Friends, joy, gratitude and transition

Posted on September 1, 2020 by Michael Kane

Friends, joy, gratitude and transition

Rev Kane and two truly wonderful friends on Thanksgiving

Rev Kane with some of his chosen family on Thanksgiving

Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs. The ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile, and who love you no matter what. ~ Unkown

Originally published, November 2014

So as many of you know I’m in significant life transition right now. Tonight I wanted to take a few minutes to lay out the last week of my life, what I’m grateful for and some of the struggles those close to me are having. In the last week I have finalized the sale of and move out from my home, traveled to Las Vegas for three days for Thanksgiving and moved into a friend’s house. It has been a whirlwind, up late three nights moving and cleaning only to hit Las Vegas and be up late three nights having fun. Not surprising I woke up in the throes of a cold this morning, my body’s way of saying time to rest.

I’m grateful I sold my house to a good friend, someone who will appreciate that home as much as I did. I’m grateful for the chosen family I got to spend Thanksgiving with, there is something about being with people who have known you for decades that is quite special, particularly when their partners are every bit as fabulous as they are. To celebrate Thanksgiving with them, and to get to play with them in Las Vegas for a couple of days was truly wonderful.

Returning to my new temporary home and a gathering of work friends, a lovely little bon voyage was wonderful. These friends have not known me for decades but I feel like some of them certainly will. I’m especially grateful to my friend Steve who has opened his home to me as I wrap up work and transition out of my current life, a supreme act of kindness and friendship.

So I have a lot to be thankful for, my impending journey is scary and wonderful and I can’t wait to begin. But it seems that the universe craves balance in all things. Simultaneously my granny is struggling with pneumonia in the hospital and two friends are struggling in their marriages. So as much as I’m grateful for in my life, I’m also trying to be there for them and give as much as I’m lucky to get from this life.

So friends, tonight I ask you to pause and reflect on the good things and also reach out a hand to those who may be struggling a bit. This time of year the world is especially hard for some folks, so reach out and give a little extra warmth and both give and have, a happy day ~ Rev Kane

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Finding Joy in the Lives of Children

Posted on August 31, 2020 by Michael Kane

Finding Joy in the Lives of Children

children, jjoyI threw my cup away when I saw a child drinking from his hands at the trough.                 ~ Diogenes

It was my birthday this past week and I had the good fortune of having some interaction with my nieces and nephews.  I have a running joke with a couple of my nieces where I claim I’m Batman, and they explain with great glee how incredibly wrong I am.  So for my birthday I got a box fully of Batman swag, mask, cape, cup, water bottle etc… It was awesome.  I also found out that one of my nephews has gotten into conspiracies around Area 51, so I relayed a story about my trip there and sent him a deck of cards from the Little Alien Inn, which they spell in quite a cutesy fashion.

The biggest joy though was getting a phone message from my littlest nephews and niece.  The first word my niece has ever said to me was, pizza.  Which is absolute proof that she is my niece.  I got to Skype with them yesterday and they had an amazing perspective on my age.  I turned 56, my brother is 41.  So I asked them how old they thought I was, they said 35.  I laughed and asked them how old their dad was they said, 43.  It was funny when they worked out the real numbers with some hints.  It made me laugh at their perception of age and time.

I love the way children view the world, I love the lack of cynicism.  I love the way they can laugh so easily and find humor in the silliest stuff.  It’s why I love spending time with kids, it’s a time to just be silly and free.  Time to not think about deeper things or care about the bigger issues of the world for a time.  Most of all I love the fact they still posses that absolute sense of awe and wonder about the world.  I still have that to, it is often overridden by responsibility and cynicism, but it’s still there and hanging with kids is one of the best ways to tap into it.

No deep thoughts or wisdom this evening, just a few words about the joy of children and the gratitude that I have in actually getting to experience that this week.  As always, have a happy day my friends. ~ Rev Kane

 

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Happy Images and Sayings

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Michael Kane

Happy Images and Sayings

01Today some images and sayings about happiness, enjoy ~ Rev Kane

Originally posted October, 2016

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Other Posts You Might Enjoy!

Happiness and the Benefits of Gratitude

Fear is Killing Your Happiness

Happiness is a Choice

Writing Away the Darkness

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Happiness is Persistence & Perseverance

Posted on August 29, 2020 by Michael Kane

Happiness is Persistence & Perseverance

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Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak. ~ Thomas Carlyle

Originally published June, 2014

Hello my friends, tonight I want to talk about persistence and perseverance. I believe persistence and perseverance are keys to happiness. First, we need to persevere through the hard times. Life throws us curves; we will be hit by all manner of calamity, injury and illness in our lives. Perseverance is the key to getting through these times because they will pass, no matter how fierce the storm, it will always pass. Persistence is the next skill you need, because in order to accomplish the things we want and need to accomplish in life we need to be persistent.

This has particular relevance for me in two ways right now. First, I’ve been neglectful of my genetic predispositions and my diet and have let my blood sugar climb back up to Type 2 Diabetic levels. The recent death of my uncle of a heart attack, also a type 2 diabetic, truly drives home the serious nature of this condition. So I have to be persistent right now, I have to watch my diet, I have to lose weight. The real persistence for me is on the diet front, exercising has never been a problem for me. But I love pizza and coca-cola, not to mention as some of Irish and Italian decent pasta and potatoes were at one time staples in my diet. All of these are off the map right now, but without a doubt it is difficult for me not to grab a coke when I’m thirsty or needing a pick up. For now however, it cannot happen and I must be persistent in eating right to both lower my blood sugar levels, lose weight and to stay off of medication.

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. ~ Calvin Coolidge

The other reason persistence is on my mind right now is that my next goal in life is to hike the length of the Appalachian Trail (AT), all 2200 miles next spring. So I’ve begun training, which happily has coincided with my dietary and weight loss needs. I plan on being in excellent shape at the beginning of the trail next spring. I will also soon begin doing some posts entitled Appalachian Trail Happiness about my research and preparation, these posts will continue throughout the year and into next spring from the trail.

Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th. ~ Julie Andrews

All of this corresponds with turning 50 this year, and although I’ve been tossed a curve or two, I will persist and persevere in order to continue having happy days my friends, my wish for you is always the same. ~ Rev Kane

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Happiness is Photography: Burning Man

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Michael Kane

Happiness is Photography: Burning Man

You can wash away the dust, but the Playa stays with you ~ Unknown

fix man s6

I made my first visit to Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert in 2004, it is a world unlike any other, more art, beauty, magic and weirdness than you could possibly imagine.  Somewhat ironically what draws me back again and again is the peace I’m able to achieve in the sun and the wind and the dust, lots of happy days my friends ~ Rev Kane

Originally posted November, 2013

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truck fix

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bm10 dust man fix

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Dr. Megavolt

Dr. Megavolt

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Slow down and Be Happy!

Posted on August 27, 2020 by Michael Kane

Slow down and Be Happy!

happiness, everest

Rev Kane and a hiking friend

Don’t exist.
Live.
Get out, explore.
Thrive.
Challenge authority. Challenge yourself.
Evolve.
Change forever.
Become who you say you always will. Keep moving. Don’t stop. Start the revolution. Become a freedom fighter. Become a superhero. Just because everyone doesn’t know your name doesn’t mean you don’t matter. ~ Brian Krans

Originally posted February, 2015

My life at the moment is moving at break neck speed, selling a house, packing up my house, moving my things into storage, quitting my job, changing my address, making travel plans, training for the Appalachian Trail, all of that on top you know working and all the normal life stuff. In the midst of all of this I was thinking about my trip east. I’ll be driving east and then north basically camping my way across the US, getting in some hiking and camping time in preparation for my Appalachian Trail thru-hike. While thinking about this trip I had the weirdest thought for a moment, what would I do during my downtime? For a moment this thought terrified me, then I began laughing. Why was I laughing?
Well, having nothing to do, actually having downtime is sort of the point of all of this. What will I do, I’ll be hiking, taking photos and writing. I quickly thought back to my time in Utah 5 years ago training for my Himalayan Trek. Each day I would get up, eat, hike, eat, rest, do some reading, eat, photograph the sunset and then write for several hours before bed. It was heavenly and what I wrote in my journal at one point was, “this is what life is supposed to be for me.”

happiness, burning manWhen we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny. ~ Paulo Coelho
That idyllic existence is what I’m returning to, but change scares all of us, even me, a guy who actually does trainings on change management. But change can be a very good thing, I’m expecting the change I’m about to face will be. I’m going to once again challenge myself, physically and mentally to do the Appalachian Trail thru-hike. But also I’ll be challenging myself to write a travel book and do some other writing as well, even more than that I’ll be pushing to get my work published, something I’ve been too intimidated to try before.

So hopefully after this year or so is up, I will have done some significant writing and maybe even gotten a few things published. My hope is to bring you all along for the ride so we can all have some happy days my friends ~ Rev Kane

YOU MIGHT LIKE THESE AS WELL…

Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness: A Start

Happiness and Possessions

Himalayan Travelogue – The Whole Thing!

 

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Happiness is a Choice

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Michael Kane

Happiness is a Choice

529cToday I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain… To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices – today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it. ~ Kevyn Aucoin

So I moved to the desert, I have taken a new job and the job I’m happy to say is working out really well.  I rented a great house on five acres with beautiful sunsets.  The house has also been incredibly difficult, there have been a huge string of things that have gone wrong, over the last couple of months I’ve also had a break-in and theft at my storage space, my credit card has been cloned and I’ve had to fight battles with a number of different major corporations over incorrect bills and other frustrations.

People keep asking, did you flip out, who did you go off on?  The answer is no one.  I’m also not bummed out, not falling into old pitfalls like getting depressed or angry, I’m not stressed out.  My attitude, beyond small moments of frustration, has been fairly zen, I’ve remained in a good mood.  Sure I’ve eaten a few unhealthy meals on frustrating days but a couple of cokes and a milkshake are not the worst things I could do.  I’ve remained happy and the question is why?

I point to two things, first was my time on the Appalachian Trail, which I miss terribly every day.  Being on the trail taught me a lot of things, but most of all it taught me patience, to take my time and not let things get me upset as easily.  Today, in the midst of what was a difficult day, I ran into two Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) hikers at lunch.  It was awesome, we had a hiker in common who I met on the AT, it was absolutely wonderful to be called hiker trash again.

The second reason I’m doing well, is something I’ve learned as a result of writing this blog and my research on happiness.  Happiness is absolutely a choice, things happen to us, some are good, some are not so good.  We can’t always control what happens to us, life throws things at us we can’t see coming.  What we can control however is how we react to those things.  I know that sounds quaint, one of those lovely sayings that we think is nice but not real.  I’m telling you it is, it just takes a moment at the beginning of the day to express some gratitude for what you have in your life.  You need to take a minute to give yourself some perspective on whatever problem you’re facing.  I’ve worked hard in my life, I have a good job, great friends, I’ve spent the last 18 months on an awesome adventure, I get to write to you good folks.  I have a good life, so even though today might be a total shit day, tomorrow likely won’t be and a lot of days before haven’t been, so there’s no need to become unhappy.  I can and I do choose to have happy days my friends and with a little effort, so can you.  ~ Rev Kane

Some Other Posts You Might Enjoy!

Fear is Killing Your Happiness

Our Best Happiness Posts for 2015

Revisiting Some of Our Best Posts & Pictures

Readers Favorite Appalachian Trail Posts

 

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It’s the little things

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Michael Kane

It’s the little things

rev kane cobra selfie

I haven’t posted in a bit, I was in Morocco,  first Marrakech and then Tangier.  I won’t be writing about them tonight,  my time in Morocco was amazing, complex and draining.  Appropriately, so was my 32 hour ferry ride from Tangier to Barcelona.

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I’m in Barcelona tonight after spending a wonderful day here.  Especially exciting for me was the discovery of an amazing cemetery in Mountjuic.  If you’ve been following this blog for a time you likely know I love photographing cemeteries and this was a spectacular one.

It’s week 8 of my 8 weeks in Europe and Africa and I’m getting a bit threadbare.   On any long trip you develop a craving for the familiar, little things you desire and have become accustomed to in your day-to-day life.

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I always get really specific food cravings when I travel and roast beef and gravy is the big one right now.  I’ll be burrowing someone’s oven shortly after arriving stateside.  I’m also oddly jonesing for Mexican food.

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Other little things are nibbling at me like the lack of ice although Barcelona has been good on that front, I’m missing clean clothes, watching American football and most of all writing on something not dependent on thumb typing.

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I know I’ll grow restless again quickly after getting stateside and I’ll be Mexico bound in late October, but for now, some nachos loaded with salsa as an appetizer and a roast beef dinner while watching a Steeler game sounds like heaven.  I hope you’re in your version of heaven my friends and having a happy day. – Rev Kane

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Grace in COVID Times

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Michael Kane

Grace in COVID Times

beach, sunsetThe ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances. ~ Aristotle

Originally posted 8/24/2020

So this past week was the first week of school.  Normally this involves our first division meeting of the year and as the dean this is my welcome to the year meeting.  It means I typically give a short little talk in an effort to get people’s heads into the game and ready for the year.  These talks are usually short and hopefully a tiny bit inspirational.

Since there was no meeting this semester, we’re primarily online, I had to do a virtual division meeting instead.  So my little speech this year was written instead of spoken and I decided to talk about grace.  Specifically, the second definition of grace in the dictionary which is defined as courteous goodwill.

The world at this moment in time is effectively living in a pressure cooker.  I’m noticing this all over the place.  At work, people are being short with each other, answers that generally had some kindness have become strictly business.  Well, other than the ubiquitous, “hope you and your family are well.”  This phrase has become so ubiquitous that it has become the equivalent of the greeting dear in a letter.  But not including it makes you an uncaring monster is some people’s eyes so there you have it.

I see the pressure in my friends who are reacting in a variety of ways from being angry, depressed and/or anxious.  I know more than a few people who’ve started counseling since the pandemic began and I get it.  I’ve had my moments of aggravation and short-temper as well.  I replied to one very long email a couple of weeks ago with a single word, No.

I’ve noticed it in public.  I’m seeing far more people in the street dealing with mental illness issues.  I’m seeing a lot more tense interactions between people in lines and in stores.  Particularly where mask wearing discussions are involved.

We know our students therefore are also dealing with the same types of pressures and stress as the rest of us.  So this week I asked my faculty to keep the idea of grace at the front of their mind.  To pause, to breathe before they make decisions or respond.  To think about the fact that none of us are our best selves right now.  That’s what’s meant by courteous goodwill, assume good intentions, give people some extra space, be a little more flexible than you would normally be.  This is not a permanent time, no one needs to violate their values, but we can all give a little grace to others, and to ourselves.  We all need it, I know I do right now.  So extend some grace and have a happier day my friends. ~ Rev Kane

 

 

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Happiness, Mindfulness & Decisions

Posted on August 21, 2020 by Michael Kane

Happiness, Mindfulness & Decisions

rev kane

Rev Kane relaxing in the arctic snow flurries

Make bold choices and make mistakes. It’s all those things that add up to the person you become. ~ Angelina Jolie

Originally posted in 2017

It’s been a confusing couple of weeks for me, of course it’s also been an incredibly busy.  There is the standard 50 hour work week.  On top of that is my blogging work, my creative writing and of course everything related to marketing my book that just came out Appalachian Trail Happiness.  I’m not complaining, I’ve brought this all on myself as I work toward getting to my goal of transitioning to someone who makes more of my living via writing and speaking engagements.

Also, things are going well.  I’ve picked up two more speaking gigs in the last few weeks.  I’m also very excited to have finally gotten through to the permit lines for Havasu Falls and will be doing a backpacking trip into the fall in April.

Havasu Falls

Havasu Falls

I’m also looking to buy a new camera for hiking, it’s been a few years since I’ve updated my camera equipment and I realized on my Jordan trip that particularly in low light photography the technology has eclipsed what I have currently been using.  Plus I want to go to something lighter than my DSLRs.

There have been a couple of big decisions I’ve been mulling over, one pretty personal that I’ll keep to myself for now.  The second is more career oriented.  As those of you who read this blog regularly know, every five years I leave my job and take off on an adventure.  My next one is creeping up in 2019.  I’m hoping to do a really big trip if I can get sponsorship, the plan is to do a hike on each of the seven continents with a few side trips as well.   Tentatively I’m looking at Everest Base Camp, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Machu Pichu, finishing the Appalachian Trial, the overland trek in Tasmania, the Western Highland and Great Glenn Ways in Scotland and of course any place I walk on Antarctica will be utterly amazing.

The trip has been tentatively settled in my mind for a time.  The question I’ve been struggling with has been related to what position I come back to after the trip.  I’ve been sitting on the fence between, dropping into a program directorship or faculty position, jobs that would give me more personal satisfaction.  Or, come back to larger higher paying positions that have less student contact.  A lot of what has been driving my decision is how it will impact my pension at retirement based on when I’d like to retire.  After wrestling with this decision I’ve decided that the higher paying positions make more sense.  I think I’ve been at this decision for a time, but now I’m finally comfortable with it.

This is the dilemma we all deal with, we all have that idea of what would be a perfect career, but reality gets in the way and it’s hard to get to where we want to be.  The answer is to have a clearly set goal, to be patient and make progress, constantly make progress until you can finally jump fully into what you want to do.

happiness, everest

At the Everest Rock Bar after the white-knuckle flight to Lukla on the trail to Everest

So I’ve had all of this on my mind and I’ve been really busy.  This has led to me also being really scattered, not paying as much attention to my health and that has messed with my sleep a bit.  Which all means it’s time to do what you always have to do when you are out of sorts and come back to basics.  Sleeping right, eating right, exercising and being more mindful.  So I’ve started eating better, starting meditating as well and started focusing on being more mindful.  That point was especially driven home when a friend thanked me for the signed copy of my book I sent him, just one problem, in my scattered state I forgot to sign it.  Coincidentally I had just done a post on mindfulness so that worked out well.

I’ve also ramped up my workouts, because in a little over four weeks I’ll hit the trail to Havasu and I really can’t wait.  Tonight my friends I hope you are all busy as well, I hope you are making progress on your goals and having many happy days ~ Rev Kane

Other Posts You Might Enjoy!

My Everest Base Camp Travelogue

Happiness and the Benefits of Gratitude

Fear is Killing Your Happiness

Happiness is a Choice

Writing Away the Darkness

Appalachian Trail Happiness, Where to buy the Book

My Polar Bear Adventure

 

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