Love, Life, Liberty

Today was a day of reflection. After 21 days in South America, more than half spent working (but always having fun, cuz that's my style), it's time for me to regroup.

As always, the topics that come to mind are Faith, Friends, Family, Finances, Fysical Health :), and Fun, or maybe it's easier to just say Love, Life, Liberty. You may think I'm simplifying with the L's, over the F's, but I'm really not.

Love. It's all about relationships. And honor. Relationships with god, with friends, with family, with colleagues, with yourself. It has to be reciprocal, it has to be respectful, it has to be honest. Relationships can't be forced or pretend. And they must be honored.

Life. It's everything. Simply everything. Choices that make life better, or worse, involve everything and everyone: people, things, places, actions, thoughts. Laughter is truly the best medicine when life gets you down. Life is not a rehearsal. It's a one-time shot. So live, take chances. Learn from your mistakes and keep moving forward.

Liberty. It's about freedom. From guilt, from debt, from disloyalty, from dishonesty, from poor health, from boredom. A safe haven for life. A way of living. The only way to live, actually. Free. Aware of your limitations and respectful of them, but free to live and love. Free, that is,  to live with respect for others. Free to live with honor in your deeds. Liberty. Freedom. A cause worth fighting for. A way of life worth living.

I know who I am. It's taken more than 3 decades to figure it out. I suppose I could continue to be hard on myself for taking so long to "grow up" (I've certainly beat myself up over and over during the past twenty years), but I am choosing to celebrate the fact that I've arrived.

And I have. I'm here. I'm wide awake and smiling. No hiding, no pretending, no false hopes, no selective awareness. I've arrived. I'm here. I'm aware. I'm alive.

Life hasn't been terrible, but it certainly hasn't been what I expected. And at times it's felt like a really long haul, but I made it. I'm here and hopeful, because when one door closes, another opens. Maybe more than one.

Today I am choosing. And I've chosen love, life and liberty. And not just for me.

Baseball and Turkey

You might think of hot dogs when you think of baseball, but forevermore I will think of Turkey.

Not turkey dogs, not turkey sandwiches, not gobble-gobble, not the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal, but the country of Turkey.

Why, you are probably wondering. Well, because of Bugra. Bugra is from Turkey and tonight Bugra went to a baseball game along with me and our fellow students from the Atlas Think Tank MBA training in Virginia - for some it was their first baseball game ever.

We cheered, we sang, we talked about how baseball is played, we danced, we did the wave - we actually STARTED the wave, we tossed a beach ball around, we ran through the rain, we talked about freedom and in between all of that, we watched a bit of baseball.

Bugra is a young man in his late twenties who has dedicated his life to fighting for human rights and freedoms in his native country. He has had to explain what he does to his parents, and they didn't always understand or agree. He and his comrades sometimes have to leave the country simply to stay safe. They are selfless and committed to the cause of freedom.

And Bugra, although someone who has especially impressed me, is very much like the other 25 attendees at this training. Selfless, intelligent, caring, committed young people working for freedom for the people of their countries and the world.

I love baseball. And plain old American hot dogs may never be quite the same. Thank you for that, Bugra.

And thank you for fighting for your people, for your country and for freedom.

I am honored to be your friend and comrade. And not only will I link arms with you in the fight for liberty, but I will do the wave with you anytime!

Sezen AKSU Turkish Music

It's a Small, Small World

I have been here two days. Today was our first real work/training day and it was a killer. I am too tired to blog, so let me just say that it's a small, small world that we live in.

I am at the Atlas Think Tank MBA Training in Virginia, along with 26 other think tank folks from all over the world: Poland, United States, Ghana, El Salvador, Georgia, Spain, Argentina, Belgium, Slovakia, Canada, Turkey, Tanzania, Kyrgyztan, Brazil, Mexico, Nepal, Belarus, Mongolia, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Ecuador.

It's like a grown up Rotary Exchange only shorter (2 weeks) and with the principles of individual liberty, free market economy and limited government instead of the 4-Way test. Or maybe it's more like a mini-United Nations.

Being a freedom fighter is more that a strategic business plan (which is what we are working on this week). Some of these young men and women have had to leave their countries due to death threats - one had to leave Turkey for an entire year and live in England during that time. Their average age is about 28, some have families of their own. They have travelled around the world for this opportunity to train with the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, and I can see why.

It's amazing what we have in the United States and what they don't have in their countries. Restrictions on internet, Facebook and other social pages are banned. Certain web hosting services too. Visa restrictions, travel requirements, and on and on and on.

Conversely, it's amazing what they have in their countries and we don't have in ours. Respect for their elders (Nigeria), the ability to speak only in positive terms (Indonesia), a hunger for freedom that we cannot even fathom...

Life is amazing, liberty is a right, but also a gift, this training is invaluable, Atlas is incredible, the staff and participants are exemplary, the world is suddenly very small and I am grateful to be here - at Atlas, and here - in America. God bless us all and may we be wise enough to work for world peace and freedom.

Disney "It's a Small World"

Blessings

When you look at your life and examine things that have happened as a result of your own decisions or actions, and also as a result of the actions of others, it's simply amazing although sometimes frightening.

Look at us...we live in America. We enjoy freedom. We share the joys of life, liberty and the right to pursue happiness. We have the right to worship God as we please, or not at all. We are truly a blessed people.

Is every day perfect? Do we glide through life effortlessly? Is our nation at peace? Are we completely confident in our leaders? Is the economy strong? No, no, no and no! But we are a nation of opportunity and the pieces are there if we, as a people, choose to work together and complete the puzzle that was started so many years ago by the founding fathers. I am so grateful to live in the United States of America, a nation I consider blessed.

Today I witnessed yet another blessing, another joy of life when my granddaughter, Kierstyn Avarell Jorgensen, was blessed by her Father, JR Jorgensen. What a little doll she is and what a great man he is.

And speaking of blessings, I am not a perfect person. I am what some might refer to as a lazy Mormon - others have referred to me as a reformed Mormon (which actually cracks me up) - but whatever the assigned title, I am and will always be a Mormon, lazy/reformed or not, and more importantly, I hope that I am a good person, a kind person, an honest person - because I am blessed.

Today I was reminded just how grateful I am for the influence so many people had on me just over 30 years ago as I was searching for something to tie my anchor to. I am grateful for the principles taught by many, including the LDS Church - the focus on family, the practice of daily effort to become a better person, the principles of service and sacrifice.

Today was about all of those guiding principles - the eternal truths that make us get up in the morning and face the daily grind once more; our liberty to do so, the life we dream of, our desire of happiness and comforts with our family. Today was an affirming sequence of events with family that underscored the deep-seated truths that I have held close for so many years. Those basic principles of life that give each of us our sense of being, our purpose for living, our work ethic, our desire to push through the hard times and our ability to laugh and love.

It was so fun to be with my kids (4 of them) and grandkids (4 of them) today in Cedar City. I had a wonderful day. Nothing makes me happier than to be around their fun, eager, honest, open personalities. I always learn from them and I always enjoy them.

It's been a great weekend. I was with people I love and people who love me the entire time. Together we pursued happiness and together we found it. Blessings were given and blessings were received.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were lived. The country celebrated the 4th of July. Flags waved on every block and nearly every building. Parades marched down Main Street America. Fireworks exploded in the sky in celebration. Families gathered around bar-b-ques in backyards. Stories were retold. History was made. Laughter was shared. Babies were blessed.

This weekend I lived a blessing and I am grateful. God bless America.

Reprise Quartet "Because I Have Been Given Much"