If a caterpillar can evolve into a better version of itself, why can’t we?
Daily Quip
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Tag Archives: inspirational
17 Seconds
That’s it, 17 seconds. Count them, go ahead: 1-1000, 2-1000, 3-1000, 4-1000, 5-1000 ………Done? All of them? Well now guess what, phfst, snap, whoosh. Those 17 seconds no longer exist except perhaps in your memory and even that will fade.
Now a length of time measured in seconds doesn’t seem all that noteworthy, at least not to those who have a potential life span well into 90 years. Mayflies only live for 24 hours so 17 seconds would be important. And it should be to you and me as well. Minds can be changed in 17 seconds, wars can be initiated in 17 seconds, a lingering kiss can . . . Well you get the picture. A lot can happen in 17 seconds.
It takes much less time for a life to pass on, for love to bloom (ok maybe in some cases it’s only lust but it is ‘a blooming!). We spend so much time organizing, planning and cajoling and yet sometimes it is the unexpected hiccups that are the most memorable.
I once had several guns pointed directly at me. It seemed to last for a lifetime as visions of my oh so young life flashed brightly across my mind’s eye. It probably only lasted for a few seconds but OH MY WORD!!!
It was a dark and stormy night . . . Ok, ok, yes, it was dark and cold. I was on my way to a night class in Anthropology. Mid-eighties, winter. I was minding my own business, head down, when out of the corner of my eye I see dozens of huge men with drawn guns racing towards me, directly towards me. Someone screamed “FREEZE” and I froze, solid. I don’t think I dared to breathe.
Now I am told that memory is a fragile thing, often tempered by television, movies, news articles, even suggestions from other people. Well, that may be true but I am here to tell you my truth. I wasn’t afraid. Honestly. I don’t think I had the time to consciously form a thought. I was frozen, remember. The officers (only 3 or 4) raced past me and into the building I was adjacent to. Fortunately, one of them came back to release me from my frozen state. I continued on to my class and only later discovered what had happened.
It seemed some unsavoury characters were hiding in plain sight on my University Campus. Pretty smart when you think about it. The police were smarter.
Many years later I joined a Police Department. Did that encounter unconsciously point me in that direction? 17 seconds can change your life.
And one thing can be counted on to be absolutely true: Those 17 seconds will never come again. So use them wisely.
Daily Quip
Never fear what you do not know. Know what you need to fear.
Daily Quip
One foot in front of the other, repeat, repeat, repeat . . . . . Sometimes it’s the only way to get through your day.
Daily Quip
Life is all about change.
Children of the Storm
The mighty winds are lashing
Torrential rains awash
The storm is in its torrid throes
The darkness still unfettered
Beneath the stately boughs
Of a kingly oak
A gentle mother waits her turn
Small life within her breast
While all around her quakes
The world has gone askew
The gentle mother bides her time
Until new life be born
And now the time is near
The storm still rages on
With perhaps a tiny sigh
The baby chicks are born
There is no greater offering
That is ours to give
The gift of life is wondrous
Though stormy be its path.
A Sign of the Times?
As those of you who follow my blog regularly know, it has been bloody hot where I am. So much so that I have pretty much stayed inside my apartment within touching distance of the air conditioner. Well on Sunday that trend broke. So, I decided to do one of my favourite pastimes and go down to the lake to watch the birds.
There has been some recent flooding so my favourite spot was out of bounds. No worries. I chose another and sat back to watch. I saw ducks playing in the water and I saw a big beautiful swan preening within close proximity to those ducks. Everyone seemed to be getting along.
And then . . . an ear shattering sound erupted from several feet behind me. It was a woman who had perhaps never seen a Swan before. The air around me shattered as she burst forth to the edge of the water with camera tightly gripped in her hand or perhaps it was a phone. Evidently the Swan was not facing in the appropriate direction so she proceeded to stage direct this beautiful wild creature. ‘SWAN! HEY SWAN! LOOK THIS WAY!”
Now a few minutes prior to this incident it was quiet. I could hear people in boats a few hundred meters away quietly speaking to one another. I could hear the water lapping on the shore as paddle boats went by. The gentle swish of the canoes as they made their way to open water. It was an idyllic setting. And then she exploded on to the scene.
The Swan looked. As did the ducks, the people across the bay, the paddle boaters and I’m pretty sure most of my small town were jolted out of their reverie and looked. She screamed “I GOT IT!” Whirled around and left. That’s it. She didn’t see the beauty; she saw an acquisition. She had her picture and I doubt she noticed anything else that was going on around her.
A few minutes later a duck with nine or 10 ducklings in tow came to within a few feet of me. These ducklings were so young they didn’t have their flight wings yet. Adorable little bundles of down. There were some sandbags placed to, I guess, stop the flooding and they hopped up on to them and nestle down for a nap. It was an incredible sight!
Every now and then one would stretch its little wings or raise its bum and deftly poop to a distance. Mom kept an eye on me but I didn’t move. I didn’t want to disturb them. After about 15 or 20 minutes, mom and most of the ducklings moved on. Three them sat and watched me for another five minutes. Then one of them raised his little head and the three of them hopped into the water to follow after mom and the rest. I felt blessed to have been a witness.
I feel sorry for that woman. Those ducks would never have approached amid her loud observations of her surroundings. And I’ll bet she wouldn’t see anything anyway. She was too concerned, too focused, on one trophy. She’s going to miss the world. She will have proof of being here but no memory of the experience. Perhaps that is a sign of the times. Life will become a digitized trophy in a .com file somewhere.
Daily Quip
The journey may be long and the climb difficult but we are never alone.
Breaking Bread
Let’s break bread you and I
And share a thought or two.
Let’s take a wondrous journey
He’ll show us what to do.
A table has been prepared
Where we can sit together.
Praise and prayer as one
May our journey last forever.
Each chapter as is written
Is the journey of our lives.
We walk the path that He has set
And all around us thrives.
I place my hand in His
And trust we walk as one.
Join with me this very day
In speaking with His Son.
Every day we wonder
What the future has in store.
I can say for certain
With God I will see more.
A House in the Forest
There’s a house in the forest
That’s hidden from view.
Wait I can see it!
I can see it, can’t you?
Behind the closed door
Are secrets untold.
Do you want to go see?
Let’s dare to be bold!
The secrets for telling,
The fun we could gain!
But other’s distress,
In some cases pain.
I think we should stop,
It’s the right thing to do.
The house in the forest
Stays hidden from view.
