Tag: Verrado

It’s easy to get lost. I do it all the time. Geographically lost. Spiritually lost. Emotionally lost. Motivationally lost. We are all lost at one time or another. But then, if we’re lucky we are able to be found.
We have more chances than ever to be found these days, too. If you’ve made a life out of a drifting aimlessly from one venture, one person, one relationship, one place to live…to the one that follows next, you’re most likely considered shortsighted and lacking vision for the future.
How many times do we just do something because it feels right? We’re told by certain people to live in the moment. Drifters live in 90 second to five-minute chunks of “moments” at a time. Is their lack of a plan detrimental to what happens next or does it merely enhance their overall sense of adventure?
We have the circumstances at hand, the proverbial “cards we are dealt,” when it comes to decisions in life we have to make. Things like finances, or lack thereof, often dictate limitations in our choices. To this point goes the saying, “Money isn’t everything, but it sure buys a lot of neat shit.” It also can help us recover more quickly when lapses in judgment occur that cost us emotionally and spiritually.
But I’m nervous for people who come from money. Coming from money skews thought processes and decision-making. Logic doesn’t play as big a part in decision-making for those who come from affluency. These kinds of people can afford to be impetuous. If a wealthy person who comes from money (and didn’t necessarily acquire their wealth through the living of life) makes a mistake that costs them dearly (financially), it’s often not the same wake up call as the one for the person who has earned their money (and finds their nest egg threatened due to something like illness or injury).

The “value of a dollar” is a lesson learned far more rapidly by poor men who struggle. Rich men who dispense $100 bills to fans in false displays of generosity, hoping they’ll receive leniency from those who would punish them for their indiscretions, never learn.

LeBron James “coming home” to Cleveland is interesting. On the surface it may be an example of a young man who is trading in drifting for the comforts of a familiar, safe haven–home? If we dig a bit deeper, those of us who are more skeptical may think of his offseason move as something a bit more premeditated. For these people, the logically-thinking professional athlete financially maximizes their relatively swift careers by being in the place(s) that offer(s) the biggest overall paydays (all things considered).
Can we ride the figurative rails of life without a plan and still end up successful? It is possible. For anyone making plans is continually altering them, anyway, as life circumstances arise. Thus, “sticking to the plan,” is easier said than done. Sure, making a plan and hitting it large happens. But it typically requires at least some good fortune along the way in order for it all to roll just right.
Drifters are only drifters until they make it big. If they are a little lucky they drift from situation, one place, one experience to the next, escaping unscathed, surviving. But sometimes during all this drifting they get really lucky. Someone, some place, some group of people, some team, finds them. Players need a change of scenery occasionally to fully realize their potential. They need the right things to find them.
While drifters may not be the romantic icon they once were, they still represent a longing of sorts in all of us to be found. LeBron was found. I was found. And, if you want to be, you can be found as well.

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