Gemutlichkeit

There’s a German word, Gemutlichkeit, that means the experience of eating and drinking and socializing with loved ones.  It isn’t only eating or drinking or socializing — it’s all three.  It must be all three.  When they come together, it has meaning.
—    Dean Ottati
From his book:  “The Runner And The Path“
[This is why the study of foreign languages is so important.  I struggle to think of a single English word which means the combination of multiple (two let alone three) acts creating / making an emotional state.  It’s hard to say whether German or English is a more specific language.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	Suggestions (The Order Of Precedence Is Optional)…
2021	But That’s Certainly Irrational
	Just Goin’ To My Room
2020	The Butterflies Are In Trouble
2019	The Deep Center
2018	Oh, Heaven (Too)
2017	Now Pausing Makes Sense
2016	Just Spicy
	Only One Part
2015	Positive Acts Of Creation
2014	One Thing Is Clear
2013	Corrections
	See Greatness
2012	Gemutlichkeit
2011	Back On The Asphalt

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Conveniently Sequential

Life seldom unfolds in conveniently sequential fashion.
—    Dean Ottati
From his book:  “The Runner And The Path“
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On This Day In:
2022	Desert Springs
2021	And Usually The Former
	The Real Heir…
2020	The Doggie Dab
	A Fork In The Road
2019	#LyingDonald’s Problem With The News And Truth
2018	Oh, Hell
2017	No Welcome Mat Here
2016	Making It Up
	A Missed Beat
2015	We Are All Explorers
2014	Still Trying To Cope
2013	Dear Diary (A good chuckle!)
2012	Conveniently Sequential
2011	King’s Speech Number Four
	Rational Probability

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Teaching Faith

Discipline teaches faith.  In the midst of bad times, there’s the knowledge, born of experience, that the good times return — and that knowledge helps.  And when they do, we know, too, not to take them for granted.  The cycles turn, and we can never really know where we are within them.  But the piece of us that runs in the hills each day knows on a deep, cellular level that events play out precisely as they should.  The inner runner accepts this.  At a given moment, despite the tumult swirling all around, a small part of us remains at peace.
—    Dean Ottati
From his book:  “The Runner And The Path“
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On This Day In:
2022	Beautiful Curves
2021	Life Is…
	Thank You Guardians (OTG)*
2020	Why #DonTheCon Hates, Belittles And Fires Honest Government Employees
2019	What Do You Want?
2018	Wakanda Forever
	I’d Be Happy With Another Score (Or So)
2017	In Defense Of A Free Press
2016	Lost Opportunity
2015	Are You Listening Ladies?
2014	Practice, Practice, Practice
2013	A Fist Full Of Confusion
2012	Teaching Faith
2011	The Heart Of Terror
	The Proportion Of Gravity And Probability

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Both

I learned that the accomplishments I treasured most were the ones I had to work hard for, not those that came easily or naturally.
… Discipline can be both a means and an end.
—    Dean Ottati
From his book:  “The Runner And The Path“
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On This Day In:
2022	I Learn Something New
2021	I’m Retired, I Always Have Time For It!
	Just Mice Elf
	That Was A Shot In The Arm
2020	Decide, Support, Vote
2019	Aware Some
2018	Know Any Christians?
2017	The Only Thing I Can Give…
2016	Wiser But Less Cocksure
2015	Not Today
	Wicked
2014	…Am Too
2013	Credible?
2012	Both
2011	Risking Hidden Linkage

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The Only Remains

But this book isn’t a how-to for losing weight, running a marathon, or getting faster.  There are plenty of books to help with those endeavors.  This book is about what’s left when weight loss and competition cease to matter, and only the running remains.
—    Dean Ottati
From his book:  “The Runner And The Path“
[Some books help you by getting you to think, not by telling “how-to”.  Some activities are worth continuing, even when you’ve accomplished your immediate goal.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	First, To Understand
2021	So How Should We Persuade The Dangerous?
	Can A Loser Ever Win?
2020	Maybe More Than A Very Few
2019	Missing Failure
2018	Praise God
2017	Necessary Gaps
2016	Nor My Dogs
2015	Say What?
	I’m A Dog, Too!
	Beginnings
2014	Astonishing Choices
2013	Three Hard Tasks
2012	The Only Remains
2011	Personal Capability
	What Price Failure?
	Both Of W’s Elections
	Tea (Baggers) Anyone?

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More Meaning

It’s really about a search for meaning in our lives.  I don’t want a new car, a bigger house, or a more prestigious job.  You can have those.  I want more meaning in my life.  It’s not a search for truth, because there’s a connotation in the word that implies correctness.  I don’t even expect to be right.  What I really want is more meaning.
—    Dean Ottati
From his book:  “The Runner And The Path“
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On This Day In:
2022	In My Defense…
2021	Mike Could Have Saved Us A Bundle On Border Walls
	Is It Too Late?
2020	And Then There Was Yellow
	At This Moment
2019	Sin Less Every Day
2018	Probably Only A Little Easier
2017	Stars Above
2016	Where Do You Stand?
	Health Update
2015	Leaving On A Mid-Night Train
2014	Questioned Faith
2013	At Home In Fire
2012	A Tale Of Two Books
	More Meaning
2011	Back At The Millstone
	To Learn, Teach

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One Path

Today I finished reading “The Runner And The Path“, by Dean Ottati (2002).  This is another of the $2 books I’ve picked up at Half-Price Books on the outside rack.  I bought it on the strength of 1)  it’s about running;  2)  the author/runner lives locally (in Walnut Creek);  and, 3)  from the inside the cover notes the book came across as quasi-philosophical.  The book is all three and more.
The author is an account manager (an “executive”) in a technology company.  Feeling a bit out of shape, he takes up running as a hobby and discovers that over time, it shows him an entirely new side of himself which he never made time to observe before.  The author learns (between running and talking with his running friends) to listen to his own heart.  Not the the physical heart beating away in his chest, but the heart beating away in his soul.
The book is a mild indictment of corporate America, because the author ultimately decides (after his review,) that he doesn’t always want to be fighting on the corporate ladder and that there is more to life than “just” more – more money, more authority, more stuff.  The author does admit he has been lucky and he’s fortunate enough to be in a position to back off of the rat race so his conclusions “ring” true, however, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of hope for the non-executives (regular workers) or those who can’t step off the ladder.
Other than those minor comments, I found the book to be very enjoyable – like talking with a new acquaintance whom you discover you have a lot in common with.  The authors writing style, even when he lapses into philosophy, is conversational and therefore a quick read.  And he does have a way with words, which means you’ll be seeing quotes from this book from time to time.
All in all, I recommend the book for those who have never really looked up from their “path” to see where it is actually taking them.
Finally, I must admit I kept waiting for a reference to Frost’s “The Road Not Taken“, but it never came.  An opportunity missed by the author…
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On This Day In:
2022	End The Filibuster
2021	Be Creative, Question Assumptions
	By No Means
2020	I’ll Eat To That (Gemütlichkeit)
	To The Front
2019	#ContinueToResist
	Except Willful Ignorance And Prideful Stupidity
2018	More Executive Time For #DumbDonald
2017	Watched The Inauguration
	Two Geniuses
2016	Come Dance And Laugh With Me
2015	Looks Good To Me
2014	Desire For The Sea
2013	The Fierce Urgency Of NOW
	Happy Inauguration Day!
2012	One Path
	Sorrow And Joy
	The Seven Year View
2011	Emergent Practicality

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