Diversions

Well as most of you know by now I have returned to Central Missouri and have been home for about two weeks.

Why, why, why? That's what a lot of you are asking and one would surmise that this deserves an answer.

I had sat on the "Looking for Answers", that is the name of the sailboat for those of you who haven't kept up on the blog, for 3 and 1/2 weeks. There had not been any legitimate job offers, and by that time I had sorted out most of my personal questions that needed to be addressed, and was giving my credit card a workout.

Since I have been home I have had the opportunity to visit with most of the friends I missed while in Florida. I found that I am a pretty social animal, one not fit for a life of solitude. Yes, living on a sailboat in warm sunny Florida is fun, but not if you don't have anyone to share it with. I came home and am attempting to live a slightly different life than the one I was living before I went south. It is not that I was unhappy or anything, it is just that I don't think that I really had a clue as to where I was really at. One of the essentials of navigation is that before you start any voyage you had better know where you are starting from, this goes for life also. Prior to my departure I had talked to many of you about a multitude of topics which got me on the right chart, but I still lacked an exact location. This can only be found by oneself. I'm not sure if I found it or not, but I know I am much closer than I was when I journeyed to the warm weather.

My self-analysis provided me with some significant observations. I found that, as earlier stated I am a very social animal and need to be around people; most of us are like that. I think most of this comes from being BLESSED with friends. Friends are not just casual acquaintances but people who genuinely care about you and your physical, emotional, and even financial well-being. This is an area where I have truly been fortunate due to the number of people who have contributed in creating the person I am today. My personal belief is that we are a combination of all of the relationships we have with everyone we interact with. It is in my life anyway, every interaction directs our life in one direction or the other, and I have had a huge number of people who have directed my hike down life's pathway in one direction or the other. Those of you who have had a positive influence know who you are, and those who had a negative influence probably are reading this anyway; so screw them.

Like it or not the most influential group of people in MY situation is my family and friends. I would never do anything to hurt any of them. I could never make a decision that would be harmful to any of them. This is kind of like the boundaries of my life, I might shoot the puck in the wrong direction but this boundary kicks it back into the field of play. I really hate sports analogies but that one was pretty good. Keeping this in mind allows one to make decisions that makes life better for all of them, and in turn might make them feel better about themselves; which can't help from being a good thing.

An observation about Life and Marriage: They are very similar in that when properly approached are not 50-yard dashes, 440-yard dashes, but a 26.2 mile marathon on an uncharted course where you don't know where the finish line is until you finish the race. Once we reach the finish line we will realize that it was not about finishing anyway but enjoying the experiences along the route we carved for ourselves. I've been reading a book titled, The Power of Focus, it's written by Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen who wrote all of the Chicken Soup for the---- books. It's premise is the importance of focusing on what we want to be happy. I agree with most of it, but feel that there is a real value to some of the diversions we take in life. Many of mine have been most enjoyble and redirected my journey. Eventually you will see that you have to get back on track and your Inner Compass will let you know this; but the diversions can make you stronger for the rest of the journey. Many people say that we learn more from bad experiences than we do from good experiences, I will say that about diversions from the normal path. We all remember "The Road Less Traveled", I subscribe to that theory and conclude that the diversions make for a more interesting journey. My life has been filled with diversions, some great and some not so great, but they have allowed me to hopefully get closer to that notion of being COMPLETE. Continuing through this marathon called life I realize there might be another diversion around the next corner. I don't fear them nor do I look forward to them, but odds are that I will probably evaluate them more carefully before choosing them!

In conclusion, the trip to Florida was a major diversion but I learned a lot from it and hope that perhaps you may have learned a little something also.

The blog will continue but will probably only be updated every couple of weeks. Must FOCUS on the task at hand. Hope you've enjoyed this half as much as I have enjoyed cleansing myself with it. Carl