I am by my nature, a pessimist. I don’t really want to be, but I’ve tried the optimist route, and have been disappointed with the world that was never as rosy as I hoped it would be.
I tend to think of myself as a realist, which I guess is a more politically correct name for a pessimist. I tend to believe that things aren’t going to be that great, but then if / when they turn out OK, I am pleasantly surprised. If things turn out badly, then I am OK with that, since that is what I expected anyway.
I have lots of friends, even mentors, that are complete optimists. Check out the blog from my friend Brian - Expert In the Rough. Brian is enjoying the birth of his first child, a daughter, and you can tell from his posts that he expects that his life will be just great this coming year. I hope he is right. I’m expecting something less than stellar, and if I am wrong, then “WooHoo”!
Actually, I think the world needs both of us… the Brians of the world keep us moving forward each day, striving to achieve more in our lives, always bettering ourselves and “reaching for the stars”. My type keeps the world realizing that in spite of our best intentions, not everything is perfect for everyone, and we have to keep plugging away at what we know is right, doing our very best to better our world and in the hope that someday we will be proven wrong… and we’ll be happy when we are!
Perhaps someday we can do away with my type… when the world becomes so good for every person that we don’t need the pessimists to keep us grounded.
But I doubt that will ever happen…
Here’s wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
I had my best friend from high school in town to visit tonight - he took my whole family out to Sonny’s BBQ so we could have a few hours to visit on his night off. He and I grew up together as missionary kids, in the llanos (plains) of Colombia, on the edge of the jungle. Being an MK is not as glamorous as it sounds (OK, so maybe it doesn’t sound so glamorous… ), and when you are in a high school with only about 30 kids, surrounded by missionaries, you don’t do a lot of dating. In fact, for those that tried, it’s a lot like dating a cousin, which although acceptable still in a few states, is still frowned upon by most of the world.
Steve and I weren’t the most handsome, popular, or social kids in school (although he was probably the smartest, in a close and vicious competition with Laurie Z.), so we spent a lot of time hanging out and talking about the world, the things we might or might not be missing in the States, and how my music was so terrible (Steve’s point of view…). And occasionally girls (or our lack thereof). Similar to the same things that all of you talked about with your best friend, regardless of where you grew up.
We had other concerns, too, that most kids didn’t have to deal with… leftist guerrillas that wanted our mission to leave the country, and were willing to kidnap and kill us to achieve their goals. Motorcycles (none of us had cars) and trips we wanted to take around Colombia. Swatting innumerable mosquitoes. Trying to get back home before curfew. Sneaking out to race motorcycles on the airstrip. Trying to dodge the night birds that slept on warm arecife (lava rock) of the airstrip.
Regardless of where you grew up, or the circumstances you lived in, I hope you had at least one person you could call your best friend. I guess the true definition of a best friend would limit it to one person… but I know that some people have more than one.
It was great to see Steve again tonight, and although it has been over a year since we’ve seen each other, and we don’t communicate as much as we ought to via other means (email, telephone), we still were able to talk as though we had seen each other just last week. We can just start where we left off last time, no pretenses, no awkwardness… just a continuing friendship.
I think that God wants us to have that kind of relationship with Him. Someone we can talk to about anything, everything. Unlike a best friend, He is still the creator of the universe, and deserving of our fear, praise, and worship. But he wants to know me, and wants me to know Him. Wants to know my fears, my desires, what I like, what really bugs me. Wants me to know the same things about Him. Mostly, wants me to spend time with Him, sometimes not saying a word… just hanging out. Sometimes I don’t spend as much time as I should with Him.. but when I do get back to talking with Him, I find it’s as though no time has gone by, but that I really missed talking with Him… He still cares for me just as much as I remember. Probably more than I will ever understand.
I hope you still stay in touch with your old best friends. If not, they are worth looking up, for old time’s sake, and starting up a renewed friendship. Join Facebook or MySpace, and try to find them. Ask them about their lives. Tell them about your kids. Ask about theirs. Get re-acquainted - you will be glad you did.
Well, they tell me that if you have a blog, you have to write about something. Anything. So, here goes…
(BTW, who are “they” that keep telling us stuff? And why do we keep listening to them? Does anyone tell THEM to do stuff?)
Anyway, I’ve had a pretty boring day, watching a couple of football games and napping on the couch… I do too much of that, and not enough of the active sorts of things, according to my doctor. I did enjoy watching my son, who is 10 months old, and learning to walk, as he learned how to enjoy celebrating a good touchdown. He can raise both arms in the air and scream and yell something, and seems to enjoy himself, so that gave us a good laugh today.
Meanwhile, my wife’s beloved Packers lost again, but since we couldn’t see the game, she didn’t spend much of the afternoon yelling at the TV. The first year after my daughter was born, she cried a lot during football season, thinking mommy was mad at HER… she couldn’t grasp the concept of bad referee calls and poor plays made on the field. Now, she yells at the boob tube right along with her mother. Some guy will be lucky to marry my little girl some day (a LONG time from now…), as long as he likes football.
Had a run-in at the grocery store tonight - some guy HAD to drive around me and park in the handicap spot in front of the store. When I walked past, I looked to see if he had handicap plates or a hang-tag on the mirror… nope. He was still in the vehicle, and apparently felt a bit guilty about parking there, ’cause he saw me looking at his plates, and started yelling at me… told me he had the right to park there as long as he was in the vehicle. Yeah, right. That makes it OK, huh? Oh, just like the people that park in front of the store, on top of the crosswalk, and in the fire lane, because they are just going to be a minute…
Sorry for the rant, but those kinds of people make me furious. There are SO many people in this world that feel that they are entitled to do things, even though they are illegal, dangerous, annoying, or just downright mean / selfish. Don’t people take others into consideration anymore? What ever happened to manners, courtesy, and chivalry? It’s obvious to me why kids act the way they do today (not all, but many). It’s because their parents are their role models, and their parents act like they can do anything they want… so why should the kids act any differently?
I’ll talk some other time about the high school near our house… that is another prime example of this problem, and unfortunately, it is affecting the security of our neighborhood. Right now, I’m just asking God to help me keep my cool, be patient (NEVER ask God for more patience…He’ll teach you more patience by giving you lots of opportunities to learn!), and pray for those people instead of fume at them. Fuming can’t be good for my health, either.
Meanwhile, I’ll take my blood pressure medicine, go sit on the couch, and watch the ending of the Sunday Night Football game - maybe I’ll get more exercise NEXT week… yeah, right…
Hello everyone! Welcome to my very first blog ever!
My name is Kirk Garreans, and although I am new to this blog thing, I am not new to having ideas and thoughts that I wish I could share with other people, and get your feedback on those thoughts. As with most of you, I wonder about lots of things in this world (why do we spend so much time trying to teach our kids to walk and talk, and then when they do, we wish they would sit still and shut up?), and I just don’t have many of the answers. I have a great group of people that I look up to that help me find my way in this world, especially my church family (both current and former). But I hope you would join me in this journey, listen to my questions and musings, and respond with your own comments, insights, and suggestions.
I’ll post more about myself in future blogs, but feel free to drop me a comment and tell me about yourself. With all the problems the web can create, I am choosing to approve each comment, so yours won’t show up right away, but I promise to get them approved, if they are not ugly, as soon as possible.
I travel a lot (I am self-employed, in the entertainment industry), so I don’t know how much time I’ll have to devote to this, but with your help and encouragement, I hope I can post regularly. I’m hoping that this online presence will create a relationship with my readers that enlightens and encourages you, and you can help others to Show Me the Way!
My very first blog! Please read my posts, and then travel with me on this journey together!