Author: David Willis

Recycling: A Self Portrait

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

For the last few years we have done our best to recycle the things we use. Loads of cans, bottles, plastics, boxes, etc. don’t go in the trash anymore and make their way to the recycle center every other Saturday. (That is usually the plan. Bad weather and Christmas gave us 5 weeks worth to take not long ago!)

I like that we are being conscious about what we do. It makes sense that little decisions can affect the big picture. That five week span of recycling building up in our garage was a small picture of what builds up all across America in recycling centers. By choosing to reuse instead of throwing away, we make a good choice.

Recycling has another more personal meaning to me though. Recycling is a staggering self portrait. By saving cans, bottles, and other items that you consume throughout the week, you have a picture of who you are and what you value, and maybe even your physical condition. Were the boxes you recycled all frozen pizzas? How much of that plastic held sugar infused items? What exactly would your recycling bin look like?

This hit me in the face not long ago. I have been a soda addict for years. At one point I was drinking an equivilant of 3 liters of Dr. Pepper a day. I was addicted to the caffine and the sugar. So, I switched to Diet Coke. Not really a better choice. My addition to soda continued. There were cans and cans and cans in that recycling bin. I tried to justify it for a while, but it is hard to ignore when you have to take it to the center and sort it. So, I have mostly given it up. Only a couple a week now. Sorted the bin this morning. Only 6 cans for two weeks. Not bad.

Do you recycle? What does your bin look like? It speaks volumes if you let it.

I can’t believe I just did that…

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

After I got home from work this evening I was going to get out and clean my garage. It has been the catch all through the winter and needed a little TLC. So, I invited my wife and son to come hang out in the front yard and I would clean. Marixa suggested that we move both vehicles back in the driveway so they would have the main part of the concrete to play on. And so it would be easier to corral Trey. I moved one vehicle and got into the other to move it and couldn’t find my keys.

I had just driven the vehilce home from work. I knew the keys were somewhere in the vicinity. I had been in the garage, the bedroom, the office, and the back yard since my arrival. I began the search. 15 minutes later I was no further along. Marixa asked me to take a moment and think about what all I had done. I retraced every step in my mind. I then set back off to check everything I had just checked in the 15 minutes previous.

15 minutes later I was still no further along. My plans for cleaning out the garage were starting to look a little shaky. What was I going to do? Marixa asked me once more to retrace my steps. I stood in the middle of the garage and thought and thought. I had retraced all my steps. What could it be? I was impatient and wanted to keep moving and keep looking. Then, her words hit me. Retrace every step. The one place I hadn’t looked was vehilce #1. I had been in it right before trying to move vehicle #2. Sure enough, the keys were sitting right there when I opened the door.

I spent over 30 minutes trying to find my keys. When I didn’t find them immediately, my brain swithed into overdrive and I started to rely on looking instead of thinking. Two lessons learned from this endeavor:

1. Listen to your wife. She told me the keys were probably in plain sight, but I wouldn’t be able to see them because I needed to step back and gain perspective. She was spot on. Wise council generally is though.

2. Little things can really frustrate you if you let them. It was only when I calmed myself and regained a level head that I realized where the keys were. I have the choice to be frustrated or not. I have the choice to be level headed. Should have picked the latter to begin with.

I could have saved myself half an hour if I had only relied on these two things: listening to wise council and choosing to respond to frustration with a level head.

Yeah, I admit it. I write love songs.

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Over the years I have listened to my fair share of love songs. I love songs that can take you to a feeling you have felt before and make you feel it all over again. Do you know what I mean? Sure you do. They are feelings we have all felt.

I have written a few too. I wrote my wedding song and 4 or 5 more for my wife over the years. I was playing my guitar this evening trying to remember some of the ones I have written. I have a couple of favorites out of the bunch. Some still need some work, but it was that thought that counted.

In 2007 a friend of mine, Ryan, was getting married. He and his bride to be, Chelsea, were discussing what music should be played at their wedding. I was to be the best man, so I had an interest in what they picked. She is beyond musically talented. So, I suggested that she write her song. She kinda laughed it off, until she was riffing on the piano and I asked her to play a section again. I sang a couple lines from a chorus I came up with while she was playing. A really good song ensued.

She later sent me an email telling me what kind of things she wanted to say in the song. I took her suggestions and ran with them. Together We Will Go is a song I am very proud of. Chelsea wrote the piano part and I wrote the words and supplied the melody. We took the song to a recording studio where she recorded the piano track. I was able to use the track she made to sing at the wedding. It was very cool to have the bride playing the piano, while at the same time standing at the front with her groom.

It was an easy song to write. Granted, most of the thoughts that are expressed in it are feelings I have for Marixa, so I was writing from the heart.

Check the song out and let me know what you think. I really like this tune.

01 Together We Will Go

It is never too late…

~ David Willis ~ 2 Comments

I read a phrase recently that struck me: It is never too late to be who you might have been. I read this in an article that was written by Mark Batterson about goal setting. It is worth taking a few minutes to download and review. It jumped off the page and hit me over the head…in a good way.

Mark is the pastor of a vibrant church in the Washington DC area. This line is one of the church’s core values. It is never too late to be who you might have become. That means that no matter how much time has gone by, you can still move toward a worthy dream. The dream may look a little different than it did when you first dreamed it, but it is worth pursuing all the same. The dream leads you to be more of who you really are.

An example from my life. My Grandma Willis was in her later 50s when she went back and got her art degree. She was quite the artist and quite the woman from what I remember and the stories I have been told. It was a proud day for her when she accomplished it. She achieved a dream that many people would have though her too old to have. She didn’t give it up. There are pieces of her art hanging in my parent’s house. I, for one, am glad she didn’t give up the dream. The paintings that she left behind are a reminder to not give up. That inspires me.

How about you? What dream have you been holding on to? Has it been in you, dormant for years? Maybe it is time to dust it off. Is there a goal you have wanted to achieve? Maybe it is time to hold it in your hand.

It is never too late to be who you might have become. Best start today.

How often do we fail to notice the important things?

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

I have a confession to make. I am an avid book collector. I love books. However, I have not been reading all the books I buy. This is something I am doing my best to rectify. I would rather be an avid reader. To that end, I have a goal for this year: Read (or listen to) 60 books. (My goal was orginally 35, but I have already made it through 18 this year.)

The last book I read was The Noticer by Andy Andrews. This is an amazing book. I read it in two sittings. Could have read it in one, but I started it at 11:30 one night. Anyway. It is a story about how a man named Jones (not Mr. Jones as he tells people) was able to help people take a fresh look at their lives by noticing things and helping them gain perspective. By the books end, Jones has made an impact on a whole community just by paying attention to people and helping them see better.

One of the characters in the book finds himself homeless, living under a pier. His parents are dead and he has no money. He is doubtful about his future and is bitter. Enter Jones. Jones talks with him about many things. One of the things that Jones suggests to the character is that he needs to read. What specifically? Biographies of great individuals. Winston Churchill, George Washington Carver, Joan of Arc, etc. Jones points out that by learning what made these people great, we can become great ourselves.

This made me think of a quote I heard a while back. Charlie “Tremendous” Jones said this:

You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things, the books you read and the people you meet.

This is one of the reasons I love books as much as I do. I know that I am not a finished product. I need the wisdom of others to speak into my life and help me grow. The Noticer is a great read. It is a great reminder to take a step back when difficulties arise and look at the big picture so that perspective can be gained.

What good books have you read lately? What lessons are you learning?