Wednesday, May 30, 2012

A Life Time

How much “time” is there really…in a lifetime? Is it measured just by the number of hours that pass between the day we are born and the day we are laid to rest? Or is there more to it than that? Maybe the “time” in our lives should really be measured by how that “time” feels rather than the ticks of a clock. After all, doesn’t a pregnant pause feel a bit longer than a fleeting moment? And what about all that “time” that goes by…quick as a wink? Then again, we all know how much longer “time” can take when we are waiting for that watched pot to boil…or our sixteen year old child out with the family car to finally get safely home. We all know how “time" can fly when we’re having fun…but haven’t we also all had our moments when “time” stood still? What about how slowly “time” passes during the nine months waiting for the birth of a child compared to how little “time” it takes until that child is grown? And while it does heal all, the “time” to mend a broken heart can be an eternity. So, it marches on and there is no stopping it…but how much “time” is there really in a lifetime? One thing is for sure though…we are all truly having the “time” of our lives. How much of it are we wasting?

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

More Stuff In My Head

I was reading about this guy who the writer said had made some very “inflammatory” statements. So, then this question started rattling around inside my head. Why is it that “inflammatory” means very “flammatory” and yet “insensitive” means not very "sensitive”? This, of course, led to a couple of other rattles. Do you have to “hearse” before you can “rehearse”? If you’re “disgruntled”, were you once “gruntled” or did you possibly have your “grunt” removed? Do you have to have a “course” before you can have a “discourse”? And if you didn’t like “discourse” could you choose ”datcourse”? Which leads one to ask…is the “pre” in “pretense” a “prefix”? Changes the meaning doesn’t it? Now it could mean the time before you were “tense”. With that in mind, what if you’ve been operating under “false pretenses”? Think about that for a minute. And what about this? You’ve got your mouse…mice thing…your goose…geese thing…what about the poor moose? Hmmm…

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

I Saw You Today

I saw you today and thought…how incredibly thoughtless…of me. I saw you today and thought…how self centered…of me. For one brief moment, seeing you today opened my eyes to how oblivious I can be…how much I take for granted every day…how small I’ve allowed my own little world to become…and how much life has given me. This new found compassion won’t last though. It never does. Life sweeps me along and soon enough I’m back to that same old thoughtless, self centered, oblivious, why me…me. I’ll have what I think are good days and bad. What I think are ups and downs. I’ll have those moments when…according to me…I’m the helpless victim of life’s unfairness. But I saw you today. I saw you today and thought…how incredibly thoughtless…of me. Someone like me needs to see someone like you. In seeing how someone has to live a life… maybe I can try to do a little more with mine.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Being What You're Supposed To Be...We Hope

A lot of Native Americans believe every living thing has a soul. And that’s really quite a beautiful thought…isn’t it? But it does bring up a question. At least in this slightly skewed brain. How does…what’s what…get decided? See, if every living thing has a soul, then before any living thing gets hatched or sprouted or birthed, there must be all these little souls floating around heaven waiting for their assignment. So, how does it work from there? Do the Angels whoosh a bunch into a special room…I think that’s what you must have to do with floaty souls is whoosh ‘em…where God does the deciding? The Boss Angel says, “OK you guys line up.” And then God starts down the line…”Let’s see…Hmmm…according to my “What’s what” list…you’re going to be an oak tree…on your way. And you…a rose bush. Squirrel for you…OK...down the line here it's bunny…insurance salesman…dandelion…NBA player…you’ll make a great butterfly…Miss America for you…ladybug here…mosquito…sorry about that, but somebody has to do it. And finally for today…last floaty soul on the right down there…it’s lawyer for you pal…once again sorry about that, but somebody has to do it. But what if some floaty soul takes cuts? And they don’t end up being what they’re supposed to be being. Now that explains a lot of stuff doesn’t it? No wonder that clown doesn’t get it…he’s not supposed too. He’s not supposed to be an IRS guy…he’s supposed to be a bumble bee.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Thinking Back About Jack #1

Don’t know why he popped in my mind today, but he did. Jack...he was a big, old lug. He’s not what we wanted. He’s not what we expected. He’s not what we went for. So, what went wrong and how did he end up coming home with us? I think it went something like this. A few years ago my wife and I thought that it would be a good thing to get our 14 year old Bichon, Casey, (small, white, fluffball dog for those of you that may not know) a buddy. See, with both of us working, she’d been home alone a lot and we thought a companion would be a really good thing. So, we headed off to the annual Adopt-a-Pet weekend at the zoo. We were going to adopt a small, well mannered, housebroken, non-shedding, small pooping friend for Casey. We came home with Jack. A big, collie colored, long haired, old guy with a bad hip...and the gentlest eyes you’ve ever seen. See, when the Humane Society lady heard our story and our plan, she asked my wife if we would consider a senior dog. She said she had one that was a real sweetheart, but was probably too old and lame to find a home. So, we were introduced to Jack. One look and...well...forget our small, well mannered, housebroken, non-shedding plans. This old guy was coming home with us. And after getting to know each other Casey and Jack became Buds. We didn’t get to have Jack and Casey around for a whole lot longer, but every day we did…was a little bit brighter.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Things I've Learned

In T. H. White’s “The Once and Future King”, Merlin tells a young Arthur that the best thing to do when you’re sad is…learn something. Now, my life hasn’t been all that sad, but I do think I’ve managed to learn a few things. And if I could choose two of the thing or two’s I’ve learned to pass along to my grandchildren, these might be them. First, I’ve learned that love is not ownership. No matter how many of those love songs ask you to “Be mine” or “Tell me that your mine” or “I’ll be yours forever” or “Be my baby”…that’s not quite the way loving someone works. Loving someone means being brave enough to share a life…not run one. Loving someone is not taking of control…it’s giving that someone the freedom, the support …the chance to be all that they can be. Loving someone means that you think you just might be strong enough…to let the person you love be strong enough too. Second, I would hope my grandchildren could learn the great responsibility that comes with letting yourself be loved. When you decide to accept the heart and soul and being that someone is brave enough to want to share with you…you must understand what a fragile gift that is. If someone really wants to love you…really wants to share their time and space and fears and hopes and sorrows and happiness and dreams with you…you have to make it perfectly clear to your own heart that you are willing to accept the great responsibility that comes along with letting yourself be loved. If you can’t or won’t…please give them back the freedom to find someone who will.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Things I Saw Today 2

Today I saw a young doe lying still by the side of the road. Something I’d just as soon not see. An animal that beautiful and graceful shouldn’t be lying still and broken on the side of the road. Today I saw an old man and woman holding hands as they slowly walked along. A love…like the song says “Younger than springtime”? To me it looked more like a love aged in grace and wisdom. Hands that over the years have learned to fit together well because of all they’ve shared. Souls that will go on forever…together. Now, that’s something that should be. Today I saw a squirrel trying to get up the courage to make the leap from the corner of the roof to a tree branch that hung so temptingly near...or depending on how one was looking at it…far. He eyed it for quite a while before his little squirrel brain convinced his little squirrel ego that it would probably not be the smartest of moves he could make today. Can a squirrel “chicken’ out? Just wondering. Today I saw a cloud that looked like angel wings. And then I saw the angel…as he took chubby little steps all the way across the room to get to Grandpa.