I’m baaaaack!

If you remember last time we met, I was outlining the sometimes-stressful but ultimately positive efforts to find out what was wrong with me and secure the proper surgeon to fix it.

Since then, I had cervical spine surgery Oct/ 12, and have been home recuperating since Oct.14. To make a very long story short, things are going very well, thank you.

But navigating a keyboard is a bit difficult, what with wearing a plastic neck brace that makes me look like Frankenstein’s Monster. (Which is really kinda cool, with Halloween just a few days off!) That full story will come in the following weeks.

I extend the deepest thanks to the medical staff at Washington University Center for Advanced Medicine, and of course, to The Big Physician in the Sky.

So the following is something I wrote a few weeks before the big event. With a cut here and a paste there, such is today’s column.

Thoughts on Life…

Pursue excellence in all you do, faith and character, athletics and study, happiness… and love.

But know that to achieve this goal will require effort and persistence.

At the same time, be aware that, all things in life being for the most part unpredictable, you may not reach this goal.

Somewhere along the line, I guarantee, you will meet with failure. Know that it is not how many times you are knocked down, but how many times you get back up that makes all the difference. A cliché? Maybe. But true … always.

And that this pursuit, noble and worthy as it may be, will many times carry a price. Life will determine for you whether the price you pay is worth it. Most times, it is a clear and resounding “yes”. However, some costs may come too dear.

So then, what to do?

We are endowed by our God with the gift to reassess, to reevaluate… to change direction. . He grants us the tools and graces… it is up to us to use them. Be not afraid to take that chance, change that direction. For insanity has been described as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Also, know that also there is absolutely nothing wrong with

“Average.” One quick look at the bell curve shows us that most of humanity is somewhere in the middle. And reasonably happy in this life.

So therefore, life is for the striving, but also includes humble acceptance. And the journey can sometimes be more wonderful than reaching the destination.

May you then have many moments of breathtaking joy, and be granted unyielding strength to handle the sorrows. A life fully-lived will surely contain both.