Embrace the Suck

As the great Tim Riggins once said "Embrace the Suck." The most amazing things in life are accomplished by those who do things that are unpleasant if not downright painful. I just watched the Houston Marathon outside my office. It is always amazing and inspiring to see people to pushing through pain to accomplish a goal. The looks of pain on their faces, are a reminder to me what can be accomplished if we stay determined. One young lady was limping along visible pain while a friend ran next to her. The friend was in street clothes soaked with sweat. Clearly he had not signed up for the race, but at some point saw his friend needed someone to run with her. It was pretty awesome. Sometimes I need to watch things like the Marathon to raise my hopes in humanity when I find out that Two and a Half Men is the highest rated comedy on television.

Bobos in Paradise

I just finished Bobos in Paradise by David Brooks. Brooks attempts to explain our current culture as a combination of bourgeoisie and bohemian culture the result of which is our educational elite. It was a fun read, and generally it caused me to feel two ways. First, I felt guilty for certain Bobo activities and mannerisms I have: humblebragging, shopping at whole foods, seeking authenticity for its own sake, etc. Secondly, I was saddened by some of the things we had lost as Bobos. The book talks about how many of our cultural advances have cost us our sense of community and purpose. Our move towards pluralism has great benefits but it has to some degree turned us into milk toast.

Sometimes you get a gift from Heaven that you don't know is heavenly until later.

This post is actually a running word document that I am writing on while on my train trip to Tyler. Today has reminded me of a movie on a few occasions. Often times I wish my life had a soundtrack and today it did. The first was when I was at Whole Foods using the restroom before I boarded the train. I was wandering through the aisles watching the hustle and bustle of humanity while some sort of upbeat funk was playing on the store’s intercom. It just seemed like it had been lifted from a movie as each person was moving to the rhythm of the music as though they were part of a choreographed dance number. For a moment, I just sat back and observed thinking about how all of these people, who appeared to me as cogs in a rhythm machine, were really individuals. Each person with their own concerns and problems and worries and struggles, all of which were unbeknownst to everyone around them.

The second movie moment was just a few moments ago. I was looking out the window onto the dusty plains of Central Texas with Sigur Ros gently strumming in the background. The grey sky mixed with the grey sounds in a way that seemed too perfect to be real. I felt like I should be running away from something, a refugee facing the unknown with a steely determination. Someone who fears the future but recognizes that he can’t go back to the past. In reality, I was merely a content passenger on a trip to share Thanksgiving with loved ones. However, the music in my ear and the melancholy scenery made me think I should be feeling otherwise.

You know when someone is talking about a band, book, movie that is allegedly hip the first tendency is to explain how you already knew about it. Such as, "Yeah, it's pretty good I have it in the rotation since the spring of 05." I was thinking that it would be fun to do the opposite from now on. For example, if someone introduces something to me that I already knew about I would act like I didn't know about it. I might actively try to assert my uncoolness. This is probably trying too hard, but I still like to think about how much find it might possibly be. In the same vein, it might be cool to try and introduce bands to people that you know have already moved past them.

I was thinking about my posts the other day, and I had to laugh. I write these posts as though I have something important to say and someone is listening. Neither of those two statements are true. My sense of my own importance is greatly inflated. From now on I think I am going to post on a specific area, one that I preferably know very little about. I am going to have to think of what that is and then begin posting. I also think that since I know very little about the subject I will have to make all my statements with the utmost certainty. Isn't that how things are supposed to go-the less you know, the more sure you should sound.

Fact: My love for brand new is irrational and neverending
Fact: Emotions are overrated. I honor those people who are able to conduct their lives with a high degreee of emotion. I think if I always had a lot of emotion in my life I would go crazy.