Navigating a Whackadoodle World: Episode 60, or A Happy Birthday to Me!

A Whackadoodle reflection on my travels around the sun.

Photo by Frames For Your Heart on Unsplash

Today is my birthday, October 6, 2024, and I have had the privilege of circling Sol sixty-three glorious times.

I’ve spent the morning washing dishes, corralling cats, cheating at Wordle, and baking brownies. Mumm, brownies. I currently have the entire pan in front of me, and I intend to cram half of them down my gullet, and stash the other half away, before my Dad wakes up wanting breakfast. Don’t worry. I’m not being selfish. He is pre-diabetic, and we watch his sugar intake, so waking to a pan of brownies would be cruel.

This week is supposed to be about Guidepost Three: the Power of Reflection, and I’ve spent the last seven days contemplating how to write something original about a subject I have already written so much. Should I reexamine how reflection can help us understand others better? How by listening to what others casually say, we can catch a glimpse of their belief systems, their paradigms, their world views? By listening to ourselves, we can understand the limitations of our own belief systems, paradigms, world views. We can seek to expand our beliefs, our perspectives, our understanding, and our acceptance of ourselves and others. We can even improve our ability to persuade and influence.

Well, I woke up this morning and came to a decision. I will simply repost one of my previous articles about reflection for you to reflect on, and then spend the rest of the day reflecting on my past and reimagining my future.

I can hardly believe it has been sixty-three years. I came into a world where phones were still connected to walls, and if you missed a call, you missed it—answering machines were years away. When I lived in New York, everyone had a phone service—basically a company staffed by out of work actors who would take messages for you. When you went to auditions or important appointments, you didn’t leave your number. You left the number of your service which you had to call several times a day in order to be told that you had no messages.

I also grew up in a world populated by two thirds more animals than we have now. One in which we had no school massacres, or knowledge of climate change. We didn’t have Internet bullies or trolls. No, our bullies had to face us in school. We hung out at the library. We played in the streets until dinner.

Truly, I have lived a charmed life. I have had so many adventures, with more still to come. I was cast in several movies, performed in hundreds of plays, written scripts and books, and poems. I’ve had the privilege of performing for our United States Military Troupes—getting a chance to tour the world four times. I have met so many amazing and talented people—many I still call friend.

Indulge me, it’s my birthday. I want to share a poem that I wrote about some of those adventures in the hopes that it will inspire you to find some adventures of your own.

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Introductions

I have roamed coasts, and mourned over sea gulls
tangled within the seaweed so sweetly.
I saw the midnight sun; and fed eagles
raw meat from a knife, while their eyes pierced me.

I have charted constellations within 
a midnight lake’s black star sparkling surface;
slept where only a fire warmed my skin 
and life was no longer some frenzied race.

Sampled sour grapes by starlight within 
vineyards, while I wandered towards an ancient
fortress swollen by voices of lost kin
softly warning of lives less permanent.

Stolen pineapple from the field where it
grew ripe and juicy; tasting of the sun. 
Ate by a secret waterfall; each bite
dripping; dove in to wash my face when done. 

I’ve danced in open fields, while thunder clouds
rolled in from three directions; and watched with
friends as the sky ripped open in vast sounds.
Late into the night, we whispered of myth.

I have felt the joy of someone I love 
touching my flesh; and I have fought beside
a brother that simply wanted to live.
I know what fills a life from the inside.

Being, not having, gives satisfaction;
full lives can be measured by an action.

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And now, as promised, here is the link to one of my favorite articles about The Power of Reflection. It’s funny in places. I think it clearly explains what I mean when I say reflection can be a tool of understanding, and I hope you will enjoy and share it.

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