Scott C. Smith

Sometimes you just have to tell the story

Archives for January 2023

Implosion, explosion … hope?

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The Thought Instigator

I’ve gone back and forth on this one. A few times, and then some more. Would it serve a purpose? Would people think it weird? Was I even sure of the point?

I decided yes – on all three questions. I decided it would serve a purpose if it inspired thought. I decided at least some people would consider it weird, but that’s okay; I’m not going to say anything based on anticipated response. And yes, I decided I was sure of the point. Even though this is mostly composed of symbolism emerged from a dream state, it is nevertheless a consideration of current times. And even from throughout history. 

Background

The image you see in this post emerged from a dream I had recently. The dream began as forms presented, moving, each turning, end over end, in its own flow pattern. The images were the softly rounded shapes you see, as if boat fenders designed to protect topsides from contact with a dock in rough water. Each slowly tumbled in its own random direction, though in uniform pace with the others, as if in a slow choreographed dance. These five fender-like objects, along with a few in other colors, began to connect. It took some doing, but eventually the five you see here won position and the other fenders floated away. 

But then the order had to arrange and rearrange, in slow, swirling motion, until this final formation – red, white and blue, top down and left to right – locked into place. The colors and order leave nothing to the imagination, except that the “US” at the top right means “us” not “U.S.” The capitalization is apparently for emphasis. 

Had to recreate

I don’t know why I dreamed this, but I did, and it stood out clearly when I awoke, unlike most dreams, which dissipate into the vapor upon opening my eyes. It lingered as I went through my early morning routine of making coffee, reading news and checking email. I wondered why and decided to create the image and made what you see here (originally setting succeeding images afire in varying degrees, and then recovering, and tying them together with the sound of a ticking clock – just as in the dream – but I opted to not show that violence and deleted those frames). 

I hope I’m not the only one who has weird dreams. But, here are brief descriptions of the seven images:

  • US
  • US imploding
  • US exploding
  • US on fire
  • US extinguishing the flames
  • Hope for US as the flames recede
  • US surviving, though those words drip red, white and blue blood

So, is US really U.S.? It’s certainly us, society, and maybe U.S., the nation. We know that nations exist through history because of and to a degree in spite of violence – war, insurrection, terrorism, territorial domination, cruelty. That list goes on and on. Fact is, we live in violent times, and humankind has always lived in violent times. Read your history; war and expansion and domination dominate the narrative. Whether it’s the Crusades or Al Capone, settling the New World or Napoleon, enlarging this or that empire or Hitler. There have to be a thousand examples of people/nations attempting to dominate others via violence. 

Violence, a way of life

We are violent to attain freedom. We are violent to prevent freedom. We are violent because we can be. 9-11. Jan. 6. 30 Years War. Ukraine. 

I recall reading the fascinating Zealot, The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth and being reality slapped with descriptions of the horrific violence of 2,000 years ago. I connected the dots of the various histories I’ve read and wars I’ve witnessed from the safety of my living room, depicted on television and in Life magazine. Did you know that somewhere between 50 million and 80 million people died in World War II?  

Somewhere between 618,000 and 850,000 people died in our Civil War. Close to 4 million people died in our VietNam war (not France’s), which was my coming-of-age conflict, as were the Watts riots of 1965 (34 deaths), nevermind the assassinations of the ‘60s. These last events were brought to us vividly on TV and, for  me, especially in Life magazine. What a great medium that was. Pouring through its pages, over and over, got me wanting to pursue a career in journalism.

And now we have politicians warring with each other, attempting to wrest power instead of sharing it. Misstating, misrepresenting, misinterpreting. Bizarro, delusional psychwads attempt to rule the day. More and more, it’s my way or no way!  And not just the office holders – I mean, who actually elects these people?

What’s the fix?

Futurists Heidi and Alvin Toffler are famous for writing a lot of books about society. Alvin’s big book of 1970 was Future Shock, all about the impact of the acceleration of change on society. It was the rage, sold millions. The couple also published, among many others, a small book called Creating a New Civilization, The Politics of the Third Wave. It came out in 1995; I read it in 2002. Their buddy Newt Gingrich (intellectual pals if not political) wrote the forward – at the time of his putting his Contract With America thumbprint on congressional politics. Among many points made in the book, the biggie came at the end, when the couple famously stated that the ideal president was the liberal Republican. Remember them? Fiscally constrained, progressively minded?

Where, oh where, did Eliot Richardson go? Statesman, stood up to Nixon, Brahmin, principled. Author of Reflections of a Radical Moderate. A fiscal conservative, he asks: “Since when has it been conservative for Americans to turn their backs on the poor?” My all time favorite politician.

And I have to give now former Massachusetts governor, Charlie Baker, a hearty nod. There’s a strong message in realizing that he was considered the most popular governor in the country for all eight years of his service. Why? He’s a statesman. He worked respectfully with all parties to accomplish the most good for his state that he could. I think his successor, Maura Healy, will also be statesmanlike. 

But – who are the other standout statesmen today? Statesmen are the leaders we rely on to put out the flames and give us hope, and there are a few. Contemporary flamethrowers don’t give us hope; they offer fear. We all know who they are; why do we allow them to have power? The obvious answer is that many of us like that. Many of us like powermongers on the same side – the end justifies the means. Some of us think the rioters who stormed the Capitol were patriots. Others of us consider them terrorists. I think they were mob-mentality thugs who considered themselves patriots, but also devoted followers of delusional pied pipers begging to be whipped up. Mob rule is contagious. And then the next wave tries to out mob the last. And more, and more, in geometric progression. It’s so predictable. 

As Pogo so famously said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” We could aspire to rise above. We could choose not to implode, or not to allow imploders, except that time and time again history shows us that only when pushed to its brink does society respond and deal with its turmoil. I think that’s the message in my still video. I think that’s what my dream was all about. That, and no matter that we do get better, we’re still left maimed.

Can we keep coming back?

I fear that one of these times the few good guys will be caught up in the flame. So, maybe we can say and do enough now and not wait till the shit has hit the fan more than it already has. In many ways – aggression and war, terrorism, racism, holier-than-thou religious fanatics, filthy rich nazi lovers, white nationalists – it breeds feelings of helplessness and even eventuality. But then, so far, anyway, we do rebound. We rely on hope and translate that into action. On the other hand, nothing necessarily lasts forever. If only we could see the future.

But we can’t. What we can do is decide: What do we want, and to what degree are we willing to work for it? I’d love to see this evolve top down – you know, national leadership and all that. Wide circle of inclusion. Acceptance. Tolerance. Doing the right thing. Elliot, where are you when we need you? Liz, you sacrificed your political self for principle; thank you. Anyone else willing to give leadership a shot? 

Daniel Stid is the recent program director of U.S. Democracy at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. In an essay he wrote in 2021 about political leadership for National Affairs, titled A Time for Statesmanship (https://nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/a-time-for-statesmanship), Stid concludes with the following: 

“In the coming years, our democracy will either rise to the occasion, or slip faster toward something that no longer resembles democracy – at least not as Americans have inherited, practiced, or improved upon it from Jefferson’s day to our own. What will determine the outcome will not be the policies and reforms we adopt (or fail to adopt) in response to the challenges we face, but whether a new generation of leaders can manage to recover and renew the practice of American statesmanship. If they succeed, we can take on a range of challenges. If they fail, all bets are off.”

Perhaps it’s up to us to drive it from the bottom up. Thankfully, we have loads of local leaders, local statesmen. Maybe there is hope for US. 

What do you think? Comments welcome. 

Then there was the time I got hit by a car

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It sure seems to take more than a little longer dropping down into planks and bouncing back up for high knees when doing the 7 Minute Workout. Well, I wouldn’t quite call it “dropping” down now. And maybe “a little” longer isn’t especially accurate lately. Um, okay, so not exactly “bouncing,” either. And for that matter, not quite “high” knees.

I hope to get the ole drop and bounce back, though. Reminds me of the time a couple of years ago when I was hit by a car while riding my bike.

It was one of those slo-mo things. A kid came wheeling around the corner as I was crossing the street and he elected to not pay much attention to what was in front of him – he was looking at the blond who had waved him out into the traffic unaware, apparently, that I was the traffic. Anyway, in that nano-second I decided to alert the kid to my position in front of his oncoming hood and let out a “HEY!” As I hollered, a thought entered my brain. Not that I was going to be hit; no getting around that. No, the thought was that if the kid hit me and knocked me over and kept going, I’d be run over by big, knobby Wrangler tires. I decided, hmm, no, that was probably not a good option. But, what to do?

The answer flooded my gray matter in the next slo-mo nano. In fact, I recall spending an extra half nano enjoying my answer, as it made such marvelous sense. I wondered, what would Rex do? Rex, for those who don’t know, is the leader of The LGBT Superheroes, a foursome of queer vigilantes I created as a three-book action series. (You can look me up on amazon.com if you want to learn more about those fearless characters in their pursuit to purge crime and corruption from their otherwise fair city.) Rex is in his late 40s and is in superb shape. He can drop, bop and roll better and faster than most. I knew I had to do what Rex would do.

The kid looked up at me in the instant before collision and stomped his brake – which would have been awesome if he was 20 feet away. He was, however, more like 20 inches. I eyed the Wrangler’s approach, timed the impact, and at the last second flipped my bod over the bike’s frame and onto the car’s hood in a move that would make any superhero proud. That, my Rex thinking calculated, might prevent me from being knocked in the opposite direction and prevent those knobby tires from leaving tread marks on me.

The Jeep jolted to a stop, and I rolled back over the hood and dropped down onto my now mangled bike and the street beneath. The initial vision of the car continuing forward shot back into my brain, and the instant gravity forced my contact with the bike and street, I did indeed bounce right back up and out of the way! I felt, if briefly, like the 17-year-old jock I once was.

It was a dumb accident, but the kind with a happy ending. The kid had my bike repaired, and my scraped knees and elbows healed just fine. More importantly, I nailed the drop and bounce. Now to get it back.

To resolve or not resolve, that is the question

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The Thought Instigator

Apparently, it’s still hip to advocate not making New Year’s resolutions. From so many posts out there, that seems to be a continuing mindset. The reasoning is, so often we make them, then we break them, so let’s do ourselves a favor and not even go there. And there’s something to be said for that. The story here goes into that more in depth. 

A couple of people I read have different approaches. 

First, let’s accept that New Year’s resolutions are a thing. In fact, there is long history here, going back to ancient Babylonians who held festivities at the new year (then mid-March, or planting season), and folks made promises regarding finances, which they intended to keep. When Julius Caesar changed the calendar to begin the year on January 1, the god Janus is said to have had the ability to look back and ahead, and Romans made positive promises about the new year.

By the 17th century, we’re told, making and breaking resolutions was commonplace. Nowadays there’s a good deal of advice (witness the recent flood of articles) in how to make resolutions – make resolutions that can be kept (not too difficult); make them narrowly focused and thus more attainable (I’ll lose 10 pounds; not I’ll lose weight); be positive in framing them (I will do this, not I won’t do that).

Nowadays we see different takes on how to take advantage of the new year to improve ourselves. I’m leaning in these directions.

One guy I follow is Justin Welsh, a successful solopreneur who has mastered LinkedIn for developing his following and subsequent business success. He claims that about 90% of people won’t follow through on their resolutions. He suggests, as an alternative, to set anti-goals. Simply, instead of trying to do some new positive thing, eliminate negative things you’ve been doing, and as a result become more positive and effective in the process. 

This follows a possibly growing trend of doing the opposite of what is traditionally thought to be the way to do things. Entrepreneur Tim Ferris advocates for that, such as keeping a schedule opposite of what everyone else does in order to stand out and gain more attention. As for resolutions, he says he stopped making them in exchange for a past-year review. Go through your calendar week by week and make lists of the positives and negatives. Whittle the lists down to the top 20% and the worst 20%, and then pile up on the former and dump the latter for the coming year. 

Sounds like similar trains of thought, both worthy of consideration. I’m going to do something even more different. And that is to resolve to accomplish a two-minute exercise every morning, based on the idea of another person I follow, Neil Pasricha. Neil is a hearty advocate for the popular tenet of living intentionally, a concept I thoroughly embrace. My take on that, the nutshell version, is to live deliberately, in balance with my core positive values, and to focus on simplifying my life and further appreciating that which I have: my family, my friends, my home, my stuff. Surround myself with people who share similar values and avoid those who choose negativity over positivity. 

I came across Neil by listening to yet another guy I follow, who runs a business and life philosophy website and newsletter and podcast from Canada. His name is Shane Parrish, and his website is called Farnum Street. Shane conducts his annual personal report by addressing “7 simple questions to help you reflect on the past year and make the next year unstoppable.” 

He is a huge fan of Berkshire Hathaway executives (and fellow reading fanatics) Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, and he uses part of their company’s address for his website name as an homage to them. He publishes his newsletter Brain Food, which I’ve been reading every Sunday morning for years, and he also does a weekly interview podcast called The Knowledge Project. Smart dude; his podcast is my favorite. 

His basic angle is that successful people have figured out a lot of stuff, so why not let’s pick their brains and get to the heart of the matter, learning some of what they’ve learned, especially mental models (which, of course, is the basic model of our education system, just with his thumbprint). Among his fascinating guests, Neil Pasricha appeared last fall for his second visit, and I listened to them talk as I drove around doing errands and finished the segment during a cranking session on my exercise bike (I’ll ride inside some if it’s too crappy to ride outside). He is thoroughly contagious. 

I love reading and listening to smart people. I hope a smidgeon of their intellect and insight rubs off on me. Neil has published several bestselling books, he’s hugely popular on Ted Talk, and he gives speeches almost weekly for corporations and organizations all over. He’s a likable guy who achieved significant insight after living in misery while seeking success and realized he had it all wrong. He capitalized on figuring it out and shares his take on living intentionally through blogs, newsletters, books and speeches. 

So, I decided to adopt a practice that Neil recommends, taking two minutes of my day while the coffee perks to perform an exercise that has helped him immeasurably. You can read on his website all about how he came to it, so I’m just going to drop in here the idea. We’re awake for about 1,000 minutes a day, he says. So let’s invest two of those minutes to setting up the day for success by listing 1) “I will let go of…”, 2) “I am grateful for…” and 3) “I will focus on….” Or as he says: “If we can invest just two of them to prime our brains for positivity, then we’ll be helping ensure the other 998 minutes of our days are happier.”

My intention to eat well and exercise more are long-standing resolutions already and likely will be well into the future. Now I’ll see if I can condition myself to doing this new daily exercise, as well. I need to be physically and mentally in balance as I pursue my new career as a freelance writer helping businesses and organizations enhance their brands. I’m quite excited about taking this challenge on. There’s so much yet to discover. Taking this mindful first step each day of 2023 will help me guide that.

How about you? Are you making resolutions this new year? What?

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