Convergence

I love it when good things come together at the right time. I'll always be an optimist. The clouds on the day have lifted and my spirits with it. I've severed ties with a destructive group of people and it's refreshing. The world is still full of potential, and I'm back in the driver's seat. Working now on how to unleash my inner dog. Thanks to all the great people helping me along the way!

Open Spaces

Woke up in a fog this morning. It's supposed to lift by 9. I hope it does - I've got friends coming to run the Hidden Mesa Open Space with me today and the most appealing aspect are the views from the top. Pikes to the left; Evans to the right. Incredible.

Later today we're brewing beer, an Irish Stout. We'll grill some burgers and enjoy a few cold ones. Hope all goes well. And this evening? DU hockey.

It's going to be a good day.

Where the hell have I been?

Actually, there's a really good answer to that question. Since last writing here I've been to the Cascades a couple times, Moab a couple times, Telluride, San Francisco and Napa, double my garden space, got a new job...

But that's not what I'm here to say. I'm considering taking this blog to a new level - and taking it to a new location. Just some thoughts, but it's time to step up and move on. I've successfully adjusted my trajectory. Now it's time to advance the cause!

As no one is likely to read this, I'm not sure why I'm posting. I suppose it's a message to me. I would still like to have guest contributors from time to time. So if you do happen to stumble on this and see that from previous posts it's along your line, great. I'll let you know where it goes next.

In the meantime, I've got some work to do.

Nuke

Daddy-Date-Day

Okay, this may come off sounding a bit strange. After all, there is an argument to be made that during my unemployment I should have had Makenzie out of daycare and with me for the duration. There are, of course, plenty of reasons to do as we did, though, not the least of which is that she enjoys her friends and time at daycare.

But without getting into that too much, I want to share just how proud I am of my little girl (who is deep-six napping right now). Before breakfast she let me know that she wanted a Daddy-Date-Day. I make it a rule to say yes whenever I can to this request. I went for a run this morning with Brown Trout with Kenzie in the jogger. She would get out from time to time and run - our pace - for about 200 yards. Then back in the stroller (with a reasonable transition!) to rest before the next set. Awesome.

Then we joined our friends at the park and she went ape on the jungle gym for an hour or so.

Nothing unusual, I know. But It's one of the best days I've had in weeks. And I still got business done! Secured a new sponsor for the Mt. Evans Hill Climb and got a proposal out to another.

Tonight we're going to go see Santa and grabbing a bite out. And I know it will be just as much fun as my day so far.

If I don't get a chance to write again, Merry Christmas everybody.

Rules of Thumb

Recently browsing through one of the free outdoor magazines found at any of our many outdoor stores, I came across an interesting article discussing the author’s (Joe Lavelle, There & Back, 2009) different little “rules of thumb” he has collected over time. Below is a few of the more thought provoking rules of thumb including:

1. Rule of Peer Pressure: If “friends” provide friction against good judgment, get new friends.
2. Setback Tenent: Never Attribute to bad luck what can be adequately explained by poor judgment.
3. Law of Disintegration: Large problems are made up of many little questions; solve large problems by resolving easy questions.
4. Role of Instincts: Trust instincts to tell us when something is wrong; do not trust instincts tot ell us when something is right.
5. The Error of the Big Pix: It isn’t the accumulation of little mistakes that causes all of the trouble; it is the big mistake we make trying to correct them that does us in.

While these and many more rules definitely pertain to survival in the outdoors, they are certainly not limited to that portion of our lives. We can benefit in our daily lives from their more frequent use. Given the overwhelming wordsy, folksy sounding number of rules out there I think it’s easy for their many messages get lost. For me it leads to one rule of thumb I think is important: learn from our mistakes and especially the mistakes of others. These rules of thumbs are there to help guide us through life. Why not take advantage of them?

Last important rule of thumb provided, which you backpackers will understand is:

Rule of Uncapped Inevitability: A bottle set down with the opening unsecured will spill.

Trepidation

Is there a word for the phenomenon of recurring themes or items that come into your field of vision? Like when you get a new sweater from the Gap and then notice that everyone has that sweater? Okay, maybe a new car – or just one that you’re thinking of? You know what I mean.

There are times when I find these omens, if you will, to be very indicative. They don’t often make sense initially, but at some point you have the “ah ha!” moment and it’s all clear.

But before that revelation occurs, you have no idea why this new and seemingly omnipresent motif is pestering you. And sometimes that’s scary.

Like when it’s nipples.

In the last couple weeks they’ve been everywhere - and not in a good way.

I’m not going to go into details, but until two weeks ago I’d only known academically that a person could have more than two. And my buddy wants to make a bet over a race where the loser pierces their right side.

And speaking of piercing and nipples, there are just some things you never want to know about your sister.

On with Monday…

5 Perfect Questions

I think the idea of a beginner’s mind, one I’ve paid more than lip service too for the better part of two years, might be good in many circumstances but I’m beginning to see when the insight of an expert is required.

The beginner’s mind allows us to appreciate the things we encounter without prejudice. It’s extremely difficult. We’ve got years of support for the ideas we hold and to be able to set those things aside in order to experience something as if for the first time requires a discipline that few are capable or willing to execute. The barriers are not unique to our society today, but there is clearly an argument to be made regarding the “noise” that immerses us daily, hourly and by the minute. And let’s be honest, those predetermined feelings and reactions that we have serve a very important purpose – no less than survival.

Which leads to the power of expertise. There are situations that demand that we take action based on previous experience. Beyond that everyday expertise, there are those that seem to be gifted with an insight that knows when it’s right to take a new route, when a stranger is to be trusted (or not) and whether the water is too deep to cross.

Many situations demand one skill or the other. I have no need for expertise, for instance, when I watch the sunrise or see Makenzie’s face beam with pride and joy when she blasts through a puddle on her bike. Conversely I would argue that I do not need a beginner’s mind when confronted with a storm high on a fourteener. And clearly there are times when both are needed.

But it’s difficult to flip from one to the other – just as it is when looking at an optical illusion of a 3D cube or the negative space of an image. What I would like to develop is a series of questions that could be used to evaluate any given situation with both expertise and openness. Something I could have available in my wallet or coat pocket. Maybe tattooed.

I’ll start with questions that would help to determine the relevance, severity, return and consequence of the situation (expertise). Then I’d work through issues of legitimacy, assumptions and point of view (beginner’s mind). Formulating and evaluating solutions would come next, and I’d try to develop these with a hybrid approach – one that takes the viewpoint of other individuals or disciplines into account as well as my own along with novel or non-traditional solutions that may prove effective. Finally, I’d evaluate the solution in the same manner that I did the situation – the relevance, severity, return and consequence – short and long term.

I’ll limit this to five questions: a convenient number for one hand. I welcome your input and encourage you to stay tuned. I plan on having this complete within the month.

Okay, time to get out and ride.