Truth is, a good story wins every time

A good story sells. A good story is remembered. A good story gets told again and again. A good story teaches. A good story entertains. A good story has a point. A good story has a moral. A good story paints a picture. A good story captures the imagination. A good story gets better the more it's told. A good story tells the truth. A good story never gets old. 

There once was a boy who left his hometown with a broken heart. He traveled far and wandered lost in the wilderness. By chance, he found a new home. It felt like he had come home to a place he had never been before. He was given the keys to open every door. He met a beautiful girl. He fell in love. He won her heart. They married and started a family. They had three beautiful daughters. They worked very hard and built a beautiful home. The boy received the news his father had died. He flew straight back to his hometown and was welcomed with open arms. He grieved the loss of his father. He grieved for the hometown that was no longer his home. He wondered how life would be if he'd never left. He visited all the places he used to know as a boy and very little had changed. He visited the people he used to know and they all marveled at the man he had become. The pain in his heart grew as he thought of his family back home. He would have never left if he had only known. He meant so very much to those he'd left behind. He traveled so far and it was easy to find. That his home is where is heart is, so he made up his mind. He loved his daughters. He loved his wife. He flew straight home and he loved his life! They lived happily ever after. The beginning. Not, the end!

That's my story in a nutshell. What's yours?

Truth is, baby steps is a good idea

Incremental improvement is the theory. The question is what size increment is worth the effort. The answer, I have found, is any size increment of improvement, when sustained, is worth it. 

When I was hiking at high altitude with a world-class back-country mountain man, friend of mine who I was struggling to keep up with doubled back to tell me, "Up here where the air is thin, never stop, doesn't matter how slow you go. Just never stop. See you at the summit!" Baby steps would be an exaggeration in describing my acent that day, but I'll never forget the lesson I learned that day. Keep moving forward. Life, like hiking a mountain, isn't a race. If it were it would be a marathon, your first and only marathon with the goal to finish well.

I've always want to make huge strides. To succeed. To reach the objective and set a new one even higher. Now that I am older I am starting to see the flaw in this way of living. Being in a hurry to succeed is problematic because enjoying success entails enjoying the ride to get there. A rough ride brings great blessing. The journey is the reward in itself. Baby steps not only allow you to keep moving forward, but offer the opportunity to look around as you go. 

A baby step is an action. One positive action after another and another in the right direction will get you where you need to go. One baby step today is worth any giant leap planned for tomorrow. A baby step right now is the answer to any challenge you are facing. If you take that step it will lead to another, and another, baby momentum is a powerful thing. Before long you will arrive. If you keep moving you will realize you are already there. Success is the journey not the destination.

Truth is, I've been living like there will always be tomorrow

I've been living as a mortal in all that I fear and as an immortal in all that I desire. Living as if there will always be time to do what I want, putting it off until tomorrow. Always doing what I fear I need, doing what I must to get through the day and ensure another morrow. There will always be another one. Although today is filled with sorrow and need, I press on to create a better tomorrow. I will sacrifice this day. I will do what I have to do, because some day will come and my dreams come true. There are things I want to do and don't, because there will always be tomorrow, until there isn't. Now that I am old I'm starting to feel different. All the days I have squandered seem to mock me with indifference and there is little time for my deliverance. In the few days I have left I will find time in the present to set a presidence. What matters most is now. Tomorrow has no relevance. Their number dwindling. There aren't many left. I'll stop wasting time. I'll stop the theft. I'll do it right now. Time to seize the day. I remember how. I know how to play.

Truth is, you can not control everything in your life

Truth is, a lot of things are out of our control. Knowing this helps us deal with the unfairness in life. Having a mindset to learn from that which we can not control helps us find the silver lining. We really don't know the ending of our story. We don't know enough to tell the good things from the bad when they happen to us. We know what feels good and we know what hurts, but do we Honestly know what these feelings do for us. Where they lead us. Who they make of us. We must learn from that which we can not control in order to choose our response. We must learn the alternatives to fight or flight. We must be wary of random rewards and grateful for the challenges we face. If we allow it, serendipity will surely come our way. 

Truth is, Sometimes Everything is not going to be OK

And that's OK. Whatever it is we'll work it out. We'll work through it together. I will be there for you. It's why God put me here. It's what makes me happy. That I can be here for you. If you need to be alone that's OK too. Sometimes I need to be alone. But, know this, you do not always have to be alone. You have me. 

I'm the guy who knows the truth. Truth is, it's not always going to be OK. And that's ok too.

Truth is, God Gave Us a Heart

Truth is, God Gave Us a Heart for those moments  in Life when we have to face the unthinkable, The unbearable moments when there are no answers. Those times when the mind becomes overrun, blows a fuse, shuts down, try's to reboot, but comes up blue-screen or worse dies. Sometimes the unthinkable will not compute. 

Truth is, that's why God gave us a heart. Sure, it breaks and it bleeds. It races and lumps in our throats. But when the mind shuts down the heart beats on. It feeds our soul. It presses on. According to our needs, it speeds up and it slows down. It sustains us. It's rythum defines us. Its more than muscle, as we are more than this bio-mechanical machine in which we ride. It powers the mind and body with fuel and energy. The generator and alternator in one power-pack running Independantly from our conscience thoughts. 

As the body is to the person. The mind and heart are the physical manifestation of the Spirit and Soul. Our Being, our consciousness, our thoughts that come spontaneously into existence are not random, nor are they voluntary. Do we create our thoughts from nothing? Can we decide not to think? Can we stop our thoughts and see from where they came? See who made them. Is there something or someone there in that nothing. Is the spark that jolts our heart and lights our brane from the same creature who sends lightning boltz from the sky. Are we the nothing from where these thoughts arise? Are we creature or creator of our universe? Is our Being separate or a part of this world? If we are in fact inseparable and indivisible from the whole of the Universe are we not also implicit creators of it. Must the creator stand outside and apart from that which it creates? Our thoughts are the only example of us being able to create something from nothing. We turn thought into words and words into ideas and ideas into action and we turn something that is there into something that is new. An artist creates art that previously had not existed. A writer creates a story that previsouly had never been told. A builder builds. The Creator creates. The mind thinks. The heart beats.

We are the nothing prior to our thoughts. 

Truth is, they call it mourning

Truth is, they call it mourning because it takes the sun rising through it to carry on. They call it mourning because it comes when all hope is lost. With dawn  the darkness recedes but the cold chill of irreplaceable loss remains. Grief like an old wound that festers with the very joy that makes life worth living remains. Life as the day moves forward. Friends move on with pity in their hearts and sorrow in their eyes, but life rolls on as sure as the the night follows the day. Self indulgent is the suffering in which I am trapped. So great is the need of those I love for me to be well. How can I be so weak as not to heal for their sake? How can I be so selfish to wallow when I possess all that makes a man great and a father proud. These very words I write attest to the gall possessed to cling to the losses suffered verses relish in the joy of this life. A full life has to offer many pleasures. This morning like the last offers a new chance to fulfill what my heart seems incapable. To let go of the past, forget the future and live for today. For now is all we really have and it is good to be here, now, with you. 

Truth is, right now is all we got.

Truth is, you have keep the present unshadowed by the past and not poisended by the future. This is easier said than done, but recently this truth has been dogging me. I've been straddled by grief that appears to be rooted in events from my past and burdened by anxiety born of worry about upcoming events. Thankfully I have made some progress recently and have started looking at things differently. By examining the beliefs that have been causing me problems I've discovered it's not a matter of changing my beliefs, but seeing them for what they are that makes all the difference. My feelings and emotions are a big part of who I am, but they are not who I am. I am emotional. Yet I am intellectual as well. What I think about the past and the future does not have to dictate how I feel in the present. What is happening right now at this very moment is what should be the primary driver of my emotions. To be in tune with the now. To be present here in this moment is what should matter most. To be mindful. To be here. This is my new focus. There is time to remember the past and there is time to plan for tomorrow, but no longer will I dwell on these things. I will focus on mindfulness. 

In this state I recently stumble across a quote that confirmed the wisdom of this new philosophy. 

“The truth is, we know so little about life, we don’t really know what the good news is and what the bad news is,” Kurt Vonnegut lamented in his terrific lecture on storytelling.

I have found the tragedies of my past have brought with them great lessons, wisdom and blessings. I have also found my greatest victories have played out to be comedies. If my life were a play or a movie I must admit to knowing very little as to how this story will end. I really don't know the good news from the bad. So why should I worry so much about the past scenes or those yet to come. I will play my part for better or worse. I will learn my lines. I will know my part. I will perform in the scene at hand. The show must go on. The saga continues. How I feel about it is of little consequence.

As I started writing this on Friday night it was easy to be brave and write as tho I got this figured out. Right now it's Sunday evening and what my wife and call the Sunday Doldrums have completely sunk in. I'm nervous in the pit of my stomach, it's hard to listen to what my kids and wife are saying and my mood is at best pissy. Even the script I'm writing in has turned bold all by itself. I feel dred. Not good.

So I stopped writing, looked up at my wife who was cleaning the kitchen (usually my job) and told her I was the so blessed to have an awesome wife like her. I told her it's like she does more by Sunday night than most people do the whole week. I went a said good night to my girls (one was already asleep) and let the know how lucky I felt to be their dad. I pet each of my dogs and told them how good they were and how safe I felt a night knowing they were in our pack. Wow gratuitude and interaction with loved ones is like a shot of anti-dred. As I'm writing I am consciously not thinking of tomorrow, dang, even writing that gave me a tang of dred. Ok the plan for right now is to conclude this post, do a mindfulness exercise, kiss my wife good night, read Max Brand, strap on the CPAP and do my meditation breathing until I sleep. Look out now here I come. Ready, set, go.

Truth in the Dark Tower

Before victory comes temptation.

Never speak the worst out loud!

Sometimes words are useless things, sorry for your loss.

Never's the word God listens for when he needs a laugh.

Truth is talent won't be quiet, doesn't know how to be quiet. It screams to be used. It never shuts up. It'll wake you up in the middle of tiredest night, screaming, 'Use me, use me, use me!'

Something's you wear on your face. Like a scar. I'm fascinated by the idea of duty and love as something that leaves a mark, something that might look like beauty to one eye and disfigurement to another.

I believe you. I believe in you. What I see in your eyes is true.

Truth is, They Don't Know Who You Really Are

They don't. Do you? Truth is we spend our whole life figuring it out. Knowing thyself is no simple matter. We disappoint ourselves and surprise ourselves as well. We succeed. We fail. We like. We dislike. We tell ourselves lies we hope to be true. We identify ourselves in relation to others. Andy son of Jeff and Nancy, husband of Suzy, father to my girls and so on and so forth. But who am I? Really? Am I a child of God? Am I highly favored? Truly blessed? I like to think I am! Does that make it so? It's a start. I think. A step in the right direction. Thinking the opposite may seal your doom. Predestined by your thoughts and beliefs to manifest nothing by having faith in nothing seems so much easier to believe than believing your faith in God makes him self evident. 

What I believe matters. I am that, I am. His words not mine. Words from the burning bush to Moses. By adding the comma I am able to better understand his name. I think therefore I am. Is not far from what I think, I am. If I believe I am that, I am. Or at least I can be. If I believe that I am not that, I am not. Belief creates the possibility. Faith creates hope. Hope sustains love. Love holds it all together. 

The truth is they do not know you are a highly blessed and highly favored child of God. Do you?

God loves you. Have faith in this and you will find Hope when you need it.

Truth is, You Don't Have to Carry that with You Anymore.

Truth is, if you own it and name that ghost that haunts you you can do whatever you want with it. Truth is you don't have to carry it with you no more. It's yours. You can leave it anywhere you like. You can lay it down and walk away. 

These ghosts come in many forms and have many names. They are scary. They are hard to see, but they are there all the same. Grief, guilt, shame and the like. Who in there right mind wants to see these inside when blame, excuse and ignorance can hide them from our sight. Hidden they fester. They stew. They spread fear and indifference. We grow blind to our conscience that screems in the dark and causes hayham in our lives. Listen to your soul. It speaks day and night. It connects your heart and mind. It tells right from wrong. Sees good and bad. Justice and malfeasance. It speaks truth in a still small voice. It sings of beauty from within. Your soul. Your you. What makes you different from everybody else. What is it saying right now? Can you hear it? Do you want to hear it? Turn down the noise of this world and it will tell you the truth. 

If you've read much of this blog then you know how I feel about the truth. Sometimes it hurts, yet it always heals. The truth I've been drowning out for most of my life is grief. I've been carrying it since I was ten years old. When my sister died it came into my life and I didn't know what it was. It was cruel. I saw what it did to my parents. I saw what it did to my siblings and her friends. It looked me in the eyes and I chose to look away. I ran. Turned my back and ran. Never looked back. Never stopped running. Man I was fast. Fast enough at least, but what I didn't know at the time was you can't run from something you're carrying with you. But I was strong and so young and dumb I didn't even know the race had begun. Over time grief made a friend. Guilt. Guilt over the things I was doing to keep ahead of my grief. The things of this world that numb the pain and hide the truth. Guilt over making bad choices. Guilt over stumbling through life like a drunk in the dark. What a shame. Shame. Who wants to listen to that? Hey! Still small voice. Shut the F up! Who needs that nonsense? I'm doing pretty ok without you thank you very much. Look at me now. I'm an adult with some pretty impressive skills. Skills that allow me to not listen to a word you say. Sure I hear you, but I'm not listening. I'm fine. I have a job and a car and a house and a wife. I have it all. I have friends and a dog a home and a life. Sure I'm so happy can't you see I've become the man I was meant to be. Now I'm a dad and so glad there's no problem with me. So much on the line. So much going on. So much responsibility. Another baby on the way. My dad dies and I'm fine. How could I not be I'm me. I do what I do to get by. Don't even ask why. My new baby is here only time for good cheer. Sure I cry but I lie and grief runs by and guilt and my shame how could I be to blame. So I live my life with my wife and three girls, two dogs and my ghosts with never a thought to what I fear the most. The truth. The truth is my sister is dieing a terrible death and my life falls apart as I hold my breath. I do what I do and I see my own death. Nothing seems to work. There's something I'm supposed to know. There is somewhere I'm supposed to go. The time goes by and I cry and I cry. I grow old but I do not grow up. In fact I go backwards. To that boy who was Ten and I run. This is not fun. No place to go. No place to hide. My grief, guilt and shame are on the outside. I finally see that I am to blame. I face my fear. I feel my pain. I own my grief and I give it a name. I forgive myself. I hug my shame. I discover the truth and set myself free. It is easy I see to own these. They are mine. I can choose to set them down. I can give them away.

The truth is I do not have to carry them anymore. I listen to my soul like the old friend that it is. It sings the same songs of beauty within. I listen to it now with the world turned down. It fills me with joy and helps me along. A clean conscious is a blessing and helps make good choices. I own it now and it uses new voices. I carry it with me because it is light and with it I see if I'm wrong or I'm right. Let's me know when to stop rhyming and say good night. 

Truth is, Fools are

Truth is, fools are the only people on earth who can absolutely count on getting what they deserve.

You can decided to do a thing, you can decide not to do a thing or you can decided not to decide. 

"Fools decide to do a thing and then do the other." - Big K

As with any other strong drug, true first love is only interesting to those who become its prisoner. 

Those in the grip of a strong drug - heroin, devil grass, true love - often find themselves trying to maintain a precarious balance between secrecy and ecstasy as they walk the tightrope of their lives.

"Waking to the truth when it's too late is a terrible thing. I know that very well." - Roland Son of Steven, The Dark Tower by Stephen King

Truth is, Unmet Expectations will Kill a Relationship

Truth is, unmet expectations will kill a relationship, especially a marriage. We all carry with us a whole host of expectations for ourselves and those around us. We find comfort in knowing what to expect and when our expectations are met all is well with the world. When they are not disappointment is inevitable. When they are exceeded magic.

Developing realistic expectations is something they try and teach us in school. The Bell Curve is a perfect example of a model for developing realistic expectations for our own academic achievement. Ask any C student what they expected to get on the final exam? Ask any A student what she expects to get on the final exam? In this example is the grade expectation the chicken or the egg?

Truth is, I'm a big believer in high expectations. I believe high expectation is the egg. I also believe high expectations in anyone other than ourselves is a rotten egg. Reasonable expectations for those around us is one way to avoid undue heart break and disappointment. It sets us up for pleasant surprises and sets free those we love to be themselves. 

Transparent expectations may be a step in the right direction. I think we assume the ecxpectations people have for us is much higher than they really are. I think most of us set pretty unrealistic expectations for ourselves and we spend a good deal of energy beating ourselves up about not meeting them. That is between you and yourself or me and myself and we can delude ourselves all we want, but when it comes to those around us expectations makes our love conditional. True love is unconditional. If we want to experience true love we must let go of our expectations. We have to love what is and not what we expect. We must love what we have not what we want. If you want love you must give it away. 

Truth is, you don't know the truth

Truth is, if you say you know the truth you are deluding yourself. To know the truth you must know you will never know the whole truth.

Truth is, if you say you know the whole truth, you don't. If you say you don't know, you do.

The truth is the avenue to discover what you do not know. It is true you do not know what you don't know. Finding truth leads you to the next thing you didn't know you did not know.

This may seem obvious to some, but to me nothing is obvious until it is. It's true. It's why I write things down. I want to know what I don't know, but where do you start? The truth is I don't know!

Truth is, It Hurts

I have been called difficult, looser, a nothing, weak, a dirt bag, slimeball, a disappointment, pee brane, waste of space, different, odd, loud, a dolt, not smart, stupid, dumb, dumbass, special, sped, challaged, backwards, emotionally challenged, sensitive, volitital, fragile, unable, uncaring, dangerous, creepy, scary, lazy, good for nothing, rascle, baby and old man by people who love me. The first one hurt the most and being called a looser and a nothing by someone who loves me was crushing. She apologized and wishes she had never said it, but at the time she was right. I was grieving, down and out, done in, fired, and had brought it all on myself with my inability to cope with my pain. These sort of things stay with you. Especially if you agree with them. 

The truth hurts, but it also heals. The people who said those things love me. None of them left or gave up on me or told me to leave. Those same people have called me a winner and someone special, a great dad, an inspiration, a motivator, friend and brother, smart, talented, funny, loving, caring, hard working, strong. Hearing these thing feels great, but believing these things about myself is hard. 

Truth is they hurt too. They hurt because I think how could such nice things be true about someone as flawed as me. Truth is they hurt because they are true. Truth is it hurts.

Truth is Forever

Truth is, growing up I thought some things were forever. Now that I'm grown I know things are just things. Here today gone tomorrow. The things that meant the world to me then are dust now. Barely remembered. Forgotten. People aren't things, but they also come and go. Most people are like the wind. Some people are here today then drift away. Some are here for the season. Some for the semester. Some for the year and maybe three or four, but the truth is most people who come into our lives leave and your memory of them fade. So things go and people leave, but sometimes something special is left behind. More than a memory. The things we cherish change us insinde. If we had to pay a great price, work for it, earn it or it was given to us by someone special. We don't only remember the thing we remember how it made us feel. When some people leave sometimes  something special is left behind in their wake. Something great. Something that lasts. Something we can pass on. A legacy. It is not something that can be easily given. It is not what you give it's what you leave behind after your gone. Something wonderful. Something they can pass on to another. Something that can be passed down. Something worth sharing. The truth. A love and appreciation of the truth and an ability to discover the truth for themselves. Appreciate it. Love it. Know it. This is one of the few things that are timeless. The yearning for truth. Finding it for yourself. Finding love. Loving what you have found. Loving yourself. Finding love in you. Knowing you.  Knowing the truth. Knowing love. Knowing the truth is forever. True love is for ever. The truth is love. Truth is forever.

Truth is, Life is

That's it. Its not this or that. It just is. In this man-made world of polar opposites it has only one rival. Death. If you are not dead you have life! Life is good even if it sucks. 

I read the other day a few things that made me laugh. I think the title was Old Guy Wisdom and was a list of truths. One was, "Life is the number one cause of death." Another, "Life is sexually transmitted." Both of these witticisms are a root cause of this post. My life is because my mom and dad made love. I will experience death because I am alive. I must officially be an Old Guy as this wisdom to me is profound. We are born. If we are blessed and fall in love and through this love transmit Life then we die and still Life is...

Truth is, I Prayed to God

Truth is, I prayed to God for wisdom, strength and courage. He sent my wife. I prayed to God that she may be happy. He sent us our daughters. I prayed to God that they would feel safe and loved. He sent us our dogs. 

Tonight I lay me down to sleep. I pray to God my soul to keep. Guide me safely through the night and wake me with the morning light.

Thy name is my healing. Oh my God. And remembrance of thee is my remedy. Nearness to thee is my hope. Love for thee my companion. Thy mercy to me is my healing. And my succor in this world and the world to come. Verily thou art the all bountiful, the all knowing, the all wise.

I bare witness oh my God, that thou hast created me to know thee and worship thee. I testify at this moment to my powerlessness and to thy might, to my poverty and to thy wealth. There is none other God but thee. The help in peril. The self subsisting.

Dear Heavenly Father, I am grateful for my life. Thank you for my wife. I am so blessed by my children and so humbled by your many gifts. Thank you for thy Son and for my parents. Thank you for all of my family and for my friends. Please bless them with wisdom, strength and courage. Please bless me to known thy will and to recognize your grace. Let me feel thy presence and Holy Spirit that I may always know You are with me. I pray for these things in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Emmanuel Christ. Amen.

Truth is, I pray to God.

Truth is, Courage is not Absense of Fear

Being courageous is moving forward in the presence of fear. To be brave you must have fear. Being scared is the first step of every courageous act. Acknowlage your fear and know that this is being brave. Move forward inspite of your fear and you will inspire those who love you. 

Truth Is, Damaged Goods are Pefect

Truth is, damaged goods are perfect. If you feel like damaged goods fear not as this makes you human. What does not kill us does make us stronger. We grow. We heal. Our scars fade. 


When life has us on our knees. When pain or grief, sickness or sorrow, injury or heart break make life unbearable do not give up. If you persevere and live on you will experience a growth spirt. It may still hurt, but rest assured your growth in strength will match your need. You will gain what is needed to fill the void.

When bones break they mend. The point of fracture becomes stronger than it was before. When we are sick our immune system become more wise to the illness and we become more prepared to deal with it again in the future. When we face fatigue we do not only recover we grow stronger. Muscle breaks down, but rebuilds to new heights.

I do not mean to imply we always get better. If this was the case we would never die. What I mean is we are designed to overcome. We have been created to overcome challenges not endure them. Our whole lives we grow stronger in preparation of what comes next. When our hearts break we must learn to love again. Learning this prepares us for what lies next. Love is the most powerful force in the universe. Love is what binds us together. Love is the power of attraction. Love is powerful. Love is God. God loves damaged goods. God loves you. Damaged goods are perfect.

Truth is, Life is not too Short

Thruth is, Life is not too short. It's that too much of it is waisted. A job expands to fill the time aloted for it. If we know the deadline we accelerate the pace of work progressively as the deadline  approaches. If you knew your life was going to end by the end of the year what would you do? Would you waste it? Live like this is your last year on earth. Truth is this might be your last day on earth. There is trulyno guarantee on how many days you have left. Do not count the days make the days count! What is it that you want to accomplish? Take a step toward it today. Then take another. 

Truth is, the Universe is a Cohesive Whole

We live in a world of polorized, extreme opposites. In this environment, forced to accept this premise, we must recognize the polarizing effects inherent therein and recognize that between the individual and society, between family and community, between church and state, science and faith, even progress and tradition there exists no intransigent opposites except in the beliefs of men. The duality of man is very limiting. You are not outside the universe observing. You are indivisible from it.

Prescience exists and anyone can pull back the curtain and peer though the veil of Time. We can discover the future in the past or in our own imaginations and in doing so win back our consciousness of our inner being. We will know the consciousness of our inner being. We will know the truth. We will know then the universe is a coherent whole and that we are indivisible from it. 

See the future. Know the unknown. Be the universe. 

Truth is, Life is a Canvas

Life is a canvas through which the universe expresses itself. The fate of all life is at stake in the fate of the individual. We are all individual expressions of the living universe. We are created to bare witness to this life and share in its creation. Witness to all that is. Artist in all that will be. Make your life a masterpiece of Self.

Many humans cannot bear very much reality. Most lifes are a flight from selfhood. Most prefer the truths of the field. Shouldering the yoke working contentedly until they die. Others use them for their purposes. Not once do they live off the farm and lift their heads and discover who they are. Don't be a member of the herd. Stand. Be your own creature.

Truth is your life is your canvas. Make it a selfportrait of your authentic self. Reality will be your home. 

Truth is, Life is Epic

The truth is that tragedy in life is when we fail to see it's actually a Comedy. There will always be Suspense and Action and if your lucky Romance. This day and age you can't miss the Science Fiction it's everywhere. Thrillers will theill. Horror shows will give us nightmares. Life will inform us like a Documentary. If we live long enough we will laugh, we will cry, conquer, overcome and we may even scream, we'll learn a lot and in the end what is life? It's Epic.

Truth is my Epic may never be told. Truth is life is supposed to be lived not written. Life is what's happening right now. It is not what we have recorded of it. Sure it's fun looking back, but truth is my best years have yet to be lived. My best chapters have yet to be written. 

My best joke have yet to be told. Ok what do you call a criminal with a snooty attitude going down an elevator?

A condescending condescending.

What if it's raining?

A condescending condisation.

Ok mabe not my best. But it's here now. I just made up that second half. My daughter told me the first. 

Ok if you can do better please tell a joke in comments. Go ahead I dare you make me laugh.

Truth is, Death Gives Life Meaning

Death gives Life meaning. Life is hard. If our days weren't numbered and if our time here wasn't short would we really get on with it? The hard stuff. The working. The raising. The loving. Would we risk our immorality. Would we wonder if it's possible to not live for ever. Would we want to die if death was no longer an option?

Death forces us to live now! 

Truth is, Time is Short

It is. Recently I experienced another mid-life crisis. If your lucky and don't actually do the math you can have a couple. I have a birthday coming up. Just when I was getting used to the idea of being half way to 100 years old now I'm not. Twenty years from now I will be turning 71. It's a long shot but twenty more and I'm 91. Not lasting much longer than that. So most likely 20 years and at best 40 to do something worthy with this great opportunity called life.

What ever it's going to be you better figure it out. Quick. Like now!

Because truth is time is short.

Truth is, It's Not About You

The truth is, it's not about you. Truth is, it's not about me either. It's about them. The people you and I interact with. Those we love. Those we hate. Your wife your daughter the boy in your yard. It's about your mom. It's about your dad. It's about the lonely old person living next door. It's about being needed. Fulfilling need gives you purpose. If you satisfy only your own needs you posses a very small purpose. Being needed by many creates a very powerful purpose.

I learned one night working a very physical very demanding job what my purpose is. I was a waiter at a really fancy place. After closing time I was asked to serve 12 people dinner after most of my help had already gone home. This man who asked was very tall and very famous. This was not why I agreed. I agreed to serve them because their need was great. They were very beautiful and very hungry. Just off a flight from NYC finding themselves cold, hungry, tired and dehydrated in a snowy mountain town. I welcomed them to Aspen and they all wanted wine! I served them water. Drink this water now, all of it and drink another at the end and you will enjoy your stay. The best tool to acclimating to 9,000 feet above sea level is water. Then I served fine wine paired well for a feast fit for a king. Understaffed and at the end of a very long day I was rewarded handsomely.

After paying the check the tall man who I had recognized called me over and asked me to sit with him. I became the focus of everyone's attention. He introduced himself as Anthony Robins and I told him mine and that I knew who he was. I said I had read one of his books and he was curious of what I had taken from the book. I said I liked the stuff about your State. That you can choose the State to be in. You can decide to be in a productive State of mind and that was what I had done when he asked if I would serve a 12 top an hour after close. I assessed the need and it was great. I used it to fulfill my purpose. The pleasure pain principle stuff was pretty cool, but I really like the idea of Nero-autonomic programing as I am a believer in muscle-memory and it wasn't a big jump to believe in neuron-memmory. He liked that and asked if he could use it. I laughed and said he wrote it. I just read it out of the borrowed book you wrote. He said not the relationship between muscle-memmory and neuron-memmory that's all you kid. I said is so then sure you can use it. I thanked him and tried to excuse myself saying lot's of work left to do before I can wake up and ski! I jumped up and started to head back toward the kitchen and Tony jumped up and followed me. In the service isle he said he only had one more thing to ask me. You said something earlier I wanted clarification. How did you use us to fulfill your purpose? What is your purpose? I said that was two questions, but explained a very wise famous man like him sat at that very table and changed my life. When I discovered my purpose was to serve.

At the time I was dying of Graves disease. He knew something was wrong with me. After the meal he asked me to sit with him. He said he wanted to share the moment he learned the most important lesson in life. And that it was right here, right now when he realized He had been doing it backwards his whole life and what I had just told him while serving the meal made me realize this. You said, "It's not about me. It's about fulfilling my purpose that matters!" He said I have to ask you what is your purpose? I said if you must ask then I haven't fulfilled it. He said that's freaking genius son.  I said thank you Mr Denver. He said call me John. "Let me ask you. If it's not about me who is it about? It's about them John. It's about those you sing to. By singing to us you are fulfilling your purpose. Nothing is more rewarding than fulfilling your purpose." He said amen brother then gave me a hug. He said I needed to take care of myself and wrote down the name of a doctor. He asked again what was my purpose? I said, "To Serve." He smiled, nodded then walked away.

Truth is it's not about me. It was about Tony Robins and John Denver, Goldie Han and Kurt Russel, Martin Short and Sally Field, Steven Hawkins and Nelson Mandela, Collin Powel and Margaret Thatcher, the dude from The Bee Gees and Joe Cocker, Martina and Chris Everet just some of the people I was to serve in my seven years at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen from 1993 to the year 2000.

The truth is we are not in control.

The truth is we don't know what we do not know. Finding these gaps in knowledge is how we grow as a person. When you know what you don't know you can learn it.

The illusion that we are in control of our  own fate, lives, destiny pays tribute to the fact that we don't know what we do not know.

Truth is, You are very very Special

Truth is, you are the only you there has ever been and you are the only you that there will ever be. Nearly 8 billion people on this earth and you are the only you it's got. The billions and billions more who have come before and all those billions still to come and there you sit as an individual. Totally unique. Preciousness. Exceedingly rare. A one of a kind.

Truth Is, You Are Going to Die

Truth is, you are going to die and in a generation or two no one will even know you were alive. Think about it. What was you grandmother's father's name? Where was he born? What did he do to make a living? What did your great grandfather do for fun? What was his wife's name? She's your great grandmother for gosh sakes.

Truth is in this world no one gets out alive. Everyone who has ever lived died. Those still alive may live forever, the after life is real, but this life here on planet earth will end. 

I'm 51 way past half way. At best I'm making 80 so 29 years to go give or take. 29 years are a lot. Almost a hole nother half of the life I've lived up to now. 

Truth is, you are going to die

I have known the truth since I was ten years old. I saw it up close. The truth is you are going to die. Truth is everyone you know is going to die too. Can't hide from the truth. I've tried for forty years and it has taken a great toll. But now I get it. We are all going to die. The most common thing there ever was. Everyone who have ever been born has died. Or will soon enough. So common in fact it is hardly worth mentioning. It makes people uncomfortable. The common truth is a lot like common sense, but even more rare.

Was thinking the other day about the the tragedy of dying young. Nothing is more tragic than a life cut short. I was thinking this was proof that life is worth living. Death looses much of its' sting if it comes after a full life lived. This has been my experience. This had me thinking what is a full life lived. It's not just how many years you have lived. Is it? The death of an old person is less tragic than the death of a child because they at least had the opportunity to live a full life.

If you are reading this chances are good you are still alive. Easy for us to speculate what makes up a full life while we still have a chance to fill it. Truth is we could die tonight. Truth is we just don't know. Truth is we will never know. Sure, we may get a heads up that our days are few. But the truth is we just don't know. This is a blessing. It allows us to avoid the truth. It allows us the freedom to squander our days. It lends us the bliss of ignorance. I love the not knowing. It gives me guts to live like there is no tomorrow and allows me faith the sun will still rise and I will see another day.

Truth is you are. 

Today.