1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
what a wonderful question. i think of myself as someone in his mid-thirties. those were the very best of times because i had finally acquired some wisdom but also had not started going downhill. i shall return to my thirties within the next couple of years
2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?
definitely never trying..in fact, that is true failure…we are either growing or decaying…the one who never tries chooses to decay. the one who follows can grow beyond the failure or, in some cases, as a result of the failure. just saw american idol: colbie cailait was rejected two or three times.
3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
Wow! If I could truly answer this… I think the easiest conclusion to which I can arrive is that we really don’t know what we like and we let our intellect get all mixed up with our emotions. There are, of course, some likes that can be realized because of the limits of life. I can’t fly to San Francisco and Portland once a month, for example, because I don’t have the time and I can’t afford it. I can’t drink two or three bottles of nice red wine per night because… But could it be that our actions are more in keeping with our likes than our wishful thinking? Perhaps we should spend more time watching ourselves so that we bring our intellect in line with our emotional wants and cares and then develop that as a new starting place. Perhaps we would then find that alot of our so-called “likes” are tied up with our vision of what is valuable rather than the reality itself.
4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
Yeah, probably.
5. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
Everybody’s tendency to compare themselves with everybody else rather than just being satisfied with who they are.
6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
Nice question. The kind of work that where I could help others find their way in the world: vocations, housing, transportation, whatever it takes.
7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
Right now, I’m settling but I’m trying to clear time at home to build my future.
8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
You mean, besides the fact that I’d be dead already? Spend more time in school. Never start certain habits that have been bad for me. Nurture my friendships. NEVER move from Portland.
9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
Seems like its about 1/3
10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
the latter
11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?
don’t tell them that you know her and then trash them behind their back to her. LOL, JK. I would politely let them know that she is really not who they are saying that she is. I don’t think I’d tell her unless I felt that I had to.
12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
enjoy every second of your childhood
13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?
sure, no problem…depending upon the law.
14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
I suppose I should say yes to this one but I have to admit that I haven’t experienced this
15. What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
I still get up every morning and read the newspaper
16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
because we are all raised in different places by different people
17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?
write a book…i’ve started it…i just seem to have a dozen other things that i want to do first
18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
yes
19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
california, because it has everything and i’m tired of cold
an island in the carribbean because i’m tired of trying so hard and i just want to blend drinks on the beach and go snorkeling and/or oregon because it is soooooooo home
20. Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
no way does it make it faster and i put a lot of energy into resisting pushing it more than once
21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
i so enjoy learning and understanding that i think i would miss much without it
22. Why are you, you?
primarily because my family travelled during my early years and my parents were one generation older than most of my peers’ parents. this has led me to a perpetual state of being in the world not of it and of having to think my way into social interaction
23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
i guess not since i am not in contact with many of my friends and they are not in contact with me
24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
the latter of course
25. What are you most grateful for?
that my parents raised me with so many loves and joys…
26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
wow…my memories are all that i am so i guess i’ll keep them
27. Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
depends upon what we mean by “knowing”. i can know something in my brain and still not fully know it. For example, when I was younger I knew that drinking and I did not get along and yet I continued to drink. Finally, I had to do something stupid that made me “know” from my experience and then I truly knew and therefore I quit drinking.
28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?
yeah, i think so.
29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?
Wow, I have to say that it still does matter now and it will always probably matter because it changed my life and I’m still trying to figure out the new path that I am trying to take.
30. What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?
family vacation in Sun Valley. because it was family and it was in one of my favorite places in the world and i took summer classes there to keep me busy and we stayed in a big old ranch house with a pit toilet (that was the only negative)
31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
my oldest daughter had quite a time of it during the start of her fourteenth year and so i spent the whole year reading and really working to make her life come right again.
32. If not now, then when?
last year
33. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
very true…i keep believing that the best is yet to come…one of my favorite books of all times was written by William Stringfellow, An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land, where he talks about the Jerusalem experiences of life and the Babylonian experiences. He says that we have times when we are simply captive in energy territory and other times that we are totally at home. We have to accept both sides of that rhythm. We also have to have faith that Jerusalem will come again. I have experienced Jerusalem enough in my lifetime that I am certain that it will come again.
34. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
Yeah, some of the times with my dad were like that.
35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
Because religion captures us at our most insecure and underconfident moments. We turn to religion because we are afraid and fear leads us to defense.
36. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
Absolutely not. I do tend to believe, however, that good is primarily life giving and evil is primarily that which zaps away the energy, the vital force, that is life.
37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
Duh. Of course I woiuld.
38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
the latter…i love to work if it’s stuff that matters to me.
39. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
Honestly no. Today is going quite well and I feel that I am moving forward in a lot of ways.
40. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
two weeks ago…i’m getting ready to start a mindfulness meet up group.
41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
my sister Jody…with my kids and wife in tow.
42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
no, that’s allright…i’ll go for old age thanx
43. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
to be truly living is to use the very best you have…you gain energy by giving it away.
44. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
This is one of those questions that is hard to answer because we are supposed to give it a heroic answer. I can’t risk or jeapardize my wife and my children otherwise I”ll go ahead.
45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
because we always feel like we are in a competition with everyone else…we never want to let our guard down because we will pay the price and oftentimes we’re right
46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
i have an answer on this one but i can’t say it
47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
lol…today during meditation and my breathing wasn’t very good today
48. What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
I love the drama of life, the struggle for the good life. As a restaurant manager, I frequently in a position to coach my employees in that struggle. I add comfort by adding a positive attitude at almost all times.
49. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that?
I hope I will. I have made some significant changes in March, 2012 and I hope they stick.
50. Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?
I think that I am making them for myself and I also know that I have done some stupid things over the course of the last five to ten years that have led me to a place where I’ve felt it necessary to make decisions that put me behind where I would like to be in life. I still believe that I have made those decisions myself however.
