident that left him paralyzed and in a wheelchair with a tube in his throat until the day he died. He dictated this for his wife, children, and anyone who pitied or expressed sympathy for him.

Please read this and explore what he may have been thinking being fully aware of his condition compared to what it was before his accident. I guess it hits me closer to home because, by no means as traumatic or extreme, I’ve struggled with similar actualities, especially in the desolation of my own quiet thoughts. Not sure that I really cried during those times but only because I had to summon every amount of faith in myself to press on through any times of despair.

Ponder this: Every time you say you can’t, it’s really that you won’t. Every time you say you won’t, it’s really because you’re afraid to try. Either that or you want to prove that you don’t have to and if so, it still means that you’re afraid to try, don’t believe in yourself enough, or acting in spite of everything and everyone including yourself! It’s beyond my understanding but certainly within yours if you decide to honestly evaluate yourselves.

So I implore you never to limit yourself when the “movie Superman” proved how Super he was after almost all of his powers were taken from him. Do not disregard any dream that you can create while you have the luxury of time and ability. Remember others struggle with so much less and still seem to accomplish so much beyond others’ expectations. You betray every endowment that The Lord has seen fit to provide you with when you fail to call upon that within you to accomplish what was truly not “improbable” and/or “impossible”. You leave a blemish upon those dreams which should simply factor into your destiny and should be “inevitable” if you just see fit to include them as part of your lives.

I’ll close by referring to something Mom sent me because have no doubt, this is all me in a nutshell! “I’m going to succeed because I’m crazy enough to think I can.”

God thank You for allowing me to be this crazy, even more so after my brain injury because it’s no longer about how screwed up I feel I am, but actually how screwed up I’m not! And you?

The Journey Ahead of You – Message to My Children

17 Tuesday Feb 2015

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2/6/15

“It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey.”

As you “grow up”, that’s when you find out how grown up you’re not – sad but true. As you strive for more independence, there’s no shame in realizing that you are still reliant on others while discovering that you don’t yet have the experience and resources to readily overcome the expanding dimensions of your existence.

With the unknown and unexpected questions about yourself and others introduced to you more frequently with age, don’t be overwhelmed with the initial uncertainty and panic you’ll experience. Most importantly don’t react to those feelings without thinking what you need, not want, to do. You haven’t learned enough to act impetuously but you are intelligent enough to sort most things out if you walk through them slowly. I doubt it’s any comfort but this learning curve, although smaller, continues even at this stage of my life.

So here’s some simple advice for you that took me a little longer to learn, primarily due to nature of my impervious stubbornness. First paraphrasing a quote by a sportswriter in the LA Times, “when you come to a fork in the road, don’t continue to go straight ahead!” Second before you choose your direction, use all your senses, common sense, logic, and instincts that you have available to reach the best decision. Finally if still troubled by uncertainty, look to those who have traveled similar journeys who have only your best interests at heart because really, youthful exuberance and unbridled optimism can only take you so far. It’s just irresponsible to disregard the wisdom and information that is so close to you. When it comes to whether I can be of any assistance to you, remember and (maybe grudgingly) accept that I’ve: done (a lot) more, seen (a lot) more, screwed up (a lot) more, learned (a lot) more, lived (a lot) longer, and as a result, know a hell of a lot more than you do! Most importantly, I care more than you could ever imagine about you and so many others close to me and I’d rather have you ask me for help first, rather than have to help you pick up the pieces later.

So take your time because you have a lot to figure out but with “real work”, you’ll see that each test is not so much an obstacle but a source to uncover what will turn out to be how you define the days that add up to your overall existence. Don’t be satisfied with convenient choices when more is required because momentary peace is just meant for temporary relief but offers no long term answers. With time and hopefully acceptance of the influence of proper guidance, you’ll increasingly grow to rely more on yourself to find more about who you are, what you want, and where everything and everyone fits. Until things become more clear, you just won’t know unless you step back at times, reevaluate where you’ve been and the best way to get to where you want, and then make the best choices with the information available to get there.

Mom sent this to me and so ill end with this quote. “Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.” And when that answer is revealed, keep moving on because what you learn gives you more to take you farther than you’ve yet to imagine.

Dad

Feeling The Best About Ourselves – Message To My Sons

14 Saturday Feb 2015

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8/25/14

“Unheard of means it’s only undreamed of yet; Impossible means it’s just not yet done.”

The other day I was leaving with Christian from the gym and out of the blue, he said “Dad I feel really good about myself.” I asked why and he responded “I don’t know, I’m just in a good mood”. I was kind of proud because how often do you here people, much less a thirteen year-old, say that without some measure of overconfidence or overcompensation. I felt at that moment this was a child who did not see limitations on himself or the capacity his life could offer him.

I guess that’s where great accomplishments, especially those unimagined, start. We have to feel the greatest connection with ourselves to transfer it over to the mental and physical strength necessary to obtain perfect goals and create perfect moments. How can we see the best this existence has to offer when we can’t see or feel the best in ourselves?

Part of this individual quest does require a bit of selfishness because such are the demands of being extraordinary. Surrounding yourself with people and things that lead you to stray from the “achievable impossible” will most likely continue a blindness to the obtainable. Best to surround ourselves with those that see not only the best in you but what is beyond your expectations. Be meticulous in choosing those things and people because you are now heading into the time that the strength of who you are, and the commitment and drive of what you know and have yet to discover, will be the foundation for future cherished rewards.

Example: My ability and dream of being a lawyer, minus delay caused by questionable choices, countered by the addition of Deb in my life equaled actually becoming a lawyer when the outcome may have been otherwise. What would have happened had I had found her sooner? She saw more in me than I felt at the time and she was unselfish enough to give me the room to be selfish in that regard so that the investment would pay off in the future, i.e., marriage, sons, etc.

Let’s face it, we don’t always feel great about ourselves by choices and decisions we make but we are lucky enough to have people close to us who sometimes serve as our anchor when we start to drift. Keep those people close for just those times – you will need them and you can trust them when you need their support and guidance. Do not assume that what others want for themselves through their own desires or needs fit into your equation – it doesn’t work that way and no matter how creative you want to be to justify it, the math does not add up.  You own your own life and hence your own choices.  Thus it demands your courage to make sometimes the most unpopular decisions to those around you but still the most popular decision to the voter that ultimately matters – YOU! I did not raise “wusses” so don’t act like one – the strongest quality about you is the measure of individuality you exhibit!

Find the best in you, maintain it for as long as you are able, channel it towards the best available to you, and discover that which was once beyond your horizon. It’s funny (maybe not so funny) but since my injury, I have felt that way more frequently and I feel sometimes guilty for the amount of undefinable happiness I feel. I do see more than what I should have imagined before and though I may share it in odd ways, at least I share and rest assured it is genuine. That’s the bottom line I guess. Find the path to feel the best about yourself, embrace and cherish it, use it, share it, and then you’ll feel good just about almost everything large and small. We can only give to others based on what we reserve and allow to give to ourselves. Good luck!

Cancer Took So Much But My Hope Is Still Strong

12 Thursday Feb 2015

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12/6/14

“I want to inspire people. I want someone to look at me and say because of you I didn’t give up.”

Jim Valvano suggested that we “have an enthusiasm for life” and I seriously try, even on my worst days – we all have them but they all have meanings and answers beyond the question “why me”. Coach Valvano is an inspiration not only for the “Cinderella” team that won a national championship but what he did before his death from cancer. Most of us know his famous speech at the ESPY awards @ 20 years ago when he announced the creation of the “V Foundation”. In that speech he said the foundation might not save his life but might save his children’s lives. What I learned today through an interview with his brother that the coach’s daughter, who was in the audience at the ESPY’s, developed breast cancer @ 7 years ago but is cured now. However she was told that had she been diagnosed 20 years earlier, her cancer would have been untreatable. The $150 million raised by her father’s foundation for cancer research most likely saved his daughters life, just as he hoped and I wrestle with tears right now as I think about the beautiful irony.

I do my best not to hate things, especially people, because hatred only blackens my soul. With that in mind, I TRULY F’ING HATE CANCER! Of course there are the obvious reasons. Cancer is senseless and indiscriminate about who it attacks. It’s blind to age, gender, race, religion, poor people, good people, and those who you’d think have suffered enough for unrelated reasons. It’s also f’ing dishonest because it can lead you to believe that improvement will mean remission while it lurks in the darkness ready to strike again. I’m not angry anymore because of the pain it caused me when it took my parents 20 years ago, but I still carry a grudge over the pain it inflicted upon them.

What I really f’ing hate though is that cancer is a thief. I’m proud of my parents that they conquered this awful enemy each day after their diagnoses until it finally got the upper hand. What angers me is that cancer had the audacity to temporarily steal my hope and extinguish my optimism in their final days and countless ones afterwards. I mean John Lennon said “where there is hope, there is life”, so part of my life was taken for awhile never to be returned. It evaporated my disregard of my morbidity and mortality. I could no longer feel like anyone’s child by stealing the two people I could never replace and it has made me feel like an orphan to this day.

It unfairly infringed upon my right to introduce my sons to their grandparents and although I try to keep them alive through photos, videos, and stories, I have to accept that I am nowhere near capturing the essence of their existence. Given that my father loved baseball and my sons are exceptional at the sport, I was robbed of the opportunity to sit next to him at their games and marveling in that we had a part in their creation.

Most importantly, it stole and dismantled my whole belief structure so to the extent I had to rebuild and reconfigure it with the resulting construction noticeably different than the original. Although I never lost my belief in God, I did temporarily lose my trust in Him given that I lost my Mom and Dad in the course of ten months. It actually made me lose my trust in most things for way too long but I’m pretty sure He’s forgiven me for that lapse in confidence. I kept telling myself everything happens for a reason and to learn from every misfortune but for the longest time, everything I came up with was less than convincing and of little consequence.

Wow! I guess I had been repressing a lot more than I thought and thanks for hearing me out! Time passed and I eventually “got my mind right” or something like that to get back on track. Cancer in the end beat my parents but I had to recognize that it did not beat me because I am still here and so ALIVE! I was hurt pretty bad last year but by carrying my parents’ name and legacy, there was no room to act like a victim or martyr and I built upon the hope and optimism that I slowly reconstructed over the last twenty years. I understood, like we all should, that “the past is not our potential … and in any hour we can liberate the future.” I’ve had so many great moments after my parents’ passing beginning with those I’ve shared with my wife and sons. Beyond them though, I’ve included just about anyone to potentially be parts of the simple precious moments of my life. Mind you I am not lonely when I’m by myself but I can only measure life’s value by how I share it with others and how I accept what is shared with me in return, and the pleasant surprises have justified the risks of that sharing.

Now back to coach V. He died at 47 years old. My parents 57 and 60. I am 52 and a parent of two sons. The goal and dream is to provide more for your children than you had and I know my parents did that for me and I’m fairly certain I have as well during my time on this earth. However Coach V did more than I could ever imagine accomplishing. Not only did he give his daughter life once through her birth but THROUGH his words at the ESPY’s and it’s message, the foundation raised funds for additional research which led to her cure and as a result it, gave her life a second time after his death. In her case, cancer lost!

If it’s true that one out of four people will develop cancer at some point in their life and given Coach V’s daughter’s recovery, think of the increased number of patients who have survived or have had their lives extended as a result of Coach V’s inspiration. What’s most important to me is if there is a genetic component between me and my parents disease, then I have hope that the outcome will be different for me with the application of their will to beat there own cancer. Maybe like coach V, his efforts were too late to save his own and my parents but in the event I or someone I cherish is unfortunately stricken, they have an increased chance of being saved. In any event, I will continue to “have an enthusiasm for life” because maybe, just maybe, someone may be inspired to do the same!

Trying and Thinking Correctly – Approach to Baseball (Life)

11 Wednesday Feb 2015

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I question the reasoning behind the application of the following terms when mistakes are made: someone was “trying to hard”, “trying to do too much”, or “thinking too much”.

I guess it’s a matter of interpretation but they just don’t make sense to me. Generally they’re used in sports when someone makes mistakes while attempting to complete routine or ordinary tasks during a competition that one is generally expected to perform. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that nothing is “routine” since it takes a lot of work and practice for you guys to do what you do so well to make them look routine.

“Trying too hard”, “trying to do too much”, and “thinking too much”, are incorrect descriptions. The terms should be “trying too wrong (or incorrectly), “trying to do too much of the wrong (or incorrect) things, or “thinking too much of the wrong (or incorrect) things or about distractions that should not even enter your thinking. Maybe even add “using your resources in the wrong (or incorrect) way”.

Boys this as much about the mental, emotional, and physical preparation needed before games and then during every pitch, at-bat. play, etc. Baseball is a game of precision! Your practices and the habits you develop must be perfectly precise so that any unexpected deviation in a play is not met with instant anxiety or panic. That’s where the mental and emotional control is essential.

Let me equate it to combat soldier terms – not as extreme but you’ll get the gist. Teams are like a platoon of infantrymen whose performance as individuals protect and benefit the group. Your preparation and perfect execution of your required roles is imperative to not only your survival but your fellow “band of brothers”. Any deviation from your attention to the details, concentration, and focus will have a negative impact on achieving the platoon’s objectives and success of any operation. It’s no accident that during the first half of the 20th century, some of the best college football teams and athletes were from the service academies because of their advanced discipline, training, and being taught abounds coordination of units.

At this stage, you have had a lot of different coaches who are presumed to be “experts” regarding baseball and they may well be in certain areas. Just remember that you guys are the only ones who are experts about “YOU”, and have a better understanding of what works for you. This is not little league and you are beyond the time of major overhauls to your swing, fielding, throwing, etc., so filter through the overwhelming information provided and use only that necessary to correct what should be simple flaws. Moreover you know what’s needed to achieve what is required of you and I’ll bet you already know ( or should know) when you haven’t prepared enough or done it incorrectly. You have made it this far because of your gifts. If there is a problem, fix it NOW! If your process is too complicated, simplify it! If your mind is scattered, narrow things down so it’s only focused on what matters at the time! You owe it to yourself and your “brothers”. When you comprehend that you have greater responsibilities, you’ll understand how important it is to fulfill all aspects of your obligations.

So bottom line is put the perfect work and preparation in so that the performance reflects both. Be a master of each situation because your mind is centered around nothing beyond it. When observers take notice, let them frequently comment that you “are so consistent”, make it look “so easy” and “so natural”, or “always doing the right thing”, “having a baseball mind” and “a model of concentration”. It only matters that you know what it took to make it occur that way and that YOU control those perceptions.

A Father’s Wish

09 Monday Feb 2015

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Always remember what is perfect for you! Your life does not belong to anyone but you and at best, it’s only borrowed from God for the time he has designed. Perfection is the ideal but perfect is how the simplest, truly magical things each day add up to make you smile at night when you afford them their proper acknowledgement, setting aside the truly unimportant and meaningless frustrations that in time will be forgotten as they fade and take there place among the fairly inconsequential. I wish this for you each day because I love you my children. Make sure that you share this magic in the hope that someone who needs it may also end their night with a smile when they reflect upon what was so simple for you to share.