Getting older has sharpened my perception and changed the way I look at things.
Walking the Beagle Brothers this morning as we enter another full moon cycle has crystalized this feeling.
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For example, growing up a BIC in the 60s and 70s, plus forty years as a professional NYC litigator makes one combative. Pugnacious. Expect the worst from the world around you and you’ll never be disappointed. No challenge, real or imagined, goes without redress. Your projected energy at all times is. “Don’t fuck with me,” or in its modern parlance acronym, “FAFO.”
You build emotional walls around you, your family and your friends. Strangers remain the barbarians at the gate until they’ve proven otherwise.
You learn though trial and error that it’s the ones you allow within your walls that can do the most damage.
But a lifetime of constantly being on guard against the world is exhausting.
I’ve really tried to evolve. Be less of an asshole. In my forties I discovered Wayne Dyer, who had been through a lot of shit in his life and still managed to maintain his sense of humanity.
Namaste Wayne Dyer – The Wise Novelist
Meeting him during a lecture in NYC changed my life.
The Smallest Gestures . . . . – The Wise Novelist
Now the last decade living out here in NoCo has accelerated this evolution. The markedly positive energy from Casa Claire has grounded me.
Hugging – Just Do It – The Wise Novelist
Claire, my spiritual guide, and the other domestic, feral and mystical creatures have taught me that not everything is transactional.
At Your Service – The Wise Novelist
I’ve also managed to scale back human interaction to mostly immediate family and close friends. Don’t get me wrong, I will always answer the call from anyone in need. Everyone has their own shit to deal with. No one needs my shit as another distraction.
Retiring from the law a year ago severed the last defensive emotional drawbridge, but not before I learned a final lesson in infamy. Et tu rōbertum.
Latest Lunacy – The Wise Novelist
The good news is that experience reignited my dormant passion for writing which, two novels later, I have found to be very therapeutic.
So, I’ve changed the way I look at things, and found that Wayne Dyer was right.
Focusing on the positive, Lisa and I are taking the NoCo grans out for breakfast, so I have to go take care of my chores before we go.
You fine, five readers go out there and enjoy your well-deserved Saturday. Get the errands done and dusted and then kick back and fuck off to the very best of your ability. Watch college football. Go out to lunch or dinner. Pick apples. Check out the changing foliage. Browse some local curiosity shops looking only for the next impulse purchase. Live in your moment.
Let all the other bullshit go.
And no matter what else we get up to, let us make today a great one.
