SUNRISE - January 23, 2011

January 23, 2011 Sunrise: 7:18

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat". - Theodore Roosevelt


Very foggy start today, but it burned off by mid morning.  I spent the better part of the weekend rearranging my lists.  Lists, lists, here and there; my God, they are everywhere!

I dedicate so much time to my lists that I am not sure if they save me TIME and keep me on track to accomplish all that I want to with my moments.  I have so much that I wish to get done, it seems somewhat impossible at times.  Not so much that I couldn't get them done if I had all the time in the world.  Ah, but therein lies the rub.  

And then, what about the new things today that weren't on yesterday's list?  There is, however, such a certain sense of satisfaction in putting a checkmark next to the finished task (sometimes I put something on the list that I just finished, that wasn’t on the original list, just so I can cross it off and feel like I am making progress).

I finally stopped all my magazine subscriptions, because I already have a stack of previous issuers that I haven't read yet.  The internet is worse with tons of email coming in daily from information sources I have requested to keep me in the loop so much that it makes me “loopy”.

What I am grateful for today:

My Health. 

That does sound odd, I know…considering.  This weekend had Spring-like days.  Beautiful.  Lise and I went for a short walk. I couldn’t walk too far, but I could.  Great meals this weekend – I made roast chicken and stuffing with apples, pecans and cranberries for dinner.  I made a large pot of very spicy, vegetarian chili.  I ate it all.  There was a time in the not too distant past where I couldn’t eat at all.   

I went to a special presentation of the Sacramento Ballet to witness a rehearsal for an upcoming presentation of Romeo and Juliet.  Front row seat.  Magnificent!  Dancers are definitely outstanding athletes. The music, by Prokofiev, was fantastic. I know people that can’t eat solid food, walk without a cane, have migraines or back pain constantly, can’t see and can’t hear.   

I am so much better off.

rlw

SUNRISE - January 22, 2011

January 22, 2011 Sunrise 7:19 am

TIME GETS BETTER WITH AGE

I've learned that I like my teacher because she cries when we sings "Silent Night".
Age 5

I've learned that our dog doesn't want to eat my broccoli either.
Age 7

I've learned that when I wave to people in the country,
they stop what they are doing and wave back.
Age 9

I've learned that just when I get my room the way I like it,
Mom makes me clean it up again.
Age 12

I've learned that if you want to cheer yourself up,
you should try cheering someone else up.
Age 14

I've learned that although it's hard to admit it,
I'm secretly glad my parents are strict with me.
Age 15

I've learned that silent company is often more healing than words of advice.
Age 24 

I've learned that brushing my child's hair is one of life's great pleasures.
Age 26

I've learned that wherever I go, the world's worst drivers have followed me there.
Age 29

I've learned that if someone says something unkind about me,
I must live so that no one will believe it.
Age 30

I've learned that there are people who love you dearly but just don't know how to show it.
Age 42

I've learned that you can make some one's day by simply sending them a little note.
Age 44

I've learned that the greater a person's sense of guilt,
the greater his or her need to cast blame on others.
Age 46

I've learned that children and grandparents are natural allies.
Age 47

I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today,
life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
Age 48  

I've learned that singing "Amazing Grace" can lift my spirits for hours.
Age 49

I've learned that motel mattresses are better on the side away from the phone.
Age 50

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a man by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
Age 51

I've learned that keeping a vegetable garden is worth a medicine cabinet full of pills.
Age 52

I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents,
you miss them terribly after they die.
Age 53

I've learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life.
Age 58

I've learned that if you want to do something positive for your children,
work to improve your marriage.
Age 61

I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
Age 62

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands.
You need to be able to throw something back.
Age 64

I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if you focus on your family, the needs of others, your work, meeting new people, and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.
Age 65

I've learned that whenever I decide something with kindness,
I usually make the right decision.
Age 66

I've learned that everyone can use a prayer.
Age 72

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.
Age 82

I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch-holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
Age 90

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.
Age 92 

It can't be said much better than this.

rlw

SUNRISE - January 21, 2011

 "Fear not that life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning”.  ~John Henry Cardinal Newman

January 21, 2011 Sunrise 7:19 am

When I was younger, and there was enough TIME to accomplish everything, I did just that.  Now that I am nearing the opposite end of the journey (still years off) I have a great deal of satisfaction for all that I have done, seen, and accomplished.  The wild times are a little mellower now, but there is still time to include incredibly unique moments and build good stories with the wise use of your time.

When was the last time you joined a flash mob?  Look at the age range in this video:

 rlw

 
What to do with your TIME?

SUNRISE - January 20, 2011

January 20, 2011 Sunrise 7:20 am

“We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time”. T. S. Eliot, Little Gidding

There is nothing I can say or add that would not diminish the beauty of this line from T. S. Eliot.

rlw

SUNRISE - January 19, 2011

"Tomorrow, when I wake, or think I do, what shall I say of to-day?"
- Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

January 19, 2011 Sunrise 7:21 am

January seems to be flying by.  It is the New Year and already it is picking up speed.  We are past the halfway mark already.  One twenty-fourth of the year has passed.  TIME.

My youngest son is helping me gain an edge on time by configuring my office equipment so that it actually delivers the results as promised in the ads.  I can’t seem to get some of this advanced hardware to perform as described before it became Visa time and I wasted an incredible amount of TIME trying to get it to work, all the while frustrated.   

There is a finite amount of time to accomplish a long list of proposed projects before me and with the printers, scanners, faster computer, recorders, video cameras (all working properly), I feel can gain that needed edge.  Stay busy.

“If you want work well done, select a busy man - the other kind has no time”.  - Elbert Hubbard

SUNRISE – January 18, 2011

January 18, 2011 Sunrise 7:21 am

“Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever.” - Isak Dinesen

I am an avid collector of motivational quotes and of late, ones that deal with TIME.  Having had the opportunity to experience just a few of the difficult diversions that life can throw at me, I fully subscribe to the notion that all new experiences are only relative to the experiences I have already had. 

Just recently, my hip has started to bother me, making going up and down the stairs in our two story home, not as much fun as it used to be.  I know my lovely bride wants to trade abodes for a one-story home, so perhaps she gained access to a Haitian Voo-Doo doll, scraped up some of my hair (what doesn’t recede, grow into a pony tail, just falls out),and is putting a hat pin into the hip of the poor little straw facsimile of me.  If so, we may be moving next week.

However, I actually somewhat enjoy the experience of trying to make it upstairs without wincing too much, as it reminds me of going through chemotherapy treatment, not that long ago, when I couldn’t walk at all.  You see; all is relative.  The difficult time I spent in Cancer treatment recovery has, so far, made it easier for me to deal with all the relatively minor inconveniences of life that have followed.

“We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams.”  - Jeremy Irons 

...no personal sunrise pic today...my son is consolidating files on my computer and it is "thinking" right now and I can't access my uploaded pictures.

rlw

SUNRISE - January 17, 2011

January 17, 2011 Sunrise 21 am

"We should every night call ourselves to an account; what infirmity have I mastered today? What passions opposed? What temptation resisted? What virtue acquired? Our vices will abort of themselves if they be brought every day to the shrift." – Seneca

As we all are our own worst enemies and perhaps our sharpest critics, the daily calling to account the goals, hopes , dreams and promises made for this day will do one or the other: I will be inspired onward for yet another day with new dreams and promises or step back from my goal and give TIME the lead. 

Like a horse unbridled, rushing towards the unknown of a dark forest, TIME cannot be reined in or reversed, but it can be guided left and right, like a sailboat using the opposing wind to race to its desired destination.  It is not the destination, but rather the journey that is the best adventure.

I spent a bit of time working on my gratitude list at Sunrise today.  The obvious went on paper first: family, friends, shelter, etc. But, I soon realized that although these must be on the list (and sadly, some cannot put these on their list) I felt I needed to move up one category above things to the category a but more ethereal.

Love.

I am grateful that I am able to love and be loved.

The list is still growing.  I will share what is on my list, in no discernible order, in following posts.  Writing the list was an incredibly gratifying exercise I highly recommend.  Write down all the obvious: spouse, children, family, warm house, car that works, job that is secure, etc. first.

Tear that page off and put it aside temporarily. 

Now, start on the real list, with the caveat that it can’t be a thing that can be ‘seen’ or ‘touched’.  Watch how long the list gets.  As it is said, “The most important things in life aren’t things”.

This list, edited and reviewed daily,  will pretty much coat my day with Teflon where disenchantment and disappointments just can’t seem to stick.

rlw