Where do you see yourself right now in life? And is it where you expected it to be? This week, we dive deep into life's reflections, spurred by a candid conversation with a co-worker. We discuss our life trajectories and the concept of success. I share my personal philosophy that we are all exactly where we need to be, shaped by our unique circumstances and decisions. In a lighter vein, we also embark on a fun tangential journey on the trials and triumphs of making mango wine at home.
We pivot our conversation towards the art of mindfulness and the power of appreciating the present. How often do we dwell on our errors and overlook our triumphs? Sharing insights from my brewing escapades, I illustrate how adapting to challenges mirrors the process of living life itself. We chat about the importance of gratitude in our lives and the role of persistence in achieving our goals. I highlight how acknowledging our successes and learning from our failures can propel us forward. So, buckle up for a rollercoaster journey filled with deep life reflections and a dash of home-brewed mango wine fun.
Where do you see yourself right now in life? And is it where you expected it to be? This week, we dive deep into life's reflections, spurred by a candid conversation with a co-worker. We discuss our life trajectories and the concept of success. I share my personal philosophy that we are all exactly where we need to be, shaped by our unique circumstances and decisions. In a lighter vein, we also embark on a fun tangential journey on the trials and triumphs of making mango wine at home.
We pivot our conversation towards the art of mindfulness and the power of appreciating the present. How often do we dwell on our errors and overlook our triumphs? Sharing insights from my brewing escapades, I illustrate how adapting to challenges mirrors the process of living life itself. We chat about the importance of gratitude in our lives and the role of persistence in achieving our goals. I highlight how acknowledging our successes and learning from our failures can propel us forward. So, buckle up for a rollercoaster journey filled with deep life reflections and a dash of home-brewed mango wine fun.
Team one stand by Copy. Team one stand by Breach, breach, breach. Hey guys, welcome back. So on today's episode, I figure I'd let y'all tag along with me as I finish up a mango wine that I started back in June. Buddy of mine brought me up some fresh mangoes from Miami, quite a bit of them, and while I did eat quite a few and they were good, I figure why not make some wine out of it? So we'll be finishing up the mango wine today.
Speaker 1:Like I said, we started it back in early June and it's been a few months now and it's time to go ahead and finish it up. So that's what we're going to do, and in the process of doing that we'll also go over a conversation that I had with a co-worker not too terribly long ago that you know. It's kind of resonated with me at the time and just kind of figured I would share that as well. And if you guys ever wanted to know what it was like or what it took to make your own wine be beer, what have you? You guys go over to YouTube and go over to City Steadying Brews on YouTube, those two over there doing an amazing job at showing what it takes to make your own brews and things like that and they really make it kind of simple. And I got to say, if someone like me can understand it and get a few supplies and start making my own stuff, my own wine and mead and stuff, you know, just about anybody can do it. I don't think I'm always the brightest, but I try real hard and I think that matters some too. So give them a look out.
Speaker 1:City Steadying Brews. They, like I said, they do a really good job and they explain things a whole lot better than just about anybody else I know could. And just so you know exactly what I'm talking about. That's it right there. That's one of two. I have two one gallon fermenters with mango wine and you can look over here. That's me keeping track of everything. It's real important to keep track of all of it and of course, everything has been sanitized so that we don't get any bacteria or anything like that. But look at that, guys, how clear that is. That has sat and it has cleared out really nice. So I'm hoping it tastes as good as, not better, than, the last time I tried it, because last time it was pretty tasty. And just so it's clear.
Speaker 1:This isn't a how-to video, just like the Weldon video. I am not a teacher when it comes to most things, and this is no different. So this is just me doing something that I enjoy doing while talking with you guys. So just keep that in mind, especially those of you that do make your own home brews and things like that Try not to beat me up too bad. I haven't been doing it too terribly long, but I do enjoy doing it.
Speaker 1:So not too long ago I was having a conversation with a co-worker and we weren't talking about anything important. We were just talking about the job and life and things in general nothing too important and she made a statement while we were having that conversation that you know it struck a chord with me at the time, but because we weren't having a, you know, a serious conversation, I didn't delve too much more into it, and she even took the time to make the comment that you know the conversation had gotten way more serious than what she had thought. So that kind of let me know right then that you know she wasn't looking to have that particular conversation, but we were sitting there talking about things and, like I said, we weren't talking about anything in particular or of any particular importance. Yet, oh, that finished high. That is going to be sweet, as it can be 1.07.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so while we were talking, she wound up making the statement that she, she wasn't where she thought she would be in life. That, you know, by this point in her life she thought that she would be further along and not exactly where she was. And while her comment struck a chord with me you know I didn't really delve into it and I, like I said, it struck a chord, but I didn't give it a lot of thought, I didn't sit there and ponder it and have some real long discussion with her, I just kind of let it go. But as the hours and days went on, you know, I kept thinking about it. She, she had that one particular statement and it just wouldn't leave me. It stayed right there with me and, and you know, it got me thinking about a lot of things, not just, you know, with her, but even in my own life. You know about how not you felt like you would be further along or more successful or, you know, have a higher position at your job or whatever the case may be. You know I had wondered this, there had the same thoughts and it caused me to do a lot of thinking and I got to thinking about it and to me, I guess the what it boils down to is you are where you are at the time that you're there because that's exactly where you're supposed to be, given the circumstances and situations and decisions and things in life that we make and that life throws at us.
Speaker 1:We're exactly where we're supposed to be for whatever reason. You know, whether it's a religious thing that you want to place on it, whether it's a fate thing that you want to place on it, it, you know it really doesn't matter. But the point of it is is there are a million little things that came into play to bring you into that one particular moment. You know, to place you where you were in your life, whether it's your job, whether it's your relationship, whether it's your money. It is a million little things that came into play to bring you to that one moment. So the easy answer is we're exactly where we were supposed to be at that time, just like right now, any of you that are listening to the podcast or watching it. You're right where you're supposed to be. You know, given the time that we have and everything. We're right where we're supposed to be.
Speaker 1:And if you expand on that particular comment a little bit further, you know you could even go to the point of thinking about if you could go back in the past and talk to the younger version of you, would you change anything? Or if you could go back in general, would you change anything about your life? And to me, while the knee jerk answer, the knee jerk reaction to that is yes, because I've, you know, made my fair share of mistakes and I've made some decisions that you know, I believe now, had I made differently then some things would be a little bit different. But the truth of it is is, at least, if you're someone who loves your life as it is, or loves what you do, or you know has any aspect of your life that you truly, truly enjoy, whether it's your family, whether it's your job, whether it's a hobby or whatever If we went back and changed anything, what are the chances that we'd end up feeling the same way that we do about things that are in our lives right now?
Speaker 1:So, in thinking about that even longer, the answer that I came up with is no, you know, would I like to have invested in some things a little sooner. Yeah, yeah, I would. You know, I would have wholeheartedly wished I would have decided to start investing and thinking about retirement and things like that a whole lot sooner, but I didn't and I am where I am. So, yeah, it would be nice to go back and, you know, do those things, but ultimately it's all of these decisions and everything in life that brought us to where we are and I don't know that I'd want to give that up, because I have a lot of things in my life right now that you know I love. I love a lot of things about my life. There are plenty that I don't care for, but I love a lot of things about my life right now and I'm not willing to give that up. It's not worth the risk to me. You know, that's just kind of how I feel about things. By no means am I trying to say that that's how everybody should feel. You know, like most things that I talk about, that's just my opinion and, let's be honest, my opinion really only has to mean anything to me. I don't know that it does all the time, but hey, it does.
Speaker 1:By the way, if any of you all were curious as to what I was doing, stirring just a minute ago, it's called degassing. So in the brewing process your yeast will wind up off-gassing a bunch of different gases and they can lead to at least from what I understand they can lead to some funky tastes in your brew. And by doing what I was just doing which I did it off-camera by doing what I was doing I was getting rid of a bunch of those off-gasses. So there's off-gasses that kind of give it a funny taste I was getting rid of. Also, it helps keep from you know, any bad flavors getting in there. So anyway, back to what I was saying. You know.
Speaker 1:So if I was able to have that conversation with my co-worker again, you know that's exactly what I would wind up telling her. I would wind up telling her that she's exactly where she's supposed to be in life right now. You know, I think that at least based off of our conversations, our conversation, I think she forgot, or at least discounted, a lot of the things that she went through in life to get to where she is at this point. And to discount those things, to not consider those things, is really kind of an injustice to the life that she's lived. Because, you know, again, it's a million little things that have taken place to get us to where we are currently in our lives. I mean, after all, would it be nice to have all the nice luxuries and, and you know, have certain financial goals completely accomplished and you know a bunch of things. Yeah, sure, but that's what it was, that's not what it was meant to be right now, you know, that's. That's not what it was for her life, it's definitely not for my life.
Speaker 1:But come on, guy, I'm using an auto siphon and I'm having an issue right now because the bottom of the bottle is concaved and I'm trying to get the little nipple on the auto siphon. It's a spring-loaded auto siphon and I'm trying to get it to. Oh crap, I'm trying to get it to release the liquid and it kept slipping and I think that I'm going to wind up running out of bottles for what I am currently doing. And, by the way, off camera, I tasted it and, yeah, yeah, tastes pretty good. You can still taste the mango and it's got just enough in there to. I don't think it'll. I think it'll get you right. I think it's currently sitting at about 11 or 12%. So, and, by the way, I've already had some mishaps, so that's a pretty standard when it comes to just about anything I do right out the rip and putting water and sanitizer in the sink so I could sanitize everything, I put the wrong stopper in and while I'm sitting there trying to sanitize everything, I didn't realize it until about half the water was already gone. So I pretty much wasted a whole bunch of water and a whole bunch of sanitizer. So yeah, it's a and, as you guys just saw, I'm apparently overflowing bottles even with this auto siphon. But it's pretty standard.
Speaker 1:I plan for things to not go like I want them to. I say plan you ever really plan for things like that? I guess that's a contingency plan. I didn't really have one of those. I just went ahead and anticipated the fact that I was going to mess up. That way I wouldn't be upset later on, and I don't think we're going to have enough left quite to fill this bottle. That's fine. I want to go in the fridge and get a drink first. Yeah, brian and Derrick are over at City Steady and Brews make this look so much easier. I off camera just a minute ago. I had quite a few mistakes and had to do some cleanup. So, yeah, that's about par for the course. That's what it is. You can look at that. Just look at it. That is not a bad haul at all. That is eight bottles of mango wine, so we just need to go ahead and throw a couple of labels on there and voila, there I've ready. And of course I forgot to wipe down the bottles before I put the labels on. That one's a little sticky.
Speaker 1:So to get back on topic, real brief, guys, don't waste time thinking about where you could be, what you could have done or anything like that. It's honestly a waste of time. You know, it's nice to think about it briefly every once in a while, but honestly it's a waste of time. And I only say that because you can't. You can't go back and change things. You can't go back and make different decisions or anything like that. All you can do is work with what you got. So to my co-worker and to anyone else, that kind of gets stuck in that rut where they're in that thought process of what could have been.
Speaker 1:Take a step back, look at all the things you've gone through, look at all the things that you've done and compare that to where you are now and be thankful.
Speaker 1:Just be thankful for everything that you've been able to accomplish, because if you've made it this far in life, I'd say you're doing pretty well, because there's a lot of people that don't get that option, or those that check out early, and that's saying something when you make it as far as you are now. So just take it, just take a few minutes and just be thankful. You know, be thankful for everything that you do have, be thankful for everything that you have accomplished and then keep pushing. You know, don't lose those goals, don't lose those things that you want to accomplish. Still strive for them, go get them. You know you're never going to get them if you don't keep trying.
Speaker 1:So be thankful, look back and reminisce, think about what you could have done differently and see if it applies still today. But keep digging, keep going forward. You know you're going to get there. May not be as early as you'd hope, but the way you achieve any goal is to set a bunch of small goals to get there, and that's where you are now. So be thankful. So, as always, guys, I appreciate your time, I appreciate your attention. Until next time, be safe, cheers.