Here Are My Thoughts

It seems like every post I have written on this blog has begun with an acknowledgement that it has been a while since I wrote anything…and yet, here we are again. It’s been over two years this time – but hey, life has been pretty busy. And for the most part, very, very good.

Ironically, I’ve been reflecting recently on just how fast time passes. November 30th of 2022 marked five years since I moved out here to the MOV. Tomorrow, it will be one full year working the best (and hopefully last) job I’ll ever have. And this August, I’ll have lived in my house for five years. When I stop and think about it, it’s hard to believe – but they do say that time flies when you’re having fun.

But these reflections haven’t just been about the time that has passed – more so, they’ve been about all that has happened within the time. And as I sit on my back porch tonight (the place where all of my best thinking happens), it’s hard not to smile as my mind replays all of the memories and stories from the past five years. One thing I truly believe is that the quality of your life will never rise above the level of your choices. More than anything else, our decisions determine what our lives are like – and the decision to move here is one that I have benefitted from over and over, in almost every aspect of my life. Sure, there have been some low moments mixed in (such is life), but through all of it, there is really only one appropriate response to the way my life here has turned out so far: gratitude. In short, I am just thankful to have what I have, where I have it, and most importantly, with who I have it with.

Eric Church has a song called “Doing Life With Me”. It’s one of my favorites from him, mostly because of the chorus, which goes like this:

“I don’t pray much anymore, for this old troubadour’s
Happiness, wishes, wants and needs
End of my ropes, hopes and dreams
Spend my livin’ giving thanks, for the ships I never sank
Every big, every little in the everyday things
The notes and the words and the songs I sing
To the ones doing life with me”

When I went to see my therapist last week (yes, I see a therapist, no, nothing is wrong, and if you have never been to counseling, I highly recommend it), I shared with him that I cannot remember a time when I have ever been so content. Of course, there are still plenty of goals I’m trying to chase down, but in general, I am very at peace with my life. In other words, I really don’t find myself praying for my happiness, wishes, wants and needs anymore. And as far as my hopes and dreams go, so many of them are happening right here. Why? Because of the people in my life.

When I reflect on the last five years, and on the goodness of life in general, it is those people who come to mind. I see all the times I have spent with them around fires, over dinner, at kitchen tables, in living rooms, and on back decks and front porches. I reminisce about the trips to Philly with my brother, the beach vacations with my family, the weddings celebrating friends, and all the rounds of golf. I think about great conversations in a garage in Alliance, Taco Tuesday, Pio basketball games, and summer nights on the patio at Moons.

They say life is what you make it, but I’d say that life is made by the people you share it with. I know that is certainly true for me. So to the ones “doing life with me” – thank you. For those of you who have been here in the last five years – thank you for making it the best of times. For those who have been here longer – thank you for the impact you continue to make on me. To all of you – thank you for embodying the kind of community that every person hopes to have. I hope that I have been able to give to you what you have given to me.

Let’s keep doing life together.

-Brett