Marlow's Musings 8/6/23
Insights, adventures and fun stuff from this week.
Audio narration by David Marlow
I ordered my PT Cruiser as soon as they were available. Still runs great though people don't stop me on the street to look at it like they did when it was new.
With the removal of the regular license plate, my now 23-year-old PT Cruiser is officially a 'Collector' car.
We typically drive it on short trips near home. It has a few more miles now than what is shown in the picture above, though 123,456 was a nice milestone.
Every time I get in I'm reminded of how cars and technology have changed in the intervening years.
The PT still uses a regular ignition key that goes into the door and steering column.
There is even a cassette deck believe it or not and chrome push door handles.
Initially, I kept it because it is an inexpensive second car that still runs just fine. Now though both the older grandkids love "grandpa's" car. I'm not sure they will let me get rid of it.
I had originally thought it might be like my first car, a '64 1/2 Mustang first edition.
When I bought my Mustang, it was just an 11-year-old car that was missing second gear on the manual transmission and vibrated violently above 55 mph but it became a Classic.
Chrysler made a number of mistakes with this car that made it go from a must-have to out of production fairly quickly.
What makes a classic and how can you tell ahead of time it will become one? Or can you?
What products around today will become the classics of tomorrow?
Word of the Week
harmony: (n)
hahr·muh-nee
agreement; accord; harmonious relations.
a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangement of parts; congruity.
The root ‘ar’ in harmony means to fit together. From both Latin and Greek harmonia it means agreement or concord.
Concord further speaks of agreement, union in opinions or sentiment, state of mutuality, friendship, and amiability.
Embracing harmony means aligning passions with purpose, infusing every moment with profound meaning and joy.
Living in harmony allows us to live out our purpose whether at work, spending time with loved ones, or even grocery shopping.
All aspects of life blend harmoniously, liberating us from rigid schedules, and fostering a seamless flow that nourishes every aspect of our being.
Like a symphony, different parts of life may rise and fall in prominence, each playing its role at the right moment, creating a beautiful and dynamic composition.
Sometimes work may take the lead, and other times, family or personal interests may shine brighter. Ikigai embraces these fluctuations, recognizing that life's melody is a harmonious ensemble of interconnected notes.
Let harmony resonate within, allowing the interplay of different elements to coalesce into a harmonious whole. This leads to a more fulfilling reality where authenticity and purpose unite, creating a symphony of joy that echoes through every note of life.
In case you missed it…
As part of the Ikigai Lexicon, I’m sharing posts about the 47 Big Bold Beautiful Benefits of Ikigai.
Here are the latest. Improved Resilience and Enhanced Creativity
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This week in Ikiquest+…
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Quote I’m Pondering
"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today."
-Stacia Tauscher
This one went right through to my heart this week. It made me think of my grandchildren. As ancient wisdom tells us they (like all of us) are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made.’
The Hebrew word for fearfully, in this passage, is ‘yare,’ which means crafted with great respect, honor, and reverence.
Already completely themselves though perhaps not revealed in every way.
Comment of the Week:
Two comments stood out this week. The first came from many people in one form or another.
Where’s your beard?
I’ve been sharing short videos on LinkedIn of the longer reflections we have here on Ikiquest. Many people noticed I don’t have a goatee (not a beard) in the videos.
In the Summer I shave my goatee and grow it back in late Fall. It has become a ritual and embrace of a circular time for me.
“You look more ‘ikigai’ with a beard.” 🤣
Garden
The other comment came this week about the Word of Purpose post ‘Inspirit’ from last week.
I asked people to imagine a neglected garden and pointed out that without purpose, we are the neglected garden.
Someone messaged me to say, “I want to be a garden.”
It is hard to describe the impact that had on me. My mission is to help each and every one of you see that you are a beautiful garden created for a reason. No garden ever grows until it is brought to life by focus, dedication, and discipline.
And first, we have to want to be that garden.
Fun Thing I Saw This Week
My morning routine includes getting my coffee and walking outdoors barefoot for a few moments to connect with the outside world.
Earlier this week as I walked to the door I noticed a robin nearby going after a large insect. Pausing I watch it for a while. It looked like a cicada though we haven’t had any of them this year.
The robin ultimately catch whatever it was and flew off.
As I walked by where the robin had been I noticed this on my light pole.
A cicada shell!
Sure enough, some poor out-of-sync cicada came out of the ground a year late, left its shell, and instantly became robin food.
It is one of those moments that would be easy to miss and yet was filled with the miraculous and wonder.
Well, maybe not for the cicada but certainly for me.
Final Thoughts
This week has been filled with old memories and long-time connections.
Between my ‘vintage’ car and a family gathering where we celebrated my oldest brother and sister-in-law’s birthdays, there was a flood of reminiscing.
All my brothers were there including my ‘baby’ brother. That’s him in the stroller with me pushing him. We are a bit older now.
Only a few years ago we almost lost him and through the miracle of organ donation and transplants, he is still with us.
The thing I noticed was all of the recollections connected to the present. It wasn’t longing for the old days, it was celebrating what came before in the context of the marvelous now.
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