Old – P.Simon ( smart phones click on link)
So
with just weeks away from another birthday I have had a number of reflections
and ideas about a blog post bouncing round and round in my head. I have drafted
at least four separate posts but I thought I would highlight just some random
sections from these drafts as the post today.
* Less
than a week has gone by since my 20 something daughter and fiancé’ gathered to
celebrate the music of the not-ready-to-retire original members of Fleetwood
Mac. There in the oceanside city that refuses to die, where lost sheep seek
dreams and gamble their fortunes is where we found ourselves. It was observed
that “The Mac still got it and time ain’t got nothing on these players!” The
congregation of pensioners and newbies danced and sang the night away.
“Everything
that dies some day comes back. Meet me tonight in Atlantic City.”
* So
there is a friend who is telling me that he is getting concerned about his age
as he moves forward in his second career, which in all truth should have been
his first. But that’s for another post. This friend and I know of a peer of
ours who has posted his age as being ten years younger than he really is. Hmmm?
A recent 6-week bout with sciatica as a result of two bulging discs reminded me
that I couldn’t do the same things the same way I did years ago. (Hey now…I am
talking about golf!) While in pain I couldn’t read, write or even play music. I
did worry for a while but the worrying didn’t change anything. Physical therapy
and prayer helped!
* There
are some Buddhist monks who spend days carefully creating intricate works of
art called “Mandelas” with millions of colored grains of sand only to brush
away the work of art when their work is done. They believe that the “art”, the
sacred experience is in the doing…in the “creating”, in the being “present.”
Being present is to be lost in the moment of the task at hand and all that
fills the spirit. “Yesterday is history, tomorrow mystery and the present is a
gift.” All is impermanence some say. There is no need the boast about what was
finally completed. It is being present to the moment that matters. I like to get
lost in the doing and the flow...
* The
pilgrim was asked to create a profile that featured his experiences, achievements
and credentials. He wrote down that he is most proud of his two daughters. The
newly designed automatic electronic digital form that was to collect his input
wouldn’t accept that response. So he tried again. This time he wrote about his family,
friends, playing music, running marathons, meditations and walking on the beach
at Cape May watching the sunrise. Again, big red letters appeared “ERROR: NOT VALID ENTRY!” and wouldn’t accept his
input. There were designated spaces about educational degrees earned, work
titles and employers and memberships to organizations. “That’s not who I really
am”, he thought.
* A dear friend sent me this quote in
response to some correspondence about my letting the winds and waves carrying
me to where I need to be…. Coincidence or a greater plan, who knows?
“Perhaps the best river runners are
Taoists at heart. Taoism considers someone wise if they accommodate themselves
to the rhythms of the universe.”
- Christopher Norment, The Journey Itself
Is Home, Collector’s Edition:
* Becoming a first time grandfather
recently has changed everything. All of a sudden the sacred has exploded like
some beautiful fragrant flower in the middle of the winter of my life and even
I feel reborn.
* I
read the quote below years ago and only recently did I begin to grasp it’s
meaning. I am not sure if I am correct but it doesn’t matter in the end does
it?
“Before
enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry
water.” ~Zen proverb
Don’t Stop – Fleetwood Mac ( Smart Phones click on link)
Atlantic
City – B. Springsteen ( smart phones click on link)
amdg
