J.P.

I went hiking up on Mount Lemmon yesterday, and per established tradition in 2024, I brought along my video equipment in hopes of making another piece of video art.

I was successful in this endeavor.

Earl always previews my videos before I declare the project complete, and he sat down and watched my final draft. He told me it was the best video I had produced thus far.

I tried my best to be my absolute authentic self in this video.

If anything, I want to be inspiring for other people by sharing that which inspires me. If anything, I hope someone, anyone smiled, for whatever reason motivated them to smile. And if you decide to watch the video, I dropped a couple of Easter eggs in the later half that amused me a little bit.

I am reminded of a speech I heard during an episode of “Madam Secretary”, a CBS series that aired too long ago.

What is an even greater threat than nuclear weapons? That which makes the use of them possible: hate. Specifically, the blind hatred one group or nation can have for another. …Nationalism is the existential threat of our time.

Nationalism is not the same as patriotism. It’s a perversion of patriotism. Nationalism promotes the idea that inclusion and diversity represent weakness, that the only way to succeed is to give blind allegiance to the supremacy of one race over all others. Nothing could be less American. Patriotism, on the other hand, is about building each other up and embracing our diversity as the source of our nation’s strength. “We the people” means all the people. America’s heroes didn’t die for race or region. They died for the ideals enshrined in our Constitution. Above all, freedom from tyranny, which requires our unwavering support of a free press; freedom of religion, all religions; the right to vote, and making sure nothing infringes on any of those rights, which belong to us all. Look where isolationism has gotten us in the past. Two world wars. Seventy million dead. Never again can we go back to those dark times when fear and hatred, like a contagion, infected the world.

…It is why we must never lose sight of our common humanity, our common values, and our common decency. I was reminded recently of our nation’s founding motto, E pluribus unum. Out of many, one. Thirteen disparate colonies became one country. One people. And today, we call on all Americans and people everywhere to reject the scourge of nationalism. Because governments can’t legislate tolerance or eradicate hate. That’s why each one of us has to find the beauty in our differences instead of the fear. Listen instead of reacting. Reach out instead of recoiling. It’s up to us. All of us.

Madam Secretary, “E Pluribus Unum”, Season 5 Episode 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0StuIUQmZGU

There’s thunder in the distance as I type this blog entry. This makes me very happy.

Earl and I just completed lunch and I’m taking a few moments in the gazebo to relax, write a blog entry, and ponder life. I have been shrinking my lunch hour for the past several months. Earl pointed this out to me while we were conversing during our road trip to Flagstaff last weekend. He indicated that I haven’t been taking enough time for myself and that was contributing to my feeling of burnout.

I felt really burned out going into last weekend. This week has been a complete 180 from my feelings last week. And that’s a wonderful feeling.

One of the things that I never considered when the five of us decided to move together to Tucson back in 2021 is the amount of bandwidth it would take my brain to process all the people around me on a continuous basis. When it was just Earl and me living together it was easy for me. Juggling the wants, needs, thoughts, feelings, impulses, and more of four other adults, two dogs, and a cat, well, that can drain my battery at times.

Growing up, if I started to feel overwhelmed by constant interaction I had an out. I could go down in the basement, I could go explore the woods behind my parents’ home, or I could listen to music off my Yorx Record Player. It was usually a Human League record.

With work getting intense lately, worry about the upcoming U.S. elections, juggling the family’s needs, and trying way too hard to be creative through my YouTube channel, my batteries were about depleted. Honestly, I had no juice left. Last week I was completely on low-power mode. Like my iPhone 13 Pro these days, I was running hot and sluggish.

Why do I share these things on this blog? No idea. Well, I guess it’s honesty. There are WAY too many people on the Internet that portray a character through the online activities. For me, life in general is a game ripe for many portrayals. Writing about my internal wiring once in a while keeps me honest.

What you see, right here, is what you get.