Good Day Steemit Universe, I have been enjoying everyone’s introductions so now it’s my turn.
Being conceived to Disco in pre-cocaine Miami was glorious. South Florida, as a neotropical paradise, had everything a child could desire. Beaches, water sports, Miami Dolphins football and of course professional soccer: the Lauderdale Strikers.
I started playing Futbol when I was five to correct a leg deformity. I had glorious duck feet. My legs were turned out to such a degree that my heels would get bloody from pedaling my bike. There were two courses of action to correct the condition. Either break the legs and reset them, or start to run. A LOT.
My natural tendency has always been to do as little as possible when it comes to physical exertion, and my five year old self was no exception. I chose to be a goalie, much to my parents dismay. The whole point of the soccer was to run, but my natural predilection to inertia situated me into the last line of defense.
One day I scored a goal as the goalie, and my coach, Arazio Grasso, felt that a star was born. He coaxed me out of the penalty box with the glory of scoring. From that point on throughout high school I wanted to score the easiest way possible. This energy got converted into American Football as my soccer coach was the Special Teams coach for our middle school.
Coach knew how to speak to me. He assured me that I would receive positive female attention more so with Football than Soccer. You see, positive female attention is what it’s been all about. Trisha Chandler cemented my coaches prediction by grabbing my arm after a particularly successful game. The rush of being attractive to the prettiest girl in my grade was the stimulus for so much of my success.
I went on to be an all state kicker and scholarship athlete in college. I played all four years at my university and set many school records with doing as little as possible. Both my high school and college team mates had a real problem with the position of kicker. The kicker determines too much for the amount of physical effort they invest relative to the rest. This is infuriating to young men that are thrown into the gladiator ring of pain while we Kickers are sucking on cool aid. I get their frustration, but I was never meant to be in their position.
I entered the work force as a No-Skilled Diploma holder with peaking estrogen levels. Not receiving female adulation and not earning a living of any note, I was completely rudderless. Meditation was introduced to me, oddly enough at an NFL football camp, by a former player and my life changed by not changing at all. Through the lens of objectivity I had the the direct experience that everything is just happening and I was just here to bare witness without effort. I devoted my life to this quest of removing resistance within my own circuit, mainly my mind, which led me to India. My time there pivoted my life’s frame of reference to the point of making the U.S. intolerable. Sensitivity is cultivated in India, where it is a hindrance in the states. Once again, my path as the outsider was fortified.
Moving to Central America as a non Spanish speaking gringo would appear to be the path of most resistance, going against my most cherished credo. But, appearances are just that. For as difficult as the convenience-less jungle is, there is an ease that can only be enjoyed within the sanctity of the forest. Where I ended up is a hotbed for other outliers, making us all relatives in a way. Being a part of a more agrarian neighborhood has released me even more from western constructs of power dynamics and competition. Ironically, this is all within the aggressive setting of the Rain Forest, where all the natural systems are competing for calories.
My story arch is one of abundance. The belief in scarcity is consistently removed from my path the deeper I recognize the source of it all. I have been tremendously Lazy with those things I find unimportant, but remarkably motivated around Philosophical explorations into purpose, which has led me to Steemit. A platform of differentiation where you are rewarded for your intellect is right up my alley. The sheer joy of watching buddha’s fourth noble truth being realized by all these digital nomads is spectacular.
Entering my fifth decade of existence, this go around certainly has me pondering the ancient Chinese saying, ’May you live in interesting times.’ Who’s to say what things will look like without the bottle neck of centralized institutions? I look forward to populating Steemit with as much quality content as possible. Thank you for your time and attention. May we learn during this process of getting to know one another.
