Day: January 4, 2024

“When you’re weary, feeling small….when tears are in your eyes, I’ll dry them all.” “I’m on your side…”

It’s important to remember, who’s on your side. Because in this life you must choose a side.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters, by Simon and Garfunkel was the first song I heard on the radio back in 1970 as I was driving home from the hospital after my daughter died. It has both haunted and encouraged me for well over forty years now, most especially that one line: “when you need a friend, I’m sailing right behind,”

…. and I have these days when I have done nothing to be a friend, or very little, but in some odd coincidence I hear this song on the radio driving home from dropping off a very wonderful little baby, and I’m encouraged that tomorrow will be a good day.

Remember I’m on your side, and I’m sailing right behind.

If you are looking for a purpose in life and cannot find one, perhaps you need to look in a different direction.

I’ve looked in a lot of directions during my life.

I’m kind of like Forrest Gump who told the little old lady at the first of the movie: “I’ve worn a lot of shoes”. I’ve done the same thing. Worn a lot of shoes, and looked in a lot of directions.

I’ve tried to do and be many things, and I’ve never been a wild success at any of them. I’ve written songs and sung, I’ve taken photographs, I’ve written essays and themes, and just general writing. Those are the things I love to do. None of them were things I did “as a career”. For that, I’ve been mostly a “jack of all trades”. Doing this, that, and the other, while raising my children and helping with the grands.

I’ve been frustrated at times about success, but I’ve finally just about come to the point where I believe that “success” is in the eyes of the beholder….and of those who behold the beholder. (Got that?).

It’s not that complex really. Not as complicated as I’ve made it out. The old John Lennon quote holds true that “life is what happens while your making other plans”. It is. It does. You have to realize those spaces in between “your plans” can be your happiest moments.

For the vast majority of us, being rich and famous just isn’t in our destiny. We weren’t in the right place at the right time, or we were not single mindedly driven to the point of ignoring all other things, in order to be successful at just one.

Being happy is what you make it, and the frustration sets in when you can’t accept that some goals you set may never be achieved.

I still have things I’d like to do, but having a good, loving day with my family is now one of my most sought after accomplishments. Getting some nice pictures of the world around me, and sharing those, or writing just a line or two that encourages other people is something that brings me joy.

You can’t beat yourself up about the past, or you’ll be bloody ever dang day. I’m not going to do it….at least I’m going to try not too. Hope you will think about it, and do the same. Being bloody ain’t worth it.

If we all knew what the future held in store, then there would be no need in living out our lives. If everything were preordained, what would be the use in trying?

I believe we have the means and the ability to change the future….our future, we just need to venture ahead with the knowledge that nothing is written in stone. No outcomes are already decided.

Don’t underestimate the gift of the light with which we were created.
It can be bright enough to totally illuminate our lives, and the lives of others with whom we come in touch, if we allow it to shine.
It is the most powerful tool against the darkness which attempts to repress our happiness and balance. The darkness which is on display every day. The corrosiveness of false light.
Remember the truth, and the true light.
It is the one thing which connects not only humanity, but all life. It connects not only humanity to the world around us, but also the world around us to the Universe.
We are all star dust, combined intricately with the light, and I believe the light is love and not hate. I believe the light is the good of humanity and not the bad. Everyone knows the difference in their hearts, whether they admit it or not. The choice to be a representative of the light or a representative of the dark is each person’s choice to make.