A Friend

"But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine." ~Thomas Jefferson

A friend from high school sent the following to me and found it a great way to start the week. Eric and I haven't probably seen each other since graduation in 1978. A long time to pass between folks, but great to know each is doing well. But onto the subject of friends and first the story.

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A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.

He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble... At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.

When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, 'Excuse me, where are we?'

'This is Heaven, sir,' the man answered.. 'Wow! Would you happen to have some water?' the man asked.

Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up. 'The man gestured, and the gate began to open.

'Can my friend,' gesturing toward his dog, 'come in, too?' the traveler asked.

'I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets.'

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence

As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.

'Excuse me!' he called to the man. 'Do you have any water?'

'Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in.'

'How about my friend here?' the traveler gestured to the dog.

'There should be a bowl by the pump.'

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.

The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.

When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

'What do you call this place?' the traveler asked.

'This is Heaven,' he answered.

'Well, that's confusing,' the traveler said. 'The man down the road said that was Heaven, too.'

'Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell.'

'Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?'

'No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.'

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The story gives us one view to what friendship means.  That you would not leave them behind.  And we get faced with these types of decisions in our life.  Sometimes your hand is forced to leave a good friend behind should that person be pulling you down in life.  But you can always pull a friend up in life.  Its a choice that can be rather difficult to make.

In the email string that contained the story above also spoke to why someone would forward these stories.

- When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch, guess what you do? You forward jokes.

- When you have nothing to say, but still want to keep contact, you forward jokes.
- When you have something to say, but don't know what and don't know how, you forward jokes.

Of course there are lots of reasons, but keeping in touch can mean so much.  A simple hello, a quick 'thinking of you' or touching base with someone can lift them at a moment when you least expect.

So keep hold of your friends, try to keep them in your life as each of your journeys unfold.

Two Days

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.” ~Henry David Thoreau

Two days and one blog article, it sounds like a confessional or apologetic musing asking for forgiveness to my avid readers. I failed to write yesterday as I was travelling home to Atlanta with my wife from Los Angeles. Could I have written yesterday, most certainly.

We made it to the airport, settled into the lounge to wait for our flight and thought to myself, "I really don't feel like writing today." I was enjoying the simple pleasure of sitting and talking with my wife. This was a short window of time before we would both return to our busy lives. Even though I worked a fair bit while on vacation, it was a very relaxing and enjoyable time with our daughter and her husband.

But here we were, sitting in an airport lounge enjoying the remaining moments before we launched back into our lives. This was us waiting upon that 'wave' Thoreau spoke about. Preparing to grab hold of the everyday and new experiences coming towards us. The preparation for these moments of launch may seem like an eternity, but they fall upon us ever so quickly. So enjoy those quiet moments just prior to the launch.

Your moment might be in the early morning hours before the day begins. It might be as the day is ending, the countdown is your time to reflect and prepare. Get ready to launch with every moment, take your life to a new level and enjoy the ride.

Eyes Wide Shut

“Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you're living?” ~Bob Marley

So the thing is, I had a meeting in the Huntington Beach area south of Los Angeles. I was heading back to the Hollywood area north of the city and decided to set my camcorder on the dash and record coming into the city, the traffic and some of the sites. There are some amazing views along this drive and wanted to capture some video for future use.

When I arrived at my destination, I grabbed the camera ready to view what neat scenes I had captured. But to my dismay, when I set the camera up on the dashboard, a failure to open the lens cover resulted in several "blacked out" videos. The kind where plenty of sound exists, but no pictures to fill ones view.

That is sort of how we go through life at times with our eyes wide shut. Going through our daily routine but never really seeing where we are going. We exist and accomplish the everday routines, but we never seem to get closer to our goal. The sounds fill our life, but the picture never seems to brighten or come into view for us.

Just maybe we have our own lens cover closed. Maybe its the idea that we are not opening our eyes to new possibility. The kind of view that allows us to see beyond the everyday. The kind of view that allows us to see a greater vision for our life.

When I viewed the various videos on my camera, there were others that existed without a closed lens. Those videos gave me a look at a young couple full of dreams and goals. It revealed pictures of the landscape that has so much to offer. Much nicer then the depressing blacked out videos. It makes a huge difference when you open your eyes and see everything.

So make sure you open the camera lens each and everyday. Look towards the future with eyes wide open.

Sunset Blvd

"Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer to your goal." ~Elbert Hubbard

When speaking of a sunset, is there anything more obvious then Sunset Boulevard in the Los Angeles, California area. It runs from downtown LA northwest and then turns west running out to the Pacific Ocean near Pacific Palisades.

It is a famed road that offers a wide range of both social and economic variation. As you travel its course, you encounter everyday people, those trying to be famous and the very famous. There are the destitute people living on the street, those trying to survive, the getting by just fine and the super rich that have done amazingly well.

Even the street views give a glimpse into the diversity. In some areas you find the gorgeous trimmed and gated homes. In other areas the shiny glass office and retail entertainment complexes take your breath away. But you also see the rougher areas, broken glass windows and lots of struggle to maintain appearance.

The people along this twenty-two mile stretch tell a tale of dreams being pursued. The similarity carries across all situations. Every morning the poorest to the richest are getting up, getting dressed, getting prepared for the day; all wanting to pursue their dreams. The needs and wants, the visions and dreams, each may be at different levels, but each are still being pursued.

Regardless of that level, hold onto the dream and continue to move towards it. Never let go of what you want to achieve in life. "It is possible" is not just a silly phrase. There is so much proof of it through out history. You might even be surprised by what some people went through to achieve what they have today. One day it will be you with a story that will surprise others when you tell them of how you achieved your success.

What you need to remember is that we all see the sun rise and we all see the sun set. What matters is have you moved towards the dream today? Have you taken one or more steps? If so, then the dream is that much closer. The sunset is also a little more awe inspiring.