Your Lord has proclaimed, “Call upon Me, I will respond to you. Surely those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell, fully humbled.”
- Quran 40 : 60
— Last Words —
”All my life, I thought something was wrong with me.”
(A woman’s last words before dying.)
- Tara Brach, “How To Overcome Fear With The Power Of Mindfulness” (18 min)
— Jim Carrey : Ask For It —
Now fear is going to be a player in your life, but you get to decide how much. You can spend your whole life imagining ghosts, worrying about the pathway to the future, but all there will ever be is what’s happening here, and the decisions we make in this moment, which are based in either love or fear. So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality. What we really want seems impossibly out of reach and ridiculous to expect. So we never dare to ask the universe for it. I’m saying I’m the proof that you can ask the universe for it. Please. And if it doesn’t happen for you right away, it’s only because the universe is so busy fulfilling my order. Party size.
— Bruce Lee : READ THIS CAREFULLY —
“Bruce had me up to three miles a day, really at a good pace. We’d run the three miles in twenty-one or twenty-two minutes. Just under eight minutes a mile [Note: when running on his own in 1968, Lee would get his time down to six-and-a half minutes per mile].
So this morning he said to me “We’re going to go five.” I said, “Bruce, I can’t go five. I’m a helluva lot older than you are, and I can’t do five.” He said, “When we get to three, we’ll shift gears and it’s only two more and you’ll do it.”
I said “Okay, hell, I’ll go for it.” So we get to three, we go into the fourth mile and I’m okay for three or four minutes, and then I really begin to give out. I’m tired, my heart’s pounding, I can’t go any more and so I say to him, “Bruce if I run any more,” –and we’re still running-” if I run any more I’m liable to have a heart attack and die.”
He said, “Then die.” It made me so mad that I went the full five miles.
Afterward I went to the shower and then I wanted to talk to him about it. I said, you know, “Why did you say that?”
He said, “Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”
- From The Art of Expressing the Human Body : By Bruce Lee, John Little
14. #LifeIntoExistence : Mini-Dans and Rivians
-- First Year In Germany --
I rummage through my pockets
To find one more Euro
To pay for the daily ticket ...
I can’t find one.
— This Morning —
The Book Nerds gather
And I spend over thirty dollars
On Starbucks coffee, pretzels,
Candles and a breakfast burger ...
I swipe my card carelessly.
This life has always
Been within my grasp ...
It was only my mind
That had me believe
That it was beyond me ...
But that's why I have people
Close to me to shift my perspective
When I'm not seeing life clearly ...
"What do you want?"
"To travel freely
Swipe my card carelessly
And rent out one of my homes —"
"Stop right there."
"Why?"
"That's a limiting belief.
You want to be rich.
Act as if you are.
You have enough money
To own several homes.
So, why would you need to
Rent one of them in your travels?"
The power of excruciating honesty.
"Let's try this again ...
What do you want?"
"To travel freely
Swipe my card carelessly ..."
-- Yesterday : Saturday Mini-Dan --
"Third, receiving is like the ocean–there’s plenty to go around, especially in this country. It’s like an ocean here. Success is not in short supply. The problem is, some people go to the ocean with a teaspoon. What I suggest you do, in view of the size of the ocean, is trade your teaspoon for at least a bucket. You will look better when you approach the ocean with a bucket. Kids won’t make fun of you.
Here’s something else to remember about asking: there are two ways to ask. One is to ask with intelligence. Don’t mumble. You won’t get anything by mumbling. Be clear, be specific. Intelligent asking answers questions like this: “How high? How long? How much? When? What size? What model? What color?” Describe what you want. Define it. Remember, well-defined goals are like magnets. The better you define them, the stronger they pull."
— Jim Rohn
Ask fearlessly ...
But also ask intelligently ...
I only ask those
Who can meet my needs.
My Vegas mentor
Helps me with my career
He specifically said to me
To never ask for his advice on relationships
He lives life too selfishly ...
That topic is addressed
By my Circle
And mentors in Springfield
And Germany ...
After our morning video call
The Circle planned our
Next Dream Building session
And I prepared my mind
For the day of fasting ahead ...
Starve the body ... Feed the spirit ...
Meditate on who I want to be …
And Allah offers all generously …
On Thursday, I spoke with a colleague
On possibly reserving seats for me
For “The Color Purple” movie screening
That was premiering …
She told me that she
Would try to make it a possibility
But the tickets were sold out currently …
”Just call me once the seat is available.
I keep my fingers crossed.
I still believe ...”
When I arrive at the movie theaters
My colleague kindly offers
A bracelet to me that reads :
"SOMETIMES LATER BECOMES NEVER, DO IT NOW!"
I couldn't mark more beautiful words
To summarize dreaming while fasting ...
-- Relationships : Just Hold Her --
As mentioned before
My Vegas mentor
Is not whom I turn to for
Advice on love and relationships
That’s not sold at his store …
And he is excruciatingly honest enough
To admit that he does not desire romantic love
Rather, a life where he loves like God
— Agape —
Where space is held for everyone
— Non-judgmentally —
And both move freely
Once the time is done
And I completely understand that …
And we disagree compassionately.
So, when it comes to loving
I surround myself with those
Who see life similarly …
Who wish to build a family.
To struggle through our insecurities
To comfort one another in the cold …
”Just hold her.”
Those words from my German mentor
Still echo in my ears …
”No need for answers.
No solutions.
No problem solving.
Just hold her.”
— Rivian —
I thought I wanted a Tesla …
Actually, I’ll get to that later …
Before I traveled to India
I remember telling my mentor
That one day I will enter airplanes
The way I enter cars …
It will be a norm
— No longer a luxury —
I am at that stage now.
My sister wrote to me recently
And asked me about
Taking my dog on the retreat with me …
I laughed because I forgot how we thought differently.
I am living an incredible life
My child, of course, has to share in the luxuries.
— Giving Birth To My Dreams —
In the song, “Middle of the Ocean”
Drake begins by rapping :
I'm in the Missoni room at the Byblos
The boat was rockin' too much on some Aaliyah shit
For real
We goin' from the Vava to Cinquante-Cinq, then back to the Vava
If you know, you know, baby, I don't, I don't know what to tell you
Here’s what that means :
The “Missoni Home” is a 2000 sqft suite at the Byblos hotel in Saint-Tropez, France. This sutie features 2 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, and a private pool. As the name suggests, this room is styled by Italian fashion house Missoni and features their well known colorful striped style.
Saint-Tropez is a coastal town and thus a popular destination for docking yachts. Despite Drake chartering a $50 million super-yacht for a recent excursion around Europe, it appears the rocking motion of the boat is too much for him so he decided to stay on land, calling back to Aaliyah’s hit song “Rock the Boat.”
Vava refers to the Yacht VAVA II, a 8.5 billion $ yacht owned by Suisse-Italian billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli.
Cinquante-Cinq, the French word for Fifty-Five, is a reference to a legendary St. Tropez Beach Club called Club 55, which is one of the hottest celebrity clubs in France.
Drake is basically describing his time in Europe partying with Ernesto, whom he refers to in the first lines of his first verse, hopping from luxury Yachts to luxury club and back. Only members of the high society circles Drake frequents would understand this instantly.
Luxury as a norm …
That’s the space I am entering.
I will no longer
Hold myself back
And frighten myself
Because I believe
Something is beyond my reach.
Nothing is beyond my reach.
I want access to all of it.
Yet, it is not necessarily
About the material items …
There are certain luxury items
I have absolutely no interest in.
I’m completely sober now.
So, I am immune to the allures
Of expensive cigars and drinks.
I have no interest.
I do not wish to lose
The depth of clarity I’ve gotten
From giving up substances.
But there are certain items that I do want …
I thought I wanted a Tesla …
… Reread : 6. #GeorgiaPeaches : Everything's Sweet …
But I was just introduced to a Rivian
And that is far more captivating …
I’m going to put that on the dream list …
This evening, I went to my mentee’s baby shower
And she tells me
That she’s due in three weeks …
And I’m so happy for her
And I’m proud of her
And she inspired me
To remember to give birth
To these beautiful dreams …
— What Do I Want —
”Everything is you pushed out.
Everything you are seeing
Everything you are judging
Is coming from internally …
So …
What do you want?”
And I thought about that question
And I thought about Allah
And I thought about Hell …
Some say that Hell is our
Disconnection from the Divine
It is not necessarily a place
But it is a state of mind …
So, Hell is the limiting self-beliefs
It is our doubts of who we are
How narrow we’ve opened our possibilities
It is when we allow negativity
It is when we settle for far less
When we know God offers generously
It is the inner conflict, self-sabotage
And torture of lying to ourselves daily
And pretending to be happy
When we know that God
Has prepared Life’s Buffet
And wishes to serve us abundantly …
Hell is a state of mind.
So, the woman who finally admits
That she always believed something
Was wrong with her
At least gets a glimpse of Heaven
— Due to her honesty —
Before her breath is taken permanently …
Heaven is honesty.
"Let's try this again ...
What do you want?"
"To travel freely
Swipe my card carelessly ...
I see my wife and I in a Rivian
Driving to our next destination
Four children in the back seat
Two girls, two boys
And regarding check-in there’s no need
Because we are always flying privately …
Life is at ease …
’Work’ is a hobby
And passive income
Flows like milk and honey …
I hold her …
In the cold winters
And we cuddle in the summer …
Holidays are planned easily
As we have connections
In various countries …
’No worries, Mr. Fortilus, we’ll reserve a seat.’
Once we arrive in our quiet villa
We all nap as this is our fourth trip
In less than five weeks …
But we all still wanted
To travel to this country …
Whether it be Estonia, Netherlands,
Germany or Turkey …
As we wanted to see our Circle
And swipe our cards carelessly …
A life of ease.
After experiencing
— Then compassionately —
Embracing our pain
It seems life is like :
’Fairies tiptoeing in the rain’
Life is easy.
Love is easy.”
Inshallah …
- K.S. Fort
————————
The goal this year is to document as many memories as possible.
This is the series to the next book, “#LifeIntoExistence : Tabula Rasa”. This book will be available towards the end of October.
For those interested in books written in the past, feel free to read the Google Documents at this link.
Lastly, for those who want to support my journey financially (please remember, I do have a fur baby), purchase the Kindle books at this link.
Enjoy the journey and live with intention …