Does being middle aged suck? I am starting to wornder

I am approaching 50.... not old but not the 25 year old that seems to exist inside my head. Recently I have been having some aches and pains. In my legs, in my chest etc. etc. Am I going to make it to see 50? who knows and frankly outside of my close circle of friends and family I doubt many care =)

What do I need to do to take care of myself? That seems to be the question that I keep repeating daily to myself. I know I need to loose weight. I should lose 75 pounds or so just to get to 220 to 225... Yep, I weigh almost 300 lbs on a bad day! What happened to the skinny kid that I was as a teenager? Dieting just sucks as far as I am concerned. I love food and I love both bad and good food. I have made the commitment to cut down if not cut out the bad foods I love (McDonalds etc.) and only allow myself the good food (butter, good meats etc.) I am not going to make myself suffer to lose weight. I need to begin walking to get some cardio benefits.

More on this as I feel like it!.....

The Great Conversation: Are you listening? or are your participating?

I read a lot....

Those of you who know me know that I almost am the single largest point of financing for the local library branch with the amount of fines I pay. I am happy to pay the fines as long as the book I am reading has provided me any value. Besides the money goes to a great cause. It helps keep my library running. That being said it was brought to my attention the other day that there are a lot of really smart people posting things online. This post is about that subject. Or actually a very, very small sliver of that subject.

The Great Conversation is a concept that is shared by people who follow the perennialist philosophy. I was reading an article on the topic and I finally felt the light bulb fully click on. One of the challenges I have with religion or spirituality is that everyone who participates seems to have very strong opinions and judgments about everyone else and their choices. In my mind I cannot accept that because I was born into a middle class family in the early 1960's on the west coast of the United States I have any more right to be happy and be allowed to be in favor of a higher power than someone who was born in Africa in the 1600's to a family who only ate once a week. Or why do I have any priority over anyone no matter when or where they were born? In my very, very limited experiences I have noticed that many faiths seem to champion the claim that they are the correct and only path to a higher power. What if through no power of my own I never heard the word about a particular faith? Would I be overlooked by a higher power? I really cannot imagine that a higher power would do that? Because of this viewpoint I have always felt that there must be more than one way to celebrate and educate one's inner spiritual core.

As I understand a Perennialist is someone who takes the best and most enduring ideas and teaching from any source no matter what religion or philosophy is involved. There are many human concepts that transcend the boundaries of dogma or philosophical school. This really resonates with my inner core. Being a participant in the “Great Conversation” is something that sounds an feels authentic to me. Is that not what we all are striving for? To feel authentic for what is true for us?

Becoming open to Perennalist ideals allows one to think for oneself and to come to the realization and acceptance that there are many paths to the truth. No one religion, dogma, philospohy or any other teaching has the exclusive path to higher awareness.

Are you part of the Great Conversation? I know I am and I am looking forward to it.

If you want more information here are a couple of links that discuss the Perrennalist concepts.

http://www.spiritualwealth.com/2010/06/18/are-you-part-of-the-great-conversation/

http://www.religioperennis.org/documents/Fabbri/Perennialism.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perennial_philosophy

Life and all that matters

Funny thing happened on the way to work the other day. Alright, I work mostly from home so the walk from the living room to my office space is about 30 feet but it did happen on the way to work.

I realized with great clarity that I had been living my life to garner the approval of people I do not even know and of people I do not even like. Funny what happens on the way to work.

For any of you reading this who know me and like me I know you will understand. For those of you who are reading this and don't like me please stop reading now and go back to your lives and live them the way you want. You no longer need to concern yourself with my life. For those of you reading this and you do not know me please consider this statement.

Living your life for anyone but yourself is a complete and utter waste of what precious time you have on this spinning marble.

Looking for acceptance from anyone but yourself is doing everyone a complete disservice. We can rationalize that we need to be a good parent, a good partner, a good employee, etc. Let me explain something to you. Without being good to yourself you will NEVER be good to anyone else. No matter how hard you try to convince yourself otherwise.

If you have children and you are lucky if you do. They need to know the real authentic you. So what if you're not perfect nobody is. So what if your job is not glamorous so what. Show your kids just how great life can be if you live it being true to yourself and being the best that you can be at that moment. I regret not doing that for my kids until now.

Do not wait. Stop seeking the approval of anyone EXCEPT of yourself. You will feel an amazing sense of relief the moment you do. I know I did.

Best wishes,

Scott

Exploring Anderson Island

My day job if you will is that of a Realtor® My life if you will is being a father and a Realtor® see I have obtained what many people look for in life. My job and my life are in harmony.

Sure I have moments where I am pulling my hair out with regards to real estate. I have moments where I am pulling my hair out as a parent. Yet, I rarely know what day it is unless I stop to think about it first. This is true bliss as far as I am concerned. Everyday is equal now in my life. There is no living for the weekend. No dreading that Monday is here. Each day is as valuable and special as the next. So what does this have to do with the title Exploring Anderson Island? Glad you asked....

I am bringing a home on Anderson Island on the market in the next couple of weeks or so and I have been spending a lot of time on this little island in the Puget Sound. Anderson Island is truly a special gem of a place that is really not very well known by people who might only live 15 miles away. Uncovering this hidden island has caused me to stop and think about other things in life that need to be explored. It is too often we go through life with our heads down and we walk staring at the floor. Many wonderful things are all around us if we would just stop and take a moment to explore them. I know at this point in my life I will be Exploring Anderson Island. What will you be exploring?

What I am Reading Now April 2010

I love to read. It is one of my favorite activities and one that I allow myself to do as often as possible. Good books are like gourmet food; Often times the best books or meals ones are the simplest.

This month I am reading a number of books on a variety of topics. Currently my interests seem to be heading towards Individualism and Libertarianism. It seems to me that our country is going the wrong direction towards a form of government that will penalize people for producing goods and services AND reward people for being part of the collective. In my humble opinion this is terribly wrong and counter to everything our founding fathers worked so hard to put in place for all of us.

One of the books I will finish in April is

The Road To Serfdom by F.A. Hayek From my early reading this promises to be an eye opening book on the loss of individual freedoms in Europe and the United States during the end of the 19th. century and during the entire 20th. century.

I am also working on:

F.D.R. vs. The Constitution by Burt Solomon
Radicals for Capitalism by Brian Doherty
The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller I read this book every other month as a way to help me keep focused on my business goals.

I will post my thoughts on these titles as I get further into them this month.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a fantastic day!

Best wishes,

Scott Cowan

I love getting up early on Saturdays

Being a Realtor® in Tacoma brings with it a certain schedule. One does not need to very often be working before 9am. The time before 9am can be useful to catch up on things certainly but it is not the time to be doing business.

For some reason I LOVE to get up early on Saturdays. The kids are asleep, the neighborhood is quiet, the sun is coming up etc. I find this time to be my time. No distractions. After a couple of cups of coffee (Today it's Peets French Roast) I usually handle some chores around the house and then begin one of my busiest real estate related work days. For example today I am going to the Proctor District Farmers Market. Great opportunity to get out see the neighborhood and say hello to people.

Do you you enjoy what you do? Since this is my life I want to make sure that I am spending my time capital wisely. I have no clue how many minutes I am being given here and unlike the self serve car wash there is no timer to tell me to put in quarters to keep going. I love my life and I am grateful for each day that I get to spend on this spinning blue marble. Getting up early on Saturdays is just my way to say thanks for the opportunity to be here.

Amid the false starts and missed deadlines I am starting again

For the few of you who currently read this blog....

You all know that I have been dealing with a lot of family issues over the past four months. Now that thinks seem to be calming down again I know it is time for me to find an outlet to express my concerns, frustrations, joys, sorrows, anger, and many other emotions that are too easily bottled up.

Selling real estate in Tacoma is truly a joy for me. I have been blessed to have a core support group around me during the past 2 years and today I am able to acknowledge that I would not be here if it was not for the hard work of others. Home sales in Tacoma are beginning to pick up and I have been lucky enough to sell enough homes to keep the home fires burning. The rest of 2010 is dedicated to not just surviving but thriving.

My goal is to return to this blog on a regular basis to just express my thoughts. By writing more often I know my writing will improve and that has been a goal of mine for a long, long time.

Until next time; Best Wishes,

Scott

Well 2009 sure went fast....

This site has sat empty for almost a year. I do all of my professional blogging on my blog at Classic Homes Northwest. Since I am a Realtor that keeps me pretty busy. Yet, when I am not selling homes in Tacoma I am always thinking about my kids and thinking about food. Often not in that order =) My good friend Jim Hunger writes a blog Musings on the Path to Frugality which I read daily. I'm not a trained chef like Jim so I do not feel comfortable blogging about food and only food.

Yet as 2010 has arrived here in Tacoma I have decided I want a personal goal for the year to work on. I want to learn six new recipes a month. Each recipe will be prepared twice within the month so that I can have a better idea of how to prepare the dish. Then if the kids and I like the dish we will add it to our menu. The goal is that I will have 72 new dishes to cook next year! I will no longer be able to say that I don't know what to prepare for dinner. It will also give the kids inspiration to prepare food for themselves. (a guy can dream right?)

So I will dust off this blog and begin to document my efforts at being a better person, a better dad, and a better cook in 2010. Please feel free to comment along after all it is no fun to write and not know if anyone is reading what you're writing is it? Just like it's no fun to cook and have nobody eat what you make.

Here's to 2010 may it be a year of great development and joy for all.

Good Food Dilemma

So, I stepped on the scale today... poor thing just about popped a spring. I've been eating better foods for over a month. Not a long time I know but the damage so far has been amazing! I have gained 15lbs! What the Hell is that about!

Since I am longer have being fed through a window (like a modern human example of feedlot beef.) I am eating more often. Well actually I am eating more....I feel much better, my joints do not hurt and I feel lighter but the scale disagrees about the feeling lighter. This causes my dilemma.... if eating better is leading to weight gain what do I need to do to reverse this?

The easiest answer is to eat less and exercise more..... True and very much a doable solution. That does not fully address the situation however. I refuse to give up foods that I enjoy and if eating better is going to require me to use restraint then I must. What I am finding "interesting" is that fast food is supposed to be so bad for us. It is I know but one of the by-products should of been weight loss when I stopped eating it right?

Just because one is eating right does not mean one is eating the right amounts....

Here's to my weight loss!

Best wishes,

Scott Cowan

Fast Food Nation The Decline is Noticable

Attention shareholders of McDonalds! I have stopped eating at your restaurants. That decline in stock valuation is a direct result of my not eating at your (and any other fast food companies) restaurants for over one month! My statement of not eating food served through a window has been held on for for the entire month of January!

Ok so I am really not losing all that much weight. I am not feeling all that much better (more on that in another post) but I feel so much better about myself that I cannot place a value on this. I used to eat food through the window when I was stressed and unhappy. It was my secret defiant F Off to people in my life who I were allowing to take too much control of my life. Since that person (and she knows who she is) is no longer in my life (and has not been for over six months) I am feeling better and better all of the time. The time came to send Ronald and Company packing. The results have been outstanding.

Besides not eating all of that processed food (mostly processed corn) I am saving upwards of $150.00 a month! Enough money to make a big impact on my food budget. Buying and eating foods with less ingredients have been a enjoyable challenge for me. I am truly blessed to have such supportive friends who have helped me over the past few months begin the journey to a balanced healthy diet. Having the extra money allows me to purchase better quality foods. No longer do I shop with only an eye on the purchase price. I am now keeping an eye on the personal price I will pay for the items I put in my shopping basket. Getting the teenagers in my house on board with this has been interesting but we are making good progress.

This month I have decided that I need to reduce by 50% my coffee consumption. Not to worry Starbucks you will still sell 3 pounds of coffee to me a month. Not the 6 or 7 I was buying. Oh, and I am going to go back to decaf too! My goal is to replace the morning coffee with water and tea. I love coffee and I will not quit drinking it. I am just going to expand my beverage horizons.

Well that is all for tonight. Those of you with stock in McDonalds seriously sell, sell, sell! The purveyor of processed corn has lost another sucker.....

Best,

Scott Cowan
a foodie on a mission.....