True North Blog

This is a rather long post. You may re-heat your coffee first, if you wish . . .

Now on to philosophy. 🙂 I had a wonderful visit with Jeff and Nesta Jackson in Yateley (west of London). In addition to a few gifts for my family, I am also bringing back the gift a few insights. I was able to carry the insights onto the jet with no charge, they didn’t set off any alarms in security . . . And they will last forever. Let’s call my three top insights “Dog Simplicity, Friends in Space, and Where is Home.”

Edie Brickell, in her exceptionally mindless song from from the ‘80s, opined that “religion is the smile on a dog.” As much as I really disliked that song, I think she was on to something with the line about dog smiles. Dogs appear to have emotions. Very simple emotions perhaps—but genuine. I just spent several days with the Jackson’s “mixed terrier” named Blue. I learned a few things from Blue. 1) When people leave you its okay to be sad. 2) If you want to go outside its alright to say so (he rings a suspended bell). And most importantly, 3) When we get to do our our favorite things, we should have unconstrained joy. For Blue, that experience is the daily W A L K. I swear that I saw him smile all the way to the park each day. And when he was released to wander the paths—watch out! He bounded into the countryside with a zeal that I really envied. So, I’m going to work on less complicated emotions and more “dog simplicity” . . . Especially the joy part.

I know that “Friends in Space” sounds like a science fiction series. But that’s not my exact insight. My thoughts were more factual. As I spent time with Jeff Jackson, it dawned on me that having a good friend and doing “stuff” can happen anywhere (like in the UK) and at any time (like months apart). In reflection, it seemed like I had beamed in from the Star Trek transporter into a different friend universe (with pubs), without losing any time in between. Of course the visit itself also went by rapidly, which was a time warp of sorts. So what I’m saying is that good friendships are not limited by time and space. They exist on a different plane, and should be relished and celebrated as such. Another note to self.

Finally, where is home? As I sat sipping a post-flight beer at a local pub with Jeff I had one more insight: I felt “at home.” Odd for someone who has lived at least 14 different places in his life. This is not to say that I don’t feel at home in Texas or even Arizona. I do. But our culture tends to identify individuals by their one “home.” Isn’t that the first question you get at cocktail parties? You don’t get asked “where are your homes?” I have DNA from the UK, only three generations back. But I also have experiences from many places and I feel comfortable many places for the same reason. So, something to think about as you and I roam about. Do we have homes rather than a single home? Should we visit them more often? Do we maybe have some homes we haven’t discovered yet? That’s a fun thought.