Creative Endeavors, The Home of BoxcarOkie.com

One of my favorite haunts has gone out of business. It appears that Mike over at Okiedoke has packed it in. He first said that he was going to take a week to chill out, relax a little, and that quickly went to three weeks. Today I find that his site is virtually closed down, and the comment feature disabled, another good read has gone the way of other things. Mike it seems, is no longer a member of the virtual community and I for one, will miss him.

I wonder if he burned out, or found the lack of communication in this social networking community somewhat lacking? There are times, if you are bloggin that you feel a definite lack of human interaction and sometimes the conversation becomes a little bit downgrading. For the most part “social networking” isn’t all that it is cracked up to be on any given day.

Perhaps Mike just wanted to be alone, to hide from all his “electronic” friends. Maybe he wanted to just slink back into the “real world.” It could be that he was for most intents and purposes just getting wound a little too tight. Most of us know when it is time to stop, take a moment to step back and take a good hard look at it. Sitting down and punching out 55-60 of these per month, is often a daunting task, this month it was 57, and almost 40,000 words. Most do not attempt this, nor do they have the ability, Mike was proficient and he did put out good posts, I for one, will miss his daily read.

It is as they say … It all flows downhill. My daddy used to refer to it as “rolling with the punches.”

You cannot squeeze water, it will not allow it. Water eludes you, if you relax your hands into it, you experience it readily. If it stands still, it becomes stagnant, just like us, we stay sedimentary, we waste away. If it is allowed to flow, it will stay pure. Water goes with the flow, it does not seek the highest point to be above it all, but settles for the lowest places. It gathers into rivers, lakes, and streams; courses to the sea and then evaporates to fall again as rain.

Water maps out nothing and it plays no favorites. It doesn’t really intend to provide sustenance to the animals and plants. It has no plans to irrigate the fields; to slake our thirst; or to provide the opportunity to swim, sail, ski, and scuba dive. It just does what it does and it becomes what it is … Which in turn, a lot of the time, benefits the rest of us.

When I get ready to pack it all in, explode and let ‘er rip, I take a deep breath, and try my best to chill out. I tell myself it is time for this old —- to mellow out. I need to let or allow, my thoughts and behaviors to move smoothly in accordance with nature, to learn how to go with the flow, the natural progression of things. If necessary …. Change my habits and my location. I need to find me a harmonious spot and campout for a short while. Perhaps this is the very same Mike is talking about when he says I am closing up shop.

There is deep inside me, a gentle side, it isn’t seen much anymore, but I KNOW it can be revived and it is there, lying dormant just below the surface. It is a natural thing to be gentle, to allow others to be free to go where they are inclined to want to go; and to be as they need to be, without interference from me.

I just need to learn how to tune into my inner inclinations, and stick to my word. Treat everyone as equals, give an inch every now and then, I don’t always have to be first into the intersection, I don’t have to win every battle. One thing I have learned, and that is how to stop practicing this idea of fighting with life, and instead, learn how to embrace it. Like our Old Buddy Frazier Crane used to say on Cheer’s … Find your happy place and get in it.

• A hot bath, if I need one
• A place to soak in the tub and relax.
• Medicine, and the ability to pay for it.
• Time, which I can use, to meditate and work it all out.
• Goin’ with the flow .. Contemplating the better things in life, learning how to crank it down.

From time to time, I take this old Email that I have that a friend sent to me, pull it out and I read it. Listen to a little Glenn Miller and collect what I have left of my thoughts. Try to walk a mile in another man’s shoes.

Works for me.

My Confession

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