Your Values Profile

Loyalty: You value loyalty a fair amount. You're loyal to your friends... to a point. But if they cross you, you will reconsider your loyalties. Staying true to others is important to you, but you also stay true to yourself. Honesty: You value honesty a fair amount. You're honest when you can be, but you aren't a stickler for it. If a little white lie will make a situation more comfortable, you'll go for it. In the end, you mostly care about "situational integrity." Generosity: You value generosity a fair amount. You are all about giving, as long as there's some give and take. Supportive and kind, you don't mind helping out a friend in need. But you know when you've given too much. You have no problem saying "no"! Humility: You value humility highly. You have the self-confidence to be happy with who you are. And you don't need to seek praise to make yourself feel better. You're very modest, and you're keep the drama factor low. Tolerance: You value tolerance highly. Not only do you enjoy the company of those very different from you... You do all that you can to seek it out interesting and unique friends. You think there are many truths in life, and you're open to many of them.

     I was chatting with a friend of mine yesterday and the conversation turned to the confrontation of our fears. We all have them; something deep inside that causes us to freeze, or retreat, or in some way feel vulnerable. Fear serves a purpose, to be sure.
    We're all vulnerable to something. If a piano falls out a tenth floor window and I look up, realizing it's about to land on me I'd be a wee bit foolish to stand there, sure in my own mind that I could catch it in my arms. Fear kicks in and I run.
    But what if the piano was a stage prop made of cardboard? Confronting fear doesn't mean acting macho or foolish. Confronting fear is a process of analysis. Determining what is illusion and what is reality. It is then the balance begins to form deep inside and from that can come the peace of mind we all search for.
    Whether it be gaurdian angel or spirit guide, we all come with one. And over time, if we're lucky, we become one with that special entity. It is then that the magic can begin. The magic that gives us strength. Strength we need when we're.....confronting fear.

     Most everyone that knows me knows I'm just a simple man with simple wants and simple needs. I'm way long on casual, choose denim over silk every time and don't deal well with pretenses.
     Maybe that's why some of my fondest and most bittersweet memories happened on a back porch somewhere along life's highway. I've made good friends on a back porch. I've made love on a back porch. I've made music on a back porch. The song, Soft Wind was born on a back porch. I saw life begin on my back porch one morning when a stray dog I befriended decided to have her litter of puppies on my back porch.
     One of my best friends died in his chair on his back porch. I sure did miss him, but I couldn't help but smile a little, knowing he'd moved on exactly the way he wished to. He died sitting in his old rocker with a bottle of Jack Daniels at his side and Mulrooney lying at his feet. (Mulrooney was his dog, an old mongrel that came to stay one day and just never left.) Mulrooney died on that same porch a little less than a month later.
     Life, love, death, music, laughter, tears, music and friendship all happened sometime along the way, somewhere on some back porch scattered here and there down the highways I travel. And so it is.... I'm just a back porch kind of guy.

Today's been one of those days when I find myself wandering aimlessly down the backroads of my mind. I was wondering and walking and watching as the memories drifted across the horizon behind my eyes. Some of the memories make me smile. Some of them make me terribly sad. I thought today, that maybe it was time to cast off and sail away from the Stream. The drifter inside me was calling. But then I remembered how many times in my life I've just drifted off into the night with no good-by, not even a note. I've never been good at good-bys.
Somewhere out in front of me was a familiar sight. Yes. It was that magical, mystical mode of transportation I often write about and allude to in many conversations. It was the Hitchcock Railway. Few, if any of you, might realize it, but the tracks of the Hitchcock Railway run parallel to the Stream. It's an infinite expanse, limited only by the collective imagination and intuition of all who choose to ride the rails and navigate the waters of the Stream.
The magic flows between the two. I know there are those who don't believe in magic. Maybe partly because of the misconceptions. The magic I've come to know isn't simply a reincarnation of Harry Houdini. The magic I discover every day of my life is the love I feel all around me. The magic I know is a friend's smile, the sunrise, the sunset, my critters all sleeping on or around me and the moonlight shining down on me as I dance to a silent tune.
Now I'm standing at the intersection of time when night slowly melts away in a blaze of rising sun. Every sunrise is like another mile post on life's highway. Darkness fades away and I can see blog ships preparing to set sail for another day on the Stream. There is a constant procession making their way across the boarding platform, preparing to take a seat and ride another day on the Hitchcock Railway. The renegade in me sleeps peacefully. The drifter smiles slightly, tips his hat to the lady in the window of the dining car and makes his way slowly aboard. The healer in me surveys the bridge and knows that all is once again well.
My tired eyes sweep across the horizon, breathing deep and savoring the new morning air. My spirit stirs deep inside and I know it is a good day to sail once again on the Stream, a magical, mystical place with many ports of call. Come aboard. Share the view from the fantail. Stand on the bridge and let the wind caress your face. Climb the mast and announce to the world, "I am invincible!" Celebrate another day of living. Another mile post......mile posts found only as we make our way down life's highway.

You Have Low Self Esteem 12% of the Time

Which can be translated to mean, you have high self-esteem and a healthy sense of self worth. You believe in yourself, and you know how to be the real you. You love yourself, imperfections and all.