I listen intently to the silence
Searching for secrets and lessons.
I peer intently into the skies
Searching for the the beginning and the end of infinity.
I look intently inside of myself
Searching for questions and answers.
I roam intently through life
Searching, always searching.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
I Love Life
I love life.
I love my life.
But let me be perfectly honest.
Life is going by too quickly.
How can my children be as old as they are?
How can my marriage be as long (and yet as fresh) as it is?
How can I have lived for so many minutes, hours, days, months and years?
How can I, in reality, have so few moments remaining?
One of the the great challenges of aging is not to reflect on and dissect the past (though that certainly is important),
But
To look forward with the recognition of the rapidly approaching horizon and
To decide how to spend the remaining time we have
Whether it be an instant or decades
For whatever the period, it is a lifetime
I love my life.
But let me be perfectly honest.
Life is going by too quickly.
How can my children be as old as they are?
How can my marriage be as long (and yet as fresh) as it is?
How can I have lived for so many minutes, hours, days, months and years?
How can I, in reality, have so few moments remaining?
One of the the great challenges of aging is not to reflect on and dissect the past (though that certainly is important),
But
To look forward with the recognition of the rapidly approaching horizon and
To decide how to spend the remaining time we have
Whether it be an instant or decades
For whatever the period, it is a lifetime
Friday, June 4, 2010
Your Next Step - One Leads To The Other
As you take the next step in your journey of life,
May you always be helpful, courteous and kind to others, and
May you always be blessed with others who are helpful, courteous and kind to you . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always be patient with and compassionate to yourself, and
May you always be patient with and compassionate to others . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always reach out to comfort those in need, and
May you always be comforted in your times of need . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always respect others. and
May you always be respected by others . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always helps others find the strength to endure their difficult times, and
May you always have the strength to endure the difficult times you will experience . . .
On leads to the other
May you always forgive yourself for the mistakes you will make, and
May you always forgive others for their mistakes . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always extend a welcoming and helping hand to others, and
May you always find a welcoming and helping hand when you reach out . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always open the door for others who are on the outside, and
May you always find an open door when you are on the outside wanting in . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always give the warmth of companionship and caring, and
May you always receive the warmth of the companionship and caring of others . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always ease the pain of others, and
May you always have your pain eased by others . . .
One leads to the other.
May you never reject and desert others, and
May you never be rejected and deserted by others . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always be a good and loyal friend, and
May you always have good and loyal friends . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always like and respect the person you see in the mirror, and
May the person in the mirror always like and respect you . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always create peace in the lives of others, and
May you always find peace in your life . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always give love to the others in your life, and
May you always find love in your life . . .
One leads to the other.
One leads to the other
For just as the love you get
Is equal to the love you give,
So too are all things connected.
May you always be helpful, courteous and kind to others, and
May you always be blessed with others who are helpful, courteous and kind to you . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always be patient with and compassionate to yourself, and
May you always be patient with and compassionate to others . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always reach out to comfort those in need, and
May you always be comforted in your times of need . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always respect others. and
May you always be respected by others . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always helps others find the strength to endure their difficult times, and
May you always have the strength to endure the difficult times you will experience . . .
On leads to the other
May you always forgive yourself for the mistakes you will make, and
May you always forgive others for their mistakes . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always extend a welcoming and helping hand to others, and
May you always find a welcoming and helping hand when you reach out . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always open the door for others who are on the outside, and
May you always find an open door when you are on the outside wanting in . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always give the warmth of companionship and caring, and
May you always receive the warmth of the companionship and caring of others . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always ease the pain of others, and
May you always have your pain eased by others . . .
One leads to the other.
May you never reject and desert others, and
May you never be rejected and deserted by others . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always be a good and loyal friend, and
May you always have good and loyal friends . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always like and respect the person you see in the mirror, and
May the person in the mirror always like and respect you . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always create peace in the lives of others, and
May you always find peace in your life . . .
One leads to the other.
May you always give love to the others in your life, and
May you always find love in your life . . .
One leads to the other.
One leads to the other
For just as the love you get
Is equal to the love you give,
So too are all things connected.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Birthday Reflections – Thankfulness (The Third of Three Reflections)
Recently I was honored by my Temple community,
and I am thankful for the honor and the recognition,
for who would not be.
Yet, the greatest part of the honor was the opportunity
to publicly express my love and thankfulness
for my family and for the life that I have been given.
We each are thrust into this world
at a certain (or perhaps uncertain) time and place, and
from there we are expected to make the best of what we have.
Though we often hear that our lives are in our hands and
that each person has an equal opportunity,
I do not believe that to be the case
for we each have different starting points, different abilities, different benefits and detriments.
So perhaps all that can be expected is that
we each do the best with what we have
in a world that is neither fair not level.
I can only hope that I have done my best
to do well with what I have been given, and
that my life will have done a minimal of harm and,
if I am lucky that my life will have been for some good
and I am thankful for the honor and the recognition,
for who would not be.
Yet, the greatest part of the honor was the opportunity
to publicly express my love and thankfulness
for my family and for the life that I have been given.
We each are thrust into this world
at a certain (or perhaps uncertain) time and place, and
from there we are expected to make the best of what we have.
Though we often hear that our lives are in our hands and
that each person has an equal opportunity,
I do not believe that to be the case
for we each have different starting points, different abilities, different benefits and detriments.
So perhaps all that can be expected is that
we each do the best with what we have
in a world that is neither fair not level.
I can only hope that I have done my best
to do well with what I have been given, and
that my life will have done a minimal of harm and,
if I am lucky that my life will have been for some good
Birthday Reflections – Redemption (The Second of Three Reflections)
Who among us is not constantly in need of redemption?
Only one who does not need . . .
To change paths and recapture purity
To apply the lessons of life to future actions
To use accumulated knowledge to adjust or remake
I for one seek and need such redemption . . . constantly.
Who among us has the right to stand in judgment?
Only one without . . .
Actions that are regretted
Decisions that would not be taken back
Words that we would not withheld
I for one am not able to stand in judgment, but can only offer insight and advice.
Who among us has the right to withhold support and faith?
Only one who . . .
Lives without others
Moves through the world without attachment
Exists independent of the need for human contact
I for one needs and will give support and faith.
Who among does not believe in the possibility of redemption?
Only one who fails to see . . .
The magnificence of evolution
The rebirth of the phoenix
The progressions throughout life
I for one know that redemption is possible and necessary.
Though I know that I cannot recapture my youth nor relive any portion of my life, I know that I have the opportunity with each year, each day, each hour, each minute, each second and each moment to seek and find redemption.
Only one who does not need . . .
To change paths and recapture purity
To apply the lessons of life to future actions
To use accumulated knowledge to adjust or remake
I for one seek and need such redemption . . . constantly.
Who among us has the right to stand in judgment?
Only one without . . .
Actions that are regretted
Decisions that would not be taken back
Words that we would not withheld
I for one am not able to stand in judgment, but can only offer insight and advice.
Who among us has the right to withhold support and faith?
Only one who . . .
Lives without others
Moves through the world without attachment
Exists independent of the need for human contact
I for one needs and will give support and faith.
Who among does not believe in the possibility of redemption?
Only one who fails to see . . .
The magnificence of evolution
The rebirth of the phoenix
The progressions throughout life
I for one know that redemption is possible and necessary.
Though I know that I cannot recapture my youth nor relive any portion of my life, I know that I have the opportunity with each year, each day, each hour, each minute, each second and each moment to seek and find redemption.
Birthday Reflections – Air (The First of Three Reflections)
From the moment of birth
When we leave the nurturing water
We are always enveloped by air
Warm or cool, moist or dry, thick or thin
Always providing life’s sustenance
Wrapping us in its stillness
Preserving, protecting and sustaining
Blowing over and around us
Its speed and direction created
By our own decisions,
Our motions through time and space,
Or causes and conditions beyond our knowledge and control
We luxuriate as the air stimulates our senses
Reacting as each change in the air changes us
Relishing the movement across our bodies, and
The awareness that is created.
The day will come
When the air no longer sustains or preserves me
When I will not feel or react to its changing temperature or composition
When I will be the dust that flies through the air
But that day is not today . . . it is not today.
For today is a day to breath deeply
To run through the fields and feel the wind rushing by
To be still and feel the wind gently wrapping me
To breath in life and exhale happiness and contentment
For life is good . . . life is good, and
I will breath of it . . . deeply.
When we leave the nurturing water
We are always enveloped by air
Warm or cool, moist or dry, thick or thin
Always providing life’s sustenance
Wrapping us in its stillness
Preserving, protecting and sustaining
Blowing over and around us
Its speed and direction created
By our own decisions,
Our motions through time and space,
Or causes and conditions beyond our knowledge and control
We luxuriate as the air stimulates our senses
Reacting as each change in the air changes us
Relishing the movement across our bodies, and
The awareness that is created.
The day will come
When the air no longer sustains or preserves me
When I will not feel or react to its changing temperature or composition
When I will be the dust that flies through the air
But that day is not today . . . it is not today.
For today is a day to breath deeply
To run through the fields and feel the wind rushing by
To be still and feel the wind gently wrapping me
To breath in life and exhale happiness and contentment
For life is good . . . life is good, and
I will breath of it . . . deeply.
Birthday Reflections
Birthdays are wonderful times to reflect and so, on the day before my birthday, my gift to myself is the reflections that are in the following three posts.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Playing with Sounds
Poet Pinsky pronounced prose proudly propelling pupils purposefully.
Rabbi, rubbing raggedly rising rough rubble, responded rapidly.
Dorothy danced dandily deciphering difficult diverse dramatic dialect deftly.
Rabbi, rubbing raggedly rising rough rubble, responded rapidly.
Dorothy danced dandily deciphering difficult diverse dramatic dialect deftly.
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