Twice as Nice

You know you are from a small out of the way end of the road town when there is only one birthday card on the shelves that is dedicated to sisters.

Happy birthday twice as nice!

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Your Life

What would you like to buy with your life?

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*Caveat* I saw this phrase 'What would you like to do or buy with your life?' in a picture taken when Colin Ryan was giving a talk. I did not hear the talk first hand so I am not sure how he tied this phrase together with his financial advice but I feel it is a question worth pondering.

Untangle

Our lives somehow become tangled in the things we own. Entwined with fine gold threads of pleasant memories, for us and for those we love.

And to think that someone’s life can be boxed up and taken away in a swift moment sends a shiver across my heart.

I know the good memories of someone's life remain in the hearts of us still drawing breath but that a person can just whisk that life away like yesterday's old shoes is concerning to me.

Is it possible to untangle my life from my material possessions? Those belongings that might someday become a burden to those I leave behind, so that only the gold threads of pleasant memories linger.

This is my constant quest.

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Wilderness

The internet can seem like a wilderness of lost and misplaced information then you come across something that stirs something in you and you just have to share.

Below are two excerpts from a National Geographic article by Simon Worrall that stood out to me in my continual quest for higher understanding.

How Backpacking Can Put You in Touch With Your Inner Saint

"One of your sources of inspiration is the "wilderness spirituality" of the early Desert Christians. Who were these people?

"They were a fascinating group of men and women. They lived in the fourth century A.D., when Constantine had made Christianity not only legal but also the most powerful religion in the Roman Empire. A lot of Christians started to do well and become very wealthy. As a result, they lost their original vitality. So the Desert Christians went into the desert of Egypt, southern Palestine, and Syria to live a simpler life and practice the teachings of Jesus with a greater authenticity. I use the wilderness spirituality of the Desert Fathers as a pattern for the various narratives that I weave in the book.""

"You came from a strict Christian upbringing. Talk a bit about your early life and its connection to wilderness backpacking.

"I was raised in a fundamentalist background in the South. We sang gospel songs. This world is not my home/I'm just a passing through/My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. We were taught not to think much of this world, because the next world was the one that mattered. But I also grew up near the swampland and pine forests of central Florida. And that's where I got my real religious education and my love of wilderness.""

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I might be just a passing through yet I should take a greater interest in the treasures that are currently laid out before me.

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Balance

Photo credit J. Kenny ~ the husband

What balance looks and feels like to each of us depends on the eye of the beholder.

Where is your center? What gives you balance?

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Earthquake ~ 5.4

Good morning!  After a shake-up wake-up alarm of 5.4 magnitude I can just tell it's going to be a good day.

Keep on swimming my friends. Just keep swimming.

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Winter Wonderland

It has been a winter wonderland in Anchor-town this past week and I thought I would share the joy with you.

Always share the love, share the joy, and breathe deep with a happy heart.

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Happy Again

There is a brief moment between extremely happy and happy again. That time in space when you wonder will I ever be as happy as I was then.

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