The first time I remember truly being charged up, in terms of being held accountable for things I could absolutely control, was in the sixth grade by one of the math teachers at my elementary school. She was never my homeroom teacher, so I don't understand how I and my classmates ended up in front of her, or her in front of my classmates and me, but it happened.
Read More“To feed your brain, fool.” – Fudge, Higher Learning
“My alma mater was books, a good library. I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.” – Malcolm X
One of the non-negotiable activities in life, on par with family, working out, and Dallas Cowboys football, is reading. It is something that is done in some form, each and every day. It is deliberate, it is intentional, and it is necessary. If it wasn’t for reading, too much time would be spent doing things that would likely lead to trouble. Reading brings clarity, peace, joy, and understanding to a life that is often routine, frustrating, and full of uncertainty. However, the process of reading isn’t done for certainty as the ending factor; it’s done because there is fun in being lost in someone’s story and it provides a reprieve from being lost in one’s own.
Reading is done anywhere and everywhere: at the house, at work, in the airport, at the washerteria, at Starbucks, on the train; there is no place or location that is immune to reading. If the book is thick as hell, like the Stephen King one which is being read right now, it’s lugged around in a bag. If it’s a thin read and can be palmed in one hand, then it’s carried around freely. A book is the one thing that can have wear and tear and still holds a certain fascination. The fascination stems from knowing the story contained in those pages has been consumed, in some fashion, which contributes to the feeding of the brain.
Read More“People fear what they don’t understand and hate what they can’t conquer.” – Andrew Smith
“I feel like I died 20 years ago, and I live like a man who’s dead already.” – Malcolm X
Death is a fascinating concept. Everyone knows it’s coming, simply because there isn’t one person walking the face of the world who was born in the beginning of time and is still around, in their physical form, today. People are born, they live, and they die. In between, the best people can do is be as productive as possible with the time they’re given to live.
Smith’s quote makes sense in the vein that death can’t be conquered. All the weightlifting, 5Ks, half marathons and full marathons in the world isn’t going to change the fact that, eventually, everyone has an expiration date. All the clean eating in the world isn’t going to change the fact that when it's time to go, it's time to go. All the abstinence won’t change that. All the promiscuity won’t change that. All the time spent keeping up with the Joneses, or marching to the beat of your own drum won’t change that. Death has a perfect percentage from the field, a perfect batting average at the plate and the best quarterback rating in the history of life. When it comes to the education of life, it has a 4.0 GPA. It doesn’t mean a damn thing what people think about death; it’s going to happen. Malcolm’s quote is merely an extension how some people feel about life when it comes at them fast. It’s as genuine and as abrupt of a realization one can have.
Despite that, there are still not only plenty of reasons to live, but there are plenty of reasons to be prepared for your loved ones to take care of things you can’t speak on anymore or have any input on because, well, you’re dead. On top of that, it gives a person an opportunity to learn. It gives a person an opportunity to plan post-life circumstances, how to approach death, planning a funeral, a will, all of the stuff that comes along with post-life. Admittedly, this idea came from the courage of Mark Trible, one of the best writers and thinkers in the universe and someone who did this in the middle of 2015 (1). His story, his words, and his vision provides what this is all about.
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