Moments — Love in my heart

I have five days to bench press 200 pounds; it was a goal I set myself back in January when I noticed I could lift 170 pounds with little difficulty — shortly after, while playing outdoor shinny, I fell and jammed my shoulder… which then took six months to recover to a point that my goal seemed achievable again.

As I started to progress and feel the momentum building, I aggravated my other shoulder and tricep. That took six weeks to work through this injury, and as I looked at the calendar, my runway was getting short — and yes, it does scream “metaphor for life” but that’s for another time.

Today I wanted to see how my shoulders were holding up and how close I was to my target — I felt good and slowly progressed as I incrementally added weight to the bar. There comes a point, particularly when you are reaching your limit, when you need a spotter. A spotter is someone who watches over your lift to ensure you don’t crush yourself. In this case, I asked someone I didn’t know to watch and keep my ego from causing undue harm. He was more than happy to help and offered encouragement as I started my lift. I lifted 190 pounds with some help and made a new gym friend. I told him about my target and what I was trying to accomplish, and as he went back to his workout he said, “It’s good to have goals”.

My shoulders felt good and I was optimistic — just 10 more pounds… just 5% more. I only have five days left and as I said before, I’m working with a short runway — very short if truth be told. I will keep it up until the end and we will see.

As I started a light exercise, I caught the eye of another gym dude who smiled, dropped one side of his headphones, came over to bump fists, and said, “Hey”. In our conversation, I asked him if he was ready for 2026 and he looked at me strangely and said that, He only worries about the day he’s in and maybe the day after. “ He then put his hand to his chest and continued, “I live with love in my heart”.

He smiled, bumped my fist again, then went off to continue his workout.

So, with five days left in 2025, today I was reminded that perseverance brings progress, that the world is full of people willing to help and offer encouragement as you make your way, and love is a great energy to carry with you — whatever you happen to be doing.

iamgpe

*14 more

Fuck you; I am...

I have noticed that when I am dealing with something or trying to make sense of a situation, I go hiking in the forest — I am attracted to nature and something much bigger than myself. This morning the air was fresh and the icy trail forced you to pay attention with every step. As I made my way, I ruminated — I was frustrated, and the more I reflected, the darker my mood got. Under my breath I mumbled, “Fuck you; I am…”. The murmur trailed off as I came to a stop. I stood in the forest on the first day of winter and I was different. My mood had changed: what seemed insurmountable was not anymore, the problems, although not gone, were straightforward to overcome. The person who walked out of the forest was someone totally different than the one who had entered an hour earlier.

But why? Metaphorically speaking, how was a cold, wet blanket that was suffocating me so easily removed? I had the rest of the hike to think about it.

Many will find the term fuck you vulgar, but everyone would agree that it is direct and forceful and pressures you to take notice. This sets the stage for the “You” in the term fuck you and needs to be dissected a bit — this could be directed to a specific person but, and this is important, it can also be directed to a situation or circumstance. More important still, it could be directed to yourself, and with honesty on the table, we all know we get in our own way more often than not… so get comfortable directing this to yourself.

Now to the second part of what I am starting to think is simply a forceful affirmation — “I am”. This really is the reason, or reasons you said, “Fuck you” in the first place.

• I am… skilled and competent.

• I am… strong and resilient.

• I am… honest and trustworthy.

• I am… adaptable and courageous.

• I am… smart!

• et cetera

I think you get my point.

On that cold sunny day, it simply changed the narrative and perspective which forced me to reflect on who I was and how I can overcome the situation. It’s important to remember it must always be “I am…” and never “You are…” because this is about you changing the narrative and owning the situation. You’re not blaming the circumstance on someone or something else, you are saying why you can overcome anything in front of you — I believe this only works if you simply say “I am”… and know it to be true and own it.

So there you have it, a reminder to myself as well as a catchy new affirmation mantra.

Also, if you happen to adopt this, you should keep it as a mind exercise or write it in a journal — running around saying Fuck you is just going to cause a kerfuffle.

iamgpe

*just 15 more blogs.

Celebrate everything — a journey to success

A belated Merry Christmas to all, and I do hope Santa was good to you — and yes, I still believe in Santa Claus. It was a wonderful Christmas with stockings and presents and a fine prime rib cooked to perfection (See recipe below. My gift to you.)

In my daughter’s stocking, she received a cribbage board and a deck of playing cards — a game neither of us had played in many years. If you are not familiar with Cribbage (or Crib), the object is to score 121 points using various combinations of cards; these card combinations that add up to 15 or 31 get you two points when pegging and when counting, combinations of 15 get you two points and various combinations get you other points. All of this counting is recorded on a board with holes that takes you to the magic number of 121. The Internet will offer a much thorough overview.

Between the last present being opened and the first potato being peeled, we decided to play a game or two. It didn’t take long to remember the rules but counting efficiently took a little time — any given hand can result in points anywhere from 0 to 29, and depending on the hand, counting can get a little tricky.

As we started getting into the game I counted out, “15-2 and a pair is four”. As I went to peg my points out my daughter simply said, “fantastic”. The second time I counted out, “15-2, 15-4 and a run of 3 for 7” she piped in with, “Great.”

We played two games and whenever I counted there was a comment of celebration. A Pair of 2s and a Pair of 7s — “Great !” 15-2, 15-4, 15-6, 15-8 and three of a kind makes 14 — “Way to go!” I asked her why she was so enthusiastic when I scored such low points and she simply said, “I’m a cheerleader.” It was at that moment I knew what kind of leader she is, understood her success, and the reason for her promotions. We laughed every time she offered encouragement for my score, and we discussed the hand we just played as well as how we could have played the hand better. We had wonderful time reconnecting with a game we loved.

Afterwards it struck me how the game of cribbage, at least the way my daughter plays it, is a metaphor for achieving a goal. As you progress to any goal, generally speaking you need to know that there will be times where you don’t progress at all, many times you progress a little, and some times you progress considerably. Each is to be celebrated, reviewed, and built upon. It simply is how you go about achieving any goal.

They were close games, I can’t wait to play again.

iamgpe

*Best to use a Prime Rib with the bone and has rested till it is at room temperature. Liberally coat the meat with Kosher salt and let it stand for one hour. Finally, coat the meat with a Butter and Herb to Provence mixture and put it in a roasting pan. Pre-heat the oven to 500° F, and then using math, multiply the weight of the Prime Rib by 5 — this will be the cooking time. Once the oven is at 500° F put the pan in the oven for the required time plus one minute. When the timer goes off, turn the oven off and let the Prime Rib stay in the oven for two hours. Do not open the door for two hours. Don’t let anyone else open the door for two hours.

After two hours you may open the door. The Prime Rib will be cooked perfectly. Enjoy!