My San Antonio-inspired life

If only I could live everyday like I was in San Antonio.

I try, but I sometimes lose sight of the lesson I taught myself in the Lone Star state several years ago.

I was on a three-day business trip, and on the first day there were no conferences or workshops I needed to attend.

So I woke up and, still exhausted from the plane trip, had every intention of spending the entire day in the air-conditioned Red Roof Hotel room. I’d eat vending machine food while watching ESPN and take a nap after I had seen the same episode of SportsCenter for the third consecutive time.

After opening my second bag of Doritos to chase the Snickers bar I inhaled for breakfast, the reality of the situation hit me:

Dan, you’re in San Antonio. This is your first time here, and you may never make it back again. Get up. Go out. Experience it. Live it.

And so I did. Braving the sultry summer San Antonio heat, I went out and took in everything I expected and never expected from this city.

I went to the downtown record store and found four vintage Bruce Springsteen 45 records (and a poster that still hangs in our “Springsteen Room”), took a boat ride along the San Antonio River Walk and saw the Alamodome where my Iowa Hawkeyes often play in the Alamo Bowl.

And of course I went and toured the Alamo! But unlike Pee Wee Herman, it didn’t shock me that there was no basement in the Alamo. It instead floored me that the mission is right in the downtown surrounded by modern buildings. Guess I always thought it was in the middle of the desert.

That evening, I sat near the pool and drank a beer as I reflected on the unforgettable experiences of the day. Thinking of what inspired me to go out in the first place, I was emotionally smacked with a life-altering epiphany:

Why don’t I live everyday of my life with the same life-embracing attitude I had in San Antonio? From that day forward, I often invoke this San Antonio-inspired outlook on life.

And who’d have thought it would be instrumental in helping me deal and cope with the challenges of MS? For all the times I feel like giving up, ignoring opportunities, making excuses, or throwing in the towel, I remind myself:

You’re alive. This is your only time here, and you can never get it back again. Get up. Go out. Experience it. Live it.