My Journey

Usually, one only sees the highlights of a journey; The best photos, best stories, and best experiences are shown which paint the journey in its best light. Here, I’m trying to honestly show my journey by sharing my challenges, bumps, advances and failures.

Be mindful of your negative thoughts →

Published July 19, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 19  ·  

This entry is part 4 of 72 in the series My Journey

When we are unaware of our thoughts and urges, which arise in the back of our mind mostly unnoticed, they have a power over us. We are unable to change if these unbidden thoughts control us. But when we learn to observe them, we can then release their power over us.

Meditation is practice for observing those thoughts, for being more mindful of them throughout the day.

~ Leo Babauta from, Meditation: The Most Fundamental Habit – Zen Habits Website

slip:4uzefu1.

Meditation is literally the easiest thing you can add to your life — 5 minutes, 2 minutes, even 60 seconds will do you good. As I wrote elsewhere:

 If you were handed a large bucket of sloshing and disturbed water and told to calm the water, you should simply set the bucket down and wait for the water to calm. You would definitely NOT shake the bucket in an attempt to convince the water to calm down.

Driving, texting, walking, rushing, typing, watching TV, playing games, talking, frenzied eating. Set the bucket down for a few minutes.

ɕ

Start now →

Published July 14, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 14  ·  

Maxim:

Dead last finish is greater than did not finish, which trumps did not start.

~ unknown

slip:4a136

Corollaries:

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

~ Plato

4a116.

Never throw in the towel. Use it to wipe the sweat from your brow. Then keep going.

~ unknown

slip:4a69.

The hardest part of any journey is believing you are able to begin it.

~ unknown

slip:4a203.

Make the most of this life →

Published July 7, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 7  ·  ,

I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking.

The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.

~ Carl Sagan

slip:4a791.

It is done fast enough when it is done well. →

Published June 15, 2013  ·  All posts on Jun 15  ·  , ,

This entry is part 3 of 72 in the series My Journey

Getting done right does not mean getting done slow. Getting done right means getting done fast. You will go faster if you do things right. You will go faster if you come down off the “high” generated by the illusion that effort is speed. You will go faster if you calm down, follow your disciplines, and refuse to rush.

~ Bob Martin from, «http://blog.8thlight.com/uncle-bob/2013/03/11/TheFrenziedPanicOfRushing.html»

While he’s talking about software development in general, and test-driven development specifically, this is true for – I think – everything. My experience is that this is true for software development, and other technical work. But it is also true of martial arts practice, parkour, games, building model airplanes… you name it.

The pervasive admonishment should be “do it well,” rather than, “slow down.” Do it well and you’ve – by definition – done it as fast as possible. What’s the point of doing it poorly? What’s the point of rushing to completion; If you didn’t do it well, then it’s not done.

ɕ

The Cat’s Out of the Bag →

Published April 12, 2013  ·  All posts on Apr 12  ·  , ,

This entry is part 2 of 72 in the series My Journey

If you want to repeat that little jump at an angle to a moss covered wall all day until you can do it with your eyes closed… well my friend, you are not alone. I want to repeat that jump with you. But let’s do 50, just to be sure. And one more for the others who can’t join us. That’ll do us both more good than that big roof gap whilst you hold the camera.

~ Chris ‘Blane’ Rowat from, «http://www.parkourgenerations.com/article/call-arms»

By now, all of my friends know I practice parkour with Lehigh Valley Parkour. I’m pushing 42, with graying hair and the BMI calculator says 34.9, (which is “obesity.”) So when people first find out, they raise an eyebrow and say, “You’re a brave soul!” or “Huh? The jumping from roof-top to roof-top thing?!”. …my answer is ‘no’ to both of those.

Please do not go to TouYube and look up parkour; Total waste of your time. This is one of those Catch-22 things where the people who believe — quietly, to themselves — that they “get it”… well, those people aren’t posting spectacular videos on TouYube. So you don’t notice their point of view on the whole thing.

I am not saying, “those people over there have it wrong.” I am not saying, “parkour is the One True Path(tm)”. I am not saying, “these ideas are to be found only through parkour.”

I am saying parkour is…

…a journey composed of tiny steps so easy that failure is impossible.

…the grueling, deconstructing, work of self-improvement.

…that well-earned sense of accomplishment.

…the joie-de-vivre that I hadn’t noticed I let slip away.

Playfulness.

Freedom.

…and one more for the others who can’t join us. :*)

ɕ