Nobody Belongs on this Fence

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A Fence I Won’t Forget

October 12th was the 19th anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death. Last year, I wrote about the heinous crime against Matthew as I watched America stay stuck in its political climate pattern before its 2016 election.

Never forget Matthew. He would have turned 40 last December.

The Climate Unchanged

Same shit, different decade. The only climate not changing is political. It’s unbelievably sick, sad and (quite honestly) pathetic.

Do you honestly believe the United States of America, as seen on TV, is the real United States of America? What makes any of us stay? The shit we see almost anywhere we look; is that exemplary of you?

No? Me either. That’s why we stay. I get it now.

If that offends you, stop worrying about me and turn your focus inward. You’re reading this by choice. Reading further won’t do you any favors.

Apparently it’s up to us to think for ourselves. It’s weird, I know. Individual capability varies; all it takes is a little thought.

If you’ve thought about thinking about thought, but then thought otherwise, stop thinking.

Stay Curious

Curiosity killed nothing but a boner.

If you want to feel better, you have to do something different. Sometimes, that requires trying something new and I’m talking about far more than just sex.

It’s not bad to try new things.

Get Out of the Habit of Being Unhappy

That’s a problem in this country. Nobody has time to be more upset than they already are. Too many extraneous factors influence how we feel on a daily basis.

Free Your Mind

There’s a difference between sadness, anger, and pain. Experiencing them is the only way to learn. Carefully consider your battles.

First, fuck politics. Wait for the debates. Until then, don’t obsess. Try not to feed the beast. If something’s really important, you’ll know.

It’s important to be informed to engage in meaningful discourse. Complex issues require more than one approach.

Parrots are repetitive and repetition becomes annoying. Parrots don’t solve world problems.

Being Human > Being Inhuman

We’re all born fearful. Fear is natural; it’s the first emotion we experience at birth. Going from womb to room is a rude awakening.

Nobody likes a rude awakening.

You don’t overcome fears without facing them. It’s important to be in the right mind when facing a fear. Fear ignites our instinct to defend ourselves, which can result in aggression. Some fears are easier to conquer than others.

Conquering fears allows us to adapt.

Nobody adapts to anything with their head in the sand.

Happiness is Risky Business

Ironically, I’ve felt higher levels of happiness only after feeling lower levels of worse. If you want to experience an elevated version of happy, you’re going to have to take risks. When taking risks, be prepared to be uncomfortable.

Don’t Be Embarrassed to Change

Being stubborn is a character flaw that paralyzes people who think they know everything. Stubborn people suppress curiosity and limit their ability to learn.

The more you experience, the more you learn. Experience enables us to make better decisions. Better decisions help us personally grow. As we grow, we become more mature. As we mature, we become more confident.

Confidence is sexy and being sexy isn’t embarrassing.

Ignorance is Your Enemy

Ignorance is embarrassing.

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What to Expect on the Devilish Smirk Blog

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Big Bowl of Blog

Devilish Smirk will always evolve. I promise. All blog topics are on the table, or close enough to grab.

You never know what I’ll bring back to the table. I pace a lot and I can return with any topic. I’m like a dog carrying a dead rat into the house and freaking everyone out.

Some topics will come out of nowhere, and others you may not understand, but it doesn’t matter. I’m not that complex, and life is much simpler.

You’ve Been Warned

It’s hard to arrive at the place where you understand and believe what you think to be true. Nothing gets easier. In fact, problems elevate your threshold to deal with more bullshit problems, which are always possible.

Anything can happen. Friendships morph, but don’t always end. It’s happened to me, and others. You never know exactly what you’re being prepared for so you might as well prepare as best you can.

What have you got to lose?

That’s a trick question. You have everything to lose, no matter what you do.

Simplify your life after you complicate the fuck out of it. Everyone does it to themselves, in countless capacities.

Baby steps are small and, to get anywhere, takes time.

It’s like sea kayaking in Alaska. You paddle for hours and the scenery doesn’t change because the mountains are giant.

As a writer, this has been one of my larger struggles, but not the largest. Cherries bury a lot when the bowl is big enough.

Thank you for checking out Devilish Smirk. I hope you enjoy your time here. Never be afraid to show your genuine self. That’s the quickest way to take control of your time.

Spend time on this site. Subscribe for inbox surprises. Engage. Share.

Smile, then smirk.

Communication is how it begins.

“When I started this, I read a lot about having a niche. I’m creating it. It’s been a huge challenge, but I’m having a lot of fun and I feel great doing it. I wish I’d dedicated time to it sooner.” Travis Garrod, October 22, 2015.

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Two Little Love Birds Sitting in a Tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G

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First Comes Love

I can’t make love come. I’ve seen love come twice, and it came after me, both times. Love comes and goes on a schedule that’s not on my calendar.

I’m not saying love can’t come first; it won’t. Love isn’t stupid all the time.

It needs at least one fulltime bodyguard. That’s me, and I’m zero for two. I’ll always be zero for something.

It doesn’t matter. I come first and love actually prefers that. Love takes time and I’m easy.

Then Comes Marriage

Say what you want about love; everyone needs it. That’s fact.

Marriage isn’t for everyone, but everyone should have the option.

I don’t care if two people exchange vows while pissing in the same toilet. If I’m not exchanging vows, I’m unaffected.

Only One Guarantee

When it comes to heartbreak, there are no limits.

Then Comes Baby in the Baby Carriage

There you have it. Sex education in America.

Model Left: Travis Garrod Model Right: Travis Garrod

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Coming Together Feels Better

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Existence is Confusing

It wasn’t until my existence was picked up, kicked across the country, shaken, spun around, cattle prodded, and left sitting in the desert that I finally took life serious enough to consult a Magic 8-Ball.

When asked if I had purpose it replied, “Yes, definitely.”

Then, I got bold and asked if everyone had purpose.

It said, “That’s not your business. I said you have purpose. Go find it. Don’t worry about what anyone else has, does, or doesn’t do. In fact, don’t ask me any more questions. Give me to someone else.”

All that in an 8-Ball! Who knew?

Puzzled Minds Think Alike

The most impactful life lessons I’ve learned are from personal experience. I can tell stories all day about my experiences, but that’s all they are. They’re stories!

If my words resonate with you, that’s amazing because I love connecting with people. For some reason, I’m in a situation where I’m able to explore the world through the eyes of a writer, and do it fearlessly.

That hasn’t always been the case, and the world has proven to be a strange place. I’ve witnessed some unbelievably nutty things over the years and it would be selfish of me to not share any with you.

I’ve tasted freedom and it’s delicious. It’s not easy to put on the table, but I love it and I have nothing to lose.

Your Mind, Your Business

The human mind is terribly complex.

Your mind absorbs (and stores) details of everything you encounter within your lifetime, even things you don’t remember.

Our minds create dreams while we sleep, even dreams we don’t remember.

Your mind is capable of imagination, including everything you left unimagined.

Our minds are not horribly difficult to use; yet we have an uncanny ability to complicate the simplest things.

Existence is Complicated

I expect complication. Something about complication feels normal. When a situation lacks complication I notice it’s missing, and become skeptical.

I hate being skeptical.

We have unlimited access to bad info every waking hour and we’re skeptical much of the time. Optimism is endangered because anything good just doesn’t feel right. When did feeling good become wrong?

Actually, it didn’t. Not officially.

Have a seat and see for yourself.

Your Table is Ready

Life is an incessant game of poker and it’s boring if you don’t pay attention. There’s always a spot reserved for you – and only you – for life.

How we behave, interact, and communicate with each other is a culmination of whatever cards life hands us on a daily basis.

You won’t win without trying and you have to play anyway.

Learn through observation and improve through experience.

At minimum, poker is entertaining, but can be insanely fun with the right people.

Luck can strike at any time and change your life.

With a good poker face, a losing hand can win almost any game.

Keep your head in the game.

Currency is mental and it’s amazing what your mind can afford.

The Best is Yet to Come

Bring yourself to the table so we can be better, together. Small changes will evolve your world before you know it.

Smile more. Welcome new people and show interest in others. Put forth an effort to show that you care. Make others smile.

Show respect and be your authentic self.

If you can’t do that, at least stop being a dick to people.

Stop Being Dicks — Devilish Smirk; Travis Garrod

Your days of being a dick, for no reason, are over. Someone has to stop being a dick, and it might as well be you.

If you want to feel better, come together.

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No Reese’s in the Puzzle Pieces

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No One Puzzle Evolves Solo (NOPES)

NOPES have a tendency to be negative, overtly pained, and extra stuck in a puzzled state of life. Humanity made a quick slip to level NOPE. This is a puzzle for NOPES.

Forget Hope and Change; it’s NOPE, NO CHANGE. Most people in the general population feel (or felt) like NOPES at some point in life.

In 2015 and 2016, I was Extra Stuck

For two solid years, I was pinned down on a regular basis, but nothing permanent.

My former employer failed at getting my signature on a confidentiality agreement. The devil is always in the details. That’s why I started Devilish Smirk.

Most times, I was pinned down due to varying degrees of violations against me, including me holding myself down. That last part was me being nice.

It takes a key wit to make people, who fuck with your life on purpose, a little nervous.

There were a few times I didn’t mind the pinning. Now that I’m single, perhaps there will be opportunity for more, but I digress.

The pieces are there, all around us, every day.

Something Changed in 2017

I spend 68 days in St. John and it changed my life.

While I was on St. John, I had an experience like never before. While walking along the water’s edge of Salt Pond, I stopped for minute to stare at the moon’s reflection in the pond. I laid on the sand and stared into space.

I closed my eyes and made eye contact with my mind’s eye and heard everything I watched within, and my mindful awareness shot to the sky.

Upon opening my eyes, I could see the darkest, but brightest, star-filled sky above appear close enough to touch. I felt connected to it, as a part of me slid up into the darkness, somewhere in the cosmos.

It felt like a ride.

I started to shake my head and laugh quietly to myself. Physically, I was still on the beach.

No, I wasn’t on any hallucinogenic drugs that night. I didn’t even have a drink that night.

All at once, bits and pieces of mostly mental garbage disappeared from my life.

I wasn’t stuck in (or under) anything.
Nothing was stuck to (or in) me.
I was solo.
No longer did I feel like a NOPE.
I placed the “N” in NOPE, at the end.
NOPE = OPEN
I felt OPEN and, for the first time in my life, at peace.

I felt a deep sense of relief from my twisted burden of some kind. Without anything extra on top, I realized I wasn’t stuck.

I was free to open my mind and explore the infinite possibilities all of us are given at birth.

The Puzzle OPENS!

The pieces are there, all around us, every day.

A Puzzle is Born

The puzzle pieces didn’t come out of a box. You did, and so did I.

And this is what I looked like:

A switch flipped and everything brightened a tiny bit. I could see further, in all directions, than the day before.

My eyes opened and I woke up.

For the first time, I saw the world through the eyes of a human puzzle without limits.

I elevated myself.

The pieces are there, all around us, every day.

I am Travis, and I am Puzzled!

First, the Bad News

Life is no ordinary puzzle. It isn’t built in a day and takes more than a week. Life can, however, fall the fuck apart in a day.

Everything falls apart before you can piece anything back together.

Life is designed to, literally, frustrate the hell out of you. There aren’t solutions to your life’s puzzle in the back of any book.

The pieces are there, all around us, every day.

It’s Time for Good News

Life is a puzzle without borders. No frame will ever contain the full picture.

An effective strategy is building your beast from the inside out. Slow, steady, and future-conscious are three thoughts coming to mind.

Regardless, you have a lifetime to create your life’s masterpiece.

Congratulations! You get to use your imagination.

Imagine that.

The pieces are there, all around us, every day.

Humanity’s Collective Piece

Humanity has great potential to change the world and has never been more equipped to succeed.

Carry this piece proudly and make a difference while you can. If you smile, someone else will smile. Smiles are contagious. It’s great when more people smile.

Life is a Work in Progress

As long as you navigate this planet, remember that life is no ordinary journey. Life operates on simple terms.

The only rule you need to know in life is The Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you.” That’s it! It’s called the golden rule for a reason.

The more people you treat kindly, the more people you impact, and the brighter your light shines.

About that Puzzle

The Final Piece

The final piece is one we all have in common. It’s the same piece we’re all missing until the end. Yes, I’m talking about death.

What happens after is anyone’s guess.

Death will provide the last piece to your puzzle.

I sure hope Death has that missing peace.

“Death puts the Rest In Place.”

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