Wow!
Life has sure happened since my last Weekend Wrap-up. The day after
the last Wrap-up, Sunday, November 1st, was the day I lost
the first of three friends. Two days later on November 3rd
I lost the second and on Sunday, November 8th, I lost the
third. So, among other things, over the past two weeks I've lost
three long time friends to death and attended two funerals. It's all
part of life, but not my favorite part.
November
1st was also the 7th anniversary, to the day,
of my Emancipation Day. November 1, 2008 was the first day I was
happily houseless. It was the first time since I was born, about 63½
years earlier, that I didn't have a fixed residence (or place of
business). My overhead reduced by about 80% overnight. I haven't
regretted one moment of my life since that time.
My
Epiphany
But,
November 1, 2015 was also the day I actually had an epiphany, another
“rebirth,” if you will, and marked a second Emancipation Day. I
woke up that Sunday morning and followed my normal morning ritual. I
grabbed my smart phone and looked through my email. I deleted items
of little or no interest to me, read emails from friends, glanced
over the news headlines and read the stories that interested me and
finally, selected the blog posts I wanted to read.
This
particular day there was a blog post by Tim Ferris from his “4 Hour
Work Week” blog. Tim writes very lengthy posts. They make mine look
like very short stories. Here's the link to the post if you're
interested How
to Say “No” When It Matters Most (or “Why I’m Taking a Long
‘Startup Vacation'”) There
were a few statements in his post that really grabbed me, made me
stop in my tracks and THINK.
I
have been dealing with a huge burden for the last decade and probably
a little longer. It has been an especially heavy load since my
Emancipation Day seven years earlier. I liken it to having the weight
of the world on my shoulders, a giant anchor chain dragging a huge
anchor, an albatross around my neck and the proverbial “Baggage”
everyone accumulates and carries with them as they get older. While
I've essentially been living free, as I define it, since November 1,
2008, I haven't been able to cut that chain, get rid of the
albatross, let go of and leave behind the “Baggage” and feel that
weight lifted from my shoulders. Then, all of a sudden, with just a
few thoughts from Tim Ferris, the affirmation I had been seeking was
right in front of my nose.
I
can't speak for anyone else, but, in general, I'd say just about
everyone is carrying around a variety of “stuff” – material,
mental, emotional and psychological – they just can't let go of.
Guilty as charged. The really big gorilla for me was accepting, after
50+ years of being actively involved in the recording and sound
industry, plus a few lesser years in the video production industry
and about a 15 years in the book publishing industry, it was finally
time to let go.
It
has been a fantastic life. I couldn't have imagined all I would do,
see and experience. I think about the accomplishments/achievements
and I'm amazed, though at the time, they just seemed like “business
as usual.” Here I am, well into the 3rd
half of my life still identifying with endeavors I began over 50
years ago. But, that was then and this is now. I'm not the same
person. The technology is not the same technology. The industries are
not the same industries. Everything I fell in love with back then is
a memory. To say everything has changed is a gross understatement.
So,
what have I been having my internal conflict with? Now, two weeks
from the day I had my epiphany, it seems so much simpler and hard to
understand why I couldn't let go before. The reality is, I just don't
really identify with any of the three industries I mentioned any
longer. Even more important, I've kept hanging onto equipment, books,
resources, etc. believing I needed to keep them to continue plying my
talents, skills and experience and not wanting to accept that I
really, really, in my heart of hearts, don't want to do any of this
stuff anymore. Whoa!
Some
people are forced to retire due to a mandatory retirement age. Some
people are down-sized due to changes in the economy, technology or
market. When they are let go from their career, they can't find a new
position equivalent in pay, opportunities and responsibilities due to
the changes in the world, industry and their age. This can be and
often is devastating. It's probably not unlike, after a lifetime
partnership with a spouse, losing that person to death or divorce.
It's like having a huge piece of your life excised from you.
That's
what making this decision has been for me. However, in my case, and,
perhaps other self-employed, entrepreneurial folks can understand
this, no one else actually forces this change. We have to make the
choice and do it ourselves. I've resigned/retired from some other
long term commitments and responsibilities I accepted and shouldered
for a number of years. Making the decision to let go of those was
difficult and there was a period of “grieving” and adjustment
that followed. We can probably apply the “empty nest” idea when
our children take flight on their own life journeys, for those of us
who have had children.
How
Someone's Words Can Change Our Life
Well,
Tim said some things that spoke directly to me in that blog article.
I have likened it to an epiphany or a rebirth. I was finally able to
accept my real feelings and make the very difficult decision I'd been
battling with myself over. So, as of November 1, 2015, the 7th
anniversary of my “Living Free” Emancipation Day, I declared
myself officially and permanently retired from the recording and
sound, video production and book publishing industries. I got moving
that morning with a new energy, feeling a thousand pounds lighter and
excited about going forward in the new endeavors I've allowed my past
to hold me back from.
I
don't know if this “life change” has made it easier for me to
accept the loss of three friends. One of them was expected to pass
away and I spent a few moments with her just before she took her last
breath. I didn't learn about the first friend's death until the day
after my epiphany. The third one I didn't learn about until this past
Tuesday. I will say I am already adjusting my life and lifestyle to
being free of the baggage. I'm not really grieving any loss, but, as
I said, celebrating a “rebirth.”
Since
it's taken me two weeks to finally get this Weekend Wrap-up composed
and posted, it's probably obvious I've been really busy and running
hard to keep up. The eBay and Craig's List sales are still moving
forward, unfortunately, far slower than I want them to. But, there is
still the need to photograph, compose listings, list, relist when
something doesn't sell, pack and ship when something does sell. I
traveled into my former hometown of Winchester, VA on Friday to
attend the 2nd
of two funerals in a week's span. While I was there I was able to
transfer some Craig's List sales to buyers and drop off another
larger system at another buyer. I ended up staying in Winchester
until Saturday and getting a little visiting in. When I left the
funeral home on Friday afternoon was when I learned of the, then,
breaking news about the terror attacks in France.
I
manage to keep myself busy. But now, with the albatross gone, I'm
beginning to focus on the new things I've been dragging my feet on.
So, there is lots to continue doing and my focus is on the road ahead
and not in the rearview mirror.
The
Week(s) That Was (Were)
I'm
not going to make this long. First, this past Wednesday was a day we
set aside, Veterans Day, to remember and honor my fellow comrades who
took the oath to defend and protect our country and way of life.
Thank
you all for your service. Of
course, I want to remind everyone of those who made the ultimate
sacrifice and are not with us because of their commitment.
The major thing is that the world and
Europe changed dramatically on Friday of this past week when a group
of ISIS jihadist, terrorists, in a planned, carefully orchestrated
series of six attacks left Paris and France reeling from what has
been described as the worst attack on France since World War II. I
don't know if the death toll has risen any since I last saw it, but
at that time it was 129 plus 350 injured, of which about 100 were in
seriously critical condition.
I
want to express my condolences to the people of France and Paris.
But, I most especially want those who lost loved ones, including at
least one American family, that my heart, thoughts and prayers go out
to all of you. I stand in solidarity with you all against this kind
of carnage targeting and attacking innocent people in heinous and
despicable acts. It's terrible when innocent non-combatants become
collateral damage, usually by accident. And frankly, is still believe
all war is inhumane and heinous. But, purposely attacking innocents
on airliners, in the various location in Paris, in the 9/11 attacks.
Even lower animals are not that low.
Europe
has been dealing with an increasingly problematic situation as a
population of Middle Eastern, pretty much Muslim, has been
immigrating to every country in Europe over the past couple decades.
Currently, they are being, in some cases, with large numbers of
refugees fleeing the death, destruction and devastation in their home
countries, especially Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Along with these
refugees have been, who knows how many, ISIS trained terrorists. The
European borders have been porous and there's been little in the way
of controls of who is entering the European nations.
We
are facing the same situation here in the U.S. The Middle Eastern
refugee influx hasn't been as large in numbers, yet, but certainly
has the potential to grow, especially if Europe tightens their
borders. So far, the leadership in our own government, in my
estimation, has been moving slower than a sleeping snail. There are
too many issues I feel strongly about on this topic, but I still
attempt to keep my political views to a minimum since they are not
the focal point of the blog.
Everything
happening in Europe and the U.S. with regard to our borders,
immigration and the growing threat of more really serious attacks on
our soil bears watching by everyone with a brain. Frankly, I don't
think our government, with the largest and most modern military
capability in the world, many times larger than the next nearest
country, has anyone with the balls to get really tough and serious
about this. We're going to wait around for the next 9/11 to happen
before anyone in Washington gets serious about this rapidly growing
threat to our way of life and our freedom.
Here's
the problem as I see it. There WILL be another 9/11 attack, however,
9/11 is going to look like a test run compared to what's coming. We
may want to describe them as cavemen or with a Middle Ages mentality.
But, lets not kid ourselves (and I think the leadership in the
nation's capital is kidding themselves) these people are intelligent,
capable and well financed. But, worse yet, believe it or not, many of
them have been trained and educated in the U.S. They even have
acquired our own weapons to use against us. Of course, they acquired
the weapons in various nefarious ways.
A
Russian airliner with 220 people onboard blown out of the sky with
what appears to be a bomb from ISIS. A planned, coordinated and
carefully executed multiple attack scenario killing another 129, and
maybe more, in Paris. Both of these attacks were carried out within a
week or so of one another in two countries on two continents. And
what is our leader doing along with all the henchmen in Congress?
They are flapping their lips and blowing out blue smoke.
What
do I expect them to do? Well, maybe they could start by putting on
their “Big Boy” and “Big Girl” pants and acting like you
don't want to screw around with us or mess with our “friends.”
The news media talks about starting WWIII if we accidentally shoot
down a Russian fighter. Guess what? We're not fighting Russia. Let
Russia know we're not fighting them and have no interest in their
fighters. ISIS doesn't have any air power (yet). Let the Russians
know we're coming and you look out for us and we'll look out for you.
Well,
I've stepped back onto my orange crate when I said I wouldn't. I
listened to a good bit of the last couple Republican primary debates
and part of the last Democratic debate. So much rhetoric and name
calling. But, I've heard very little in the way of serious plans
about how to resolve the major issues in the U.S. I do have some
people I'm beginning to like a little, but that doesn't necessarily
mean I want them in the office of the POTUS.
As
I've told friends for the last several elections, I cast my vote for
the “evil of two lessers.” In the upcoming 2016 general election
I know there is one candidate I definitely don't want to see elected.
I'll cast my ballot for anyone running against that candidate so I
can cancel out one vote for that candidate. Some people question my
motivation for voting. But, to be honest, if it didn't matter to me
who wins, I wouldn't vote at all.
Thus,
so far, in this election, I'll be voting both for the “lesser of
two evils” and the “evil of two lessers.” That is, unless
someone steps up and proves to me they really can fill the office and
lead the country. I'm not holding my breath.
That's
about it for this wrap-up. Next week I should be back up to speed
with lots more, what I hope will be, interesting stuff. Have a great
rest of Sunday and a terrific week. Live free and be happy. EH
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