The Day Before Christmas
When you can look at a beautiful mountain and a Christmas Tree at the same time, you can experience "peace" in a different way. This can happen if your tree is by the window and the mountain is seen from the window.
Spending time each day writing and reading could be described as a way of finding peace, but it is really just an escape from today's world.
That must mean that my mountain and tree are really just an escape from the escape.
A Signature Tree
A reader of this blog sent me this picture. I had been thinking about what the "signature" of this blog really was so it was timely to see this tree that had became more than a tree to someone, because of it's "signature".
Mostly this blog's "signature" has been the books reviewed. They reflect choices made from so many book options. With so many choices of sites for input on the books of the day it is clear that I need to expand the "signature".
When you read a lot of books you find the same thoughts presented in different ways. When you look at your own life you find that the conclusions that define who you are, change. Daily events and the books you read influences how you see those changes.
The quotes, pictures, stories and other subjects options in this blog have influenced my thoughts, and taken together with the reviews, it is a way to step away from yourself and see what someone else is thinking.
Marcel Proust said, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes".
I want to use the subject titles in this blog as a way for the reader to step away for a few minutes and see with someone else's eyes. Thanks for being a reader.
A Shadow of Me
While walking I looked ahead and saw my shadow and thought of this quote: "We are but dust and shadow” by Horace, The Odes of Horace.
Walking is a good time to ponder, so I suppose it is no surprise that some thoughts occurred to me.
My first thought was, that I have evolved in my appearance. Evolved is a kind word isn't it? In years past I seldom wore a hat, unless it was early in the morning and I was running.
I am, of course, my shadow so now even, even out for a casual walk, I am a guy with a hat, sometimes.
I also think that the quote above may have it not quite right. Rather than just dust and shadow, we likely are spirit, dust and shadow.
All our thoughts, even deep ones, like these, reside somewhere, and that place of residence is likely in our own spirits.
How long is "Now" or is the real question when is "Now"? →
Anything that has just been experienced and thought and has not yet been forgotten is still present but when did the “now” happen?
Was it when the experience started? If your told to start walking now, does the now start when your foot crosses the starting line, or does it start when your told to start walking now?
Just because a person seems to be standing on the starting line is it fair to assume that the course to be followed or the goal for doing so is known? Maybe “now” includes finding those things out?
Service by helping others on my mind today because of past memories of giving service →
About 35 years ago in early December I got a phone call from a man who was a neighbor and who I went to church with. He was in jail and expected to be so for a few weeks. He didn't know if he would be able to go home and be with his wife and young's kids even if it was for Christmas Day. He wanted some help in getting a few things that if he did get out could be from him. My wife helped buy some socks and a few things and we wrapped them taking them to his wife for the kids. He did get to go home for Christmas Day and the help was appreciated. It has been a long time, but I have thought of this event many times, this time of year.
It may have been closer to 40 years ago, but one summer a group of church kids and myself went and painted a house where an older lady lived alone. For a few years I would drive just by to see how the paint was holding up but again I find myself thinking back about this.
I hate to admit how many years ago this next memory happened. When I was a young boy our scouts and other young kids went to and area about 50 miles from where we lived where fires had damaged most of the trees. We replanted thousands of trees. For years as I would occasionally drive that highway I would look up a canyon off the highway to where we planted them to see how they were doing.
Even with a lifelong habit of serving others when the opportunities happen the events are remembered not just by those served but by you.
Service helps those served, of course, but it helps and is important to those that serve. Those memories left me feeling glad I help but left the impression that I could be of help to others.
Looking for someone to help anytime during the year would be a good thing.
Find your perfect solitude to find your important answers →
Good advice on writing is to have a regular private place to do it. Turn off the TV, and work in the quiet. This same special place can help you find important answers to your life questions.
I recently listened to a nutritionist discuss healthy life habits. She suggested that sleep was especially important, and that it should be done in a room with no noise or lights. She added that the cell phone ought to be turned off or not left in the room to ding all night. Nothing new here but even so it suggests some changes.
Solitude is healthy, apparently. Background lights and noise may not be healthy, or even helpful, at certain times. I do write with a TV on sometimes but quiet is better. Sometimes you think habits and routine are important because they are habits and routine, but working in solitude is better. Creativity is easier when you have no competition for your attention. Eliminating distractions helps bring focus to your past life experiences and how they may apply to your questions.
I went for a walk today. As usual, I was thankful for the blue skies and the crisp air. It was peaceful and quiet, and of course I did notice that. Walking is a opportunity to think and ponder, and that personal quiet time is an easy habit to look forward to and it is helpful.
.
Wilderness Shows the Importance of Balance →
I posted, in the Stories Section on December 7th, a quote from John Muir. The quote resonated with my thoughts about a favorite running trail called the Pipeline. I have used the "Stories" section for things that I personally had some involvement in.
Thoughts in this "Daily Comment" section are mostly about what happened on a particular day, or what I spent time pondering that day. Today I have come back to this same quote and some thoughts found in a book I am reading.
The book, "American Wolf, A True Story Of Survival And Obsession In The West by Nate Blakeslee", offers some insight into Muir's comment: “The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”
Yellowstone Park is a 3500 square mile wilderness. When the Wolf was reintroduced in 1995 after having been gone for 70 years it was hoped they would help manage a rising Elk population, but they did much more, and in many ways, saved the park.
Beavers feed on willows surrounding the streams but so do Elk. With Wolves present, the Elk didn't linger as long in the low valleys and moved higher and didn't consume as much willows, so the Beaver population increased.
The Coyote population had been unchecked and they were eating most of the rodents but with Wolves present the coyotes were reduced by half causing the rodent population to rebounded. This gave more food for owls, hawks, ravens, eagles, weasels and foxes, so their populations began to grow.
Antelopes were a favorite food of the coyotes but the Wolves didn't bother with them. The Bear population had been dropping but that changed because their food supply increased which included Antelope calves and nuts. They didn't have to rely as heavily on bark pine nuts and this helped the squirrels.
The wolves packs grew more when the Elk were plentiful and the grew less with smaller Elk herds.
The resulting change in this forest wilderness was in the balance of animals and plants. Getting back to a natural balance added understanding to John Muir's comment and suggests that the entire universe may have a optimum balance. Finding what the natural balance in the universe is will likely take a lot more work.
Review of this book, American Wolf, A True Story Of Survival And Obsession In The West by Nate Blakeslee, should post in the next day or so.
To understand where were going and why look back →
I think our life will seem very different when we reach the end and look back. All that we have explored, learned, and have done, will change us. Will we even recognize our beginning self?
We will see the whole of our life very differently than we did as we experienced the parts. The beginning, the journey, and all of the related circumstances to the journey will be clear, for the first time.
It will be the first time we see the past through the prism of all our experiences and that knowledge will let us know what really happened.
I have always loved this quote by T.S. Eliot:
"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".
Soren Kierkegaard seemed to be saying this when he said:
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."
In the Essay Section of this website I wrote an article titled Reflections on Life . In that article I said:
"There is no one whose story I am as familiar with as my own. The same is true for you. This seems so obvious, but then what surprises me a little is how I see that story differently almost every time I tell it". It really is different when you look back."
Our conclusions change because we see through the filter of experience.
Typewriters can "Date You" →
My great grandmother was born in 1840, and lived in the Parish of St. John near Swansea, Glamorganshire, Wales. When she was 16 she emigrated to the United States. I took a typed copy of her history to church with me Sunday and planned to share it with two girls and a boy, all 9 years old. It was at church and I had brought a copy of a story written about my great grandparents.
Before we even had a chance to start talking about the story the kids noticed the extra long paper and the print on the paper. They knew immediately it was different and that it had been typed with a typewriter. Each shared some thoughts about a typewriter they had seen once or somewhere. The idea of something of importance being "typed" was sort of a surprise to them. We probably spent as much time talking about typewriters as we did on the story I had brought.
I remember when I was about that age it was common for me to see my grandfather with the typewriter shown above (on the left). It always sat on a table in his living room. Papers would be scattered all around the area and it seemed he would always be in the middle of a special letter to someone.
He wrote letters to the editor of the local newspaper regularly and seemed to have a dialog going with them.
That typewriter is full of memories for me.
"Normal" can change quick. →
I wondered if today would be much different than yesterday and whether to make any comment on this daily comment section. I decided to go for a walk figuring that it would be a good time to ponder on the day. I got about half a block and I saw a neighbor pull out of his garage and take off down the street. Before long he was back and pulled up along side of me.
The neighbor was driving a 1929 Ford Truck with some modifications. We rode around the area and talked cars for a while. I do like old vintage autos. I have a section for them here on this blog under the Misc Tab. Good Things happen when you are not expecting. Good Day.
A Normal Day isn’t Normal →
Maya Angelou said: If you’re always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be. I thought of that quote when I wondered how to label this day. Perhaps it is a "normal day"? If it is a normal day is that normal?
I also remember a comment made while driving home from the Festival of Trees a few years ago. i had been a normal event for us having attending it several years in a row. For several weeks we had anticipated the Festival day and when the day arrived we went and on our way home one member of our group said, "now we can check that one off our bucket list this year and just relax".
Is relaxing the normal we seek? If some event makes our bucket list then does that mean when the even happens it can’t be a normal day? What one of us should have said that night when we were reminded of our bucket list was that the whole day had been just amazing because with the particular event it wasn’t a normal day. Whatever that is?
Great advice Maya, we needed that.
Festival of Trees for Primary Children's Hospital Experience
Tuesday night was the opening night for the Festival of Trees so we decided to attend this event. On the first night the decorated Christmas Tree arrangements, gingerbread houses, wreaths, and quilts, are displayed and auctioned off. The rest of the week everything stays in place and mostly people just come to see things but the quilts and many things can still be bought.
People spend months preparing these items for this event and then they donate them and people bid and pay on them. Some tree arrangements go for several thousand dollars.
Our family has attended this event over a lot of years and this years was the biggest I have seen yet. Primary Children's hospital gets 100 % of the proceeds. They even get 100% of the food concession sales which are donated. Last year 16 million dollars was raised.
The hospital treated over 84,000 children last year. They are one of the top ten rated children's hospitals in the United States. The have a cancer center and a heart center also rated high in national rating. Every day at least 35 children are in the cancer intensive care.
In my post yesterday I said that, "people are generally happier when they have gratitude in their hearts. We cannot be bitter, resentful, or mean-spirited when we are grateful".
Coming to an event like this one and seeing how much people do to just help is a great opportunity. Feeling gratitude for being around so many others showing gratitude is a wonderful thing.
Grateful for so many who are grateful
The Dogs at KB Horse Stables →
Recently I posted about a visit to KB Horses and a special wagon ride, pulled by Butch and Sundance, two very large Clydesdale horses.
Several dogs live at the stables and they are an important part of the business. They one thing you notice right off is that these dogs are well trained. Brenda the owner helps and has taught her staff on how best to train the animals, and they show it. The horses understand what is being asked and the dogs are very obedient.
With these dogs being around different people every day, and with more than 4 dogs on site, it is a little surprising to see how well they behave. Dogs are needed in this business. They follow out those riding a horse with a guide and run ahead flushing out snakes and critters. It is interesting to see a deer or rabbit jump and not have the dog disappear over the far off hills chasing it. The do chase it but come back when called.
They do the same for the wagon when it goes out. While waiting for the wagon to be hitched up the dogs love to play with the customers. They bring sticks to your feet expecting you to toss it for them to fetch. The black one often gets to the stick but one of the other dogs will also make it about the same time and they wind up each holding part of the stick in their mouth, not being willing to let go, and then sort of walking back together.
Loved the dogs.
Butch and Sundance are Horses →
Butch and Sundance are both Clydesdale horses. Sundance is a little bigger and weighs about 2100 lbs. He is 9 years old. Butch is about 1900 plus lbs. and is about 7 years old. Sundance does more of the work so Butch needs reminding. The driver uses some verbal coaching and a little switch to remind Butch to pick it up somewhat regularly. These two powerhouses live at the stables of KB Horses near Heber, Utah.
Yesterday 10 of our family members road in the wagon pulled by these powerful animals. The wagon weighed about 1600 lbs and their were two drivers. So that means 12 people on this trip.
Both horses are able to pull 1 and 1/2 times their own weight so they could easily pull the 1600 lbs of wagon and had the capacity to pull 4400 lbs of happy folks. The good news is we had plenty of capacity left.
There are over 30 horses at this facility and only a very few are Clydesdales. Horses are proud animals and they are very social. When this wagon goes down a road past another ranch it passes a large field that has many horses, cows and some ducks in it all together. The cows and horses don't mix but the horses have those that lead, and those that follow. It is clear that you know your place if your a horse. The ducks really are there for the large pond and a few sheep sort of mix in also.
When we go by this field in the wagon the horses run to the fence by the road and sort of prance alone with us as we pass, raising their heads, and raising their feet higher than normal.
Yesterday as we returned to the stables we passed by a fenced area where the other horses owned by KB Horses were at. One was a younger horse, new to the stable. His marking were very interesting with lots of white and chestnut color covering his body. He was young, and looked very strong. He had a lot of energy and quickly came down near the fence, by the road, and then just tossed his head back, lifted his feet high, and did some serious prancing. Obviously a big showoff.
Surprising Day to see a Wild Turkey →
I made a list of the 10 things I am most thankful for on Thanksgiving and of course "family" is always the top of that list. Down the list was, among other things, blue sky, cool crisp air outside, and the sun. Just being outside is enough to make you feel good if you have at least blue sky and sun. The sun on your face or back is so good.
Today one of the first things I saw, with the help of a family member pointing it out, was a wild turkey.
I need to let you know that this picture above was a stock internet picture. I didn't get the actual wild turkey on camera. We did get it on a telescope and that was great.
Yesterday we read about a women we all know from the daily TV who apparently had posted a stock photo pecan pie in a note she sent someone mentioning her great pecan pie she had made. The article criticizing her felt it was deceptive to imply that her pie was the picture perfect pie.
So for the sake of "photo purity" I want to make sure to confess that this picture may or may not be close to the one I saw. My sighting was sticking it's head up above the sage brush and I saw a tail poking up also. Both the the family members who spent more time on the telescope than I did gave it their official "that is a real wild turkey" ok.
Day after Thanksgiving Day
Today I spent some time continuing to update this blog. Much has been done and a lot of content added. The Amazon link may not have been working because several told me they had tried to use it. (Appreciated) So now there is a link on the cover page sidebar where you can to and then pick the book or anything for that matter. Also at the end of the book review posts there will usually be a link to that book on Amazon.
This blog is almost a year old. Those faithful followers are appreciated. A lot of upgrades are still coming.
Enjoy the long weekend. Enjoy the leftovers.
Thanksgiving Day
You will hear a lot of people refer to this as their favorite holiday. Probably not the person who fixes the Thanksgiving day dinner but many think it is great because you don't have to buy a lot of presents and isn't the huge activity that Christmas is. Some thoughts thinking back. Start out with Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.
This is a great TV event for the rest of us not living in New York. You can take the traditional approach and just sit back in awe. Or you can take a little more casual approach and make fun of a lot of what you see. Patti Labelle comes by on the Ocean Spray float and someone in the room says "gee wonder if they paid her in Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce". By itself that isn't all that funny but stack it on to an hour or two of wise cracks and it can be pretty funny.
If your a runner, the morning will offer a good race. Or if your older you can think about the 13 marathons you ran and how they probably ruined your body.
Eating is of course a good way to spend the day. This year we had special placements on the table starting early in the morning. Some boxes of Crayolas were also on the table and we got to color the placements and then at the bottom of the mats were some lines and above a note saying "I am Thankful For." It is good to spend some time doing that. Don't get carried away. A meaner approach is to ask for "Things I hate" and then after dinner if you all read them to each other you can feel really good if someone is thankful for you or of course if you take the low road you can feel really bad is someone has your name down as things they hate about Thanksgiving.
How about the Neighbor?
Thanksgiving can be so very special, or it can be so very lonely. Happiness increases when it is shared.
Sometimes people work so hard to help. They work with large groups. They gather up blankets and food and take them by the truckload to those in need. Hurricane survivors are a good example of those who are really helped this way.
A question to ask is what about the person across the street or down the block? What about the older lady you see at church who has no one coming to town and will be alone? Taking them a plate of food, or some desert, can bring so much warmth and happiness.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving. Reach out and spread some happiness.
