July 4, 2011

Don't Live so Close to Me

I wish everyone could be in the military.  Or at least the peace corps.  Or really any organization that takes you away from where you grew up and into different places.  Like Derek Sivers talks about here, I've learned more by moving away from California and living all around the country than I could have by staying there.  I can't wait to take us all to Socal for a couple years, but the experience of living somewhere else is priceless.

Travel, anywhere you can go and get into it.  Talk to the people (or at least try).  Eat their food.  Hang out.

Move away.  Get a job somewhere else.  Another country, another state, and get involved.  You might find another regional culture almost as foreign as going to another country.  This is good.

Stop calling the place you grew up "home".  Home is where you live now.  You'll never get into a place if you always think about leaving it.

I hope to do these things with you girls while you're growing up.  Once you're on your own, I hope you continue them.  Even if you settle back into wherever you decide you're "from", at least you'll have the experience of knowing that yours is not the only way of living.

July 3, 2011

Change this Title

Change is such a double-edged sword.  I see it now in you guys.  One of the requirements of the military is that we move every few years.  Soon enough you'll start getting excited to move.  You're already showing a little excitement as we move to California.  Unfortunately, you've already asked several times to go to your own house.  Since we can't move into our house for another 3 weeks, you've got a lot of uncertainty in front of you, especially for an almost 3-year-old.  But think of the fun we're going to have in San Diego.  Beaches, bikes, friends, and family nearby.  We'll have such a good time, as if all the pain of the change will have made it all worth it.

Like I wrote you before, sometimes you need a change of thought.  A different way.  At this point, you're still figuring out what your way is going to be.  Eventually though, nothing new will come from this way.  Learning will slow, stagnate, and might actually go backwards.  Take all you can from the experiences you have, the things you read, the conversations you make.  And when you feel yourself start to stagnate, change it.

You might not know where you are or exactly where you're going, but you'll eventually get there.  Keep searching and learning.  Once you get there, it'll all be worth it.

July 2, 2011

Shocking

You girls may find this out if you really get into sports when you get older, especially they include any lifting.  Here's what it is: Sometimes you just need to "shock" your body; to put yourself through a workout that is totally different from the ones you're used to.  One that is more strenuous, uses totally new body parts, or completely exhausts one individual muscle group will get your body out of a rut.  You'll be amazed at how you'll feel when your shock your body occasionally.


Don't forget to shock your mind.  Read a book from an author you never thought you'd like.  Read a different newspaper online (or in your brain-housing-capacinator or whatever news medium you'll have when you're older).  Go somewhere new and do something different.  Say something to someone you've never said before.

It might hurt at first.

You might get tired.

Soon you'll start thinking differently.

Then you'll have new ideas.

And you'll start to get excited.

If you go back to your usual activities, you'll see them through a whole new lens.  This is good.  You'll be learning.