Thailand has lifted Covid restrictions.  Who's coming for a visit?

We are so happy to have outdoor markets back

Thank you to everyone who made it possible for us

Sienna is always ready to roll

Dad rolls a little too fast sometimes

So fun to reconnect with Tiida, one of our college graduates

It takes work.  It is something we build, not something that happens to us or not.  

We may not have control of everything in our lives, but the only way to know what we can control or change is to begin trying.  

These blogs are me working backwards, to try and discover how I got to the point where I can say that I love my life, and I hope my life is making other’s lives better too.

Try it first, and if it works, ask me about the details.   

Ezra and I decided to crash the same week

Every once and a while I have to make a little more effort to look professional---it doesn't always work

Audrey and her friends developing their creative skills in pottery

Building a Better Life Part 1:  Open Not Closed

My own journey has been so strange, and so full of mistakes, it’s hard to know where to start.  But this seems like the best place.  

To make any change in our life, we have to be open to new ideas.  

Otherwise, we just end up doing the same things over and over again.  

Clenched fists can’t hold new gifts.  

I still remember when my friend Oscar explained to me that everything we do, every day is the result of assumptions we make about life.  It was a mind-blowing moment (thanks Oscar!)

From sitting on a chair (assuming it will hold us) to washing our hands before eating (assuming it will protect us from germs) to who we choose to date (assuming we know our type).  

Consciously or unconsciously, we all have beliefs or assumptions about life, that impact the decisions and choices we make.    

Sunday School at KOG

He is getting big, but he is still our cute little guy

Easter Eggs

So one of the first tasks to building a better life is to examine those beliefs and assumptions.  

And to do that, we need to be willing to critique ourselves.  

If you are from a strict religious background, this might mean you need to get exposure to other ideas and beliefs, even if they make you uncomfortable, to compare them with your own.  

If you are from a non-religious background, this might mean to need to consider the beliefs of religious groups for yourself.  

Open, not closed.  

Truth is never afraid of a challenge.  

Most of us are just not smart enough to solve the great theoretical, metaphysical questions of existence.  

Thankfully, we don’t have to do that in order to enjoy a good life.  

We just have to figure out what produces that kind of life in us, through trial and error.

Buddies

So happy to reconnect with Pring too!

Celebrating our March Birthdays

Just think about your parents.  Now I am a parent, and it is so hard to resist trying to tell my kids everything and not let them learn from their own experience.  

But that isn’t good parenting, and (spoiler) they won’t listen anyway :-) 

This is scary, and it's hard to do, to examine our own beliefs and be willing to change them if we find something better.  

It is far easier to just stick with what you know.  Life may not be great, but it could be worse.  

But it could also be better.  

Open is not the same as naïve.  

Some are better than others for two simple reasons.  

So if you aren’t happy with yourself or your life, ask yourself, what do I believe about life?

Lovely lady in a lovely place

We didn't end up eating him, but we had some delicious seafood

Handsome guys with handsome barbers

Here is the working definition I use for a good life:

The first step to building a better life is to discover what beliefs produce the best lives.  

In my experience, this can only really come through our own experience. 

You can’t just take someone else’s word for this stuff.  We can’t really believe anything is true just because someone else says it is.  We have to see it, feel it.    

If I am honest, I would say most of my beliefs came from two places when I was in high school.

One, my family.

Two, my friends and tv.  

But getting our beliefs from others, and especially tv or the internet, is just crazy—especially if the people espousing them are miserable and unhappy (thanks Hollywood).  

At some point, you need to try and see for yourself.  

In my experience, it takes time to realize that, and even more to really do it.   

The pontoon boat has been a huge success so far, and a lot of fun!

We love Thai Noodles

Such a great group of people

Remember that definition of insanity---doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?  

For me, what had to happen first was to realize some of the dumb stuff I kept repeating was because I still believed the same things would make me happy, even though they were making me miserable.  

Anyone else?  

Beliefs are like water that gets sucked up in a sponge.  We sort of unconsciously collect them as we go through life.  

Some of us have sucked up some nasty garbage water, that’s messing up our lives.  

It is a turning point in life when we become aware of that fact and take a serious look at what we believe and begin to search in earnest for better ideas.  

So that’s part 1 of building a better life.  

Or are they making life worse?  

Tom and I got in an early morning run, which has me seriously concerned about my Triathlon next week

Pontoon life is good!

It may not always be obvious.  

Both need to change for you to have a happy, healthy relationship.  

It is true for every area of your life.  

I am convinced this process has (and is) transforming my life.  

So open up.  Stop closing down.

Yes, we might be discover we have been wrong, and that is scary. 

Step 1:   Be open to the possibility that you might be wrong.  

Step 2:   Consider other beliefs, ideas, and instructions about life carefully

Step 3:   Try out those new ideas and see for yourself

Step 4:   Evaluate if your life is growing better or worse.

Step 5:   Repeat Steps 1-4