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All that really matters

I worry too much, so from now on I'm not going to.

I am going to have gratitude for the wonderful things in my life. Those things that I don't have which I want I will work to obtain. I am also blessed to have the confidence to believe in that statement.

Just Live

"Work is a necessary evil that must be avoided at all costs" Mark Twain

Do what you love.
ZMP

A New Dawn

'The Times They are a Changin'' was a phrase that looked over me through most of my college years. It resided on a poster of Bob Dylan, which traveled to every dorm room that I inhabited for my six year stint in University. Countless hours were spent thinking about Dylan as the 17 year old that was present in the photo, imagining how he would create his lyrics, where his motivation came from, and what kind of thoughts he had going through his head during his early years.

The phrase in itself isn't that revolutionary or eye-opening. Yes, times change. When Henry Ford rolled the first Model-T off the construction line, change was happening. When Rosa Parks wouldn't give up her seat, change was happening, and when a computer genius named Bill Gates quit college to form Microsoft, change was happening.

So what are the big changes that Gen Y faces? We've been labeled the ADD generation, unable to focus on anything of significance for more than 5 seconds. I personally blame parents for letting us watch too much TV, and not forcing us to go outside to play baseball with the neighborhood. Although parents can't seriously be pinned for this one, the amount of technology that we've grown up with can be.

We take for granted that at any moment, for free and in a nanosecond, the corners of the earth can be connected. The world has sped up exponentially since the internet and cell phones have become necessities. Good thing, right? Business gets done faster, families stay in touch easier, what more could we want?

Don't get me wrong, I am far from Amish, and enjoy the fruits of modern communication as much as the next guy, if not more.(I have more than 1600 facebooks friends-I know...) However, during my daily checking of e-mails, profile surfing and picture stalkings, I sometimes wonder what all this information at our fingertips is leading to.

One can only imagine the day when the first computer is implanted into one's brain/eye, allowing us to access the world's knowledge with a single thought. The world's first face transplant just took place, making it possible for "Face Off" with John Travolta and Nick Cage to become a reality, just showing we're not that far off...

The point is, as man becomes smarter, as our need for protection is fulfilled, as we continue to evolve as a species, our minds will be altered much more than our bodies. Evolution favors the intelligent these days, and although strength and physical stature still hold high value in our society, due to the likelihood of healthy offspring, soon these traits will give way to the more beneficial attributes of high brain functioning.

This has most likely already begun to happen, and will only increase in the next few generations. I wish to be around when people can communicate mind to mind. These days, to make a claim of telekinesis is dooming yourself to receive parallel labels that witches received when women presented any type of intelligence just under two centuries ago. Luckily labels don't kill, although extremists do...

I hope that when man does become brave enough to explore this new frontier, we won't execute another witchhunt for our evolutionarily progressive.

First we need to stop being flashed by light every two seconds. Try listening to some Bob Dylan, he might inspire you to take a new road.

Much love,
ZMP

Update

Our season is slowly wrapping up here in Israel. This experience has been amazing, from living in a foreign country by myself, playing professional athletics, to meeting the incredible people here. There have been many challenges, a lot of ups and down, making for one hell of a ride.

It hasn't been easy. Not everything went the way I wanted it to, and to be honest, I think I would have been disappointed if everything had. With three games left, I am filled with a feeling of thankfulness for having had this opportunity. It's hard to remember a time when I felt so lucky.

I'll be back in Minneapolis this summer, working out, and figuring out where I'll be next year. My counter is broken, so I'm not sure if people are still reading this, but I wanted to thank those of you that I have heard from. Your kind words inspire me to live to the fullest of my potential, and I will continue to do so.

Live Full,
ZMP

Ego

I read a few books by Eckhart Tolle a while back suggesting that humankind's greatest downfall is our ego. He is stunningly eloquent in his arguments, and when I finished reading "The Power of Now", and "A New Earth", I was convinced that man should be rid of this evil device once and for all.

In Frued's dated view, he defined the ego as a regulator between the Id and the superego, a place between our desires for immediate gratification and our need for higher purpose, that lay partially in the conscious, preconscious, and also partially in the subconscious. Confused? I was too when I learned about it in freshman Psych. The problem with Frued's definition is that it's very soft in nature. He works on more of a theoretical level of being, a mixture of philosophy and science that leaves you wondering(as a scientist) what proof he has comprised...

Tolle's idea of the ego is much different, and also more relavent for today's world. His ideas revolve around the idea that people become trapped in their own self-concepts, which are formed by life experiences. We can therefore never truly be happy, because we live our lives within strictly formed guidelines that have been erected even from our days as infants.

The ego, as Tolle explains, protects these self-concepts, allowing us to grasp what this world is, and how it should function., regardless how fleeting that hold actually is.

In order to reach enlightenment, one must be able to see beyond self-concepts,-this can accomplished by releasing the ego.(Tolle's explains a number of methods, many resembling meditations of Buddhist origin)

I really enjoyed reading Tolle, and still practice many of his lessons, as they have led me to a much more peaceful way of living. (look him up on youtube , listen to him speak, and you'll understand)

The thing I take issue with is this idea of the Ego. What he sees as utopia is a world in which no one practices self-concept, no one relies on their ego, and everyone lives in equality. In order for this to happen, we would all have to rid ourselves of self-concepts, therefore creating an ego-free world. The fact of the matter remains, everyone is currently living with an ego(save Tolle and a few select others), so we have two choices.

One is go Tolle's route, lived enlightened, be understood by few, feel peace and love every moment of life, or, deal with people as they are, and learn how to get along in the world that is.
Progressive thinkers like Tolle always inspire me to re-invent myself, and not care about what the world thinks, yet short of shacking up in a hut like Christopher McCandless from Into the Wild, I'm taking my chances with being a part of society, and keeping the enlightened side of me for more personal affairs.

I have experimented with expanding and shrinking my ego in public spaces, in other words increasing and descreasing my self-concept or the importance with which I value myself as opposed to others, and I have found that a balance is necessary to navagate social situations effectively. When an ego is allowed to fill a room, it is easily attacked through slander, social movements, etc., while having no ego nearly erases your existence from the present moment.

That balance is a great place to be, somewhere between world's biggest asshole and a nobody. A simple meditation and focus on the word "balance" will guide your mind to where it needs to go. Picture the word, and breathe deeply while staying attentive to people around you. You will soon find that any mindset will become true if you believe it. With this in mind, we can form the world around us using self-concepts and concepts of society as a tool to guide us all to peace rather than have them be a hinderence to our survival as a race.

All of this assumes people want the best not only for them, but also for others. A risk, yes. But one worth taking in my estimation.

I wish you all a very happy, healthy and joy-filled holiday season.
Much love,
ZMP

New Day

Ends up I might never be a prophet. Turns out that modern day prophets might not even exist. It seems as though I am a 2nd division basketball player in Israel , not sure exactly what I want from life, other than to keep a smile on my face and love in my heart.

I'm exhausted from trying to be something that people can look up to and follow.

Hopefully what I do from here on out will be something of substance that others can follow, but this will no longer be the parameter with which I will live my life. There are no parameters to life. You do what you love, keep your loved ones close, and smile because it ends before it begins.

Another revelation Zach? You don't say? Where did this one come from? Well, I'll tell ya...
(mine will come as a surprise to me, mine I'll leave to chance and chemistry...(cheers if you get this))

I looked at a picture in my apartment last night. The picture is of a window with it's shudders open. When I first gazed at it, I thought about what might be inside, first thought being that of some sort of monster.(It was actually one of the dark-seekers from "I Am Legend") Then I tried to picture something lovely, and I saw a picturesque woman in a flowing white gown step to the sill.

It struck me that this exercise was symbolic of life, in that it is what you want it to be.

All day today I walked around thinking about the word "positive". I meditated the shit out of it. Regardless of my situation, I used this word in my head as context for how to approach each and every encounter. Today I got a job for the summer, had my best practice of the year, and cooked a masterpiece...

All because of one little word.

I guess it's looking on the bright side, you can choose your cliche, but today I felt it. I was challenged constantly by my friends and people around me to fall into habit, to complain about something that really didn't matter. Today I simply refused. And it felt good. I greeted people with smiles. They responded. I sang in the streets and didn't quiet when I passed people.(which btw is a great little social experiment if you ever want to test your fortitude) I looked in the mirror and laughed at myself for being so serious, then laughed harder when I thought about how many possibilities this world has to offer, and how we sometimes don't see opportunities right in front of our faces! I joined Twitter!!! Today was a great day, and tomorrow can only get better.

Much love,
ZMP

Reality

As I read Barak Obama's 2006 book "The Audacity of Hope" which outlines his "Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream", a main point that seems to repeat itself, and which I happen to agree with, is that America needs to focus more attention on the education of our youth. I think most would agree this is crucial to the bettering of our society as a whole. While Barak focuses on governmental increases in spending and the benefits of schoolteachers, my attention is drawn elsewhere, mainly towards how I learned as a child, and how this new generation is currently gaininig it's knowledge.

Sure, when it comes to technical jobs, formal schooling and education seems the logical path. But where do we learn "how to live"? Where do we learn how to make proper social engagements, and how to treat people that we interact with on a daily basis? For me, the answer was professional athletes, my parents and family, my teammates and also largely the people that I saw on TV. Yes, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air taught me that a good rhyme can lighten any situation...

I have a good friend who is an actor in Hollywood, who complains about reality shows and how they take the jobs of good actors such as himself, and give them to no-talent hacks. Besides the jobs of young inspiring actors, this new wave of Reality television takes something extremely valuable away from our culture; that being positive role models in the public eye.

We can spend all the money we want on restructuring the educational system, which will inevitably provide better books, teachers, etc(and which WILL ultimately help), but when kids go home and watch TV, this is where they learn "how to be". Unfortunately what they are seeing now is a bunch of spoiled rotten attention-hounding losers with no real skills or talents that should be learned. (Certainly learning how to "be hot" cannot count as a guiding lesson)

Paris Hilton, Kim Kardasian, Nicole Richie, the entire cast and all seasons of The Hills-at least Brittney Spears can dance!(or at least used to be able to dance) The entertainment industry has been stripped of all it's soul, in exchange for a market that sells sluttiness, extravegence, and over-indulgence. The days when Janis Joplin could be a pop star are long gone, replaced by an era that has no voice; instead a digitally enhanced recording, due to the original being an earsore.

Perhaps this is entertainment of a new age. A time when we can all put on our TV sets, Ipods and laptops and just stop thinking for 5-6 hours. A time to relax, and enjoy what we have and not worry about things. After all, this isn't like the 60's. Why try and cause a stir? We are so comfortable in our little lives that we never think of anything different.

"Shit, I voted for Barak, he'll change things, I'm gonna go grab a joint and watch survivor!"

Not the worst existence, yet I believe we can have much much better. If we really want to educate our country, I think it starts with providing the youth with positive role models. Unfortunately, it appears as though "sex sells" has become our national slogan.

Today, try turning off the TV and reading something about anything. Learn something besides how to act like a bitch. Go on Wikipedia if need be! I know, Bear Grills is eating a Zebra, it's awesome, but how many times have you seen him do it? Fuck, go find a Zebra and eat it yourself! At least there's an experience in that.

Here's to changing pace!

Much love,
ZMP