How To Get To Relax and Enjoy

To my son Tommy,

Occasionally you find a gem on the internet.  Today, scrolling through some Facebook posts, one of my friends from my childhood (thanks Jeff) had a quote which I found true on many levels.  "Instead of worrying,prepare. When prepared,relax. When relaxed,enjoy and realize that you construct your moments not the other way around."  Think of the power of these words.  

You construct your moments!  You are the master of your destiny.  This has come up so many times in my life in so many ways.  Great philosophers have expounded upon this concept time and time again.  This advice comes in many forms and even from some common sources.  I remember my first real bartender job.  The boss said "You run the bar, don't let the bar run you."  It took me some time after Bob passed that I realized his advice could be used for much more than tending bar.  However, sometimes in life I feel like the moments are winning and shaping me and other times I feel in control and that I am shaping my moments.  I think that the reality of life lies somewhere in between.  From time to time you have to roll with the circumstances and some times you get to control them.  That is why you prepare.

If you prepare, all the moments of your life are influenced.  Even circumstances that seem to be out of your control have already been positively effected by previous planning and preparation.  Often in my life I don't quite feel prepped and often find myself worrying about things rather than actually doing something to get myself ready.  It is a bad habit that I have to change and that I hope you never get.  Otherwise you will miss out on some of the most important parts of this advice which is relax and enjoy.

To relax and enjoy is a constant goal in life.  If you constantly work and prepare and worry and plan and such, you are missing out on the end game.  You need to relax and enjoy life.  When you achieve peace of mind and comfort and can truly relax and enjoy, you know all your work preparing was well worth it.

Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo