HIV Longevity Still Fighting…

What’s Best In Life?

Okay... So that's a very broad question... But I can answer one piece of it.

Most of us (me included) don't know what we want. Before you say, "No *expletive deleted* Sherlock!" Allow me to dig a little bit deeper.

It occurred to me that I'm not doing what I want to do. This occurs to me on a regular basis, but yesterday was extra special. You see, I was riding the train home and sitting next to someone that was putting off a putrid body odor. Before everyone knocks my lack of compunction, let me tell you that this was far beyond your standard human being stink. I’m not talking someone who walked 2 miles to the train station on a humid 95 degree day without underarm deodorant. I’m talking about the kind of stink that lingers over a two-week old dead body lying in a rainforest.

Now that I have sufficiently gotten your attention (and perhaps offended the Hell out of you), allow me to continue…

Sitting for 1.5 hours smelling death in a small, hot train car can make you come to some realizations in life. For one, I realized that I don’t ever want to do that again!

During this time, I found myself pondering the immortal words of Conan (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger), when he was asked, “What’s best in life?” Without missing a beat, Conan replied, “Crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentations of their women.” Now there’s a guy who knows what he wants!

The more that I think about Conan’s statement, the more I understand my lack of a statement on “what’s best in life?”

I know what my dream day would be like… I would wake up and eat a good (nutritious) breakfast

. Following that, I would write for about 2 hours straight (uninterrupted). After that, I would spend some playtime with Kristine and kids. Next, I would go play 18-holes of golf with Kristine. After golf, I would hit the music theory and guitar for about 2 hours. After guitar, I would get some more kid playtime in. I’d squeeze some form of physical fitness in at this point in the day. Finally, I would wind down with the kids and Kristine watching TV or goofing off. Before turning off the light for the night, I’d get some reading in.

That day would obviously be altered to fit in other activities / hobbies, etc. Also, from time-to-time, there would be a two-week vacation to somewhere exotic.

Funny thing about my list… I don’t see work listed. Try as I might, I can’t seem to squeeze it in there. Some of you might argue that my writing (if done on a professional level) would be considered my work. I guess that’s true, but writing is something that I am passionate about. I don’t normally associate passion and work. Viola! Therein lies the problem… In order to make my life more meaningful, I need to be passionate about what I do for a living!

The problem grows when you consider that balancing things you are passionate about and work is nearly impossible. So, I have decided to dedicate some time and effort to figure this out… If and when I figure something out, I will probably write an instructional manual and publish it.

For now, I will continue to ride the smelly train to and from work.

Please feel free to comment with what you feel is best in life!

Signed, a passionate man who is still seeking his passion!