Archive for July 2007
Last night I woke many times during this dream. Each time I woke I thought to myself that I needed to finish the dream and I wanted to continue it.
I am not sure of the dates, but I know I am aboard an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. The war is over and we are celebrating with every one on the deck. Parties and music and drinking, the mood is amazing and elated.
At one point in my dream I stopped and just watched everyone around me. I know these guys, we’re like brothers now. I know about their home life, their families and their dreams for when they get home. I have flown missions with them day and night, known that I was protected by them as I did the same. It seems surreal, the music coming out over the loud speaker, the happiness and then I stopped myself and wondered if I was dreaming of a past life. That is sobering in a dream, to realize you are dreaming and wonder what it all means.
Then, as I was day-dreaming in my dream, I am handed orders to fly in to a small town and wait for orders.
My dream changes and now I am just about to land my Mustang on a dirt road behind a B-17. As soon as my wheels are down the engine is dead and I coast the plane behind a very large barn. We tarp both of the planes, my Mustang is swallowed by one gray tarp, the B-17 takes as many as we can steal form the barn.
After we had finished the tarping we found work clothes in the barn and traded out our Navy shirts for plain shirts, keeping our own shoes and pants. We walked down the dirt road we had landed on and headed in to the small town. Along the way I realized that there were no electrical wire lines. I don’t know what cities looked like in the 1940s really, but to my eye, that seemed very odd. As we got in to the small town I saw a couple of houses with electric lamps in their windows.
I remember that we are here to get someone out of the town and that we were supposed to fly in, pick them up and then turn around and fly out in one day. I now have the understanding that it is the 1890s and that the plan is gone. The person I was to rendezvous with won’t even be born for another 20 years.
I woke up there this morning, wishing I knew more of the story. Did I ever find the person in the small town? Was I looking for me? Am I the guy in the 1940s and someone in the 1890s? Good questions, no answers.
This morning on NPR I listened to a story about Poppa Neutrino. He is a man in his eighties who plans to sail a junk raft across the Pacific Ocean from San Fransisco to China for the 2008 Olympics. Sounds insane and foolish I know, but he sailed from New York City to Ireland a decade ago on a junk raft with his family.
I am not the type of person who can live on the streets, simply knowing I will have enough food to live and able to find shelter in pine boxes or abandoned cars, but something about Poppa inspires me.
Watch the short video YouTube about Poppa Neutrino that I embedded below. It is from the documentary entitled Random Lunacy.
I don’t know the man, or much about him, but if he is a decent person, kind and loving to his family, friends and the people he meets along his journey, then it seems to me that he is a hero of sorts.
In the NPR story he spoke about the people of Massachusetts town where he built the Atlantic raft. He told about how those people there gave him a diesel generator for the raft and much of the materials to make it seaworthy. Someone who is mean or crazy does not usually generate enough goodwill to find benefactors like that.
With his family in tow he traveled Mexico and the states, busking for money with his band, The Flying Neutrinos. Now the band is ran by his daughter, Ingrid. I actually like her music a lot…
Sometimes it is so hard to keep in mind that we should allow ourselves the right to see ‘everyday magic’, but clearly Poppa has lived his life following that rule.
OK, I just wanted to share, this one was too bizarre and good not to let others know about it.
What motivates you? I am at a point in my life where I should be striving for a better body, a longer more health-filled, prosperous life; and yet I go home at night and eat dinner with the family and then relax. Why can I not seem to get the routine again where I get up early, do some yoga, hit the gym or dojo for some judo and then start my day in the office?
I really believe most successful people are internally motivated. I am about somethings, but not others, maybe not the important ones. I think I am a good father and husband, a good friend; getting close to having the whole ‘compassionate to others’ thing down and a part of who I am. But being compassionate towards my self, that one I am lacking in.
It should be easy to roll out of bed and get out into the open air of the morning for a walk or run, but I don’t. It should be a priority to get to the gym and get my body more defined and maybe, I don’t know, increase my lifespan, but I must have other priorities.
So I guess I need external motivation. Hmm, well my wife is in great shape. She goes to the gym almost 5 times a week, lifts weight, does her cardio routine or running and kickboxing; she looks amazing. (Thank you babe.) That should be motivation enough to get my in shape, right?
Knowledge has always been something I am more comfortable with. I can read almost any genre if I think I will learn from the book or article. So on this front I am internally motivated… there is a perceived reward which I wanted to achieve.
I read books all of the time about science, religion and philosophy and enjoy that very much. Lately most of the books on religion and philosophy have been about Buddhism or Hinduism, both are interesting to me. The books on Hinduism I view as a historical reference for my Buddhist understanding, just as to really understand Christianity you need to have a firm grasp on Judaism.
Anyway, I am going to follow my wife’s example and focus on my body. The body is the temple of your soul, right? My reward will be to have a temple that my soul can inhabit for a good long time while I am on this journey.
How are you motivated?