Pearsonify

Cracks

The sun is setting on this town
As darkness takes a hold
It’s you and me, it’s everything
We hoped and feared the most

The time has come to go our ways
To run and not look back
We could see this coming for miles away
But we could not react

The lines we draw in our head
So easily confused with innocence
It’s too late now, too late now
Cracks

Casting stones and shifting blame
Has never been our way
But in this moment all the world
Seems to take its aim

The lines we draw in our head
So easily confused with innocence
It’s too late now, too late now
Cracks

No one gets out of love alive (x)

Time will break us apart
And only time will mend these parts
When all is said and done
Cracks

Copyright 2011 Adam Pearson

Writing

I’m thinking about various writing projects.  What to write, who to write it for, and (most importantly) what to call it.  I think a book of short stories about growing up a homeschooler could be humorous.  But sad.

When the ink dries

I have a red Moleskine journal that I take with me everywhere I go. I use it to capture spontaneous thoughts, quotes, ideas, goals, etc. I’m not very artistic in the artistic sense, so it’s mainly filled with words, diagrams, and a few embarrassingly poor stick figures. The journal I am currently working on is about 1/3 of the way full. When there is no more room, I will archive it and buy another one.

Today I was leafing through each page, reflecting on its contents, trying to place myself in the shoes of a younger me. What was I thinking when I wrote these words two or three years ago? What was important to me at the time, and does it still apply to my life? There were 1-2 sentence business plans, names of people I had met, quotes that had a profound impact on me, countless checklists with strikes through most items, lists of goals and things I wanted (and still want) to accomplish. A cross-section of life as it was lived.

I don’t know why, but when I reached the end of the written pages, I couldn’t stop. I continued turning blank page after blank page, as if trying to read the future. I kept turning the pages until I reached the far end, and then I closed the journal.

I know I can’t go back to page 1 and begin again. I put pen to paper, and the ink has dried. It’s permanent. But what about the blank, innocent, unblemished pages? What is yet to be written? What will be top-of-mind a week, a month, a year from now? What will inspire or move me? What opportunities will I be pursuing? Will I be chasing something meaningful? Will I be experiencing joy? Pain? Sorrow? Stress? I might have a family by then, will I be reminding myself to pick up diapers and formula on the way home? Will I be living a great story, or be lost somewhere in mediocrity? Will I look back and be proud of what I wrote?

I don’t know the answer to any of these questions, but I do know one thing:

I am accountable for what is written, and once the ink dries, there is no turning back.

28 things to do before turning 30

Birthdays are good opportunities both for reflection and for rededicating ourselves to past aspirations.

I turned 28 today, so here are 28 things I would like to do before I hit the big 3-0.

Due to the sheer number, many are simple goals that won’t take too much effort.  Others will take much more discipline and effort on my part.

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Compete in an adventure race
2. Visit 10 European countries
3. Play in a rugby match
4. Complete a professional credential or certificate
5. Earn a promotion
6. See Coldplay or U2 live
7. Buy an investment property
8. Get a dog
9. See the Colloseum in Rome
10. Learn a foreign language (e.g., Intermediate level)
11. Lead a church ministry
12. Take a scuba diving class
13. Start a new business
14. Join the board of a non-profit
15. Visit my grandpa’s home town in Sweden
16. Complete a life plan
17. Visit two friends in different regions of the U.S.
18. Go skydiving
19. Take a road trip
20. Read one biography or autobiography
21. Drive on the left side of the road
22. Stay overnight in a castle
23. Surpass 400 LinkedIn connections
24. Go parasailing
25. Help a friend in need
26. Help a stranger in need
27. See my six pack again
28. Tour Venice by canal boat

Searching for agates

Have you ever combed a beach, searching for those rare agates?  They call it beach combing for a reason.  You have to walk slowly, in straight lines for hours on end, systematically weaving your way across the pebbly terrain, never taking your eyes off the rocky shore at your feet.  As a squirmy ten year old boy, I thought they misnamed it.

They should have called it the most miserable activity in the world.

I zig-zagged across the beach, studying the rocks, then turning one over looking for crab, climbing a log, studying the rocks again.  Often I would pick up what I believed to be a genuine agate.  I would admiringly turn it over and over in my hand, hold it up to let the gleaming sun shine through, and triumphantly present it to my mom, “Look!  I found one!”  Unfortunately, it always turned out to be a polished bit of glass, a smooth piece of quartz, or just a light-colored rock.  Disappointed at my failure, I threw the object into the sea and moved on to another activity.

You see, only agates hold value for the finder.

Only agates go home to be collected in a place of honor.  My mom has a candy jar with Mickey and Minnie Mouse on it.  The jar is mostly full of agates and sits on the window sill in front of the kitchen sink.  My family has a lamp whose entire base is glass and holds agates found by several generations. Some of the agates were been found by my mom, some by my grandparents and great grandparents, some by my siblings and others.  It is one of the family’s heirlooms - a prized possession.  To this day, there is not one agate with my name on it.

I think searching for agates requires two attributes that a lot of us use (or misuse) every day: patience and a good eye.

Patience is the capacity to tolerate delay without getting angry or upset.  It means not quitting when the answer doesn’t immediately reveal itself or settling when the right opportunity seems elusive.  Like panning for gold in the Yukon, you have to be methodical, willing to sift through a lot of junk and throw out what doesn’t have value in order to pick out what truly shines.

A good eye is the ability to differentiate between value and rubbish, and being prepared to act when you see value.  In baseball, having a good eye means a batter can spot the slightest difference between a ball and a strike (ask me how many umpires I think had a good eye).  But when the batter does spot a strike, he’s ready to swing as hard as he can.

People will invest in the latest hot stock because everyone’s talking about it, not because it’s wise.  They will buy the first (or even the fifth) house they see because they are impatient and afraid of missing the market.  Identifying business opportunities, meeting Mr. or Mrs. Right, making hiring decisions…all these activities require patience and a good eye.

We make mistakes every day because we don’t exercise these skills enough.  We get impatient and emotional and wrapped up in the opportunity - any opportunity.  We bounce around from one thing to the next like I did on that beach as a boy, without enough patience to let the true agates to be found.  We rationalize our decisions with statements like, “The value of real estate always goes up,” and “She may not be the greatest candidate for the job, but I really need to fill this position.”  We forget that only agates hold value for the finder and that all else is rubbish.

Question: In what areas do you feel you are skilled at searching for agates?  In what areas do you wish you were more patient and/or that you had a better eye?