Everybody grows and so it goes (Graham Nash)

Wie geht's?

Watching Adolescence on Netflix has dredged up some memories of working and advising in some UK schools (more on this on Baggy Trousers tomorrow).

It's easy for me to view living in the U.K. with nostalgic rose-tinted glasses, but there are obvious negatives. I love many things about England, Scotland and Wales, but modern life, phones, and the omniscient social media pressures have added so many complexities that everybody has to deal with.

Of course, all of those things exist in New Zealand as well, but for some reason the toxicity levels seem way higher in the U.K. Maybe it's tribalism, sheer numbers, or economic reasons - I'm not sure.

I like a simple life and when I get scenes from Leigh-on-sea on my Facebook feed that feature idyllic scenes around old Leigh, it is easy to lapse into misty-eyed longing for a life living in Victoria Avenue, shopping at Cost-Cutter, Wimpy's, Fives, moseying along The Broadway and walks along the shore toward the Leigh-on-sea C2C train station.

Even living in The Grand for a couple of weeks before we found the Victoria Rd flat can bring a smile to my face. Then I remember Jacky saying, "I want to go home", the girls being sick from the flight, the pigeons in the bathroom, the sticky floor in the bar as we had breakfast...I'm sure you get the idea.

And yet...and yet...

Then I remember those scenes from Adolescence.

Love and peace - Wozza

I wanna take the breath that's true (Mazzy Star)

Wie geht's?

I've finished reading the Ryan Holiday book I've been using as blog material on here and in Baggy Trousers for the last few weeks (Discipline Is Destiny).

One of my favourite bits turned out to be in the Afterward, and is probably the reason his words resonate with me so much - we are brothers!

This is the bit:

Aware of my tendency to do things compulsively, I don't drink, or smoke, or take recreational drugs of any kind. I avoid the steady drumbeat of the increasingly negative news media, trying to remain positive and to keep up the good fight in a broken world. I keep my ego in check and, to the best of my ability, my temper too. I do my best to be a good husband and supportive spouse. I get my sleep. I keep my desk clean - or cleanish. I eliminate tasks and delegate the ones that others can do.

How refreshing that he feels comfortable enough to reveal all of that. I can add to my - what would Graham Purdy do? approach to now include - what would Ryan do?

Love and peace - Wozza

Forgetting to give back, isn't it a pity (George Harrison)

Wie geht's?

Everything about the recent deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, is sad and a sobering reminder about life and its responsibilities.

The news details are stark:

Gene Hackman died of natural causes about a week after his wife Betsy Arakawa, who died after she contracted a rare virus.

A New Mexico medical investigator said Hackman died from coronary artery disease, and his advanced Alzheimer's meant it was possible he was not aware his wife had died in their home several days earlier.

Dying alone like this is tragic. 

I've been thinking about the circumstances a lot. Things like - who was checking on them? Did his children from a previous marriage (he had one son and two daughters: Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean, and Leslie Anne Hackman) not contact them regularly? If not, why not? He was 95 years old!

The duty of a child is to be there, no matter what. 

Rest in peace Betsy and Gene.

Love and peace - WNP

Attack the dawn

Wie geht's?

I am an early riser, but you know that already. It's not for everyone, I get that.

I was interested in reading about the idea of seizing the early morning in Ryan Holiday's Discipline is Destiny.

He mentions Toni Morrison as someone else who shares my proclivity for getting up at sparrow fart. It's not just about getting up early for the sake of it. It's about being productive at that time of the day.

• Wake up.
• Show up.
• Be present.
• Give it everything you've got.

My protestant work ethic likes this. 

As John Wayne says (I think it was in The Searchers), "We're burning daylight".

Love and peace - Wozza

What can you endure?

FDR in 1941

Wie geht's?

What does it take to endure? According to Ryan Holiday in Discipline Is Destiny, it takes pushing through frustrations, pushing through criticisms and loneliness. Pushing through pain.

I know a little about this (I stress - a little). As I've written about before - from a very young age, I knew I wanted to be a teacher, and a teacher with a Master's degree in English. As I steadily failed everything at school, got turned down twice to join Teachers' College, and received a staggering number of rejection letters for jobs, I endured.

The back pain that I wake up with every day is something I endure. People have passed away who I care about deeply, but I endure.

I'm not special - everyone in the blogosphere can name similar things.

And there are plenty of inspirational stories and examples from the past, but I find the story of Franklin Delano Roosevelt especially encouraging.

He was struck down in the prime of his life by a virus that left him permanently paralysed from the waist down. His recovery took seven years of painful physical therapy and exercise. He laboriously taught himself to walk short distances while wearing iron braces on his hips and legs, by swiveling his torso while supporting himself with a cane.

FDR refused to accept his fate and became the only US President to serve more than two terms in office (an amazing four) through the depression and then World War II.

Ryan Holiday:

We will taste pain on this journey through life. That's a fact. We will be given a million opportunities to stop, and a million reasons why that's okay.

But we can't. And it's not.

We keep going.

We put our butt in the chair.

We will not be deterred.

Love and peace - Woz

Hooked on a feeling (Blue Swede)

Photo by Obi - @pixel9propics on Unsplash

Wie geht's?

Ryan Holiday asks two great questions in the chapter headed 'Quit Being A Slave' (Discipline Is Destiny):

• What are you hooked on?
• What do you have trouble doing without?

You may want to reflect on those two questions as I've been doing since reading them last week.

Seneca says, "Show me a man who isn't a slave". We all have something.

It's easier for me to tell the things I'm not addicted to, rather than admit the things I do have trouble doing without.

I've never smoked, never taken recreational drugs, never drunk alcohol to excess, never been a work-aholic, never been a slave to money, and never been addicted to gambling. 

At one time I did have ambition as a leader and I clearly aimed for promotions, but no longer. I don't crave likes on social media and although I still like Coca-Cola, I can live without it. In the past, and especially in my youth, I was hooked on playing sport of many kinds - tennis, squash, running, badminton, softball, cricket, football, but no more. At various times I've also been hooked on certain TV programmes like Seinfeld, 24, Lost In Space...but not now. I could cheerfully do without a car and my phone.

So, what can't I do without? Walking, reading, collecting records, listening to music, and blogging. I am a slave to those activities, but I would argue - they are not bad habits. The reverse is true, actually - they are habits that keep me healthy, active, relaxed and self-reflective. Like this post.

Love and peace - Wozza

Training from morning to night (Musashi)

Wie geht's?

While in Auckland last week I walked to Mt Eden shops and found a cool bookshop. They had a copy of Ryan Holiday's Discipline is Destiny.

I've already bookmarked a large number of pages that resonate with my life.

His chapter heading 'Practice...Then Practice More' is an example (Americans sensibly use practice with a c for both noun and verb). The plain message is clear from the heading, but the writing of Musashi (a samurai warrior) spells out things well: A thousand days of training to develop, ten thousand days to polish.

That's basically 30 years of practice. But really - I think he's indicating that the practising/improvement never stops.

I spent a lot of my childhood practising my football skills. My brother wasn't a sporty guy, so I didn't have his help, but, in autumn/ winter/ spring I had our empty family swimming pool to practise in. I spent hours kicking a ball around the pool - hitting angles, running, passing, trapping the ball, give and goes. Hours and hours.

I started playing football for Eden A.F.C. when I was 4 years old. By my mid-thirties I had completed my 30 years of practice, but I never considered myself the finished product.

Practice...Then Practice More. Absolutely right.

Love and peace - Wozza