Musing

today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: -3C/26F, calm, sunshine illuminates treacherous paths of choppy water left by two freeze-thaw days – ice sculpture on steroids - Gusta seemed to understand in a perverse way, pulling hardest when one of my feet was hopelessly adrift on a flat icy spot – gesticulating without poise or art, cursing and flailing – it was great; shedding dog and grey rabbit ears suggest winter’s back may be broken, spring signs of life can’t be far off

celebrating – BB’s 10th anniversary of renewed good health, BP’s birthday – congrats; Albertans celebrating Family Day long weekend, Americans celebrate Presidents Day; in short, we need a long weekend break between New Year’s Day and Easter; this is it, so hoist your diet coke in celebration of the signs of life

considering risks, the many things that can go wrong, why would anyone want to get back on a horse after being thrown – of if we’ve never been on a horse, why try at all - it’s just too scary; better to hide out in a quiet place, retreat like a turtle into its shell house

the opinions of others – if I listen to them – guide me to make fewer mistakes, take fewer risks – they urge me to be careful, take it easy, take it safe, think things through; this would be a great way of avoiding trouble . . . and by so doing, avoiding anything resembling an interesting day or life - safety first, dial before you dig, careful, slow, stop, yield, red light, detour, bridge out – these signs of life tell us where trouble is and guide us to avoid it

experience and its synonym ‘mistake’ are not for repeating if they teach us nothing; mistakes prove we’ve tried something, errors in judgment mean we tried to make one, splat means we tried to leap – effort has two eff’s for an effing reason; effort, in every kind of way, brings risk of a pratfall or outright failure every time

someone who avoids risks avoids life, avoids confrontation, avoids conversation or avoids challenge achieves little – I have been all these things and found they do not bring happiness; I’ve also tried calculated risk and reckless abandon – each bring troubles of all kinds imaginable, but either case is more worthy than sitting on a sideline hoping to be called into the game

darkness of tragedy, despair of liness, birthdays whizzing by or the malaise of loneliness are, in ALL WAYS, always defeated by action; bold action, timid action, new direction, new day, new opportunity – green means go

Mark Kolke
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... with your voice, teach in order to learn


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