License plate musings:
So....I live in an area where lots of people come from all over the world to visit. I enjoy hearing the different languages, seeing evidence of different cultures. Here in agricultural Nevada, we’ve got cowboys. And tattooed folk. Sometimes they mix. So I enjoy seeing women wearing saris and guys with turbans. I marvel at the lack of personal space evidenced by Chinese people. These folks have absolutely no concept of personal space. Get near a bunch of them and prepare to be crowded. I remember watching the eclipse last year with a group like this. We were on a bluff, over looking Lake Tahoe. Plenty of room, lots of open space, lots of trails. I had my tripod set up to photograph the eclipse. They crowded around me so close that I had to watch to make sure my tripod didn’t get knocked over. Nice people, we communicated as best we could with the language barrier. They loaned me their special little viewing glasses, I let them look on my camera monitor to see what I was capturing. We shared OOOHs and AHHHs. But they crowded me. Where was I? Oh yeah, license plates. So one of my other hobbies is noticing out of state license plates. I can always tell when it is tourist season by the number of out of state plates I see. Some plates are beautiful. They have rainbows and bright colors and catchy slogans. Then there is Delaware. Now there’s a no-nonsense plate. No bright colors. No mountains. No catchy slogan. Just...the plate number. I did a little research on Delaware license plates. Apparently they’ve always been some variation of light numbers and letters on a dark background. I saw no evidence of rainbows or mountains. What kind of state does that? I went to Delaware.gov to explore a bit, and saw an archived blog post in which was written this: “In exploring this unique part of First State culture – the program will include such topics as the desirable black & white porcelain sets from the 1940s, the black stainless steel tags from the 1950s, and the story behind the controversial font-style changes in the early 1990s.” Yes folks, apparently it is a cultural icon in Delaware to have plain black and white.
Ok.
I just claimed to like different cultures. Doesn’t mean I have to understand them.
I’m just glad they know what they like and they embrace it. That is today’s spiritual lesson: know what you like and embrace it. If you like plain black and white, go for it. Don’t apologize for it. Paint your house in black and white, get a black car with white upholstery...or vice versa. Wear black and white. Go all OCD on the black and white. It does us no good in life to not embrace what we like. I remember when I was a kid, I never wore what the other kids were wearing. They made fun of me but I didn’t care. I didn’t judge what they were wearing, I just didn’t want to wear it. I still do that to this day. In fact, I’ve at times resorted to having custom clothing made, in the style and colors I want, because I can’t find what I like on the store racks.
See, the key to enjoying life (well, one of the keys) is to know your truth, and embrace it. Without getting too heavy does it with this, in order to REALLY know your truth, you’ve got to do some digging. And you have to know the difference between knowing your real truth and...well....just plain stubbornness and closed mindedness and obnoxiousness. Your real truth feels smooth and peaceful. That other stuff? Hard, with lots of bumps.
Once you know your real truth, you have to have the courage to embrace it.
Because if it isn’t in style, chances are people are going to make fun of you. Or, when you get to be my age, call you “cute.” GEEZ
A lady a bit older than me called me cute the other day. From her, I enjoyed it. From young 20 something whippersnappers? Not so much. You people don’t know what truth is yet. Keep coming back.
Ok, back to the spiritual lesson...if you go through life thinking you don’t fit, chances are you don’t, because you aren’t fitting with yourself. Find out who and what you are, then go and be and do that. I promise it will be worth it.
While I’m here, you should join me in Death Valley in March. It’s a camping retreat. You say you don’t camp? Get a room in the hotel next door and join us for the fun stuff. But you might want to try camping. Explore your edges. After all, this retreat is about creativity. No...not artistic creativity.....although that could happen. It’s about creating the good in your life, and knowing your truth is good first step for that. We might talk about that at the retreat. Join us. It’s only $90. And it’s going to be fun! Here’s the link to register.
Oh, and here’s another thing. I write. Yes, I do retreats and workshops, and I coach a few people, and I do a few weddings, and I do some photography. But this creative stuff takes time and energy. Could I go get a real day job? Yeah. But that would be an incredible waste of credentials and talent. Just sayin’. So.....I could use some support to allow me to continue to write. Turns out, there’s a web site for that. It’s called Patreon. Go there, and you can support me for as little as $2 a month. I’ve got goodies to give you if you do. Along with my undying gratitude.