Possible Sunrise

"Trying to sneak a fastball past Hank Aaron is like trying to sneak the sunrise past a rooster." ~Joe Adcock

Hank Aaron was one of American baseball's greatest players. A career batting average of .305, but best known for holding the career home run record of 755 for many years. As Joe Adcock, a fellow ball player said, "you couldn't sneak the fastball by him."

Seeing everything that comes along, being perceptive of life around us seems like a simple concept. When the sun comes up in the morning, do you notice it? Do you expect it be there each morning? You can't let a day sneak past you. You can't let the opportunity slip by without advancing.

Each new day is a new opening, a new chance to do something great for someone else. Maybe pay it forward with some act of kindness to them. It is also a chance to move towards your dreams, getting a little bit closer to something fantastic...a great life.

Experience the sunrise each morning, fill your day with expectation and movement. And when you see the sunset, know that you accomplished something great. And know that the sun will rise again tomorrow with new opportunity, new possibility.

Dreams

by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Please Stand By

"Just kind of a tough day but I'll return tomorrow." ~Joseph Primm

Parable of Immortality

Finding words to comfort someone when they lose a loved one can be a search into the deepest parts of our hearts. A parent loses a child or a parent slips from us; a spouse, friend or sibling can leave an aching hole inside. The words are only meant to help soothe the void but can never replace our loved one. Only the memories fill the void, gathering inside and healing pain with time.

When I lost my mother, a brother shared the following poem by Henry Van Dyke called "A Parable of Immortality" and helped begin the process of letting go. A process of letting go the natural connection and beginning the supernatural connection to a lost loved one. I still talk to my mother through loving memories and with a respect for what I believe lay beyond our life here.

So it is that I share with some dear friends that very recently lost their son in a tragic incident. I also share it for anyone that has lost a loved one. Words to help soothe the void and help begin the process of loving rememberance.

A Parable of Immortality

I am standing upon the seashore.

A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze

and starts for the blue ocean.

She is an object of beauty and strength,

and I stand and watch until at last she hangs

like a speck of white cloud

just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.

Then someone at my side says,

" There she goes! "

Gone where?

Gone from my sight . . . that is all.

She is just as large in mast and hull and spar

as she was when she left my side

and just as able to bear her load of living freight

to the place of destination.

Her diminished size is in me, not in her.

And just at the moment

when someone at my side says,

" There she goes! "

there are other eyes watching her coming . . .

and other voices ready to take up the glad shout . . .

" Here she comes! "

More Cowbell

"You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen." ~Paulo Coelho

There is a very funny skit from Saturday Night Live called "More Cowbell". The premise that something so out of place as a cowbell is the perfect answer for something lacking. I can hear the clanging cowbell already.

Its interesting that something so unexpected can change the whole atmosphere around our lives. The unexpected things that happen can have a surprising and positive effect. A change in tone, a stranger crossing our path or different road taken home. Each of them, while seemingly insignificant can create this unexpected change in your life.

Maybe its an oversimplification but even something unexpected as a cowbell can actually add more to your life. Embrace what you can by trying something different. Change up the ordinary and see what types of opportunities occur. When life becomes stagnant, shout out for "more cowbell" and see what happens.