The Original You

You will never catch up. How do you feel when you read that? Frustrated? Overwhelmed? How about relieved? Why would you possibly feel relieved when you read that you can never catch up? I believe that if I don’t catch up, I will miss out on something that other people have access to. It is having a scarcity mentality. I believe in an abundant universe. It is a spiritual principal that keeps me serene on most days. And then came COVID-19. This virus has forced me to challenge my believes around abundance and prosperity. It has forced me to look at what I value in life. It is helping me to define my priorities. Before this virus came to be a thing in the world, I was humming along like a lot of people. I was over scheduled, stretched to the max with my time, complaining a lot about not having time to rest, and not spending enough time with the important people in my life including my wife. Since being in social isolation all of that has changed. I am finding myself r...

What’s up with the hoarding of toilet paper? I mean really. I went to the supermarket to buy groceries with my wife last week, and all of the toilet paper was gone. Why? There is a spiritual reality to be learned from this interesting phenomenon.  . We have a fear of running out. We believe that if they don't get their big supply of toilet paper that there won’t be enough available. The hoarding is about the fear of not being taken care of. It manifests in the hoarding of toilet paper. The irony is that when people hoard we do run out. Where else does this principal apply in life? It shows up in relationships when we try to control someone else, because we think if we don’t they will leave. It shows up in our jobs when we take a job we don’t like, because we think a better job will not come along. It shows up when we eat food that is not good for us, because we think we cannot afford better food. This idea of deprivation is powerful, and it is pervasive. Especially in...

I don’t take it for granted for one minute. Not one minute. The reality that I am being asked to stay at home in a beautiful community with my wife due to the coronavirus does not escape me. I understand full well that I am incredibly blessed. I also understand that my life will not be the same. Being in a nice community does not make me immune from the effects of the virus. I may not be subjected to the germs, but I feel the impact of the world around me being affected. My life has changed in ways I did not expect. My wife tried to order some food from Amazon yesterday, because we didn’t want to go to a store. It wasn’t easy to do this. Found out this morning that the food wouldn’t be delivered until April 24. I have never experienced not being able to order anything from Amazon that I wanted. In this new reality, I am being taught to delay gratification. I am being taught patience. And, I am being reminded that nothing in this world is going to happen just because I wan...

Have you ever wondered why you exist? Did anyone ever tell you that you were born to take care of your younger brother, your parents, your friend, your spouse? So many questions. Who knows the answers. It’s a mystery. It’s a flat-out mystery. I do think about these things. Everyday. They consume my mind, because life doesn’t make sense sometimes. I cannot often grasp why terrible things happen. It is the mysteries of life that excite me. They invite me to go inside for the answers. They beg me to connect with other like-minded people who also pose these kinds of questions. If all these questions could be answered today, we would become like a machine, simply reacting to a preordained set of instructions. Believe this, go here, be that, and live this way. We are not machines. We are flexible and fragile. We are pliable and tender. We are changeable and teachable. We can change our minds, our hearts, and our spirits. This is what makes being human so incre...

The squirrel looked straight at us. It was as if his eyes were looking into ours. It was as if he knew we needed him to tell us something. My wife and I have been coming out to this butterfly garden the past two weeks to get some fresh air. All of this social distancing requires a daily outdoor activity, both to get exercise and to remind us that all may be OK. The squirrel looked like he was telling us to slow down. He was checking in on us. What were we to learn from this interaction? What message can we take away? Listen. Listen carefully. He was a reminder that the planet needs to slow down. The cars need to stop spewing pollution into our precious lungs. The streams need to stop being the dumping ground for our poisonous chemicals. The seas need to be left alone to regenerate. If our friend could speak he might say that the virus will not destroy us. He might say that we will be OK.  He is also a reminder that more time is nee...

I have worked as a consultant, an adjudicator, and private music instructor in Florida schools for over 20 years. I have learned some things about students and society that make me believe that band programs are an essential part of the health of our students and our schools. I would like to share ten lessons that I learned over the years. My hope is that this message continues to be shared, as we fight for the souls of our children. Our students our growing up in a time where there is a lot of division and adversity. I believe music will help to bind our society together. Here are ten good reasons to support these amazing programs: 1.        Band students learn to respect cultural diversity. There is a beautiful array of skin colors, as well as other physical features that display the greatness of our diverse world. Students are given the opportunity to play with and sit next to people that they may not ordinarily associate with. Students learn t...

For the rich family living in the beach front home to the man living under the bridge, the virus is here for a reason.  It is here to remind us that we need each other. It is here to remind us that it doesn’t matter whether you are rich or poor. It doesn’t matter what your race is. It doesn’t matter what your sexual orientation is. It doesn’t matter what car you drive.     You are an important human being, because you exist.  The greatest threat to our society right now could become our greatest gift.   If we let it.  If we let this terrible virus remind us of how immensely beautiful, we all are, this tragedy could become our healer.  I am not saying that this virus is a blessing.  It is never a blessing when someone gets sick or dies.  Never.  What I’m saying is that the pain could teach us something about the importance of relationships, and how special everyone is on this planet.  ...

Recently, my wife Rachel and I had the privilege of visiting a beautiful wildlife refuge near our home. It was a beautiful experience. So beautiful that it moved me to write this. It reminded me that this is how Florida used to be. There was something profoundly beautiful about the simplicity of this park. It was a boardwalk that went over a wetland. Not much to look at if you were looking for spectacular and exciting vistas. But if you looked close enough the amount of wildlife was quite spectacular. We saw wood storks, alligators, turtles, and many other beautiful vegetation. It recalled to me the idea that I don’t slow down enough in my life. I seem to always be moving to the next thing, and not savoring the present moment enough. It reminded me that as a society, we seem too interested in getting rid of the old to make room for the new. I felt sad about that. I believe that progress is good. But I also believe in holding onto valuable parts of our past. This includ...

Believing that you are valuable in this world is more than just some kind of nice gesture. It is the acknowledgment of the part you play in this amazing life. We have some say about how our life is going to go. I see it as a partnership of sorts. We cannot control all of what happens to us in life, but we do play a part in it. When we value ourselves, we are doing our part to participate in the positive flow of life. We are saying that we want to make a positive difference while we are alive. My uncle Nick died recently. His passing got me thinking about how a person can have a positive impact in the world. Nick was an amazing human being. He was a servant of other people and was a gentle soul. He was always looking for ways to be kind to others. He will be missed by a lot of people. As you go throughout your day, you encounter many people. I imagine that we come into direct contact with thousands of people every day. Some of those relationships are with those we live wit...