Blog #745: My Tighty-Whities Moment

Let’s talk about getting engaged.

Not married.
Engaged.

To your life.

______

Most people aren’t disconnected from life.

They’re just not engaged in it.

A slightly perturbed email landed in my inbox:

“It’s easy for you to have a life. You have money to do things.”

______

Hmmm.

Okay.

Let me tell you about a recent Saturday.
From 12:06 p.m. to 2:22 p.m.

I went on a solo five-mile hike.

And life showed up immediately.

Two brightly colored male turkeys were in full Casanova mode trying to impress a nearby group of hens.

Feathers puffed.
Gobblers firing.
Colors brilliant.

They were fully in their moment—performing, posturing, alive in it.

One of them noticed me.
Turned.
Moving toward me with confidence and aggression.

I changed trails immediately.

Because I seek adventure in life.
Not unnecessary battles with turkeys.

______

Coming off the trail later…

I walked through a quiet neighborhood where almost no cars passed.

One man stood in his driveway washing his car in tighty-whities.

Not swim trunks.
Tighty-whities.

Soaking wet.

I saw things I didn’t need to see.

I kept walking.

______

Near the Little League fields…

Kids were dressed exactly like Major Leaguers.

Black under the eyes.
Batting gloves tucked into back pockets.
Big league spitting mastered.
Professional swagger on full display.

I sat in the stands for an inning.

And honestly?

They weren’t playing baseball.
They were becoming somebody.

______

But my walk and day’s adventures were not finished.

Crossing the Phoenix Field parking lot…

I saw five teenagers on bikes.

Two boys.
Three girls.

I thought about the turkeys again.

Different species.
Same dance.

Near home…

I stopped to talk with a neighbor laying fresh sod in his yard.

“That’s how people from Minnesota keep grass green,” he laughed.

______

I made it home.

Tired in body.

Refreshed in spirit.

Because I had seen something simple—but easy to miss:

Life.

It’s always happening in plain sight.

Not online life.
Not filtered life.
Real life.

Turkeys competing for romance.
Squirrels chasing each other through trees.
Clouds changing shape by the minute.

Kids rehearsing who they dream to become.
Teenagers practicing how to be seen.
Strangers living unguarded moments everywhere.

And none of it required money.

Only awareness.

Life isn’t missing.

It’s just missed.

______

My sneakers were old and dirty.

My backpack was years past being new.

My sweat-stained Nike hat was older than all of the Little Leaguers.

Nothing about my “uniform” was impressive.

And now I circle back to the email I received.

We’ve somehow convinced ourselves that living fully requires spending fully.

It doesn’t.

It requires participation.

A willingness to notice what’s already happening.

A willingness to step into the moment you’re standing in.

______

A lot of people don’t need a bigger bank account.

They need a bigger connection to the life happening inches from them.

So if you’re discouraged today…

If your mind feels heavy…

If life feels like you’re on life support…

If you’re feeling sorry for what you don’t have…

Get out of your head.

Get off the couch.

Step away from the screen.

Get engaged with life.

Tie on the old sneakers.

Go see what life is doing today.

Because it’s still out here.

Performing.

Unfolding.

Revealing itself to anyone willing to look up long enough to notice it.

Not someday.

Not somewhere else.

Here.

Today.

Now.

Because life is happening all around you.

And the best part?

Admission is still free.

S.

(Audio version)