Broadening The Mind

A salty old welder from Owasso once told to me, "There aren't many new ideas under the sun." I think what he meant was there were very few thoughts that can be on par with a lightbulb moment. It seems I never had a pencil stuck in my overalls pocket when he laid the big quotes on me. Then he said something I wish I had written down, and it went something like this, "life is the time between sunrise and sunset when we contemplate the great unknown." When you think about it that's pretty heady stuff for a guy who barely finished the fifth grade and lived off strong coffee and No-Dose. Then it occurred to me that maybe the greatest minds of our time don't necessarily become doctors, lawyers, congressmen, and judges. It's possible that those that have the firmest grip on reality are the ones who have taken the time to properly contemplate it. Certainly, the meaning of life cannot be found in a textbook although there are many college professors that would have you believe otherwise. Our understanding of life comes down to the time and effort we take to make it worthwhile. However, I should add that the more enjoyable life is the faster it goes by. This isn't really fair, but it is nevertheless our human reality.

How many ways are there to broaden the mind? My grandpa told me the only way to broaden the mind was to buy a bigger hat. On the other hand, my dad told me I should listen to Pink Floyd. Therin lies the stark difference between two generations. My reality tends to fall somewhere between those two old codgers. So then the question of the day then becomes this, could they both be right? Abstract ideas that are derived from chemicals like corn whisky and lite beer tend to evade me. But then again, I never considered throwing up on my shoes a heightened state of enlightenment and well-being. Anything that makes you throw UP, fall DOWN, or pass OUT I generally take a pass on. Some claim you can attain being at one with your own consciousness, but I'll take a hard pass on that because I find the mental picture of a man in his 50's doing "downward dog" in a pair of overalls somewhat disturbing.

Any man over the age forty should never be seen lying flat on his back on the floor unless he is changing the oxygen sensors in his F-150. I often hear hipster types talk about being at one with their reality through their third eye. I must admit at my age if I did have a third eye it would be in need of a monocle. I often wonder if these types of people have ever considered that there are some things we are just not privy to in life, that maybe there are things that as humans is just above our pay grade. There will always be things, places, people, and concepts that operate above our human level of understanding. Personally, I find solace in NOT being the smartest guy on the block or even the room for that matter. It helps alleviate the stress of being asked to solve all people's problems all of the time.

Anytime I start writing a blog entry I try to keep one ear on the water cooler just to see what the topic of the day is going to be, these days one never knows what that's going to be. Everything from AI technology to gender bending could be on the docket. The topic today was jet setters who live in Silicon Valley California who are using hallucinogenic drugs to broaden their minds and come up with more innovative ideas. I never realized being as high as an Oklahoma pine drove innovation. Call me old fashioned but I don't think a man who is helping make space travel safer should start out the morning smoking a bowl of Green Goddess laced with mushrooms. You know it's interesting that back in the seventies my granny made a homemade salad dressing called Green Goddess, it just goes show how much a term can change and be stretched into the realm of bizarre in forty years.

All of this nonsense brings me to one more important question, I'm I the only person left in the free world that isn't stoned? Pot shops are popping up here in Oklahoma faster than social diseases at the next (and ill-advised) version of Woodstock. Somewhere in the UK right now Keith Richards is lighting up another non-filtered Camel, and for all I know the media will try to tell us that this will EXTEND his life. The truth is that some people just have good genes and a lot of luck. And since he literally wrote the riff to Satisfaction, I'd say luck is definitely on his side. Don't try to figure it out, it will just make your head hurt. In the meantime, if you want to broaden your mind, eat an orange, take a walk, find Jesus, and call it a day.