The writings in today’s post were not created because I have any special insights. I share them only because they are things we all experience in one way or another.

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Share your passions, and then leave people alone.

It’s natural to want to share the things you love with others, but do so with caution. Whenever I’ve done that, I’ve been disappointed that something I was passionate about, didn’t transfer to a friend. I’ve learned to talk about what I enjoy, but never suggest that somebody else join me. Hiking, camping, horses, auto racing, road trips, photography, you name it, I’ve only asked to share them with people who already had an interest. Early on, sometimes people would hear me speak about something I liked doing, and catch the fire from my words, and ask to go to the races, or go horseback riding, or maybe camping. Ultimately, we would do whatever I had been talking about and they would be disappointed, which would leave me disappointed. I learned that everybody develops their own interests, and sometimes ours don’t transfer to others. I also learned, that if I talk or write about my passions, but leave people alone to follow their own journey, very often they would pursue my passions and come to love them. They felt like they found those things themselves. You cannot force people to feel what you feel, but you can ignite a flame deep down inside. Always share what you love through passionate words and deeds, and then leave those that you shared them with alone. You never know when you have provided for somebody, a vehicle to for them to discover, a more fulfilling life.

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The hardest part of my life in recent years, is that I have had to abandon the very essence of who I am. There is one thing above all, that I am defined by, and that’s a restless explorer. Oh I’m not a world traveler. I’ve never walked on the moon. Just the same I tried to spend my time, wandering wherever my senses carried me. Sight, sound, smell, thought, instinct. They’ve led me down a series of interesting roads.

You can explore in your own back yard, but sooner or later that restless soul yearns for a new horizon. Always put taking care of yourself on the top of your list. If you do that, the explorer in you will always find his/her next journey and do so with passion.

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We live in a contentious world today, and one way to cope with that fact, is to have personal passions with which you can immerse yourself. If you can do those things alone, so much the better. Everybody, especially today, needs a sanctuary to escape to. Yours might be a walk in the park, or making quilts. Maybe writing for a blog. If you ever do the latter, remember that the writing part is far more personal and special than the publishing part. Buy yourself a camera. I know of no better way to escape the angry and partisan world we live in. Gardening? The possibilities are endless. Escapism, as long as it doesn’t erase your duties, including keeping up with current events and making informed votes, is not only okay, but it is a duty to yourself to enjoy/create, something that soothes and fulfills. It leaves you a more complete person.

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It always amazes me how different being a child (or parent) is today compared to when I was a child.

There is a large grammar school not too terribly far from where I currently live.  Occasionally during the school year I make the mistake of driving past the school when they are in the process of arriving for the day.  I never see any kids walking, even though there is a residential neighborhood nearby.  There are usually two school buses with two or three kids in each bus. Then for 3/4 of a mile in each direction, there are parents lined up with their cars, and one or two kids in each vehicle.  I have personally watched a car pull out of a nearby driveway with one child inside, and drive the one block to get into line with the other cars.  This was on a sunny and pleasant day.

I only lived about 7 blocks from my grammar school and I always walked or rode my bike.  I am frightened to even think what would have happened if I suggested that one of parents should drive me. Rain, sleet, snow, heat, below zero, coming home sick. It never mattered, we never thought of any other way to get back and forth.

When I went on to junior high school (middle school) I went to a school about three miles away. Of course I rode the bus, but my parents did not take me. On a couple of occasions, two of my buddies and I got up early, and walked to school. Just to do it.

I think most people in the area where I grew up believed I had good parents. Just the same, on a summer’s day I often left the house at sunrise, and came back at supper around five p.m.  Many times I would go out after  supper and meet my friends again. I would usually get home around the time it got dark be that 7 p.m., or 9:30 p. m.. As long as we got into no trouble, and obeyed the few rules we had, we were allowed to do this without explanation. Today my parents would be prosecuted for neglect. We were just being raised the way they were raised.

It was indeed a simpler world when I was young. We had all of the same issues and types of people we have today, but the bad ones were in the minority.  There was another part of it though. Our lives were not micro managed by our parents which allowed us learn to take care of ourselves, and grow up.  They knew you can’t put a human being, even a young one, in a cage. There were then, and there will always be, risks each and every day you crawl out of bed.

Having said all of that, it is tough to be a parent today, and even tougher to be a kid. You hear nothing but negatives. 10 year olds are being inundated with things that should be the domain of 20 years olds.  Today’s childhoods produce a more cynical, and yet a more selfish adult.

I was blessed to be able to grow up when I did, raised by the people who raised me.

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There you have it. No overwhelming opinions on politics or religion. Just musings.

My internet connectivity problems are just about solved so I should be able to turn this site back into a photography blog very soon.

God Bless,                                                                                                                                      Wayne