Life Begins at 31.......with Helping Women...Really?

Good Day Everyone.....

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  This week consisted of the fun chores that one must do.  Laundry, cleaning the apartment, daydreaming of where this life is headed.  It wasn't all work, but there was a major disappointment.....two words....CHICAGO BEARS!

But, I digress and it's time to get onto the task at hand. 

Helping women helps life to begin at 31?  I know it may not be easy to understand that concept.

However, I think it's a metaphor for how we approach life.

I was raised as a youngster to treat women with complete respect.  Holding doors open for women isn't really a new concept, but it does illustrate a simple kindness that we show and not specifically to women, but hopefully to all that we come into contact with on a daily basis.

This basic principle is something that I have always done, but as I am getting older it refines other areas that I  would want to be better at.  Truly listening to those that are in need; being able to really give all of myself rather than worry about what's on my agenda.  It's definitely hard in this world of materialism and fast paced techonology, but it's something that is vital. 

Ever got stuck on I, I, I?  Well, I've done that all too much in life, and what I am learning is that if I extend myself to others, how much more do I receive in the long run.  The answer is, MUCH MORE!

I encourage you to try it.  Start simple.  Revisit some principles that you were once taught, (i.e. holding the door open for women, walking an elderly lady across the street) and progress into other areas where you can refine kindness to the maxumum potential.

It will really translate into other areas in life that your struggling with. 

Did that make sense?  Hope so.  This is what was on the mind of Mr. Volle!

Enjoy your Tuesday!

Life Begins at 31......with Twiddling Thumbs.....

Good day all!

I hope this day has been very encouraging as it has been for me.   Thinking out loud for a moment...

(oh man, it's friday, the world keeps going, but I am sitting at home alone, doing laundry, what in the world?)

Ever have those moments?  Then it's followed by a scream into a pillow?  No, just me?

Well, I think we all have been there.  Whether your single or married.  One can feel that they are seemingly existing and shouldn't I, along with rest of the world be having fun?

This is how I use to feel at times of loneliness.  But now that I am slowly maturing I am realizing that solitude can be quite enjoyable.  Watching television alone, doing laundry alone, can really put the mind at ease.  Not to mention it puts an ease on the old wallet for not going out to that restaurant, movie, bar, etc.

When the countdown is on for a great retirement, I think in my later years in life I would rather have saved my money and have the ability to live somewhere nice, then to have to work year after year wondering why didn't I do a better job.

Sometimes twiddling your thumbs can be enjoyable.  Who would've thunk it?  Yes, I said thunk!

Enjoy your Friday and weekend!  Look for me on Monday!

Life Begins at 31......with Charity.

Another great day, no cigarettes, one soda, and no money spent.  So far, so good in this first week going.  Hopefully it continues.

Tis' the season as we only have 16 more days until Christmas is upon us once again.

Can't believe it's coming upon us so fast.  What I do know is that I am maturing that my mentality is to stray away from the narcissistic ways that I've held so dear.  What's in it for me?  Or what material possession can acquire next?

For me at 31, I feel like I have been so abundantly blessed that it's time to focus my energy on helping others in any way I can.  Every time I have done that in life I come away with being more fulfilled than any material possession that I've ever had.

What can you do today that can be an ongoing way of shifting your focus from you to others?  It's hard to do, but completely worth it.

If there's something I can do in the coming months for you whether your local or someone across the universe, please let me know what I can do for you....(prayer, encouragement, etc.....)

Life at 31 Begins with....Standing Tall!

Well, today's blog entry isn't so much a reflection on me today as it is on how I see the world in it's current state of affairs.  But for those with the tally board.  I spent no money today, had 1 soda, and have gone 3 days without a cigarette.  Just like I said with yesterday's posting I will take that!

However, today it's with a heavy heart that I look at the sad, sad direction this nation is going.

No sense of values, morality, and in essence not standing tall; no matter how difficult the situation may be.

Now this isn't a right or left wing issue, but more an issue of being accountable and authentic of what we will and won't tolerate.  Do we just say,  "What can we do?"  Or do we complain that my opinion won't matter.

Trust me, I've been there done that.

 Just like with these battles I am trying to overcome (cigarettes, over-eating and overspending), it's a matter of firmly, "standing tall" and saying, "No this just doesn't add up for me in life," and then making the immediate decision to turn away from it no matter how hard it may be to you.

Current issues that bother me that I see day in and day out:

Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates becoming reality based stars for the sake of reaching the masses for votes.  They would tell you that it's to bring together both sides on issues.

 (formulate opinion here).

Or having commercials Victoria's Secret and hour long shows dedicated to hey everyone it's my underwear.

I mean is it just me or is this absolutely something that is ridiculous.  While everyone can appreciate the beauty of a woman, it's something that I find completely inappropriate and would suggest that by standing tall and not allowing that kind of garbage to be watched in your home is something that if done by enough of us, maybe we can go back to the days of Classic Jingles rather than over sexualizations.

Whatever the issue is at the age of 31; the old adage of, "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything," really has been amplified as I get older.

It's hard trust me!

Whatever the situation that your going through make the commitment and hopefully soon to make a firm YES or NO and be confident in yourself and with the guidance of God that you made the right decision.

That's it for today. 

Signing off,

Greg Plain & Tall.

Life at 31 Begins with Mmmpf.....!

Mmmpf!  When the year is over I think they should add this word to the dictionary.  Wasn't last years choice chillaxing?  Mmmpf, is cleary a better word then chillaxing.  Mmmpf, can decsribe anything, but usually as in this case it's means a visceral disgust of what the ongoing situation is.

And the ongoing situation is that in just my 2nd day I have taken 2 steps back.  I had one soda today, no cigarettes, spent $3.59 on soup for lunch, and didn't exercise.

That's the true brass tax of it.  While not a mind blowing defeat in the state of where my life has been.  It does represent a pattern of something I want to stray away from.

One may say, "Oh your taking on too much.  And I say I can take on more.  Or what about, "Greg why are you even doing all of this?"  And I say it's never too late to make it right.  By right, I mean a knowledge and comfortability of where I would like to be complete in life.

Truth of it is, sometimes I think I am invicible.  At 31, I know this not to be the case.  Especially with the knowledge of having a really good bible study last night in the book of Jeremiah.   I fell back a bit today and realize as I am about to go to bed the reason why there is no "I" in the word God.  I can't do it alone and I need to pray in the morning and ask for his grace and favor on me.

Have you seemingly been doing it alone too?  I can assure you, it's a lonely feeling at times.

I encourage you to keep on fighting at whatever situation you are going through.

Good thing God never says Mmmpf....to us!

Tomorrow morning begins with prayer!  With him I will find success.  So will you!

Life Beginning at 31....Can be as simple as M&M's.

The cell phone alarm clock went off at 430a.m. and I thought who are you kidding?  It went off again at 435a.m. and thus I got up.  Just like anything else in life that I want bad.  It's one foot in front of the other.

These feet though were tired, cold, and barefoot.  I realized that I didn't know the code to the apartment's complex and normally when just the minimalist of obstacles would send me racing for the covers, I switched into a gear of your up and you might as well let the suffering begin.

So with pandora music on play I completed many of the exercises that I completed in the early morning hours of the US Army.  There were stretches, and situps, flutter kicks, the fire hydrant, and the superman.

Please feel free to ask me what those exercises mean, but I am sure imagining a roly-poly-volle in various positions will be comedy in itself.

I proceeded to get ready for the day and put on a tie to complete the transformation look.  Even though I don't need to wear a tie to work, it just felt good to be spit-spot.

Then with my pre-packaged lunch in tow (powerade, water bottle, oatmeal, fruit, soup) it was off to tackle the day.  What was in store for me?  A rude attitude?  No.  Manic because I felt I needed caffiene more than any heroin junkie ever needed there fix? No.

It was just an ordinary day of doing what's expected without the desperation of needing the 2 liters of mountain dew I usually drank in a day, or the nicotine fix that I thought was needed after blaming the Army that it was their fault I did this.  Nope it was a good day.  I stuck to the plan - a handful of M&Ms.  I felt guilty for eating them, but I realized hey celebrate the minor accomplishments you did today.  No cigarettes and no soda!

Do you always feel desperate to find out the bad in your life when really there could be good that gets overlooked?  I sure have and it's created a cynical existence which like the old saying go, is neither desired or required.

Additionally, how much did I spend today absolutely ZERO dollars.  That was the most exciting part of my day.

So wherever you are in life just know that it's one foot in front of the other, it will take dedication, and most importantly look to handful of M&M's as a symbol that hey you did something great today rather than not good enough!

Will tomorrow be as simple as candy?  I hope so, this will be a ROCKY ROAD this week.....oh look Ice Cream..........

Life Beginning at 31 Starts with Complete Detox....

What did I just do?  Ever have those moments?  I started a blog and put it out there in the universe.  I mean who will know if i cheat and don't complete what I just talked about.

Me, me, me.

I have very rarely committed to something in life and followed through.  I don't know where that came from.  When I was serving in the US Army I was forced to.  Now it just seems like I say I want to quit smoking, quit eating junk, save my money rather than going out...., but no I never do commit to going all the way on an issue to see what the result will be.

So how am I gonna go about doing all of these overwhelming things that I mentioned.

DETOX!  Sometimes in life it comes to a point, and I think that's this Life at 31 notion, that all of the bad stuff, clutter, and S*** need to go.  It's like why am I holding onto this stuff.

So since I hit post on my first blog entry.  I have thrown everything away that I haven't touched, used or worn in the last 6 months.  Additionally, any excess junk that I simply don't need.  I am currently doing the normal chores that I have normally done on a Sunday (laundry, clean the apartment, get things ready for work), but this afternoon, I went to refrigerator, and threw out all of the crap that I buy that's not healthy or in excess....(Soda...cakes, pizzas, crap food)....Next it was time to sort through any clothes I haven't worn and that could really benefit by grouping everything up and sending it off to charity.  There's nothing like getting a grouping of stuff together for someone in need.  Not for the vanity of doing it, but simply for doing it out of love.  I have been stuck on myself for many days, months, years, and seconds.  This Narcissicst (sp?) needs to be kicked to the curb! 

Anything relate to you about what's I've said?  Maybe so, maybe not, but I hope it's an encouragement to you, and while life is beginning at 31 for me I feel, it doesn't matter where you are at in age, all of this can be helpful.

Tonight, I will be going to bed early instead of watching the tv shows I have repeatedly wasted my life getting caught up in....useless, junk for the mind, when I could be a better instrument of my time....focusing on my gi bill, college applications, and miscellaneous.

Ok ok, I have put it out there, now it's time for me to keep it up.....stay tuned....tomorrow is gonna be a struggle....I am committed to no smoking, no soda pop, and 3 healthy meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, + a workout.  Find out tomorrow did the age of 31 overtake Greg, or did Greg beat the S***  out of 31.

Right now, I have no idea........I hope to do good.

See you tomorrow.  (This bug (me) has a major uphill climb)

Life Begins at 31

In life have you ever felt like your seemingly walking around in oblivion and not knowing where you are going?

Well that's exactly what I have been doing for 31 years of life.  Seemingly just going on with life and not stopping to disect where this life leading me. 

I ask questions like....

When will I feel comfortable in my own skin?  Will I ever make a major contribution to the world?

My name is Gregory Robert Volle and this is my first attempt at a no holds barred blog.  I am no saint and certainly not a scholar.  I am a mortal, a human being, a do-gooder, and a horrible run-on sentencer.

I wanted to start a blog in hopes of reshaping my life in the  that I would like it to go.  This will be candid and gut-wrenching.  A true daily account of can life begin at 31?  To achieve the goals I thought were all but gone.  These are my thoughts, my opinions, and a non-judgement blog.  Just putting words out into the universe.

I want it to be an authentic up to the day account of what's going on and an outlet for others to comment, be encouraged, and know that rockbottom doesn't mean rockbottom.

What does rockbottom mean:

31 years of age:

Obese

A smoker.

Current Savings and Checkbook 0 dollars.

Living paycheck to paycheck.

No college degree.

Lackluster Christian.

This blog is a template to ask the question; Is it possible that with hard work, tenacity, a sense of humor, and God for life to truly begin at 31? Something I haven't really done in life.  I've bought into the materialism, worldly ways of thinking.  I guess I will find out as I committ to this 24/7/365 journey.

Please enjoy the ride it's going to be curvy, bumpy, many twists and turns, but hopefully overall effective.

So in 365 Days I would like to have lost 40 pounds, not be a smoker, have $10000 in savings, enrolled in a community college to attain my bachelors degree and working on a better relationship with God.

Sounds like a lot to take on, well I am doing all of it starting at the stroke of midnight.  No more smoking, no more frivilous eating, no more out of control spending, and more dedication to achieving my goals.

I hope you will join me......this is going to be HELL, but I think ultimately a whole lot of fun.