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SELF REGULATING PILGRIMAGE
Saturday Jan. 16, 2016
Heard them. Read them. Clichés. So many about ‘journeys of a thousand miles beginning with single steps’. Real journeys usually start with a plane ticket. And a passport …
You’re burnin’ daylight pilgrim.
Daylight doesn’t burn!
Pivotal points in our life are, or could be, jumping off points for crooked-road journeys into the dark unknown void of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. I’ve written about debunking FUD many times before and feel more committed to this notion as time flies by.
Avoiding FUD, avoiding risk and uncertainty is like avoiding sunshine. You can hide for a while. Sometimes it is really cloudy, but sunshine is always there, behind the scene. Survival as a planet, and all our eco-system flora and fauna buddies are along for the ride, depend on it.
Dependent. Independent. Inter-dependent. Every amoeba, every tree, every one of you – and me. We have many adventures and travels ahead, scary ones, sudden stops and pulling out all stops …
Dollars plunge. Prospects soar, or flounder.
So much is uncertain.
How much does that matter?
Whether we live and love with reckless abandon or abandon all, run from it all, or run to embrace something else – nothing is certain except free feeling of running around completely unrestrained or adventuring out on some new personal frontier. Feels amazing – like running around bare in the breeze for the first time on a nude beach – nothing quite like that free feeling until you’ve experienced it. For the timid ones, start in the shower, then shower with a friend. In not time you’ll get the hang of it …
It’s Saturday morning and if we woke up, we have a life to live. Not commanded, not mandated, not regulated – by anyone but ourselves. You are free. I am free. Imagine what it is like for those who really aren’t free?
So many who think they are free, say they are free, but live as if they are shackled to their desk, their front door or their home town – unwilling or unable (they tell themselves) to move in any direction that is new because of FUD. They don’t see that staying put, venturing not, is far more dangerous. Sand is slipping through the pinch-point on our glass …
No, with a period after it, is a complete sentence. So is Yes. So is do.
Do.
Do unto others.
As they would _________.
Most good deeds don’t go unpunished. They go unnoticed. Do them anyway.
Mark Kolke
P.S.: many thanks to kind folks (see comments below) who chimed in, and also to those who called to wish me well and thank me. It has been an awesome journey of self-discovery so far.
written / published from Calgary, AB
morning walk: -15C/5F, light snow in the forecast – overcast, calm, empty streets – Gusta and I, single file through our snow bank paths down by the mini-storage place until she finally found ‘just the right spot’, then sprinting back to publish this and head off to all day Toastmasters event … training, learning, hanging out with friends – must go, I’m burnin’ daylight
Reader feedback:
OH MY
Congrats, Mark. I marvel at the stubborn persistence required to get to that stunning number. And you have helped me, more than once, through your daily musings. So please do carry on, RH, Calgary, AB
Congrats! An accomplishment for sure! I for one look forward to your daily insights, ideas, experiences, hopes . . . and occasionally ‘challenges’ to me the reader. What’s the next milestone?, JH, Calgary, AB/Kelowna, BC
Congratulations! 5000 - wow! I hope you're still enjoying the experience; even though I don't comment often, I do enjoying reading...and read every one :). Love you, CJ, Fort Saskatchewan [editor’s note: she’s the reason Musings got started in the first place, one of the original eight, my daughter Carla]
5,000 – Wow!! What a great accomplishment, but more importantly, it speaks to your determination and dedication. Very impressive and I look forward to reading many more. I enjoyed our lunch on Monday and hope you have great weekend!, MK, Calgary, AB
Mark – Congratulations!! I think this is such a big accomplishment, and service to all your subscribers. Well done!, DT, Calgary, AB
Hi Mark, Quick note to acknowledge the fantastic achievement of 5,000 musings! While I haven’t read them all, I’ve read enough to be touched by your humanity, your powers of observation, and the insights you’ve gained and shared over this online lifetime. Most impressive! Keep on keeping on. A fellow traveller, BJ, Toronto, ON
Congrats on your milestone Mark. Amazing dedication, DLB, Calgary, AB
Congratulations Mark, here’s to the next anniversary, 10,000 days!!, PT, Calgary, AB
HEY MARK, congratulations on #5,000. Did you know you invented the Blog? These days I am editing the Didsbury Review weekly rural newspaper. Not bad work for a widower. Being a country editor is like being a parish priest except you don't need to wear a reverse collar. I occasionally come down to Calgary to mingle with the unemployed. So I'll put you on the coffee list. Again, congratulations on meeting 5,000 deadlines!, FWD, Didsbury, AB
Congratulations Mark!, PJD, Calgary, AB
Congrats, Mark, you really did it .. although none of us thought otherwise! I’m one of the fans who hopes the day WILL come that you begin and finish the book. I’m certain, however, t’would be a major task and likely one you don’t have time for at this stage of your life .. perhaps in retirement??, BR, Calgary, AB
5,000 is a lot. A LOT! Congratulations on all those words, AN, Calgary, AB
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