[kathryn.cascadiankate]

I had coffee today with a couple who have been brought down to a low level financially a few times in their life and now they are there again due to their bodies just getting too broken to keep working and then not being able to hire good help during Covid, business down and out.
The husband used to be a celebrity, but he got out of it before it destroyed him physically (pro wrestler). Addictions were still a problem, but he has been clean and sober for about 20 yrs now.
Isolation during covid and he and his wife got the shots after tremendous pressure also tough struggles.
He has been seeking a more spiritual path in the way his wife has strong faith and over the last year I’ve seen both of them regain health physically and gain confidence and joy on a daily emotional level. They still need some surgery, but had to lose a lot of weight and they’re almost there.
We’ve talked a few times about the fame and what your ‘identity’ is based on. He only had friends that were in AA until recently and now he is going to a Bible study with men who are ‘normal’. Having an identity for himself not as a celebrity, not as a business owner, not as an addict… as someone

[Dana Acker]

Good post, and thanks for posting! It does my heart good to see folks posting here. I just got on after being crushed this week by “the tyranny of the urgent.” But I feel what you wrote, and will respond once I catch my breath.

[WaywardSon]

Dana, having one of those weeks as well. Looking forward to your comments.

[Op_Tweeter]

Hey Dana and WaywardSon. Hoping the weekend is providing you deserved restoration.

[Op_Tweeter]

Have faith and trust the plan, right?!!! How many times have we been able to reflect and say it didn’t make sense then, but it all does now. Prayers to all for many more to come. Be well all.

[WRR]

Hi, WaywardSon, I just joined the Green Dragon Tavern now, as I wanted to comment back to you as feel that way too. All the values and beliefs I had are being destroyed – by others. I don’t have answers yet, but hopefully at some point we will correctly redirect our paths in a positive way. GiddyUp.

[Dana Acker]

Glad to have you aboard, WBR!

[Op_Tweeter]

Hey WWR. We are in uncharted waters. Hang in there 🙏. Those who bring us destruction need get off our vessel and surround ourselves with like-minded people who are there for each other always.

[WRR]

Thanks for that.

WRR

[WaywardSon]

Thanks @WRR . I am glad you shared and joined the conversation. For both me and my spouse the transformation here has been a while in the making and now, yet again, at a new inflection point. As @mike has often said with @maria, there is a need for a soft landing place beyond the MAGA and Biden political nonsense. The one thing I realize is that most people have more in common than not and often feel isolated with their challenges – as if others are somehow resilient to the same struggles.

[WRR]

The beliefs that are being destroyed are the false ones. This is a good thing.

[Op_Tweeter]

💯💯💯!!! Great to hear. My belief system has been completely overhauled the past 18 months. Liberating!

[WaywardSon]

Yes, they were a charade. A playbook for mindless consumerism and a pursuit of false happiness and status through materialism.

[kathryn.cascadiankate]

… got cut off ..
someone who tries to help others, loves his wife, honors God.
This is giving them joy and fulfillment that is independent of everything else.
I’ve been stripped down to no good reputation, no viable business and no resources a few times over the years due to a series of nasty people, bad economy, poor choice of business partners, nearly dying a few times.
As long as I can go to sleep every night knowing I did my best, did no harm and have peace with God, I’m set. @waywardSon is right about this being nothing new, but it is on a deeper level than most people in our generations have experienced. How you identify within yourself is vital when times are rough. Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” is a great book for this pursuit. Brother Lawrence’s “The Practice of the Presence of God” was written in the 1500’s and is a treasure as well. The Bible is my favorite of course though because it is choc full of wayward sons, rogues, rebels and whores, good girls and boys as well who seek something more than what we have here. This joint is a garbage can. Don’t lick it.

[Op_Tweeter]

I really enjoy and find great value in these sharing of feelings & thoughts. They are as well thought provoking. Personally, as we keep moving farther away from the schemedemic onset, I find myself now a much different person. Prior to 2020, I was a perfect example of one following the outline to alleged success. Hard work. College loans. Living on the brink of financial disasters all in attempt to be successful. Oh I earned my Bachelor’s, but it’s a huge financial burden to dig out of. So since late 2020, I have been experiencing a transformation on my approach to life. Had it not been for the schemedemic, I very most likely would be plugging along still trying to follow that outline for success. Honestly. Had I stuck with that plan, I’d flame out before ever being financially settled. Just as GUV wants it. The transformation has led my wife and I to making hard decisions to change how we live our lives from making a huge move, getting out of the corporate world & going into business. We have now set ourselves up to be financially much better off going forward versus chasing the money until death. We also have set ourselves up to where we can enjoy life and not being under the foot of the alleged outline for success. We have found a better outline for success. A huge thanks to @mike in inspiring and fueling this transformation as well as the PT community. You all have made all the difference in where my wife and I are heading. God only knows what the other horrible path may have brought us and I never would have thought twice about it if it wasn’t for you all. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I am blessed to be a part of this community. Be well all. And thank you again very much!!!

[Dana Acker]

Once I worked with a fellow, who was a committed Republican, a true believer who was sincerely convinced he could make a difference for good. So he decided to put his money where his mouth was, and run for NC State congress. Upon contacting the party officials, he was asked how much money he had, and how many heavy hitting party influencers he had in his corner. He tried to reason with them on the basis of his uncompromising conservative platform and ideals that he deserved a chance, and that he would be good for the party, and ultimately, the state. He was given a (high) dollar amount of money that he had to produce before they would even discuss his getting involved in state level politics. In effect, he was told that he wasn’t a member of the club, and to take a hike. He tried to raise some money, but his efforts were futile, as he got no party support or even endorsement of his efforts. He was crushed by the very machine he so highly revered. It stung bad enough that he couldn’t make his dream come true and break into politics, but the kill shot for him was that the party whose ideology he adhered to unswervingly, and only wanted to serve, made it quite clear to him that, in reality, he didn’t matter at all to them, and that he should go home, sit down, and shut up. When I was young, I remember hearing (a lot) that America was a country where any boy could grow up to be President. This was a country where dreams could be realized if one kept their nose clean, rolled up their sleeves, and worked hard enough. My friend learned the hard way that there was more truth and meaning to Bigfoot sightings than there was to any kind of meaning in a “do the right thing” American societal ideal. I’ve come to the realization that becoming WaywardSon’s “no man” is perhaps the way to be. That doing clandestine acts of justice and kindness, with no fanfare or recognition is the ideal; the key to finding meaning. Giving is the way to gain. The way to the top of the ladder is by climbing down. We become someone by becoming no one. We walk through this cesspool of a society looking for those worse off than ourselves, and then forming that clandestine plan to help. And maybe by endeavoring to become “no man,” we indeed become “every man.”

[Carrie-in-Chicago]

Ya know… there’s a great movie that came out last year I think… it’s called “Nobody.” An unlikely action flick starring Bob Odenkirk (Star of Better Call Saul). Besides enjoying the movie, which is 80s action bookended by awesome Odenkirkian scenes, I LOVE THE NAME… <i style=”font-weight: bold;”>NOBODY. To me that means nonexistent to “the system” yet somebody to my family, community, friends and those I can help. Moreover, I am working to define what that somebody “is” and “does.” That’s the tricky part… still working on that… some good days, some bad. But I’ve spent sufficient time in the my Jungian darkness and isolation to have a handle on my 59 yo self, my husband and our son… I have no other immediate family… so I have to collect others… that’s been my mo throughout my life… as an only child we always had other kids around and I made abiding relationships with others easily. COVID shook the hell out of that… and now it’s time to rebuild. I have a feeling that I’ve gotten off track in this response… I will blame the meds I am still on and my splitting headache… but I suspect it’s really my nature to yammer, yammer, yammer….yee haw!

[Dana Acker]

If you haven’t seen it, let me recommend “My Name is Nobody,” starring Terrence Hill and Henry Fonda. It’s from back in the 70’s and is an Italian “Spaghetti” Western. It’s a movie that doesn’t take itself seriously at all, and the action is way over the top, almost superhuman slapstick in parts, but it’s a very fun film, that’s extremely well done. The photography alone is worth the watch. It’s also got a serious “nobody” message going on, that presents a concept absent in every other Western ever made. I like to say it’s one of the dumbest movies I’ve ever seen that changed my life. It’s in my top 20 favorite films. By the way, I loved “Nobody.” Bob Odenkirk is one of my favorite actors performing today. I’ve been in mourning since “Better Call Saul” concluded.

[WaywardSon]

Dana – first thanks for making the the time to converse. I appreciate it. Got to run to a doc and I will catch up with on DM here and the Green Dragon. Stay tuned. Have a good Monday start, Peace

[Carrie-in-Chicago]

Thanks for the movie rec… I’ve only watched the first two seasons of Better Call Saul… looking for the remainder of them on used DVDs… I did a lot of digital purchases back when I was STUPID…. And I caa AAS n’t even say it was youth…I was just dumb. Oh well, I’m getting smarter in one way. Look forward to watching that movie! Thanks!

[Jerry]

Two of my favorites for thought provoking movies are “Good Will Hunting” and “Wall Street”. Hope you are doing ok Dana.

[Dana Acker]

Thanks Brother!