A shot glass and a piece of chalk

The idea of shots of jaeger always sounds better in the preparation and the implementation but not so good in the day after explanation and in some cases regurgitation. In hindsight after the miserable day after hangover which seems to last an eternity and much longer than the fun the night prior we can appreciate the night out more than regret it. Good times with friends don't always have to have shot glasses raised but it doesn't hurt, at least not too much...

A great friend is leaving the country and on a voyage to another land. In the olden days of the 18th or 19th century it would be goodbye forever. Nowadays with Facebook and virtual communities which seem more vibrant than actual cities people live in, it's more likely I'll check your profile next week. Still it is sad to see a friend go even though the opportunity to experience other parts of the world is something we should all be fortunate enough to embrace. There is a ton out there to see, beyond the confines of the cities we were born and raised in.

It's interesting how certain people or friends can impact our lives. First impressions aren't always the best ones to go upon. Sometimes great friendships build over time and sometimes they don't exist at all. The one thing I appreciate is perspective and depth. People that are curious to the world we live in and how we reflect upon that world are people we need more of. It seems that too often we fail to challenge ourselves and take the safe path instead of the bold path. It doesn't mean you have to take drastic actions in life decisions, it can simply mean picking up a book that reflects a different perspective than your own. Another way to see things is a better way to understand if we are seeing them clearly at all.

One analogy for myself I always go back to is a chalkboard. I remember growing up before white boards, yes I'm that old, when teachers wrote with chalk on chalkboards. If they wrote one word we could focus on it and absorb it. Yet, if they continued writing that word was harder to focus on, we would start to train our eyes on the words that best fit us in our minds. If the board was full of words then maybe none of the words stuck with us and we were just overwhelmed by the volume of words. Our minds cluttered with the meaningless and less important information. Or maybe we would get transfixed by the different color chalk. The point is, our minds are like the chalk board. We may have something important we should be focusing on but the day to day inundates us with the meaningless. Pretty soon that one word message that should be what drives us gets buried under the powder of chalk.

There are important friends in our lives, there are important conversations, there are important moments, and there is a lot of dust and powder. It is up to us to determine what sticks with us and what resonates in our lives after the dust settles.