FAVORITE ONE LINERS

STARDUST

 I recently ran across a social media challenge to list folks’ favorite one liners from music, etc.  It seems like a rather daunting challenge, but there were actually hundreds of posts covering a variety of subjects like life, love, relationships, etc.  So, I waded through the responses and copied and added some of my favorites and then attempted to arrange them into a post:

        Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

       Today is just tomorrow's yesterday.

       You’re the master of your own destiny.

       Dream on, but don’t imagine they’ll all come true.

Life is just a candle…and the dream must give it flame.

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.

We see in life what we look for.

Too many people don’t listen to understand, but to reply.

I was so much older then.  I'm younger than that now.

 Those were the days, my friend.  We thought they'd never end.

All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be...

I’m glad I’m alive at the same time as you.

Of all the things my hands have held, the best by far is you…

I gave her my heart; she wanted my soul.  Don’t think twice it’s alright.

And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.

You make me smile with my heart.

           Put your arms around my soul and take it dancing.

Couples dancing, wrapped around each other in a song.

            The future is uncertain, and the end is always near.

You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

Light of the world shine on me, love is the answer.

            There is a crack, a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.

The entire universe and ourselves are composed of the stardust of creation.

Everything is dust in the wind.

As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti.

LATE BLOOMER

Late Blooming Camellia, Jamestown, NC

Nighttime temperatures have been in the twenties lately and the fall blooming camellias appeared to have fulfilled their destiny a few weeks ago. As I opened the blinds this morning this fresh bloom greeted me with its delicate open petals.

Later, as I ventured out into the chilly air, I noticed that it was the Lone Ranger on the entire bush beside a seasonal string of Christmas lights!

Fortunately, most of us now understand that we shouldn’t push children to keep pace with an early learner or level of maturation and we should patiently assist in their development until they finally blossom, no matter how late in the season.

 

THE SPIRIT OF GIVING

The Spirit of Giving

When you generously give the gift of giving,

And expect nothing in return,

You’re not doing business,

But spreading Christmas joy at every turn.

And when we leave this world ,

For a better home some day,

Some of the things we’ll take with us,

Are joyful memories of things we gave away.

—Inspiration from The Christmas Coat

 

SILENT SPRING

 

Northern Lights

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength

that will endure as long as life lasts.

There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature,

the assurance that dawn comes after night,

and spring after winter.”

—Rachel Carson, Silent Spring.

FOLLOW YOUR BLISS

TWO ROADS DIVERGING

I’ve always remembered the first and last two lines of the famous poem, 

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost:

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both…

 

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

 

The poem is all about the choices we make as we travel the road of life and the choices that shape us.  Garth Brooks has a country song about unanswered prayers and the paths that were seemingly blocked on our journey which turned out to be to our benefit. 

 

The mention of a yellow wood implies that many of our significant life decisions will have a consequential impact on our future, but faith and intuition must be our guide, as foreseeing the future is akin to peering through a dense forest darkly.  Knowing the woods have turned a yellow color implies that our sojourner has entered into a season of early autumn, symbolizing a season of maturity in life.

 

I’ve also been influenced by Joseph Campbell’s introspection in The Power of Myth where he encourages us to “Follow Your Bliss”.  His well received interview on PBS with Bill Moyers resulted in that suggestion becoming a catchphrase in our culture.  When Moyers asked Campbell if he ever had a sense of being helped by hidden hands, he had a ready reply; “If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living.  You begin to meet people in your field of bliss and they open doors to you.”

 

Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most quoted Bible verses; “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”  The good news for those who aren’t interested is that we have also been given free will to do as we please and the chips will fall as they may. 

 

The “Reason for the Season” we will soon be celebrating is part of that plan.  Our Creator’s free gift of grace has provided a plan for us both in this life and also the next!  

 

BLACK CROW HAIKU

BLACK CROW SOUNDING THE ALARM

Late November days,

Black crows alert all nature,

A chilling rain falls.

 

Spindly forest trees,

Stripped of colorful vestments,

Stand alone and weep.

 

A north wind arrives,

Transitioning the seasons,

As rain turns to ice.

 

 

REFLECTING BACK

REFLECTING BACK

Surviving life to reach senior status has its negative issues with a body that has been in decline ever since it stopped growing years ago.  But I’ve finally realized that I’m not a body with a soul, rather I’m a soul which happens to temporarily occupy a body.  In the end, consciousness rejoins consciousness in a much more vast and very different environment.  And once the pinnacle has been conquered it’s an interesting exercise to pause life and reflect on the milestones where significant events changed the trajectory of a life well lived.  These milestones are much more relevant than the birthdays we acknowledge which are really just an accounting of the number of times we beings on this planet have circled the sun.  Thanks to modern medicine and the miracle of mortal bodies that can heal themselves, God is revealed in our existence.  And we’re not left with imperfect scars, just character lines.

 

As I started writing and reflecting back on my life, it became apparent that the basic ten major milestones which I documented in my life took too much space and time for a blog post, so I’ll just recommend it to others reading this blog and see how many you can detail.    

 

The fact that I was born into a close family whose members had immigrated to America in recent history is beyond huge.  The love and closeness of those wonderful people who influenced my youth are immeasurable. 

 

My life after work life has now been partially devoted to volunteer work, exploiting the management tools which were attained for such a time as this.  The game of golf has led me to innumerable relationships and saved thousands of dollars on counseling and medical appointments.  The family life, work experiences, travel all over this country and abroad, and living in multiple locations has enabled me to meet and know hundreds of people in my lifetime.  I can’t stay in touch with all of them and I know they have their own immediate lives to attend to.  But the memories of many whose names may have slipped away still remains as I reflect back on many adventurous occasions and many battle scars.