Check Engine.

If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing. - Margaret Thatcher

Not to be a broken record. But I have the most amazing people in my life.

It was an oddly restful weekend. I got to enjoy my beloved niece and nephew for the better part of Saturday before setting off on a scotch hunting Portland excursion with two of the most dapper gentlemen you'll meet.

I am continually blessed by the soft-spoken and kind woman with a core of adamantium that is my wife. I'm glad that her and her girlfriends had a relaxing getaway weekend in Sunriver, but I am glad she's home.

Throughout this weekend, I have had some good time to process my inner world. I had some good journal time today which helped me make some sense of the larger currents that are shifting inside me. I know I have more to say than just what's below, but I want to let some thoughts simmer and reduce down to the essentials before writing much more.

A question to process however, this week for those who are interested. What compromises have you made that are no longer serving you?

When problems in life arise, they act like a warning light on a car dashboard. Blinking, irritating, gnawing at your peace of mind until you finally fix it. As soon as you take that to a mechanic, address the issue and reset the light, it falls into an "out of sight, out of mind" mode. Unlike automobiles however, life sometimes calls for the best solutions that we have available at the moment which often are far from ideal long term.

The ability to compromise is one of the best tools that a mature adult has at their disposal for resolving conflicts and relational issues. But, sometimes those compromises that have become "out of sight, and out of mind", need to be readdressed. Perhaps you are abiding by some that no longer serve any reasonable purpose for you now. You've outgrown the solution in a sense. I have become aware recently, that perhaps some of the compromises I have made in the past, need to be revisited.

Let's get practical. Have you made a tacit agreement with your brother-in-law to never talk about a sensitive subject which has been known to cause fights or sensitivity in the past? Have you decided to never talk about how proud you are of the weight you have lost through hard-work because members of your family have shown hostility, feeling that your accomplishments paint them in a bad or lazy light? Does actively pursuing a better standard of living, or better parenting techniques, or any kind of self-improvement make people in your life feel insecure? Of course these kinds of things happen to us.

What compromises have you made, in terms of living the way you want to live, saying the things you want to say, and carrying yourself the way you want to carry yourself because people who are legitimately important to you have taken offense? I think it's good every so often, to stop and re-examine past "fixes" and make sure we are doing the best we can by ourselves to foster genuine expression and genuine living. Otherwise, unbeknownst to us, our energies are being slowly sapped, and our peace of mind is being eroded by little warning lights, flashing once again.

Hope everyone has a great week,
Peace and much success.

Generally Speaking...

It has been two weeks since my last post, and for that I apologize. I am flattered by the emails I have gotten from friends reminding me of my 1 blog a week promise and all the nice feedback I have received in between. I suppose I am following my own advice about balance. Sarah and I had a wonderful time camping last weekend and I unfortunately don't tend to have a whole lot of time during the week to write or have creative white space.

That being said, I am almost feeling the need to just re-cap these last couple weeks for myself. I have to say that this last month in general has been characterized by deepening relationships of a surprising nature. I feel like I have found some new connections within others such as new common interests, new ways of sharing world views, and personal philosophies.You know, the dreams NT stuff is made of. Never have I felt so blessed to count so many as good friends with whom I can commune.

At work, it has kind of been a whirlwind month in a sense, (August that is). We have had 4 new employees hired on, not to mention the ones that didn't make it. In a company that optimally runs at about 10-12 employees, that's a huge turnover number. Last month was our biggest hurrah of the summer as well. Many, many days I would have to slide into the shop an hour or two after quitting time simply because of work load or traffic or what have you. In all, there is still a present and deepening mutual respect between myself and my employers, and the challenges have not been without their moments of enjoyment.

In the last two weeks, I have read Titan, The Biography of John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), an excellent reading experience indeed. Rockefeller's life was such a fascinating mix of cutthroat businessman and altruistic philanthropist. A couple highlights include his huge donation to a college in Atlanta for African-American women in 1884, as well as donating money to a black man so he could purchase his wife's freedom from slavery. His business exploits are nothing short of amazing. Chevron, exxon, mobil, and ammaco are just a couple of the remaining oil companies that were mere fragments of the single monolithic oil empire which the Sherman Antitrust Law of 1890 forced him to dissolve. Monster or Saint, I thoroughly enjoyed getting a better glimpse of some of the bloody business battles that were fought in the formation of the industrialized America we know today.

I suppose that's it for now. My desired state is to remain as centered as I possibly can. I feel like I have had a very rich handful of weeks which has only served to increase the gyroscopic forces at work to keep me spinning on my axis and for that, I am grateful.