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Night of weird dreams

Vacation state of mind

Vacation state of mind, why is it we have a different mindset when we are on vacation or going to a festival? Why don’t those mindsets carry over to everyday life?

One thing is we have been programmed to believe everyday life is not as extraordinary as these special times, that they offer an escape from the default world. That mindset traps you into only experiencing little slivers of what the world could and can be like.

Truth is we make our own world by the choices we make. We decide how we feel about this or that and we determine the responses to outside stimuli. Ever hear of the saying no one can make you feel bad? Well it’s true, you choose how you're going to feel. You say yeah right, I was having a good day till that jerk cut me off in traffic. I was happy till I found out so and so was talking about me. How you view this action determines your reaction. I’ve been driving in traffic for about ten years now to and from my job, most days I idle along for 30 to 40 minutes to cover 8 to 10 miles. So I have developed a kind of Zen traffic mode. It just doesn't bother me anymore. In fact a lot of times I crack up at some of the things I see. Gossip is also another one of those, it’s all in how you look at it. You can get upset or you can see it as it is, that someone else is speaking of you for something is lacking in them. I don’t internalize it anymore. I’m not living my life for other people. I’m living it for me. So my concern is; Am I happy? Am I doing what I feel is good and moving me toward a place I want to be? Once you develop the habit of a positive mind set it’s really pretty easy to maintain.

The problem is we are just responding to our environment they way we are taught. While I won’t go into this deeply right now, it’s safe to say most of the things we are taught about how to act and to do things, are from the cookie cutter mentality. Now, while that paradigm may have worked in the past, we are growing beyond those borders now. Individuality is not a bad thing. Look at some of the greatest people of the past, the visionaries and innovators and leaders. They stepped up or out of the box, they left the confines of the cookie cutter because they wanted better.

You ever notice that person that always seems happy no matter what's falling apart? Ever notice that person that’s never happy no matter how good their life seems? You can see a homeless person laughing and a millionaire movie star crying. The difference is not the amount of money or their job or their location, it’s where they are in their mind. You're only ever as happy as you think you can be. It’s all mind set, don’t believe me try it. Next time you’re laying out on the beach on vacation having a great time think about how much money you’ve spent to get there, think about all your bills, think about all the work not getting done because you're there on the beach…..wait where did your happiness go? It didn’t go anywhere, nothing changed but your thinking. If this can be true this way then you know it works the other way as well. I once knew a guy who was a plumber who whistled while cleaning out stopped up toilets. I said how come you're so happy and you're doing such a horrid job, he just laughed and said “Cause this ain’t in my house. What a mess!” and just laughed some more.

We fill out life with things to try to improve our environment to make us happy. We are taught to be happy you must acquire stuff. Then we live in a cluttered home that we spend lots of time cleaning and consolidating, we get storage for stuff we don’t have room for. At some point it will click. Think back to that vacation. Your only belongings were in the luggage you packed. You didn’t have to have ALL your Stuff to be happy on vacation. It is the experience, it’s the view, it’s spending it with those you love. It’s about living in the moment and not worrying about stuff.

You can take this “Vacation State of Mind with you everywhere you go. Look at the trees or a sunset near where you live. Look at the things that are in your environment that aren't anywhere else. Reconnect with exploring and just enjoying being….

Re-blogged from 2013 
Tribal Hawk
2019 ©

Go Tribal

A New World

This past week I traveled through several states, but one thing was the same every where I went.
People feeling the world has changed. The world has changed a lot and not the way we had hoped. Drugs and crime are every where. The flying car idea... well, they are trying but Jetsons they are not. Families are fractured. People who know how to push buttons and say the right words are running major companies and governments. People who know how to make things run and build stuff are looked down on by those who are above such things. Squeezed out of existence and replaced by chain stores are the Mom and Pop businesses and stores. Money and distractions are king.  Substance has been replaced with mindless things that make no difference in the grand scheme of things.  

TV reports and drone out the same ole lines of stories they want you to hear. They spoon feed you to make you soft and easy to control. If you are caught up in the game or the latest 15 minutes of a famous persons life you pay less attention to your own. You are a cog in a machine that is so big you can not see the entirety of it. 

It's a new world and some of us are outsiders to it. People who believe in honor, courage and tradition are rare. People who believe in truth and keeping their word are hard to find. We are here though. We are building our circles of friends our innangard.   Building frith with those of like mind.

In this new world we must learn to play their game while not falling victim to it while building our own.

The world is changing

Never would I have believed how much the world is changing.  Honor, Strength and Courage are no longer virtues that are admired. They are chastised by many within the empire. They push away independent thinking and self reliance. The goal is to make you a good little follower a consumer to keep their wheel spinning. Those of of who do still believe in those things are building our inaguard to weather the storm.
TH

Strive

I try to teach my kids wrong from right and I hope someday that they will look back and see the lessons had purpose. My dad was hard on me growing up but you know what, the lessons I learned then have carried me where I am today.

Let’s talk about failure. Failure has changed in our society today. Failure builds character and it also teaches determination. If you try to do something and you can't do it or do it you have failed- plain and simple. At the point of failure is where you make the decision of “that’s it” or “do I try again”. If you're passionate about something or it’s something really really important you try again. You've heard if first you don't secede try try again.

In today's world things have changed. It’s unfair or cruel for someone to fail. Now they start young as well; in sports as young as preschool, everyone gets a trophy, in some sports they don’t keep score. We are training kids to grow into adults who don’t strive to be the best you can be, just be as good as everyone else. There is no incentive to be number one. If you’re number one or you always come out on top you're a showboat or something of that nature. They are trying to teach no one is better than anyone else. In human terms this is true. We are equal. Your race, religion, or political affiliation doesn't make you better or worse than anyone else- your passion does.

So while we should give everyone equal treatment based on those things, it should stop there. We are not all equal. Would you want me doing brain surgery on you? I think not! You’d want the best there was. You want your car fixed by an average guy or the guy who is proud of his work and strives to do a good job? Do you want your food cooked by someone who doesn't care or would you rather have a meal fixed by a chef who has strived to be the best?

The problem here is we have condemned competition and excellence as the root of the problem for discriminating against someone. This couldn't be further from the truth. We are all excellent human beings with things we excel in and things we fail in. We are not designed to all be the same; some people are faster, some are stronger, and some are smarter. It doesn't make you less of a person when someone else succeeds and you don't, it makes them better at that one thing. The problem is that people focus on that one thing. We are not the things we do, or the cars we drive or the places we live. We are intricate beautiful human beings with more facets than the most beautiful diamonds.

So break out of the cookie cutter world and try not to be the same as everyone else. Strive for excellence and follow your passions and if you fail, try try again. You’ll find your niche, that thing you're amazing at then do it  better than anyone else.

Hawk

Your Path

Whose Path are you on?   

When asked this question most people’s automatic response is their own. They make their own decisions and choices in life. Most of the time, by the time we hit our teenage years we proudly proclaim “I don’t need anyone else, I can do it on my own.” Some even take it as a sign weakness to need help. That is for another blog, for this one we’ll stick with the Path.

So let’s take a look at Paths and how we get here. It’s a safe bet that most everything you know was told or shown to you by someone else, very little is left to self-discovery. Now I’m not saying every facet of your life is controlled but a large portion is.

The general consensus is that you’re born and then after a normal time frame of maternity leave you are sent to a sitter or a day care. This begins the training of “you’re just a number”. From there you go to; preschool to kindergarten to middle school to to high school to college and then to work. Most people have little choice in this outline. While some of the specifics may differ, this is the general guide. At this point you would think your choices may become your own….Not really there are options but even those are pretty much predetermined.

Let’s dissect one. Let us assume that you were born into a lower-middle class or upper-lower class household. (This in and of itself is confusing, because depending on who’s labeling depends on where you are.) 59 % (2012 Bureau of Labor Statistics) of families with children are 2 income families( which mean both parents work). So you fell into the daycare to kindergarten to school route. This means you are taught and guided by people who may or may not have the same beliefs as your family.  You have been given a number by which you are identified in a large number of systems. To track you in everything you do from education, employment, health and general interest.  You will most likely attend a school to get a job, to make money to pay for your schooling, then later to pay for transportation to your job and a home. There you will strive to raise a family and set a Path for your offspring who will follow the same cycle.

While there are variations the basics are the same. You’re taught early that to “be somebody” you have to follow this pattern. Who set this pattern up? Does everyone in the world have the same pattern? No! There are exceptions. The easiest way to start to figuring this out is to follow the money. While I’m not going to point to some world enslavement conspiracy, you are being guided, directed, and molded. Most of the time it is so someone else can profit from your Path and who you have become.

Soda is cheaper than milk or bottled water? Junk food is cheaper than organic fruits and vegetables.  The corporate machine makes it harder or more expensive to do it on your own. While it would take several books to untangle the interweaving of this web, look at who gains. Natural remedies are looked down upon or even shunned by the masses but all medicines got their start there.  Being completely off the electrical grid in some places is illegal and collecting rain water a violation. Even feeding the homeless without a permit can get you a fine!

Whose Path are You on?  Any navigation class will teach you that to get to where you want to be, you must first know where you are. Have you ever given any thought on where you are in your life? Where is your Path leading you? Has it lead you to be the person you want to be? Are you where you want to be? You've been led astray. Stop following the herd and cut your own Path…

GO Tribal!

Tribal Hawk

©2015