Living Free – An Attitude? Part VI

Today is a beautiful day in Fresno, CA. It’s warm, but not too hot. The time I spent in Hollywood (also known as Hollyweird) was interesting. I can only describe it as an era past. I can’t say that it was a particularly enjoyable experience. It is definitely seedier then I remember it from the 70’s and 80’s. I found very few places that were meaningful from my earlier life. All but a few of the studios or the “temples of sound” where so many great hit records of the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s were recorded, are still in existence. One of them has been torn down and turned into condos. Others are either derelict buildings, replaced by another business or just gone. The building I used as our Hollywood address for my Washington, DC based, multi-media production company and was at the corner of Hollywood and Vine, is gone and there is a hole in the ground where it stood. The landmark Capitol Tower, is still standing and still the headquarters of Capitol Records, but the studios are not very active any more. So, it’s the end of an era of a place of which I have fond memories. That time of my life is, literally, a memory now.

But, while this may appear sad, in fact, it’s actually very freeing. As I’ve been letting go of so much of the past as I’ve been downsizing and decluttering my life, I have found that a lot of the “stuff,” “baggage” and “clutter” in our lives is stored between our ears. Living free requires being free of all this “stuff” whether it’s tangible, material stuff or whether it’s mental, psychological, emotional “stuff.” All of us are the sum total of everything we’ve ever learned, every person we’ve ever encountered, every place we’ve ever been and every experience we’ve ever had. We are in a constant state of becoming. We know life is a journey and that our goals are destinations but, I believe to be really free, we have to accept all that past as who we have become in the present and as a foundation for a future that is forever unfolding. The destination or goal is important because it helps us have vision and direction, however, it’s the journey where all the excitement, adventure and all the stuff life is made of is. Living free is about having dreams and the right and ability to make all the choices for our own lives to live our dreams. Successfully living free is when we are happy because we know that we know, that we know that we know that we are happy and free because we are living our dreams and in the process of fulfilling them.

I saw a number of people who appeared to be living free while I was in Los Angeles. I saw them in the hotel I stayed at. I saw them in the Panera Bread café where I sat among people who were working on various forms of work – free from a traditional office setting. I’ve seen it as I’ve spent time with my “outlaws” family (they were my in-laws until my former wife and I separated and divorced about 20 years ago. But, she and I chose to remain friends and her large family (now, the outlaws) have continued to consider me part of the family. We are all hanging out together at the home of one of her brothers in Fresno, CA over Memorial Day weekend for the annual family reunion. It has been continuous laughter, conversation, renewing relationships, chatting with my young nephews and encouraging them as they are now in the place I was in when I was their age. They are seeking their dreams and passions and paying the price for it, just as most people do. It gives me a lot of fulfillment to listen to them as they explain their frustrations and challenges. Then I get to encourage them and help them realize the confidence we all have in them as we point out the successes they’ve already had and how they are paying the price for their future, freedom and happiness in life just as we all must. Ultimately, whether they make a lot of money or not, it’s vital that they realize they will be successful, but they may have to learn to measure their successes in other then monetary means.

I have several more days here in Fresno during which I plan to continue enjoying the freedom to spend time with my son (he leaves later today to return to Seattle). And many of the other brother and sister outlaws will be leaving later today and tomorrow morning. I’ll spend some additional time visiting with my former mother-in-law and one of my best friends. I’ll do some sightseeing in this part of CA. I’ll stop in and see the recording studio complex that belongs to the fellow I met on Saturday evening who was running the sound for the band that performed for the family reunion party. So, I’ve made a new friend while I’m here who is living his dream.

I’ll have more in the next posting.

Enthusiastically,
Ed