First Day of Spring

Vernal equinox.

Comforting words to the ear.

First day of spring.

Time of renewal,

new life, new growth and new hope.

Vernal equinox.

Today, it is spring.

At least astronomically.

Vernal equinox.

Shortly after seven am on Wednesday, the sun, in its annual journey, crossed the equator and it became spring.  It happens every year.  We call it the vernal equinox and use it to mark the end of winter.

Unfortunately, this year spring denoted by the position of the sun on the horizon is not the same thing as spring experienced in the body. Given the weather around the nation, warmth seems weeks away.

Light has returned. Heat has not.

The groundhog who said winter was over six weeks ago lied.

Country comedienne Minnie Pearl probably said it best.  Cousin Minnie, with a big smile, is quoted as saying "My feller told me I look like the first breath of spring!"

"Really, Cousin Minnie?" the interviewer would ask. "Those were his exact words?"

"Well", says Cousin Minnie, looking down, "What he said was 'You look like the end of a hard winter." (pause, big smile) "But they mean the same thing!"

Today, I'm not so sure of Cousin Minnie's conclusion. Rather, I find myself at the end of a hard winter while continuing to anticipate the first breath of spring.

How about you?

Is today the end of a hard winter or the first breath of spring?

Only you can say.

I Could be a Writer!

In a press conference marking the third anniversary of Obamacare’s passage, former House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the health care law "fulfills the promises of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" because it allows people to leave jobs that include health insurance as a benefit. "Just think", she stated "... you could be a photographer or writer, start your own business, be self-employed, as well as change jobs or start a business and not have to be constrained by whether you had affordable and accessible quality health care."
 

I can be a photographer or a writer, Ms. Pelosi? 

Really?

I’m already a writer, dammit! My decision to become one had nothing to do with health care.

I write because I like to write and am under the possibly misguided assumption that I have something to say -- something other people might actually like or otherwise profit from reading. 

Healthcare availability had nothing to do with it.

It probably never will.

I hate to rain on your parade, Ms. Congressperson, but very few people go to work for the purpose of obtaining health care. Most of us work to put food on the table and a roof overhead. Some lucky few of us actually work because we really like doing what we do, and when you like doing what you do and it's putting food on the table life is very fulfilling.

The availability of government sponsored health care has nothing to do with it.

How about you, dear reader. 

Why do you work at what you do?

Do you work for the health care?

Will government sponsored health care make your life that much better?


 

 

A Morning Choice

It has been pointed out there are two kinds of people in the world: those who wake up saying "Good morning, Lord!" and those who can only groan "Good Lord. Morning."

I freely admit that I am by nature and long practice an early riser. Were I a dinosaur, I would be a crack o' dawn. And I really do try to bound from the bed each morning saying "Good morning, Lord!"  Most days, I succeed.

However, some days, try as I might, I can only glare at the alarm an groan "Good Lord. Morning." Such mornings are most likely after the Redskins lose ugly and late on Monday or Thursday Night Football. They are few, but they happen.    

The strange thing is, the words with which I greet the day make a huge difference in the kind of day I have.

As a whole, "Good morning, Lord" days tend to be positive and energetic. On these days, I can't wait to be out and doing. The world is filled with possibilities to explore, adventures and experiences to live. For a few minutes at least, the world is my oyster, inside is a pearl of great price, and it's all mine for the finding. Once initiated, the energy, expectation, and excitement tend to carry through the whole day. Great things happen because great things are expected to happen.

"Good Lord. Morning" days, on the other hand, tend to be marked by low energy and even lower expectation and ambition. On these days getting started is hard. Keeping going is harder, and getting through is a long slog requiring great endurance. Low energy decreases to almost nothing taking expectation and ambition along with it. Little or nothing happens because there is little or no energy to make it happen or to receive it if it does.

Three words set the tone for the day.

These words establish one's attitude.

One's attitude establishes one's person and one's day.

Days following days establish the character of one's life

So, what kind of life will you have?

What kind of day will you have?

What words will establish your attitude?

How will you greet the day?

A Life of Privilege

I did not grow up with wealth. Dad was a farmer. We always had enough to get by, even if things sometimes got a bit tight. Yet growing up, I lived a life of privilege.

My first job was far from lucrative, but it was a job, and my first job enabled me to live a life of privilege.

I received no scholarships of stipends but got my degree by the sweat of my own and my wife's brow. Even in the darkest of student poverty, we lived lives of privilege.

I went into the Army in time of war. I became a field artilleryman and a helicopter pilot.  I served in combat with great and courageous men. To this day, I count it all a privilege.

Out of the Army, I was blessed with a job that fit my talents. After more than 30 years, I count working a privilege.

Together, my wife and I have raised four children into reasonably responsible adults. It was a privilege to see them develop their own interests and personalities.  Each one is different. All are special.

When I was a youth, it was a burden to work in the fields, barns, and gardens. The work was strenuous, hot, dusty, dirty, and often boring.  Today, I count the ability to do such work a great privilege and even volunteer to do it.

The difference lies not only in growing older, but in changing the words used to describe an event.  No longer do I think "Oh, NO! I have to go to work." Instead I think "Oh, WOW! I get to go to work!" or at least I try to.

By changing the words I use to think and speak of the same activity, I change my attitude toward that activity.  Work is transformed from a dreaded compulsion -- something I have to do -- to a privilege -- something in which I can take pleasure and really want to do. One change only, but it's all that's needed to transform a life of drudgery to a life of privilege.

So, what's on your agenda for today?

Will you approach it with the "Oh, NO!" of drudgery or the "Oh, WOW!" of privilege?

The choice is yours.






  

What to do today...

When one of my nieces recently posted the words "What to do today... hmm?" on Facebook, it made me think.

What to do today...

My suggestions are listed below:

• Take a walk. Take a brisk walk or take a leisurely walk, but take a walk. As you walk, notice -- really notice -- the things around you. Everything you see is unique to the time, place, and position of your eyes.  No one else will ever see it as you do.
• Breathe -- really breathe. Take the air deep into your lungs. Sample it as you would taste a fine wine. Identify the subtle hints of place and time. The smell of the air changes with the seasons, days, and hours.  Each breath is unique when you breathe it. Breathe, and savor.
• Dance in a sunbeam, in the rain, or in the snow. Dance to music only you can hear. Dance because something inside you says to. Dance because it's your dance and your time to dance. And dance like nobody is watching. 
• Sing. Sing a song. Sing opera in the shower. Sing rock and roll, sing country, sing moldy oldies, but sing. Sing silly songs at the bus stop. Sing an old song. Sing a new song known only to you. Hum under your breath. Sing because there is music inside you that must be let out.
• Eat an apple. Enjoy the crunch, the release of juice and tart sweetness. Taste the apple. Try to describe the taste. Do you detect a hint of citrus or burnt sugar? Each apple is different. What makes this particular apple uniquely enjoyable?
• Make something. Make a peanut butter sandwich, make a gourmet meal, make a paper airplane or stand in front of a mirror and make a face -- not that face -- another face! And giggle. But make something.  
• Look around you. Find one thing out of place and return it to its rightful position. Bask in the new order you have created or the old order you have restored. Decide too it again or not.
• Write something. Write that long overdue thank you note. Write a letter to a friend. Write a journal entry or a blog post. Write a memoir or start your autobiography. Better yet, write a check to your favorite charity, put it in an envelope and mail it without including a return address. Just do it.
• Read something. Pick up a random novel and dive in. Become friends with the characters. Let the story carry you along. It's not a story. It's an adventure, and you get to participate.
• Go somewhere. Go to a park by the river. Go to a concert or play. Go to cafe and savor a leisurely cup of coffee and a single pastry. Go for a ride and see the country, but go and enjoy going. 
• Sit and observe. Sit on a park bench. Sit on a chair. Sit on the ground. Sit in your car in a parking lot like a detective on stake out. Watch a river flow or a fish jump. Watch a fishwife berate her husband, or two lovers hold hands. Watch children playing and enter the world of their joy. People watching is one of the greatest pastimes known to man, but you have to sit and watch.
• Live. Be present in the moment. Be aware of others and the teeming life around you. And be glad. 

What to do today? 

There are endless possibilities. Do great and wonderful things. Do small and insignificant things. Do things both great and small. But do.

Today is a gift. What you do is mostly yours to choose. All I can offer are suggestions

Now, what will you do today?

Ring In the New!

The old has passed away!

Behold, the new has come!

Happy New Year! The old year is gone. The new year is here! 

Like the puppy in the picture above, I find myself bounding forward with eager anticipation. The gate is open! New adventures, new experiences, and new opportunities await. For this day at least, all things are possible and the world is my oyster. The future belongs to me.

Even those things I've experienced before -- the change of seasons, the expectation of planting, sore muscles of cultivating, the reward of harvest, even the taste of home grown tomatoes -- will be different. Old friends will become even dearer. New friends will become precious.

New decisions will be made or thrust upon us. Either way, we will make the most of them and go from there. My hope is that when I look back on the last day of this new year, I shall to do so certain in the knowledge that be it opportunity or obstacle, I experienced it to the absolute fullest.

Reality may set in tomorrow, or next month, or never.  Today, I'm a puppy and someone left the gate open.  There's a whole bright new world out there. New air to breathe! New things to see! New friends to make, and, being a puppy, new smells to smell! 

Life is wonderful. Let's get started!

How will you spend this first day of the new year? 

What new things will you enjoy in 2013? 

Ring Out the Old!

"I don't know half of you half as well as I would like,

and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve!"

-- Bilbo Baggins, addressing guests at his eleventy-first birthday party.

As I write this, the year 2012 is less than four hours from over. The traditional steak and cheese sandwich has been eaten. The black-eyed peas are soaking for tomorrow's dinner, and we are in for a relaxed evening. It is time to reflect, look back, and remember. On the whole, 2012 was a good year. 

As mentioned previously, I almost met my objective of publishing one post per week to this blog.  It remains a reachable objective for the coming year.

After 30 years at the same address, we saw our way clear and remodeled the kitchen and two bathrooms.  The change is dramatic enough to make me wonder if I'm in the right house every time I come home.  There are still projects to do, but the big ones are done. We're enjoying our "new" house.

In 2012, we spent a weekend in Ocean City, MD with my high school classmates. While there, I woke up and said "I think I'll go para sailing!" and para sailing we went! It was indescribably wonderful -- the view, the far horizon, the silence. I was sorry when they reeled me in at the end of the ride.  Can't wait to do it again!

I also now find myself married to a bionic woman, as my wife had a hip replaced. During her recovery, I became Chief Cook and Bottle Washer (CCBW) and discovered I like it. More importantly, I also discovered that we are surrounded by a large community of friends and caring people. We are, among all people, most richly blessed.

In 2012, we said goodbye to friends, classmates, and more than one person who helped form my character and make me who I am. The world is diminished by their passing, yet they all remain alive in the memories of our hearts. Getting old means having to say goodbye.

We made two mission trips to the mountains of western North Carolina to repair houses, plant and harvest crops, and most importantly, to renew and add friendships.  Few things compare to the beauty of a crisp mountain morning.  And few compare to good feeling of tired after accomplishing a needed task.  

We visited New Orleans for the Vietnam Helicopter Pilot's Annual Reunion where I learned from my flying buds that apparently I am writing a book. Stay tuned for more of that. Although forty or more years have passed since we were there, the Pink Panthers remain a unique unit.  Of the three kinds of people that flew helicopters in Vietnam, I am proud to have been one of those who were honored to be Pink Panthers.

If any year has a theme, 2012 is characterized by friendships. Friendship new, and friendship deepened.  Friendship renewed after half a century, and friendships budding over days, weeks, and months. The song that says "I get by with a little help from my friends" is wrong. I get by because of my friends.  And those friends include you.  Whether you come here regularly or just happen to stumble on to this blog, and it touches you, you are my friend.

In 2013, I resolve to become the kind of friend each of my friends would be proud to have.

Will you join me?