The best gift in life is TODAY!

One of the most important choices you make each day is whether you live in the PRESENT TENSE or allow the hurts of yesterday to consume you or the dreams of tomorrow to side track you? I know that most have heard and talked about not allowing history to repeat itself, yet, the reality is that unless we learn from our past tomorrow, the future and the hope of our dreams is lessened. So how do we start embracing the NOW in today instead of waiting for life to happen tomorrow or moaning, groaning and complaining about yesterday?

So why do so many allow the heart ache from the past to constrain them from living life to the fullest in the present tense? I was recently at the beach watching a group of Southern Cal guys surf. What caught my attention was a young gal that walked along the boardwalk with her board and then descended to the shoreline and made her way into the surf. What was amazing was the look from the guys at this gal that was hitting the waves hard and banking back and forth staying on top. I asked one of the surfers if many girls surfed which he quickly responded NAH but the few that do usually are incredible.

Why allow the argument or dispute of yesterday, which is past history, stop you from diving into life today? What causes so many to only talk about their dreams and desires and not actually DO IT today? I can’t fathom that someone would actually go to the trouble of buying an expensive surf board and wetsuit to only keep them in their garage? I can’t imagine someone settling for just watching someone else hit the waves and enjoy the ocean breeze instead of getting wet and taking a chance!

Disappointment is just a fact of life so anyone that pretends never to get into it with a spouse, friend or family member is lying. The reality is that all of us need to learn how to better process the hurt and disappointment to avoid becoming bitter and instead learn from our personal struggles to help make life better. It’s so easy to always blame shift and point our fingers at another instead of taking ownership of our own messes. So instead of painting a picture that everyone else is totally ‘screwed up’ look in the mirror and be real. I do have more wrinkles and the gray isn’t going to disappear. Yet, the fact of life is that I can still body surf at 60 and catch waves that made me feel the same as when I was a 20-year old pursuing my future bride at Mission Beach.

Life is about growing and never settling for the status quo! I was with a group of older friends this last weekend who ‘rocked my boat’! Most view retirement as disappearing and doing little to nothing intentionally. Yet, these incredible friends made my day because they were still in the middle of the fray giving themselves to others instead of daydreaming about their glory days in the 60’s or 70’s.

Why be kind?

As I walked around Seaport Village, a San Diego tourist trap (located along the bay adjacent to the U.S. Midway), I was over taken by an almost 30-foot statue that paid tribute to our sailors leaving for war. The area was packed mostly with tourist from faraway and a variety of vendors in addition to the homeless that blended in with the landscape.

I was touched by an elderly gentleman who had chosen his spot to serenade the mobile crowd that remained fluid with his violin. His choice of playing ‘it’s a small world’ was spot on for the faces in the crowd that reflected the diversity of America’s Greatest City. As I continued walking around the area I was pleasing surprised to see a teen pick up a piece of trash. It would have been so easy for this individual to just pass by and do nothing. What makes a person stand out is when they do ordinary actions in an extraordinary fashion without being told.

I was also impressed as I witnessed another little miracle as a homeless vet had strategically placed himself close to the gigantic Aircraft Carrier with a simple sign, ‘Homeless Vet, please help me’. I saw another young person look at this elderly gentleman and quickly grab out of his pocket a dollar bill and place it in his jar. It wasn’t but another few seconds that another teen seemed to sneak up and do the same thing. Next, I overheard or listened into a conversation with someone telling a friend that they away felt awkward when people panhandled and seemed to expect everyone to donate to their personal plight in life.

So why be kind to stranger? Why give someone a cup of coffee or a dollar instead of an odd stare or verbal harangue for not having a job or looking rather out of place? What causes one person to stop their busyness and another to rush along and avoid eye contact with a stranger? I would hope that kindness would be a natural tendency and something that wasn’t forced upon you?? It was my outgoing mother that taught me over my youth that seeing those around you and choosing to engage them was truly God’s way. It was tough enough having a mom that seemed fearless in the face of strangers but then to have to share what was mine initially didn’t make sense.

It’s so difficult at times to see the future of our world improve when it appears that everything is about politics, power and the few with the means to control the lives of too many. Yet, these simple acts of paying it forward will continue to shape the world around me, whether that’s in Phoenix or San Diego. The question is whether I’m going to let go of my own cynicism and see life in others, regardless of circumstances, continue to captivate my attention and curiosity.

The incredible gift from being kind is a simple joy that transcends the evils in the world that catch the headlines on social media. What captures my heart and soul is seeing people care for another that forces them to stop and lift their heads up from their fast-paced lives. 

Land of the free because of the BRAVE!

Regardless of the present political climate AMERICA is the GREATEST COUNTRY on the face of this planet!! As Americans are reminded of the story behind the 5 that wrote an incredible document that has defined our journey we need to see the BIG PIC is that America is great because of those who have gone before us and chosen to be courageous and brave on behalf of the those unable to defend themselves. What’s too often over looked in the twitter wars of today is that America is a land forged by immigrants who came to this country seeking a better life, where they could practice their religious faith or lack thereof without a fear of persecution.

America has never been defined by one, i.e. a president or a politician but by THE PEOPLE with a passion to see all Americans be given the opportunity to pursue their dreams and passions in life. We live in one of the few countries where you can express yourself without the fear of landing in prison or hanging from the gallows. The freedom to speak and protest is the hallmark of our country’s legacy.

America has never been a homogeneous culture defined by one but a polyglot that represents the entire world. Clearly this is the strength of our nation not it’s downfall! I agree that the world has changed dramatically over the last 241 years, yet the same opportunities to experience freedom of thought, life expression and come to the land of opportunity is still what pushes people from all oppressed countries to get here.

Is it not possible to see beyond skin color, religious affiliation, ethnicity and political brand what truly is the ‘thread’ that pulls together all Americans and those seeking to make this great country their home? I’m so thankful that we live in a country where the media, both hyper liberal and conservative are allowed to speak their vision for life. Much like our present president personally believes that he has the freedom to use his political platform to attack individuals that only in America can this happen.

Yes we live in a crazy day where social media and the Internet make it all too possible to know what is happening all across our planet in an instant! Yet, the continued beauty of this is that AMERICA still stands out as the most incredible nation because of the BRAVE who have fought for us to be the LAND of the FREE!

Happy 4^th of July!!