Marlow's Musings 6/1/25
Insights, adventures and fun stuff from this week.
Audio narration by David Marlow
Back Home Again in Indiana
And it seems that I can see
The gleaming candlelight still shining bright
Thro' the sycamores for me
The new mown hay sends all its fragrance
From the fields I used to roam
When I dream about the moonlight on the Wabash
Then I long for my Indiana home.1
I, together with nearly 400,000 of my closest friends, sang along as Jim Cornelison's baritone voice bellowed the words that signaled the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race was about to start.
Though I've been gone longer than I lived there, the literal and lyrical fragrance of the fields I used to roam takes me back. I grew up along the Wabash River mentioned in the song and watched the moonlight glisten on its waters.
In my childhood, Memorial Day in Indiana meant three things. Honoring the fallen, the end of the school year, and listening to the Indy 500 on the radio. Back then, in the years before Monday holidays moved observances, the race was held on Memorial Day, which was always May 30th.
There is nothing like Indy. The drama, the danger, the triumph, and the tragedy. The largest single-day sporting event in the world. Over the years, drivers, engineers, owners, and fans from around the globe have flocked to the ‘Brickyard’ as it is known.
Yet, at its heart, it remains quintessentially Hoosier. A bit like me. I’ve lived and worked all over the world, and no matter how much I’ve changed, there is a piece of me at the deepest levels that will always feel like this is home.
I’ve taken all my kids to the race over the years. On Sunday, I introduced my first grandchild to the experience of Indianapolis. For years, ‘E’ talked about the race and wanting to go someday. I said, “Maybe when you are ten.”
He turned 10 earlier this year, and a few weeks before a complete sell-out of the race, a friend called and offered four seats right on the main stretch.
I’ve been to the race when it was in the 90s, humid and full sun that you sit in for hours. The weather this year was unusually cool and a little cloudy, which were perfect conditions for a kid.
The area around the speedway is a normal neighborhood, and fans pay to park on people’s lawns. He marveled at the enormity of the crowd and the friendliness of the people on the walk to the track. “People in Indiana are so nice. They all hope I enjoy the race!”
Inside the gates, we made our way to the causeway that allows you onto the track itself. E was in awe of the size of the track, the bank of the curves, and all the pre-race staging, like the Pace Car and safety crews.
He sat on the pit wall in the exact spot where one of the race favorites would later wreck his car during the warm-up lap.
Walking through the garage area, we were passed by Mario Andretti on a golf cart. I put my hand on E’s shoulder to steer him out of the way while explaining that Andretti was the greatest driver of all time.
“I can’t wait to tell the kids at school I was almost run over by a golf cart driven by the greatest driver of all time!”
We all picked a driver or drivers to root for, and E selected David Malukas, “Because his first name is David, like yours.”
Malukas would be near the front the entire race, ultimately finishing third, which gave E the impression he was an Indy car savant.
“Tell me about your experience,” I said to him after the race as we walked the two miles back to our car.
He recounted all the aforementioned events as well as the speed and intensity of the cars. Feeling the impact when Rinus VeeKay’s car entered the pits with no brakes and hit the wall in front of us full force. (Note: No one was hurt in any of the crashes)
Mostly, he enjoyed the people. The wonderful, friendly people of Indiana. “I want to go every year.”
As we drove home to Wisconsin, the place of his birth, we crossed over the Wabash, and I realized that, like me, there would always be a piece of Indiana in E.
Word of the Week
Quiddity (n.)
/kwɪdəti/
1: The essence or inherent nature of a person or thing
2: A quirk or unusual feature that distinguishes something
From Medieval Latin quidditas, meaning the essence or “whatness,” derived from quid (what), this philosophical term captures both the fundamental nature of something and its distinctive peculiarities. It represents that indefinable quality that makes a thing uniquely itself, both its core nature and the quirks that set it apart from everything else.
In case you missed it…
This week’s Ikigai Thoughts for Today…
The first…Small Drops
Even small drops, when applied consistently, carve the stone.
The second…To Grow Your Soul
How exploring creative interests and activities sheds light on your Ikigai.
Ikiquest+
This week’s Coffee Contemplation…Going Slow
Think about the things that you value in life, and then think about whether you are tangibly supporting them.
Ikiquest+ subscribers can listen to the audio narration or read the transcription.
If you aren’t yet an Ikiquest+ Subscriber, you can give it a try for free by clicking the box here. The choice is yours.
Interesting Thing…
Recently, I had the privilege of discussing my book “The Ikigai Way” on the Pillars of Purpose podcast with Matthew Efird. What I enjoyed most about this was Matt’s interest in going deeper into the actual implementation of the Ikigai principles.
As host, he assumes the ‘everyday’ listener role with a ‘that’s great, now tell me how that works’ approach to his interview.
This is a faith-based podcast, so unlike most of my appearances, we also explore aspects of my personal faith journey.
Here is where you can find the full episode…
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/g35efeaY
Apple: https://lnkd.in/gzF-THGR
YouTube:
Comment of the Week:
I’m sharing this thought from Alivyana on living out the Seven Rituals of Calm from The Ikigai Way while traveling in Japan…
“I'm writing from the Narita Airport to share my excitement that yesterday, I got to visit Shinjuku National Garden! It was such a soul-quenching & inspiring visit AND...the thing I keep coming back to from the Ikigai Way is that I spent the entire day before that...starting small (Kaizen Ritual #1)...teaching myself the public transit system.
Prior to that, it was small steps navigating my immediate surroundings & a new currency. Though I didn't get to the intended destination on the first attempt the day before yesterday, I accidentally got to see Peace Park in Aoto & a meaningful tribute to resilience through the beautiful statue depicted there.
The young girl there is like an embodiment of Shizuka Ritual # 2! This brief solo trip (Ippuku Ritual #3) has unintentionally involved "getting the noise down" enough for me to really sit with the anxiety of solopreneurship I've been struggling with & the embrace of that discomfort (Isshin Furan Ritual # 7) as well as surrendering it (Mujo Ritual #4) to something bigger than me.
All of that has in turn afforded me so much gratitude, renewal & inspiration (Kanasha Ritual #5 & Yasuragi Ritual #6)!
Maybe I haven't gotten to the part of the book that details it but I'll be very honest...there is a reverse engineer in me so curious about the story of exactly how you unearthed the aforementioned design David! Was it like the tiger drawing & it just poured onto the paper or...did you watch yourself in action coaching your clients & teams over & over and then...you described how what you noticed yourself doing...or something else entirely???”
It was a process over time, which is revealed in the book, so I won’t spoil it for Alivyaa or anyone else who hasn’t finished reading it.
Quote I’m Pondering
It seems to be the week for insights from Kurt Vonnegut2….
“Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center. Big, undreamed-of things — the people on the edge see them first.”
Final Thoughts:
I mentioned last week that as I looked back over my life, the best things have come from either taking a bold move to be true to my essence and or embracing completely unplanned moments of serendipity and opportunity.
Organizing a trip to the race would typically involve lots of calls, questions, and calendar coordination. I didn't approach it that way. Instead, I embraced the dream of taking E (and his dad and uncle) to the race and patiently waited for things to come together.
First, my son Gavin, responding to a ‘what if’ question months ago, called to say he and E would be available that weekend. Then the next day, my friend called about the tickets.
From that bold possibility years ago to this perfect weekend, there was little more than living out my Ikigai, and yet it all came together.
Quest well!
Ballard MacDonald and James F. Hanley, “(Back Home Again in) Indiana” (New York: Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., 1917), public domain, shared for educational purposes.
Vonnegut, Kurt. 1952. Player Piano. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
"Quiddity"... From which, no doubt, JR derived "Quidditch". Which got her a quid or two, or three...
Hoosier! “Who’s yere?” was said to be the call of the early settlers. My great grandfather was the first white man born in Grant County. Hoosier in our blood. Good story David.