Life Lessons From Kid Rock

Yeah, you've heard it here first.  I've always found a lyric from the Kid Rock songOnly God Knows Why very profound.  I heard the song today and I started thinking about it again and decided to write about it today.  The lyric goes:

"Oh somehow I know there's more to life
than this, I said it too many times
and i still stand firm you get what
you put in and people get what they
deserve, still i ain't seen mine
No I ain't seen mine
I've been giving just ain't been gettin'
I've been walking down that line
So I think I'll keep walking
with my head held high
i'll keep moving on and only God
knows why"

He's pretty spot on about how there is always more to life than than "this".  There's a deeper meaning, a deeper purpose than just existing.  We need to change the world for the better, affect lives in positive ways. Either of those can come in many forms, plant a tree, adopt a child in a third world country, heck recycling even helps.

You get what you put in and people get what they deserve.  This could'nt be more accurate.  Yes there are people in life born with advantages over others and there are always going to be people who are inherently lucky.  There is no match, I repeat, no match for hard work.  The greater the sacrifice, the greater the reward.  As for people getting what they deserve, I leave that one to Karma ;)

Kid Rock feels he still hasnt "seen his" and maybe someday he will.  The fruits of his labours have paid off with money but perhaps he's seeking something more gratifying.  As for me, I think my hard work has paid off.  I've got a good life, a roof over my head, food in my tummy, a good job, a beautiful wife, an adorable daughter and another on the way. So,

"I think I'll keep walking with my head held high
i'll keep moving on and only God
knows why"

I'm with Kid Rock on this one.

Do you guys have any special lyrics from songs that really stick in your head as being profound?  I would like to see which ones you guys choose.  See you in the comments!

Why Kids Are Always Testing Our Limits

I've had a chance to spend a great deal of time with my nieces, my daughter and her cousins over the years.  What I've noticed is that each and every kid is always testing the limits.  They try to make their own rules and break the ones you make.  As much as you tell them not to do something because it will lead to bodily injury, they're going to do it anyway.  As annoying as it can be at times, kids are not only learning what they can get away with, but they're learning a lot about themselves.  Let me explain:

1. It teaches them what will hurt them and what will not.

2. It teaches them that they have to listen to their parents because we are typically looking out for their well being.

3. It teaches them that there are repercussions to disobeying.

4. When they get away with something it teaches them something about their limits.  What they actually can do, physically or otherwise.

Our house has porch that overlooks the driveway with a two foot drop to the driveway.  Continually we are telling our 3 year old daughter not to go too close to the edge of the porch out of fear that she will tumble off the edge and hit or head.  Every now and then she ventures towards the edge of the porch and tests her boundaries until we scold her.  One day when we were heading out, instead of taking the stairs she ran over to the edge of the porch and jumped off the side to the driveway and landed on her feet.  Needless to say my heart was in my throat.  I didn't immediately scold her but told her how careful she had to be doing that.  I told her it was safer to walk around and down the stairs but she asked "why when I can jump off the side?".

The thing we can learn from this is we need to keep pushing the limits ourselves.  We need to do physically challenging things on a daily basis.  We need to question authority, you know, within reason.  We need to ask "why?" and not accept the norm, look at things from a different angle.  Kids minds work differently than adults because they haven't had the years of constant "no, you can't do that".  They think and act freely without the constraints of patterned thinking forced upon them by "normal society".

I didn't want this to be a "break the shackles of corporate society" blog post because I don't do those.  There is a lot of that around the blogosphere and I think some of it is complete b.s., but that is not to say that I don't enjoy reading those kinds of posts, they're an enjoyable read, just not always practical.  I think you can live a fulfilling life by having a balance between your yearning to break the cycle of "middle suburban America" and saying screw it to "the system" and living like monk vs. becoming an over-consuming brain washed corporate yes man.  After all, isn't healthy all about balance?

This is why watching kids is great.  They learn which rules are there to keep them safe but are striving for ways to reinvent "the game" and keep it fresh and interesting.  I think adults need to think about doing this more often.  Why is it that kids always have the right idea on living a fulfilling life? Please, if you enjoyed this article, please click the Digg or Stumble This buttons below to share it with others! And please, share your thoughts in the comments, see you there!

Back From Vacation

Hey everyone, I am back from a short vacation.  I feel refreshed from a visit to my parents on my wife's side.  We got some sun, caught some fish, had a few beers and spent some quality time with family.  I'm going to see you tomorrow with a brand new post about our usual insanity here at Zendad.  Below is a picture of the lake behind the house, the sunsets are beautiful there!  See you tomorrow and thanks for your patience in my absence.  Hopefully soon we'll be big enough for guest posts when I'm away.  I missed you guys!

Our pup Lacey:

There's No Friggin' Way I'm Ever Getting Married

image courtesy of allyrose18

That's what I would have said if you asked me about marriage when I was in my early 20's.  I understood marriage to be a death sentence to all things that were good about being single.  You know, strap on the ol' ball and chain and serve your sentence.  Boy, was I ever wrong.  When I found the "right girl", the woman to which I am married, I realized that marriage IMPROVED my life in ways that would take ages to describe here, but I'll try.

My wife is my...
a) best friend:  She sticks with me through thick and thin.  Through all of my hair brained ideas, eclectic personality, my love for sports, getting a little drunk and rowdy with the boys.  She's always there to listen when I need someone to talk to.

b) lover: Most importantly, because intimacy leads to strong bonds in relationships and has also given us our beautiful daughter and our other daughter soon to come into this world.

c) partner in crime:  It's nice to know that someone always has your back, always.  Even if I'm not doing the right thing, she's always there for me.

d) confidant:  There are things about myself and my past that only my wife knows, enough said.

e) protector:  She's always been concerned with my well being and health.  Hell, there's only one woman I know that got me to quit smoking and look after myself a little better (thanks honey!).

f) financial advisor:  She looks after the household finances, something I used to do when I was single but was never quite as good at as her.

g) mother of my child:  She's a great mom and we are absolutely 100% parallel in our ethics, goals, and parenting methods.  This is very important because kids learn to spot differences in mom and dad's discipline and learn to "divide and conquer" at a very early age.  Teamwork is essential.

The reason I'm taking the time to give my wife the credit that she deserves is that in just a few hours from now, we will be celebrating the 5 year anniversary of the day she made me the happiest man in the world and said "I do".  Yep, it's our 5 year anniversary on 8/9/2008. Anyone who's stuck with me that long and hasn't killed me yet deserves a medal! (kidding, ..........sort of)

We always hear the downside of marriage played up in the media, how it's so difficult and how the divorce rate is so high.  What I'd like you guys to share is what you think are the the GOOD things about being married, I'm sure I missed a few.  See you in the comments!