Day: May 7, 2020

Caution is defined as “care taken to avoid danger or mistakes”

Fear is defined as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous and likely to cause pain or an imminent threat”

I’m not fearful of death, but I am cautious of doing things which might cause death. My caution is exercised out of knowledge of a particular subject and by gathering the most information possible. I look both ways before I cross a busy street while I’m on foot. Once upon a time when I was in the fourth grade, I crossed a street without looking and got hit by a car. I wasn’t afraid before I crossed, but really scared after I got hit. Now I’m cautious when I cross streets. That caution came from experience….unfortunately in that case.

Ignorance is “lack of knowledge or information”

Stupidity is “behavior that shows a lack of good sense or judgement”

I have often done things out of ignorance to the situation, and sometimes have been stupid in my behavior. I knew at the time when I was doing something stupid, that I was doing something stupid. I once stopped by a beer joint with one of my friends and we bought three beers a piece. He drank his three while he was driving and ran his car off the road into a ditch. That was stupid and he knew it, but he did it anyway.

I have done things out of sheer ignorance that later on made me incredulous at my actions, when I realized my lack of knowledge on the subject, or my lack of information. I found it’s best not to act on any subject before you have as much information as possible, or before you gain the knowledge of the subject you are trying to act on. In other words, it’s best not to try and bullshit your way through a conversation about something with an expert in the subject. Your ignorance will show.

Being cautious is much different than being in fear, and being ignorant is not nearly the same as being stupid. Too often these terms are used interchangeably and therefore are often taken as being the same.

They’re not.

Life is like brown sugar in the mouth of a baby. Sweet and melting with the warmth of their little bodies. Sticky, yummy and good.

Life is the breeze on which the Monarch rises high into the sky and flies thousands of miles every year in order to propagate and survive.

It is a thunderstorm and an old patched quilt on a front porch swing…and the music of a violin on a sweltering New York City night.

It is a first kiss and a final kiss…and every one in between. A touch or a caress; hurried or languished for hours. Its inconsolable grief and monumental happiness.

It is all of these things. I have seen and experienced them and cry for more! More to come no matter how long or how short, I will bask in them. I will revel in them.

The beat of life…and the beat of our hearts..

It goes on every day. Don’t let it pass you by without noticing. Don’t let today pass you by today without loving it.

From 2014- Will We Fly?

If I could fly, oh if only. Human beings have yearned to fly since they first caught sight of the birds in the air thousands of years ago. Jealous of their freedom.

Icarus and Daedulus tried and failed from getting too close to the sun. DaVinci drew plans for the Ornithocopter, but it never was built. Too busy painting Mona Lisa?

And oh I do know the Wright brothers gave us a flying machine to ride in, but that is not the same.

The song goes: “I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky.”
But it was all metaphorical.

“I’ll Fly Away, Oh Glory” ….but will I really? When I was a child, I used to dream of flying. Not in a plane or copter, but just spreading my arms and soaring. God, those were good dreams. I wish I could dream them again, but it’s been years. When I was a child, I thought and spoke like a child. But now I am grown and must put away childish things. No more Peter Pan, fairy dust and Neverland.

But I do wish I could fly. I’ve had some well wishers want me to give it a try as they have frequently asked me to go jump off a cliff, but thankfully I never did.

I think perhaps when that spark which resides within us all takes leave of this vehicle it is in, I will get my wish. I hope I can at least look back over my shoulder and see the trees and mountains and lakes and rivers one last time. That’s not asking for much considering all the hours I have put in here at the “office” is it?

I don’t think so.