Launch Yourself Into Living
Memorial Day weekend, 2004, found my wife and I along with friends, relaxing in a nice camp setting in Hershey, Pennsylvania. We had a great time at the Hershey Factory Tour Experience, which included, among a dozen other attractions, an excellent 3D movie presentation which wasn't quite like a movie at all, but a true experience, complete with misters and blowers that would alternately sprinkle you with a fine spray of water or tickle your ankles with a subtle burst of air, in concert with events happening on screen. An exploding green blob or skittering spider-like creatures for example. There were occasions when a the sweet odor of chocolate would waft through the air as well.
It was an enjoyable trip, and I certainly recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind waiting in line and being surrounded by not very subtle Hershey advertising on the way to see some great displays of combined art and technology in action. The cartoony, artsy look of the whole atmosphere is what I really enjoyed, it's a fun world of chocolate, that's for sure.
Hershey Park, right next door to the Factory Experience, is not much different. You stand on line, surrounded by Hershey, Hershey, Hershey! And this time your waiting for the ride of your life. I got my butt kicked by a blazing, lightning bolt of a Stallion (or was it a Mustang?) on the newest roller coaster, Storm Runner. Talk about terror. Barely 25 seconds of pure adrenaline and practically involuntary bellowing. You have to get the excitement out somehow.
While I was there at the park, enjoying the rides and the displays, I was thinking about my life back at home, and how much I would like it to be different, exciting and fun. It seems like I'm forever putting off living just to wait for the "big break". And lately I've begun to realize that in order to have a life, one must live. Seems like that would be an obvious thing for humans to comprehend, but I see it's not. Waiting equates to just existing, going through the motions. I want to live, without having to wait for a reason why, without someone telling me when. I want to dictate when and how I live. Now!
In the song "Enemy Within" by Rush, Neil Peart writes:
For you, is it movent or is it action Is it contact or just reaction and you, revolution, just resistance Is it living, or just existence Yeah you, it takes a little more persistence to get up and go the distance.
I may have cited those words in another essay, but they speak volumes of truth and I can't help but include them here. You can never have too much of a good thing.
Yeah, I want to live, not exist. I want to go the distance. Those words, like many others by Neil Peart, are inspiring to me and make me want to strive for a fuller, richer life, yet at times I still find myself wishing for a big break so I can live without having to worry about working all the time. Seems like we work more than we live nowadays, doesn't it?
I want to conquer the enemy within who keeps telling me I'm not good enough. The enemy that steals my nerve and weakens my resolve. The trick is to recognize and acknowledge the existence of the enemy inside yourself, then you can begin to dismantle it, piece by piece, restrictive claw by restrictive claw.
When I saw those big painted signs and creative displays, the colorful art and various smiling characters at Hershey, it gave me the urge to create things and bring more color into my life. Yes, they may be advertisements of a sort, but those smiling cartoons and chocolate faces made me happy and kept me entertained. We all need happiness and entertainment.
Milton Hershey built quite an empire. Now I'd like to start building mine, however small it may end up to be. I will be happy, and live. I'm going to make my break, not wait. Like being launched to the top of an 18 story vertical climb on Storm Runner, I'm going to launch myself into a life of living! No more waiting. Care to join me?
Drew Vics, an artist, writer & musician from New Jersey, writes for Myeyez.net, and for other websites online.
 Google News Updated : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:05:30 GMT Tropical Storm Hanna aiming for Massachusetts - Boston Globe
Boston Globe - By Andrew Ryan and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to churn up the Atlantic coast and lash Massachusetts this weekend with winds gusting up to 50 mph near the coast and up to four inches of rain. Video: Hanna Nears US, but Stronger Ike Looms Area departments gearing up for Hanna's arrival Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:23:14 GMT Stocks: A Terrible Thursday - BusinessWeek
BusinessWeek - Major US indexes each tumbled nearly 3% as worries intensified over the health of the economy. All eyes are on Friday's jobs report Market players were probably wondering Thursday why they bothered to come back from their summer vacations. Stocks Are Broadly Lower Tracking Falls on Wall Street Stocks slide on economic worries Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:53:27 GMT UN warns of Haiti flooding crisis - BBC News
BBC News - Several hundred thousand people need help in Haiti, which is suffering severe flooding after being hit by a series of tropical storms, the UN says. Attempts to Aid Desperate Haitians Hindered by Floodwaters Storms line up to slam western Atlantic, southeastern US Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:05:26 GMT House committee widens probe of Vytorin safety - International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune - AP TRENTON, NJ: A House committee investigating the safety and effectiveness of the popular cholesterol drug Vytorin and one of its components is turning up the heat on the drug's makers. Many Questions About Vytorin Drug Scare Shenanigans Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:32:18 GMT Arthritis Drugs Linked to Risks From Infection - New York Times
New York Times - By AP WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration ordered stronger warnings Thursday on four medications widely used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other serious illnesses, saying they can raise the risk of possibly fatal fungal infections. Deaths Heighten Arthritis Drugs Warning Nation Digest 4 arthritis drugs get tougher warnings Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:38:34 GMT Jesse Jackson hospitalized for stomach pains - Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune - By Jeremy Gorner | Chicago Tribune reporter Rev. Jesse Jackson was being treated Thursday in Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago after falling ill. Video: Rev. Jesse Jackson Hospitalized Jesse Jackson hospitalized after stomach pains Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:00:48 GMT Kilpatrick's rise and fall - Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press - BY BILL McGRAW • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • September 5, 2008 Kwame Kilpatrick entered the mayor's office with extraordinary gifts -- charisma, savvy, flair, pedigree, connections, ambition and chutzpah -- everything a 31-year-old needed to make a ... Video: A Timeline of Detroit Mayor's Text Scandal Detroit’s Mayor Will Leave Office and Go to Jail Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:27:50 GMT Add RSS Feeds to My Website |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... I have counseled individuals, couples, families and business partners for... Read More Here's something you can do each day that will REALLY... Read More Recently a romantic relationship came to an end and I... Read More Sometimes things happen in life for apparently no reason at... Read More What are you passionate about? We didn't ask if you... Read More Direct Answers - Column for the week of June 24,... Read More Writing a book or creating a killer headline requires a... Read More A near middle-aged man in one of my last workshops... Read More When we talk about the Enchanted Self we are referring... Read More The massive orb dominates the aqua crystalline backdrop of its... Read More I am sharing one of the great insights.The fear that... Read More Growing up, as a child of the 60's, peace, love... Read More What if every experience in your life is sent to... Read More I grew up in the south in the 1960's. Married... Read More "In real love you want the other person's good. In... Read More Here is the typical life ? typical, though not everybody... Read More Direct Answers - Column for the week of June 9,... Read More "We're on a one-game winning streak!" That's what freshman Dawan... Read More The story of the three bricklayers has been around for... Read More Learning to distinguish between two powerful emotions - superficially very... Read More The tiny dogwood sapling was only a twig when my... Read More It has been said that a man is what he... Read More A subscriber recently wrote to me and asked me to... Read More Children can seem exhausting, annoying, wonderful, loud and funny all... Read More Do you ever need to have your batteries "re-charged", or... Read More
Adsense
websites
Healing The Abandonment Wounds
Time to Change the World!
The Bright Side of Loneliness
Things Happen Without Reason
Discover Your Passion
Product Testing
The Fuel for Creative Vigor
Believe in Yourself!
Coming To Your Senses, Again and Again!
Beautiful Day Blues
The Power of Inner SELF
Finding Hope In Trying Times
The Most Powerful Question Ever Asked?
The Meaning of Life - Not Just Another Dust in the Wind Theory
Top 20 Love Quotations
What in the World are You Doing?
The Right Approach
A Little Blessing Changes Everything
Three Bricklayers
Shame and Guilt: A World of Difference
Encouraging Blossoms of Achievement
Keep On Believing
Once in a Lifetime
What Legacy Are We Leaving Our Children?
Best Friends
Affordable and Reliable Web Hosting Starting at $4.49/Month
Let Change Be Your Friend, Mentor, and Inspiration
People have a tendency of anticipating pending change on the... Read More
Re-Define Realistic: True Power Series
This is the eighth article in our "True Power" series.... Read More
Forcing Inspiration
Most people, when they have to complete a creative endeavour,... Read More
Faith Like a Child
Jonathan:¡§This is my brother, Jonathan¡¨. They walked into the room... Read More
Why Not Reinvent The Wheel?
"Why go and reinvent the wheel?" It's a question that's... Read More
Order and Law
When disorder comes into our lives, we obviously aren't paying... Read More
Keep on Keeping on!
Whenever we are working on our dreams we are going... Read More
Lewis And Clark Pay Attention
As I write this Southern California has just ended its... Read More
Personal Fear of Change and How to Change It!
It's interesting how we intellectually know that tomorrow will be... Read More
Listening to Your Heart!
Trying to predict stock price movements is necessary, of course.... Read More
How To Turn Your Life Around FAST!
There is nothing more important than feeling good.Come again? Didn't... Read More
The Best Gift to Give Yourself and Others
I'm often asked the question, "How can I best help... Read More
My Favorite Movies Journal
The movies--what a wonderful way to spend an afternoon! I... Read More
Resistance to Change
All of us are resistant to change, whether it's in... Read More
Dreams Keep Us Going
The eyes are the portals of the inner self; the... Read More
Good Morning... Please...Thank-you!!
When I was a child, I remember that my parents... Read More
Even the Smallest Sound
You are probably in front of your computer screen at... Read More
Unintended Consequences
Direct Answers - Column for the week of May 26,... Read More
Call To Action
Direct Answers - Column for the week of February 3,... Read More
The Pledge
You know kids, one of the things I've learned by... Read More
Count Your Blessings
Each day brings a new beginning. It's a new leaf... Read More
The Miracle of Personal Development
One day Mr. Shoaff said, "Jim, if you want to... Read More
Need A Boost? Take a Look at How Far Youve Come
Too many of us are too hard on ourselves, always... Read More
Why Be Great?
Have you ever thought of what it would take to... Read More
The TOP 5 Things That Keep You From Success
Everyone wants to be rich. A lot of people want... Read More
Inspirational |