Page 49 | MediocreMan

Unexpected Snow Day · 10 December 2022

What do you do on an unexpected snow day? I just write.

I live in an area where snow can affect whether we go to school or not. And believe it or not, there are times when teachers hope and pray for snow days too. Oh sure, we make them up in June, but there are times when you just want it to snow and for school to be cancelled.

But what do you do when school gets cancelled?

I know some kids and colleagues go back to sleep. No school? Get back to sleep. It is a natural reaction. Get a little more shuteye. Nobody turns down a little more sleep. Right?

I personally do not want more sleep. Once I am up, I am up. Okay. I do take naps from time to time. But usually, it is after work. Not before. Certainly not during. Usually. (Just kidding.) But for the most part, once I am up, I am up for the day. So going back to sleep is not what I would choose to do on an unexpected snow day.

What I would do, and what I did on the latest snow day, is write. I write and write and write. And I shovel snow. (I have written at least a little bit on my compulsion to shovel any amount of snow from the driveway and sidewalks, so I will just mention it here.) In fact, I think that writing is the best part of any snow day. Write, write, write.

Of course, you cannot write the whole day. Or at least I cannot.

This last snow day I decided to get some books ready for print.

(#ad) click to buy

If you have not heard or read, I have written and published several books. Over twenty at last count. But until recently, they were digital only. A couple weeks ago, I finished my first (rather first in a long time) print on demand book. Things have come a long way since I published my first print on demand book. In fact, it took me less time to get five books ready than it took to get my very first print on demand book ready. And I even had time to update a few of them when I figured out I had errors. Yes. The last time I did a print on demand book was a couple decades ago, but still…

At any rate.

I am not trying to say that I am such a great publisher or anything like that. I am just impressed that software has improved so much all these years later. And of course, the publishing industry has changed too. Anybody can publish a book these days. After all, if I can do it, anybody can.

So what am I trying to say? I am just trying to say that if I can write and publish over twenty books on Amazon and if I can also get those books ready for print on demand publishing, then pretty much anybody can. Yes, that means that there is plenty of garbage out there. But there are certainly gems out there too. (It is not for me to decide which of those two my writing might be.)

I know it is not fun for everybody, but when I have an unexpected snow day, I shovel the snow, I write, and I publish. I hope you do something enjoyable too.

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My Philosophy of Life · 3 December 2022

A student of mine recently asked me what my philosophy of life is. I told him that I could tell him, but I might get fired. But then I thought about it more and decided that I really ought to dig deeper to see what my philosophy of life really is.

Philosophy means love of wisdom, but a philosophy of life is how you live your life. Or how you believe you live your life. And to my way of thinking, your philosophy of life ought to be fairly short and sweet. Like a mission statement of sorts. So while I may not have had a concrete philosophy of life when my student asked me, I have solidified it now.

My philosophy of life is threefold. I am a seeker of truth. I answer only to the King. I serve others (or at least I try to).

These are the three statements that encapsulate my philosophy of life. But since they are the guiding principles of my life, I must clarify them. At least a little bit.

Truth is out there whether you believe it or not. So there is not your truth and my truth. There is your perception of truth and my perception of truth, but there is real knowable objective truth. Those who say that there is no truth spout a logical contradiction. If there is no truth, then you cannot say that there is no truth because that is a truth. So the statement “There is no truth” is self-contradictory because it claims to be a truth, which it cannot be. At any rate, I am a seeker of truth. And when my perceptions of the truth turn out to be wrong, I make sure that I adjust my life accordingly. At least I hope that I do.

It might seem strange for a person to say that he or she answers only to the King, but it is how I live my life. I heard a great line in a TV show about how those in a royal family had to live not for their own happiness or satisfaction but for the crown. That is how I try to live my life. I do not live for the king of any country. I live for the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is only to the triune God of the Bible that I owe my allegiance. Sure, I pledge allegiance to the flag. I am loyal to my country. And I am loyal to my family. But if those allegiances should go against my highest allegiance, I know where I stand. My King gets everything. In fact, I am learning more and more that I am merely a steward of the King. And I am learning that I must answer only to the King. No matter what.

The last part of my philosophy is service. I am not always good at it, but I seek to serve other people. I want to be in tune with other people and what they need. Most of the time, people just need a kind word. Some of the time, they need a kick in the seat of the pants. I try to see and then do what is appropriate as I serve others.

Now, I know that nobody follows their own philosophy of life perfectly. Nobody is truly in sync with what they believe. But we ought to try and be introspective. We ought to try and figure out what makes us tick. I guess that is where the definition of philosophy comes in. When we love wisdom, we will seek it out. And the wisdom of our own lives is knowing who we are and what drives us. In the end, my statements may not truly be a philosophy of life, but they are the statements that guide me as I live my life.

I am glad that my student asked me about my philosophy of life. It gave me the opportunity to boil down my thoughts into simple statements. Statements that would surely not get me fired. I probably would not have gotten fired even if I had given my initial thoughts that day, but his question made me think, and I am always grateful for conversations that make me think. By the way, I answered my student with my three statement answer the next day.

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Thanksgiving 2022 · 24 November 2022

I just realized that I am thankful for the people in my life.

Okay. I did not just realize it, but I am truly thankful for the people in my life. Those who have been in my life in the past and those who continue to be in my life in the present. And although I did not just realize it, Thanksgiving is the perfect time to be introspective and really think about being thankful.

I am most thankful for my family. My wife and kids. My brothers and sisters. And their kids too. Oh I am thankful for my aunts and uncles and cousins and friends and colleagues and a whole lot of other people too, but it has really hit home recently that I am thankful for my parents and those in the family tree that they were responsible for.

Mom and Dad have gone to be with Jesus, so I will see them again. And on this Thanksgiving 2022, I am thankful to God for having given me such great parents. They helped shape me into the person I am today. And whether anybody else is grateful for that, I know that I am.

I really am thankful for my family. I am thankful for their support of each other in both good times and bad. I am thankful for our shared memories. I am thankful that we have spent lots of time together. I am just thankful for them. All of them. Brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews. And of course, my wife and my sons.

Now, I could probably go on and on and on about many more family members and friends and colleagues and many other people who have impacted my life in positive ways. Aunts and uncles and cousins have had a profound positive effect on my life. Friends and colleagues have had profound positive effects on my life too. And the one thing that I can say about them all is that I am thankful for their presence in my life.

Relationships are important. They are all that we carry with us when we leave this life. And so I am thankful this Thanksgiving 2022 for the many relationships that I have had with people throughout my life. I am thankful for the impact that people have had on making me who I am.

I may not have just realized it, but this Thanksgiving I am most thankful for all the people in my life. Especially, my family.