Yeah, a wierd way to start a post on a blog about internet marketing, but hey, even my friends will tell you I’m strange at times.
I had a hundred good intentions to put up a summary of my trip to the Philipines for John Jonas’ Outsource Retreat and to try to summarize some of the good stuff I learned out there. The only problem is that I ended up going skiing in the time in between. Don’t get me wrong, this is not another of those “I’m so loaded I can live the IM lifestyle all the time” posts. I even had the good grace to feel a bit guilty at doing so little work for a month!
Anyway, the point of the post.
For completely separate reasons, both trips have made me think more deply about how I go about living from day to day. In both cases it relates to mortality – “Hah!” I hear you say, “Martin’s having one of those mid-life thingys”. Well, you may be right, who knows. Anyway, two slices of life:
In the Philippines, I encountered loads of people who are, by Western standards, staggeringly low-paid. Now, I’m sure some of them were having bad days while I was there (not directly because of me, you understand!). Despite that, I was struck by the happiness, acceptance and fun they exhibited in their lives. They have astonishingly well-knit family lives and there is much I could go on about that I saw while I was there. So, here is one lesson in living and it’s a humbling one.
The second is much more direct. I’m not a particularly good skier – never quite got any better than low-intermediate despite trying for years. Anyway, there I was, in France – probably the most testosterone fuelled skiing country in the world, having one last go at it. Going pretty fast down a blue in slushy snow (a result of going so late in the season – lovely sun, crappy snow!) Next thing I know, I’m flat on my back with a nice set of whiplash-pulled neck muscles and a ringing in my head. What it was that made me wear a helmet for the first time ever, I will never know. I think a cracked skull was averted by that simple action.
A week later, with ever-increasing headaches, I gave in and went to the doctor and a while later than that, I’m in the CAT scanner checking for internal bleeding. Now, it turns out that all is well. I even have some evidence that I have a brain after all…any problems in earlier life really were down to me being a bit strange! The lesson here was clear and sobering. I’ve always found myself savouring moments as I have travelled…this one incident will make those moments all the more vivid.
There’s no IM message here, really. Just take the time every now and again to stop and look around. Savour the moment before you get swept back into the current.
Proper marketing stuff next time!
