Tricky Dick inspired me today

Image credit: Flickr commons

I found some inspiration from our former president Richard Nixon today. It wasn’t his politics, or anything related to Watergate, it is a quote of his that I believe shares his heart on what was at least partially why he entered the arena of politics- he said:

“A man who has never lost himself in a cause bigger than himself has missed one of life's mountaintop experiences. Only in losing himself does he find himself.”

Many people will only remember Nixon for Watergate which is sad because he was so much more. Did you know that while he was President, Nixon Established the EPA or that he made it a point to enforce desegregation of schools in the South? Nixon and JFK were friends, they had both been elected to Congress in 1946 and while on opposite sides of the isle they formed a close friendship that lasted at least until the 1960 election where they campaigned against one . Nixon he was a very complex, interesting guy who often broke from his group to pursue what he thought was better than partisan politics. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he is perfect, I once did a biography on Nixon for a school paper and read stories about his terrible temper. One story recounted how a young, somewhere around 6 years old, Nixon hit another kid in the head with a hatchet over a jar of tadpoles. My point is that Nixon was so much more than Watergate.

Back on point to my inspiration- What he said, the idea that maybe the goal, or at least A goal of ours should be to not just look out for ourselves but to lose ourselves in something bigger than us is fantastic. It is also very different from many of the messages that play to the “it’s all about me” that so often is found on our culture today. I would like to say that I’m really good at this, losing myself in things bigger than me but honestly I’m not, at least not like I want to. I still think about myself first in most situations, even when I should be thinking of others. I have lost myself in bigger, better things than me- Marriage and family come to mind and this is an area that I’d like to think that I excel but I know that there will always be room for improvement, anyone who says that they are the best at being a husband and or dad is either telling a bad joke, is lying or is really out of touch with reality.

So here is to Nixon and his epiphany, I’ve already been thinking about things I can do and I’m going to spend some more time thinking about ways that I can lose myself in things bigger than me. Who knows, I might get so lost that they have to send a search team for me ;)

Running and hopefully not standing still

This year I celebrate my 37th birthday.  Kelly and I have discussed that with 37 (she turns 37 today) we can't say that we're in our mid 30's anymore.  37 is clearly late 30's. Which means that 40 is going to creep up on us like tomorrow or something.  It also means that our 20's, and whatever hold over ideations of being young and invincible, if they haven't already gone, are going and will be gone as soon as we embrace reality.

For me, part of that embracing reality means a real assessment of where I am, and where I want to be with my physical health.  I think overall, I'm healthy.  I'm breathing, and have the ability to stand and get around. I’m alive and mobile which is good but I know that there are areas that need improvement.

I can push, pull, lift, throw and otherwise manipulate a multitude of objects of various weights and configurations, even exceeding my own weight in some cases.  Though, because of the leisure like life I’ve come to enjoy and be accustomed to, I’m not as strong as I once was and the manipulation of the multitude of objects seems to be more and more difficult compared to what it once was.  I used to also be able to run (or jog, though run seems the more en vogue term these days) a lot longer distances for a longer duration than I can today.  I also weigh many pounds more than I would like- the short of it is that I’m fat and not as in shape as I want to be…and it is on me to change it if I want it changed.

I have a couple choices here.  I can pretend that it is either not that bad, pretend that it will magically get fixed or some other form of make believe that in the end doesn’t help me right the situation.  I can also face the reality and decide that I’m going to do something about it…tomorrow, or some other mythical time period.  Or, I can decide right now to do something about it. 

So I did, and I continue to do something about it.  Yesterday I completed the first week of a 16 week training plan that I hope will prepare me to run in a 10k race in August of this year.  I would love to sit around, read blogs and stories of how to get ready and have that magically change me but the simple truth is, that unless I get out and actually train I’m going to go back to that pretend land that results in a very sad reality in the long run. 

So there it is, I’ve chosen today to do something.  When enough todays come and I make the right choice, I’ll run that race and not just stand still on that hot, hot day.

blogs...all the cool kids have one, so I guess it is time I get back to being a cool kid or something.  More than anything I've wanted a place to collect my thoughts a little, share with some friends or whatever strikes my fancy that day. 

first post down.  on to more fun stuff