Puzzling Pieces Find a Fit

"All those steps are like pieces of a puzzle. They all come together to form a picture."

 ~ Michael Jordan

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."

~ Robert F. Kennedy

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. 

Explore.

Dream.

Discover.

~ Samuel Clemens / Mark Twain

 My daughter Aris, Bodega Dunes, 7 yrs old. 2001

      She takes after me and she inspires me at the same time. My daughter Aris, isn't afraid to take a leap either!

     My last two semesters at SRJC mark a major cross roads in my life. With my daughter grown and off to college, I also have found my way back to school. I have not taken an English class in over 25 years. When I went to take the placement test the first time, I bombed it horribly, qualifying for only one section up from English as a second language. I knew I could do better than that but I was horrified and panicked. I rode home sickened and depressed. To give up and quit would mean failure without effort. Instead of throwing in the towel, I gathered my thoughts and began to think about some of the things Professor Frank Pugh had said, 
     "When in doubt...

•  ...think of strengths not weaknesses."
• ...persistence trumps talent."
• ...make excellent mistakes, learn  from them."
• ...leave an imprint."

 These were a few of the puzzle pieces. I began to put them together and started teaching myself how to write an essay. I read numerous papers and articles, I studied college websites on writing then I got some prompts and I wrote. I wrote a lot.
     I took the test a second time and placed into English100. Still feeling nervous in the beginning, but better when I started hearing things like, don't be afraid to fail, and take the shots. It felt as if Michael Jordan was in class with us. If he can fail his way to success, then anybody can. Because who would have ever thought of Michael Jordan failing. That thought would never have occurred to me until I read his story. Now, it really started to make sense. And the pieces started coming together.
     In this class I have learned to open up and speak my voice again. I have words and a skill to write a response to all those issues in the world that I feel are important. I can use a variety of other authors information to back up and support my ideas without plagiarizing. I am gaining the skills to talk with power and credibility. That will be carrying me on through the remainder of my education as well as the rest of my life. I continue to collect the puzzle and assemble the pieces.

       I have taken in so much information in the past few months. It is too early to take inventory as it has not all completely sunk in. But here are a couple of examples of things that will probably never be the same.

(pieces)

  After learning to habitually annotate (active reading), my books may likely look like this from now on. 

When my six year old niece saw this she said, "ooooh! you're gonna be in trouble!"

This is going to cost me a fortune in library fines.
 

(more pieces)

Any novels I read from here on will inevitably be growing a stickynote mohawk as I will be madly collecting quotes for future use and thought. I am on a mission to deconstruct and I'm addicted to tiny post-it notes in every color.

(a treasure chest of pieces)

 The landscape of my desk has also been forever altered with its new altar of writing tools and devices. 

     Sherry Turkle says in her article, The Flight From Conversation, "Human relationships are rich; they're messy and demanding. We have learned the habit of cleaning them up with technology."(web)

       My experience here with classmates and Professor Mott has been all of the above. Except that, in no way did I ever feel that it was sanitized for the sake of easy consumption. This experience was filled with real, powerful, and rewarding conversation, interaction, and deep discussion. These are wonderful pieces to add to my jigsaw. I appreciate that. 

Thank You Classmates!

Thank You Ms. Mott!

I will leave you with this;

This Summer, watch this film and

 Be Happy.

Thanks for reading   

      

Living Words from a Lesson in Life

Poetic Words and a Favorite Quote from:

                                                                                                    by

dancing

death student answers 
intent determined learning 
funeral wither unfold

friends

 bridge quality living

 process pep culture
suffer cry love

embarrassed lucky compassion
open-minded spiritual bird
optimistic family beamed
patience

touch acceptance present
give energies compromise
envy attention status
satisfaction
 

frightening coaxed tears  

sing kindness forgive
cherish harmonious details
detach

     

     On page 179-180 Albom writes that Morrie is relaying a story to him about a tiny wave. Towards the end of the tale, the wave sees the beach and begins to panic. 

     "The first wave says, 'you don't understand! We're all going to crash! All of us waves are going to be nothing! Isn't it terrible?' "The second wave says, 'No you don't understand. You're not a wave, you're part of the ocean.' "

     We are-all of us, the waves in the oceans of life. A sea of sorted souls bouncing and breaking through the currents of time. Washing ashore after a lifetime of tides, a single wave dies its momentary death. Briefly, it sinks into the sand to embrace the earth. But for the tiniest of times the water is held by its mother, before being reborn and returned.

     No two waves are exactly alike. Like snowflakes of the sea, each one is unique in shape and intricacy. Two or more will combine to form the surf or even a storm, if there are many. There is no limit to the power of a great number combined. In one great effort, waves can move a mountain. Or chip away at it relentlessly like the biting teeth of time. They gobble up the molten rock spewed from beneath the crust of the Earth, then deposit it back to the belly of the sea where it is once again returned to stone.

     The wrought winds sail on the swayed backs of blue swells. The surge grows strong and shoves the winds back. Whether tiny or tall these waves never stop. Their direction is tireless as they travel the world around. They are guided by the light of a twenty and eight day moon, but their one and only true ruler is held in the grip of the rotating heavens.

      

 Thanks for Reading

 

    

Happiness or Happenstance?

 Me working on a crab boat, Eureka 1992

Happenstance:

: a circumstance especially that is due to chance
     
     We work. We work for money, for meaning, for success, achievement and survival. But mostly, we are working to find happiness. We all know the meaning of happiness. But it's a state of being that evolves as we grow. It's ever changing and dynamic. Happiness for each of us is redefined constantly over the course of our lives.

Happiness:

a : a state of well-being and contentment : joy
b : a pleasurable or satisfying experience 

Chris and I working the track at Buttonwillow 2007

     The state of being happy is a subjective experience. We each have our own unique windows on the world.  Whether your search is a path to success, enjoying the work you do, your art, raising a family, or even not achieving anything at all, the end game is still the same. All the different paths we carve out have a common intended destination. That's why I like to say,.. All roads lead to happiness. You just have to draw the right map. The one that fits for you.

 100 mile training ride for AIDS/LifeCycle, Schoolhouse Beach 2010

     In the New York Times article, Happiness Inc. by Elizabeth Weil, she talks about how we all have an equilibrium for staying content. She describes this internal human device when she writes, "If something good happens, your sense of happiness rises; if something bad happens, it falls. But either way, before too long, your mood will creep back to its set point because of a really powerful and perverse phenomenon referred to in science as “hedonic adaptation.” You know, people get used to things (web)." 

      In regards to this device, if you are always chasing the happy bus and looking too hard, then you may find yourself falling into the trap of discontentment. Because too much of a good thing, makes it-just another thing. We all need to keep our happiness equilibrium by embracing the lows when they are present and enjoying the highs when they grace our presence. We should not pursue too little nor try to chase too much. We should be looking for just the right amount. Then we can keep up the momentum that allows our happiness dreams to come true. There's the "Goldilocks" thing again,... just right.

Link to the article, Happiness Inc. and the graphic above.

      This bring us to my favorite word...MIRTH : gladness or gaiety as shown by or accompanied with laughter.

 Chris telling jokes in my garage

      Sometimes mirth is as simple as hanging out with friends and laughing. Again, what is funny will be different for everyone. But nothing makes me laugh harder then when by buddy Chris starts off on a diatribe of his ironic humor. He likes to refer to things that most people love as objects of disdain. For example, Chris often says things like,"I hate rainbows. They're too bright and they hurt my eyes. I cant stand happy-faces, ladybugs and butterflies are ugly. The only thing good about unicorns is unicorn steak, And the best thing about dolphins is dolphin in a can." Now, I know that many find this offensive. But the point is, it's different strokes for different folks and the pure ridiculousness of it makes me howl.

Working at Sears Pt. 2011

     Other times I find mirth in my own accomplishments. I've been known to laugh out loud on my bicycle ride home from school while having a good day. There is much joy and happiness to be found in the accomplishments of my daughter. After all, she is an extension of me. And that brings me to love. I have experienced the most happiness in the emotions of love. Like the way I feel about my child. The love I feel for her-just is. And no matter what, that love is always there for both of us. That part of my life, is my truest happiness.

 Aris, less than a day old, 1994

     In Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom, the author quotes Morrie as saying,"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love and to let it come back in." 

                                                                                 

      I connect to this statement because of the very

first time I held my baby girl. I remember feeling that exact sensation of open-heartedness pouring in and out. The flow of emotion without words, a connection which requires no language or commitment. All the essential elements are just built right in. So, when it comes right down to the nitty gritty of reasons, that is why I work. I work in the pursuit of love and happiness. It's not happenstance. It is deliberate and purposeful. 

                        It is my pursuit of happiness.

First time Dad holds Daughter

BLINK!

 Daughter goes to college

Strive to always live in the moment.

   Thanks for reading

Weil, Elizabeth. "Happiness Inc." The New York Times. The New York Times, 19
     Apr. 2013. Web. 7 May 2013.