Writing again, it's been a while!

Well, it's August 1st and I don't think I've been writing in this blog since March!  Although I did find inspiration at various times over the past four months, I didn't follow up on urge to write.  This is probably because I either got busy, or sidetracked, or blocked.  Actually, I've had several occasions where subject material arrived in my mind, but my butt and fingers couldn't get the motivation to plug it into this blog...as is almost the case right now.  But, I will start keeping my pen and pad handy along with my PC nearby.

Let me open August with a hello and thanks.  Thanks for my friend Marilyn for telling me that I need to write.  Marilyn found out about my blog last New Year's Eve when I was coming out of the forest.  Unbeknownst to me, she dove into my blog and made a commitment to give up alcohol in her own test of willpower and determination to make changes in her life.  At the time, she'd been five months without a drink and she told me "I've been reading your blog...you need to get writing more!"  So Marilyn, this is partly for you, and thanks, I will get back into the wordsmithing of things here.

I'd also like to mention my new friend Heather, who is making changes in her life by getting off of tobacco.  Most of you that have read my blog know my position on the tobacco industry and the addictive power of their products, but Heather is waking up to the Matrix and it's menacing powers to control our lives.  Heather joined Mazama's and is climbing Mount Adams soon!  It has been a week since she quit smoking and is getting help with "the patch" to kick her addiction to cigarettes.  Just the other day, she said she had a stressful even and was tempted to smoke, but then she thought of me and said it helped her refrain from slipping back into the web.  Kandy and I plan on climbing Mt. Adams this year, and if Heather is ready, we might take her to the top with us!

A View of Mount Rainier from the summit of Adams, August 2007

Other than that, all is going well.  Busy summer with projects at work and at home, trips to North Carolina, and with Kandy's relay races this month.  Most likely, the fall weather patterns will set me in a better mood to write in the mornings with my cup of coffee at the Black Rabbit Cafe at McMenamin's Edgefield.

Until Then,

Don

Happy Saint Patrick's Day - 2012

Green, Green, Everywhere...not a drop to drink!  That was last year's theme on St. Patrick's Day.  I was one-quarter through my year off from drinking alcohol, and to be honest, it was no problem for me to resist the urge to have a drink, just one, on that festive day.  This year, it's sugar (or sweets) and it's not that easy.  For some reason, my resolve to abstain from confectionery indulgence has been a bigger challenge than I expected.  During 2011, Alcohol, was easy, but homemade, organic chocolate chip cookies is another thing.

It's just not cookies.  For some reason, I cannot avoid the occasional "Annie's Bran" muffin from Grand Central Bakery, or the "Super Cookie" from The New Deal Cafe, or the "Pumkin Loaf" from Starbucks.  I should probably point out that all of these delights--including my morning cookie delight today--includes coffee with my treat.  Perhaps my problem isn't sugar at all, but the drink I choose to have with my sweet indulgence.  But as I've mentioned before, I'm not giving up caffeine in the form of my morning coffee.  But I will struggle to resist the treats that elude my resistance.

Maybe my resolve to avoid sweets isn't as firm as my proven track record with drinking.  In fact, my return to enjoying alcoholic drinks is greeted with a new appreciation, as well as an acute awareness of my moods and my limits.  Needless to say, I've not over-indulged in drinking alcohol, but last night, I ate six warm chocolate chip cookies with no guilt at all.  But on this special day, drinking isn't so much my focus as in the past.  I guess for most of the St. Patrick's Day celebrations in my adult past, I celebrated just because my friends were celebrating.  Maybe I just went along with the crowd...so to speak.  But not this time.

My most memorable St. Patty's Day was 2001, Honolulu, Hawaii, with friends Harv, Cheryl, and Diana.  Even Kandy had a good time although she's not one to overly "party it up" as you might think.  Another memorable celebration was just a few years ago.  We were still in our town home in Fairview, OR.  We'd decided to take a month off of drinking to 'health up' and we were cleaning in our garage...when Kandy said, "Hey, it's Saint Patrick's Day!  We should have a black and tan."  And we literally made one black and tan beer and shared it in the garage.  That was special!

Other than mentioned, there hasn't been any memorable celebrations on March 17th over the years.  Maybe because, at some places like in Korea or the Philippines, every day was like a party day as most of the people I hung with in the Air Force went out to party when on temporary duty in certain locations.  As former President Bill Clinton said, "Fun Times!"

So, what to do about sugar...it's almost in everything.  My best chance for working on my quest to avoid sugar will be to moderate my intake and choose healthy options when it comes to enjoying treats.  Time and Occasion!  Make it special, and enjoy it without guilt.

I'll leave you with this.  In my efforts to live life with passion, I came across a great poem from Chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee.  I learned of this quote in the movie, Act of Valor, about the real US Navy Seals.  I highly recommend this movie.  Below are a few clips; the movie trailer, and the quote, both from YouTube.com.  Enjoy and stay in touch.

Don

See Beyond Your Limitations!

They say "Hindsight is Twenty/Twenty."  I think this usually means that we see perfectly what has happened to us after it has already occurred.  But I'm sure our eyesight, focus, or intuition probably has nothing to do with it.  That's been my experience when it comes to predicting events in the future, or at least seeing them coming.  I think of when I retired from the US Air Force and automatically assumed I'd go to work in some type of Department of Defense contact work.  Or I assumed that I'd take my backpack and travel the world for a year.

September 19th, 2002 was a warm and sunny day in Northern California; typical of that area during late summer.  My squadron and a few visitors assembled in the auditorium and my wife, my daughter and I arrived all dressed up as if we were attending a wedding or a funeral.  But this day was the occasion of my retirement from Active Duty after 20-plus years of service.  Deciding what to do after serving in the armed forces is either easy or terrifying, but rarely something in between.  For me wit was a bit of both.  I had already secured a job with Survival Systems, USA teaching Marines helicopter egress at Camp Pendleton, CA.  In fact, I retired on a Thursday, and drove down on Friday to interview and accept the job some eight hours south of where I currently lived with my family.  The pay was decent, and I was doing some awesome work with Marines.

My team leader for the Survival Systems job was Scott Halvenston, a former US Navy Seal operator, retired medically after a parachute mishap, but still a Seal, through and through.  Scott didn't see his early retirement coming, he served 13 years, most of that in the teams, but after getting injured, he retired early, and began a myriad of jobs leading up to our work together in Southern California.  Scott always had big visions of what could be.  He developed his own Navy Seal workout videos, was cover guy for the "Men of the Navy Seals" calendar, and even served as Demi Moore's technical adviser during the filming of G.I. Jane.  Scott even got screen time during the movie in a short role with a few bar scenes involving the Seals.

Now, if you met Scott for the first time, and had seen all of his accomplishments from becoming a Seal to being a "Cover Hunk" on basically a male pinup calendar, you'd probably misjudge him from the start.  But if you got to know him, you'd realize that here was a real American hero, honest and responsible, with conservative values and a high regard for integrity and family.  Scott was they type of guy you'd love to hate with envy, but then regret those feelings because you'd grow to love him so much as a friend.  I only worked with Scott a short time, but after what happened to him, I'd realized that he would have tried to talk me into coming with him to Iraq in 2004.

 

WARNING: Contains Graphic Coverage

After working with Scott for a month in the Fall of 2002, I realized that I didn't retire from 20 years of travel and service for my country to start doing the same thing again.  I missed my family in Northern California, and my wife asked me one day on the phone, "so, how long are we going to do this?"  Realizing that my place was home with her, I gave notice with Survival Systems and drove the grueling 8 hours north with a renewed appreciation for family and home.  Had I remained in SoCal, I'm sure the allure of working with Scott, and other special operators, would have been hard to resist.  The opportunity to work with dedicated professionals in a dynamic environment while making $100K nearly tax free is almost impossible to turn down, especially when you need the work.  Scott was in that situation, but I was not.  I had a military retirement pension, a wife with a good job, and I had other options.  But still, I would have followed Scott to Iraq cheerfully.  And maybe, I'd either saved him from ambush or died right along side of him.  Under any circumstance, Scott was a great man!

Back in 2004, I was envisioning myself as a real-estate investor.  Housing or commercial, it made no difference at the time, but somehow, with the help of a mentor, I lucked into aircraft hangars.  Some people do rental houses real well, but for me, I stress out about having to deal with tenants that don't take care of the property like I would.  I know there is security and damage deposits, and insurance, but I still have a hard time letting go.  Meanwhile, aircraft hangars have no toilets and the customers usually have the passion and means to pay their rents.  Pilots are a good bunch!

Back when I retired, I couldn't see myself doing much else beyond my conditioned 20-year career in the Air Force.  I enjoyed what I did, but even before the economy shakeup in the past, I kept telling myself that someday I'll be my own boss.  I knew I'd work in Real Estate, Aviation, and do it on my own schedule.  By no means am I someone to look up to for a success model, but I had to focus beyond my comfort zone and take risks to be in my business.  I didn't take unnecessary risks and I had a mentor to guide me through the process.  2012 is supposed to be the year for opportunity and business development for a new economy, and I sense that.  For those that have protected themselves from debt, saved cash and other assets, and remain keen on innovative business ideas, this is the year to get your foot in the door.  Even old business models still have potential.

Really, I have no regrets of how anything has turned out.  I have a wonderful family, great set of friends, and I live in an area I visited more than 20 years ago--I remember saying to myself that "I could live here someday!"  For me, the Pacific Northwest emits a certain energy that charges my batteries.  I've been in other areas of the world where the energy drains me at times, and even there are still areas with positive energy like at home.  The Pacific Northwest isn't the only positive area for me, but it's surely where I feel grounded.  I'm truly blessed to be alive in 2012!

Cheers,

Don

Lead The Mind, Body Will Follow!

Just stop, look around, where ever you are in public and you may notice it.  Almost everywhere you go in America today, you see someone out of shape, unhappy, or even down-right angry about something...but they don't understand why.  I was at my local gym this morning, and even in the fitness environment, I noticed people,some displaying all three of these traits.  So naturally I went out of my way to smile, say hi, and get to know some of those people.

When I see an unhealthy person, I recognize a soul I once saw in myself.  I was unfit, unhappy, and even angry at times although the anger didn't linger and I generally found life to be joyful.  Most of my fitness and happiness challenges in life seemed to come from accidents and general heartaches I got my self into.  Often I chased a dream that wasn't mine; perhaps I was trying to meet someone's expectations or maybe it was due to the pop culture of my adolescence.  TV, music, fashion trends; we're all affected by them, even if we don't understand or believe it.  But then, not so too long ago, I started questioning my motives in life or my way of life and being determined to be different than everyone else, I set out on a quest to discover the true me.  Of course this also a journey to discovering where I came from as well.

When I was a kid, we had the true American dream life...Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet(r).  Really, you see commercials today showing kids of summer with the rope swing, the crush on the older girl, and the Cocoa Cola (r).  That was me.  I ate hot dogs and hamburgers, drank soda pop, and indulged in almost every candy available in the country.  But somehow, buy great luck maybe, I didn't get diabetes, didn't get obese, and I generally stayed active and happy.  Now I know today's challenge with children is staying active, especially with all the school fitness programs being cut due to budget constraints and all, not to mention the general level of parental guidance in the field of fitness and play.  Most adults I know get their fitness on a Wii(r) console or through the movement of their mouse on a PC.  I would have to say that the one major thing I notice from the world of my youth, and that of the one facing today's youngsters, would have to be the level of advertising and general garbage in the media.

So we all know that what you put into your body, you basically get back the same stuff.  You eat cheap carbohydrates, you convert the sugars to fat; you consume highly processed unnatural sweeteners, you overwork your pancreas and you stand the risk of developing type 1 or 2 diabetes, and if you put poison into your body, you basically die.  But what about our minds...could what we be putting in our heads be affecting our health overall...well duh!  Of course it is...disagree, write back and let's talk about it.  My hotdogs and hamburgers didn't come from a mass-production meat farm thriving with growth hormones and antibiotics.  The soda I drank had sugar in it, not this byproduct of corn production called high-fructose corn syrup.  And the candy, well I was just lucky that I kept my fitness and my teeth.

Now some of you out there might work for one of the major corporations, or you might be an investor, but many of us take up opposition to the theory that what we put in our minds and bodies is affecting our lives in a positive or negative way.  I always love to see someone without the information become the expert on the subject or deny the obvious just because they cannot believe that it might even be true.  You know the type of person.  Let's say it's raining outside, clearly.  And this type of person feels the urge to contradict what is common agreement, the fact that it is actually raining outside.  He or she might say, it's not raining!  I've seen real rain, and this is nothing.  Or they might be so engrained to adversity, or have a personality conflict with you that they take opposition to everything you say.  That's often the case in subjects surrounding our society or culture.  Often we put our egos into the equation and take things personally.

 This would probably be a good time for me to plug in some reading recommendations for you all.  First off, if you're taking (or have taken anything) what I've said personally, you might find Don Miguel Ruiz's book The Four Agreements enlightening.  Now I've not always lived my life by the code of The Four Agreements, so please don't take anything I write as gospel.  And don't take it personally...but here are the four agreements in a brief overview of the book.

Agreement 1:  Be impeccable with your word - Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

Agreement 2:  Don’t take anything personally - Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

Agreement 3:  Don’t make assumptions - Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

Agreement 4:  Always do your best - Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

 After reading this book, I recommend you explore other Don Miguel Ruiz topics, especially The Mastery of Love as a friend recommended that to me when I endured a challenging period in my life involving my wife, Kandy.  Finally, although I found it a tough read to follow and stay in touch with, Eckhart Tolle's book, The Power of Now  offers an intense awakening to the force in our own ego.  This book may heighten your experience in living in the moment as well as help you end your slavery to your own ego.  The first couple of chapters grasped me, I struggled through the middle and found ease of reading toward the end.  My other selection from Tolle, Stillness Speaks read like true poetry to my ears and flowed like the well-written Proverbs of the Bible.  Those on both sides of the spiritual spectrum will enjoy this book as well.

Finally, as someone who was asleep, thought he became awake, and then really woke up, there is no one book that is the source of all wisdom, knowledge, and enlightenment.  Many believe the Bible to be the only guide to living, and it has some great guidance for living that even I still follow although my walk with the Christian faith has diverted paths with those members of a church or body of Christ.  If you are struggling with health issues related to diet and food, please read Daniel, Chapter 1, the part about the choice meats and spirits given to the guards and the fresh fruits and vegetables given to Daniel and his friends while they were in prison.  I've seen the power of vegetables in my life, and once you move through the addiction, dependence, and generally bad habit patterns, you'll feel better,  look fit, and actually be genuinely healthy.

Remember, not "everything in moderation" and more is not necessarily better.  Write back, email or call me if I can be helpful in your health and fitness challenges.  You are not alone and I feel you.

Cheers,

Don

Adversity Can Come Anytime - Chapter 1

It seems like some people area always facing some type of adversity in their lives.  You know the type, the person that is never happy unless they have something to complain about.  For some people, adversity, and the emotions it evokes, are like a drug, feeding their cells and sensory areas just as alcohol or tobacco can do.  Many times, until one is free of the conditioning effect of these self-prescribed medications dispensed by the hypothalamus and distributed by the bloodstream to the cells as they scream for their routine fix, it becomes a vicious cycle.  It's easy to see this in smokers, but try to recognize it in someone around you...trust me, they are there...you just have to open your eyes and see them.

Just as almost everyone else, I've had my fair share of adversity.  Often, adversity does good as it challenges us to improvise, adapt, and overcome.  Remember, what doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger...right?  But what happens when adversity comes at a young, immature age, where someone really isn't responsible for their own lives, and basically is dependent on an adult or other caregiver to take care of us?  And what about those challenges that are virtually by accident or by other means beyond anyone's control?  That's probably the situation in my first bout with adversity in my life.  The date was July 9, 1963, my birthday.  I don't remember the details of that day and mostly rely upon my mother and father for the information I'm conveying to you in this post.  Honestly, I don't remember a thing, nor do I have any feelings, but according to my parents, I almost wasn't born.

Apparently, there were complications during delivery on this momentous day in 1963.  The umbilical cord had become wrapped around my neck several times and I was unable to make it out naturally.  A Cesarian Section was ordered and further complications prompted the doctor to tell my father that we might lose the child but we can save the mother.  My father's view at the time, was of course save the mother, we can always have more children.  But by some miracle we both survived and I appeared to suffer no less than a delayed entry into this world, and possibly a wild-nature streak in me.

Now some people might have been seriously affected by  a situation like this.  Perhaps the cord could have constricted, cutting off the supply of nutrients and oxygen to my body and brain.  Perhaps, the trauma could have caused a still-birth.  And just maybe, the whole situation could have been relayed to me later in life as a reason to be a victim for the rest of my life.  Maybe the "Pygmalion" affect would have caused the knowledge of this event to set me up for a life of adversity, always keeping my pressed down from the success, happiness and joy that everyone naturally deserves.  The events to come in my life surely indicate that it could have been a real possibility, and the things I will share with you over the coming months will attest to the obstacles I've endured due to accidents, my own haphazard nature, and other people.  But it's all good!

Not too long after my life's first struggle with adversity, I would ride my trike down a flight of steps off the front porch and have double-hernia surgery by the age of two.  I bet you can already see the anguish building in me as life deals me blow after blow...now I just need to find someone to blame.  Just kidding mom and dad!  Like farmer John says, "Compost Happens!"

That's all for today...check in soon as the "Me" saga continues and I share more adversity in my life.  Until then, wake up early to see the sunrise, tell someone important to you that they are, and think of something you indulge too much in and consider abandoning it for a short period to prove to yourself that you can do it.  And if you can't ask for help...it's closer than you think.

Cheers,

DW

One Year Later, Life After the Forest.

Happy New Year everyone.  Yes, this is how I opened my first blog, one year ago after giving up alcohol for the entire year.  2011 was an interesting year to say the least.  I became a Grandfather in 2011.  Kandy earned her Lighting Certification (LC).  And even my youngest daughter Makenna finally became potty trained...sort of.  Probably the biggest outcome of spending 1 Year In The Forest is that I learned so much about myself and I'd have to say that I realized how all of the events in one's life lead all come together for a purpose in the future.

The Cutest Granddaughter - Rylee!

Usually, when someone asks, "what did you do last year?" or "what have you been up to lately?" the most common reaction is to tell them about things you did, or what you're family is doing, and so forth.  For me, all those things matter, but one major change in 2011 is the awareness of my own nature and a better understanding of the who I am as an individual.

They say something happens to you when you experience stress in your life, or change, or even trauma.  They also say "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger" but we all know that is bullshit!  In the past year, I've realized that there were many, many things from my past that I either didn't deal with properly, or I didn't deal with them at all.  Being sober for a full year gives you time to think and to be present in the moment.  Through the years of my domestication, I remember a point where everything was about happiness and then around 12 or 13 years old...the happiness gave way to what some people call "Life" or the reality of life.  Sometimes, life isn't all peaches and ice cream.

Sobriety gave me a second glimpse at all the heartaches in my past.  I also think of all the stupid reactions I did, all the goofy behaviors, all the misguided enthusiasm over the past 30 years and I'd have to say much of that was due to the fact that I wasn't facing my challenges with the proper maturity and I didn't have the guidance from people around me.  And it's not the actual behavior that bites me in the butt, but the lingering regret and wallowing in the emotions following the one-time or pattern of event/events.

In the coming year, I will sharing my history of events and situations that shaped my life, both positively and negatively.  Believe it or not, it all started in the womb, but I don't blame my parents.  That's right, it's not anybody's fault; it just happened.  I'm also sharing some of the materials I've been reading and watching that have helped "enlighten" me over the years, plus I'll introduce you to some of the people who've helped me hone my recovery to happiness.  I've been very fortunate to have all of my friends and family in my life.  I am a lucky man.

Finally, in this overview of 2012's entries into the 1 Year in the Forest blog, I'll continue on my description of the "Real World Matrix" in a kind of pseudo Red Pill Movement where I write from inspiration to explain common elements of society and their effects at keeping us under control.  It should be a wacky year with lots of heartache and fun...stay tuned if you like, and if not, thanks for seeing me through the first year.  It was an eyeopener for me.

Cheers,

DW