Everyone's Comfortable With Themselves

There's something very interesting I've noticed. The old discomfort people used to have with themselves seems to be gone. It's obviously a new day for self-confidence and pride, which I think is a great thing.

We used to have this whole thing with magnifying our supposed imperfections, thinking we were ugly, etc., and we didn't have the same attitude prevalent today. I don't know why we did it. I guess it could've had something to do with our parents, always worrying themselves sick with how we looked. "You can't go out with your hair like that! Is that what you're going to wear?! I'd be ashamed to be seen with you!" So we'd carry that attitude with us, like a constant burden.

But now everything's a lot more swinging. Babies get their ears pierced, parents are proud of everything their offspring do, and style is really any old thing you can throw on. I love it, it's a new day! Our lives are on display! Everyone's happy!

Another thing that might explain the lack of discomfort is all the cameras we're toting around. Digital cameras. We see people taking pictures of everything, whereas we didn't do that 40 years ago. You had a roll of 24 pictures and it cost money to get them developed. But with digital, it's all free, so everyone's walking around town taking pictures of themselves with the camera extended arm's length. "There's a cool expression! Look how I can cross my eyes! I'm cool!" It's great! You're more proud of yourself when you're clicking pictures.

I have to confess, I still carry over some of the old discomfort myself. I say, I'm too bald, too fat (although my doctor says I'm by no means obese), my teeth suck, there's nose hair where there used to be none, etc. It's hard to get with it, with the new way of doing things, but I'm really trying. I look and see guys who look far worse than me, only they don't know it. And I think, I should act like that, then think like that, and without comparing myself to those who look worse, be simply proud of myself.

People today, I honestly think, have got it going on! And I'm getting into the flow of things. I may be an old man, but I'm trying to be the best old man, even a folklore-looking codger, let's say, that young hipsters might like to have their picture taken with. I'm flashing gang signs that I just made up. I'm with the best people on earth, the average guy and gal on the street! Take off your suit jacket and break dance on the street. Spin on your jacket, it's just cloth! True!

So I'm out there ... and more. And what do I see? People who are psychically healthy, very healthy. They're proud of their tattoos, their bra straps, their headbands, shirt tails, and underwear. They're flashing cool hand signs everywhere, one finger, two finger with a gap, five fingers straight up, the A-OK sign, etc. They're proud if they're bald, furry, wearing black, wearing white, in make-up, without make-up, if they're Plain Jane or Jane Mansfield, Bubba or Burt Reynolds, whatever may be may be, world without end, Amen.

I was out today, sitting in a restaurant, and saw some of the greatest cleavage of my life. This was breakfast. I drooled egg yolk on my shirt, which I'm proud of. It's like a shirt tattoo. Lastly, my complexion -- like I said, I'm old, but once in a while I still, even I, get a pimple. Who cares? It's not like anyone cares anymore.

Searching For The Great Unknown

I've decided to announce that I'm on a search for The Great Unknown. I've been searching for a little while now, something like three days. It suddenly occurred to me, I might be able to find it!

When you launch a search like this, it's a big deal, because you go up and down in your optimism. Sometimes you're very optimistic, then not very optimistic, then you can be downright pessimistic. It's probably no secret that I've run the gamut. Today, actually, I'm fairly optimistic, which explains why I've suddenly decided to go public.

I woke up today, like most days, taking stock of my feelings, mood, and outlook. And guess what; it was two thumbs up on every account. I felt good, went to the kitchen and made coffee, checked the news online, then immediately picked up the search. The Great Unknown has to be somewhere! So it was a good morning, marred only by one nagging question, whether I should call it a "search" or a "quest." But I put it out of my mind, thinking, the first thing I thought of was search, not quest, so search is good enough.

That was actually a breakthrough that, upon reflection, helped my confidence. Because when you do anything, searching or questing, if you start having second thoughts or doubts, it can kill you. You have to do it right, Go with your gut. Go with your first instinct. Some of the earliest explorers probably had the same conviction, which is how they managed to eventually discover all the continents.

But I'm looking for something a lot more nebulous, something that might not be right there in plain sight, and that's going to be tougher, The Great Unknown. Just to spell it out like that gives me pause, because What is it? What do we really know about it? Two things: It's Great and it's Unknown. But is it absolutely Unknown? If it is, how do we know it's Great? The answer to that has to be, It must be Great if it remains yet Unknown, and yet is apparently findable.

Now, where to look, that's the question. And how to know when I've found it, that's another problem. I honestly don't know the answers to those questions completely. But I'm thinking, it might pay rich dividends not to leave home too quickly. Because there's lots of things to delve into, the main one being the chance that the answer is to be found within.

Think about it! My sudden desire to find The Great Unknown obviously arose from within me. I didn't have the conviction a week ago. Then one day, there it was! If it is within me, within the psyche, that will be one huge step toward finding it. Then if I'm able to come up with clues, something that narrows the field, perhaps there will be something physical somewhere out there to complete the puzzle. So, if I narrow the field psychically, then launch out on my quest -- scratch that, search -- the two just might come together in a blinding flash.

This is a search that will be ongoing. I'm not going to update the world on every aspect of my search for The Great Unknown. Two big reasons: 1) It could get boring real fast, me butting my head against the wall; And, 2) There are probably others looking for it, too, and I want to find it first. There will be big prestige in naming it after myself, and I'm guessing there will be big money groups wanting a piece of it. Like Facebook. If they gave a billion for Instagram, imagine what The Great Unknown is worth!