Are Drivers Worse?

Anyone else notice that drivers seem to be getting worse? Seems to me that people are driving with their emotions and their emotions are not in a good place. I’m also seeing a lot of distracted drivers. No doubt cell phones are an issue. Could it be that all those big electronic screens newer cars come with are more distraction than help?

My home state of New Hampshire just had its worse year for motorcycle accidents in 20 years -and the year ain’t over. I did a lot of motor scooter riding this year but I don’t go out on the highways. That probably saved me a certain amount of risk. There’s something to be said for a machine that tops out around 62 mph. It keeps me humble. However, I did come very close to being run over in a freaking gas station parking lot. 

Living out in the middle of nowhere has its perks. Low traffic volume is a big one. We do have to deal with deer, bear and moose on the road. Hitting a freaking turkey isn’t any fun either. My cousin hit one with the windshield of his Jeep and almost ran off the road. At least wildlife, unlike some humans, are not out to do you in on purpose. 

Just wait until we get our first big snowstorm. Some people forget how to drive in the snow over the summer. It doesn’t help that many are late getting snow tires put on their cars. If at all possible I like to sit out the first storm and stay home. 

So I am curious. Has anyone else noticed a big uptick in bad driving?

-Sixbears

Distractions

Currently I’m dealing with some things. Nothing too dramatic but it’s a huge draw on my mental and emotional energy. 

I’m going to take a bit of time off from the blog. 

We are fine, but very occupied.

-Sixbears

Write a novel month

As if I don't have enough to do. This month I've joined National Novel Writing Month. The goal is write a 50,000 thousand word novel during the month of November. Pretty lofty goal for anyone. I've written a couple novels before under different pen names.

What? You didn't know I wrote novels? Don't worry, few do. Writing novels is a good way to make a small fortune -as long as you start with a large fortune. I've just finished a rewrite on a novel I've been working on and off for years. It will take about a month for my writers' group to get back to me on that. I hope to get it into print before too long. (Yes Adam, it's that novel.)

The timing was pretty good as I finished at the end of October. Usually I remember NNWM about halfway into the month. This year I signed up at the last minute and started writing. Well, it's day three and I've surpassed 5,000 words, so I'm on track.

Normally my novel writing is kept separate from my blog. However, I've decided to publish this one as Sixbears. While I'm drawing heavily on my real life, I'm describing the novel as “magical realism.” It will have quite a few fantastic elements in it -some of them made up. I've got my creative license. I can do that.

I'm on track, but I've got to do better than that. Sooner or later there will be days when I cannot or will not feel like writing.

Right now I've one eye on the computer and one eye on my dad to see if he need assistance with anything. As he cancer progresses he needs me sometimes, if only to let him know I'm still there.

Writing a novel has proven to be a good distraction.

-Sixbears

Few Distractions

The modern world is jarring. Distractions are everywhere. Multitasking is elevated as a virtue. Splitting the mind, skimming everything, absorbing high rates of data -these are job and life requirements.

Yet the great thinkers of the past, the philosophers, scientists, and mystics, all knew that the most powerful force in the universe is the focused mine. How few the opportunities in our world to practice the art.

I find myself back in the world of sparkle and fluff. The TV is on. I'm drowning it out with music and headphones. Much to my surprise, even the celebrities in the grocery check out magazines grabbed my attention. What a waste of focus.

Mindfulness is a virtue in many religions and schools of thought. At least I caught myself being distracted.

Years ago I'd wander off into the woods to avoid the mental static and clear my mind. An extended hike in the backcountry did much to restore my soul.

After a few weeks on the boat, paying attention to wind, waves, and wildlife, my mind relaxed into that same state once achieved only in the remote woods. What a fine discovery -like a gift to myself.

What's the point of all these modern distractions? Who's served by our lack of mental focus? If the brain is like a computer, who's doing the programming? Is is the talking heads on the TV? Garbage in, garbage out.

Clear all that out and program your own mind. We all serve somebody. Might as well serve ourselves.

-Sixbears

The games

The Olympic games don’t interest me. I didn’t watch the opening ceremony. Really don’t care who wins the metals.

Spectacle and distraction.

I can’t afford to be distracted now. There’s a stillness in the air, but it’s the stillness that comes before the storm.

Now is the time to think and to plan. There are dark days ahead my friends and I’ve learned a thing or two about dark days.

They may start out slow or with a bang. Sometimes there are really bad days and sometimes the days seem almost normal. One thing for sure, dark days last longer and go deeper than anyone ever expects. It doesn’t matter how prepared you think you are, there’s always going to be something nasty out there to surprise you.

Some days we just endure. We take it. We keep on taking it until we think we can take no more -and then we endure some more.

When preppers worry they buy another big bag of rice or another brick of .22 ammo. Tibetans give their prayer wheels another spin. We add another can of pears to the pile. It’s all the same. We are both trying to insure a better future. Maybe the Tibetans have the right attitude. As a people they’ve known their own dark days.

Look around at the good things of the world. Will they endure or will they soon become a fading memory, like an old photograph left in the sun too long? Maybe we should be like the Parisians waiting for the Nazis to march into town. Drink up all the good wine before the Cretins move in.
Maybe sports are your good wine. Perhaps it is the thing you savor as something that might disappear tomorrow. Fine then, but don’t let it distract you. Don’t wake up like a hung over Frenchman who was too drunk to take the last train to the coast.

When these big International spectacles take place, look past them and try and figure out what’s really happening. Are warships on the move? World Bankers meeting in secret? Politicians sneakily passing another bad bit of special interest legislation? You can be assured that something shady is going on. When people eyes are turned elsewhere, the rogues come out and play.

Yes, there are some big games being playing right now, but not in arenas. No, they are taking place somewhere behind closed doors, with as few spectators as possible.


-Sixbears