Friday, May 20, 2005
Year 3, Day 61 drained but not empty musing
+7C . . going to 17 today, clear, light breeze
. . .
looking for [but not finding] the deer we got so close to last night . . . watching a very young doe munch new leaves surely left Gusta thinking ‘this is a very tall dog with skinny legs’; crisp & damp this morning, feeling ‘weekend’ already though this morning’s walk was delayed by some early morning work – relaxed & refreshed now
. . .
when I see a picture in a magazine of a Picasso or Van Gogh . . I smile; when I have stood in front of an original work I am stunned by that talent, by that passion, by that integrity – whatever was going in their life at the time, they poured it out on the canvas
. . .
in life as in art we do that sometimes; I don’t mean the whiner who is wearing heart on sleeve all the time . . or those who play victim while avoiding available help; I mean those who withstand the ‘rip your heart out while you are still alive’ stuff some of us . . .many of us face; and some people face it too often
. . .
clichés about ‘withstanding extra heat makes steel stronger’ don’t fit here; it is not about being strong, capable or able – it is about great sorrow being visited on people who richly deserve relief from it
. . .
sometimes people we meet are like that . . . through knowing them, talking with them, and having them share insights to their lives we get to see an art of living, a style of creation, an acceptance of reality that so genuine, deep, pure and painful sometimes that we are awed
. . .
yesterday I was awed - someone pouring it all out on the canvas; drained by it but not empty
. . .
courage is in all of us – it may hide sometimes – but it is within us all; no matter how much we pour out on the canvas, drained but not empty
. . .
the first 4 lines of Reinhold Nibuhr’s Serenity Prayer is used a lot in the AA world . .but it has application in so many elements of all of our lives:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
. . .
I had a great lunch yesterday with Jeff & his colleague . . we calculated it was actually 32 years since we’ve seen each other; lots of catching up to do next time . . . maybe some business collaboration possibility too . . pondering that; next time we need 5-6 hours on a golf course to truly catch up
. . .
TGIF . . enjoy your long weekend . . .
. . .
Mark
343,312
. . .
looking for [but not finding] the deer we got so close to last night . . . watching a very young doe munch new leaves surely left Gusta thinking ‘this is a very tall dog with skinny legs’; crisp & damp this morning, feeling ‘weekend’ already though this morning’s walk was delayed by some early morning work – relaxed & refreshed now
. . .
when I see a picture in a magazine of a Picasso or Van Gogh . . I smile; when I have stood in front of an original work I am stunned by that talent, by that passion, by that integrity – whatever was going in their life at the time, they poured it out on the canvas
. . .
in life as in art we do that sometimes; I don’t mean the whiner who is wearing heart on sleeve all the time . . or those who play victim while avoiding available help; I mean those who withstand the ‘rip your heart out while you are still alive’ stuff some of us . . .many of us face; and some people face it too often
. . .
clichés about ‘withstanding extra heat makes steel stronger’ don’t fit here; it is not about being strong, capable or able – it is about great sorrow being visited on people who richly deserve relief from it
. . .
sometimes people we meet are like that . . . through knowing them, talking with them, and having them share insights to their lives we get to see an art of living, a style of creation, an acceptance of reality that so genuine, deep, pure and painful sometimes that we are awed
. . .
yesterday I was awed - someone pouring it all out on the canvas; drained by it but not empty
. . .
courage is in all of us – it may hide sometimes – but it is within us all; no matter how much we pour out on the canvas, drained but not empty
. . .
the first 4 lines of Reinhold Nibuhr’s Serenity Prayer is used a lot in the AA world . .but it has application in so many elements of all of our lives:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
. . .
I had a great lunch yesterday with Jeff & his colleague . . we calculated it was actually 32 years since we’ve seen each other; lots of catching up to do next time . . . maybe some business collaboration possibility too . . pondering that; next time we need 5-6 hours on a golf course to truly catch up
. . .
TGIF . . enjoy your long weekend . . .
. . .
Mark
343,312
