Looking Ahead

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll start off by saying that I am working on my second (generously poured) glass of Fog Head Chardonnay. I've had an amazing day beginning with a fun family breakfast. Pierce savored his whole grain cereal, while Momma, my little sis and I enjoyed pancakes. An eventful day at Keeneland ensued which was shared with friends and that was followed by a pleasant walk in the neighborhood and an appropriate summer dinner.

Maybe it's the wine but I am having a little trouble determining the direction of this entry. Initially I was going to write about best friends and I still plan to but the picture above is the inspiration for me tickling these keys right now. When I saw it, I felt an overwhelming urge to pen the following...

I am sometimes guilty of spending so much time looking at the big picture that I don't give the "smaller image" the appropriate weight. Both of them are important. Both of the following statements are true but are contradicting approaches; If you aren't on top of every detail than the result is something gets by you, If you focus too much on the small stuff than the bigger concept goes right over your head.

Being successful on our journeys requires the correct implementation of both thought processes. A conscious "blend" of the two would be ideal. When I look at the above picture several thoughts come to mind. The first one probably doesn't have much to do with the "bigger picture" but dammit it's a "smaller image" that I care quite a bit about and I want to write about it.

If I didn't pay too much attention to the above photo, I'd say there is a daddy holding his son. If I gave it a bit more thought and tried to over analyze, I would think "there is a Daddy showing his Son something new and in that exchange of information a lesson is being taught, an experience is being shared and a memory conceived."

So, the bigger picture is that we should all enjoy the time spent with those closest to us and the small image is to make sure that we capitalize on the moments during that time spent and maximize their potential.

I think that we would improve our level of satisfaction in life if we started to view these moments with measured perspective from both lenses, big and small. Finding the balance between both is essential. Seeing what is in front of us while enjoying the present and looking ahead at the same time is a skill not easily attained.

I am not out of touch. I know that I could very easily come off as another asshole drinking wine while lecturing all of us on how we should all act or live. Sometimes I fear that these entries come off as pretentious or self serving. I don't worry so much that I lose sleep over it mostly because I know that only nine people on this planet read this thing. All that I am trying to do (besides attain a modicum of pleasure for myself) is highlight my observations.

Today was a grand day. I am thankful for all of them but days like today certainly help define things.

My experiences are new to me, the lessons learned are probably not new to you. Most of the time, I'm just working out in my head, what the Silver and Black Lining is.