Vocabulary lesson.

Yesterday I played golf with my son. I am sure you know what golf is? It is a game that certainly helps you learn about a great many emotions and even some new words.

The last time I played  I came home feeling that I had played fairly well. That day I had played alone and that makes a great world of a difference. The odd bad shot can very easily be forgotten because nobody else saw it. When playing with my son every little misshit becomes something else. Now when your son turns up with a friend how very different the game becomes. Now it becomes competitive and every stroke is precious and has to be played well.

When you manage to hit a birdie, one stroke less than it is meant to take to play the hole you feel the excitement. When you take one or two more than ought to have been taken you experience frustration. So many emotions in one day.

A father was trying to explain this to his son and the son listened intently. He then asked his father, "What is the difference between irritation, aggravation and frustration?"

The father thinks hard but cannot find the correct explanation. He gets out his phone and puts it on speakerphone so that his sone can hear the conversation.

He dials a number and when it is answered he asks if Alf is there.

The person on the other end says that there is no Alf there and hangs up. The father tells his son, "Now that is an irritation."

He then dials the same number, again and again, asks for Alf. 

This time the person on the other end angrily responds. "There is no Alf here. If you call again asking for him I am going to report you to the police."

That says the father is, aggravation.

The son looks at him and tells his father he sees the difference but asks him, "What about frustration?"

The father again dials the same number. When it is answered he says, "Hello this is Alf. Have you had any calls for me?'

I will not share the response but I think you will understand.

If no! I advise you to take up the game of golf.

Have a great day.

Blast from the past.

One way or another in the past few weeks I have been thinking back to my time as a minister and the churches in which I was. I have also looked back at how it all began. No doubt the working on the book I worked on while I was a minister has played its part.

Away back to my first visit to church to meet a group of people who later formed a hymn writing and singing group called Group 96. Psalm 96 begins with the words, "Sing a new song to the lord."

It has been a bit of an emotional time and I am full of mixed feeling as I begin to reach the end of the work.

I suppose because of this I have found myself in many conversations with people about how it is doing.  Strangely enough at the coffee morning yesterday where I was helping out selling plants somebody I would never have considered interested in my writing was saying that he was thoroughly enjoying my second book. 

I spoke to somebody from my second church and there just might be a return visit in the offing, this will be another emotional moment. 

I was asked by another person if as a minister I had done any Christenings? Of course, my answer was no, but I had done hundreds of baptisms. A little discussion between what was the difference took place. Christenings happened in the Roman Catholic Church and baptisms in the Church of Scotland. That being the difference many still spoke only of Christenings. maybe this is because that is what all the card makers called it. 

This reminded me of the tale of Jack.

Each Friday, after work, weather permitting jack had a barbeque. He liked nothing more than cooking a venison steak on the grill and sitting in the sun with it and a glass of beer.  All of jacks neighbours were Roman Catholic and in those days they did not eat meat on a Friday so the smell began to get to them. They finally could take it no longer and spoke to their Priest. 

The priest eventually persuaded Jack to become a Roman Catholic. After some classes, Jack was Christened in the church.

The priest sprinkled him with holy water and said, "You were born a Baptist and raised a Baptist, now you are a Roman Catholic.' The neighbours were delighted until the next Friday night came along. 

The aroma of cooking Venison could be smelled all over the place. The priest was called and came in haste. 

As the priest rounded the building and into Jacks back garden there was jack clutching his rosary beads. The priest ready to give him a ticking off watched and listened. 

Jack had in his hand a small bottle of Holy Water, which he was carefully sprinkling over the grilling meat and chanting,  "You were born a deer, you were raised a deer, but now you are a catfish."

it was permissible to eat fish on a Friday.

Have a great day.

  

 

 

The Kings Seeds.

I have spent some time in the past week and more in one way or another thinking about plants. Maybe it is because last Friday and tomorrow have been the planting up of the summer seedlings. Or maybe it is because I have had all the bushes removed from the back garden. They were becoming almost unmanageable, and the fence behind was falling apart. So after today, I will have a new fence but hardly any plants in my back garden.

So one way or another my thoughts have turned to plants.

As I walked yesterday I was wondering about what I might do short and long term with my back garden? Short term is one thing but at my age what is long term?

I remembered the tale of the King who was growing old and wondered how to select his successor for training. He announced a competition. Every boy was to collect and seed from the palace and the boy who grew the best plant would succeed.

They all collected their seeds and went home. Each boy prepared his pot and planted his seed and began watering. 

Soon there was much talk about leaves and shoots appearing and who was managing to grow the biggest plant.

Haun had taken great care of his seed and how he had planted it. But nothing was growing.

On the day when all the pots were to be brought to the palace, his was still empty.  His mother told him to take his pot as it was and show it to the king.

On the way to the palace, he saw so many beautiful plants and he had nothing. he wondered why he was going at all.

As they all stood before the king he wandered among them until he came to Haun. Here is the winner he declared.

They all looked amazed. The King then said that to be a king you had to be honest and upright. All of the seeds that had been given out had been heated in an oven and so none of them could have grown. All the others had obviously planted other seeds while Haun had been honest about his.

Have a marvellous day. Honesty is not always easy but it is always best.

Coffee and chips.

I met a man on the golf course yesterday on three different occasions.  Each time we passed he stopped and spoke. The first time he complained about the wind and how he was not managing to hit his ball as far as he normally would.

The second time we met he complained about how cold it was. He just could not get heat in his hands at all and so was not playing a good round.

The thirds time we met he complained about how dry and hard the ground was after all the dry weather we have had. It is almost impossible to predict the roll of the ball.

At this point, I bit my tongue because I almost said why do you not just give up a go and sit in the clubhouse and have a nice warming bowl of chips and a warm cup of coffee. I am sure he would not have appreciated my comments at all. Probably the coffee would be too bitter.

There was once a man lived in a village. Everybody in the village avoided him because all he ever did was complain about how bad everything was.

Then all of a sudden the whispering around the village changed. People began to say that something had happened he was telling funny stories and making people laugh.

Somebody decided to go and speak with him and ask why the change?  He did just that.

The man said, "I have been chasing happiness for almost eighty years and never found it. The other week there I decided to stop looking and just take life as it comes. Would you believe I have never been happier in my life."

There are some people who it seems are born to be complainers and those who take life as it is and are happier for it.

How good it was to meet a friend at the car park who said, "Was that wind when it was at our back not marvellous how far the ball travelled. The dry ground also took the ball further. Now I am going to get a warm cup of coffee and I might even get a bowl of chips."

Have a marvellous day.

Chasing moons.

I am at last going to take some time off and play some golf hopefully it will not be too windy which would just be my fortune having allowed myself to get too busy in the first place.

I will play on my own today so I will have time to consider the shots I play and to reflect for a few hours on life. I already know as I write that last sentence that I will probably allow my mind to wander back to the next chapter that has to be written for my latest book.

At least I have made the effort to find some time to myself. What brought this about?

Let me share this tale to help.

There once lived in China a very clever man. His name was Huojia. The trouble with him was that as clever as he was he never really took time to stop and notice the wonders of the world.

One day having worked hard all day he realised he needed to go to the well to gather some water. As he approached the well, bucket in hand he looked down into the water. What he saw was the moon shining brightly down at the bottom of the well. "Oh my goodness what a really sad pity this is. I need to find a way to rescue the moon and set it free."

He ran home and got a large fish hook from his shed. When he arrived back at the well he took the rope from his bucket and attached the hook, his aim was to fish the moon out of the well.

After many attempts, all failing miserably he felt something had caught on his hook. At last, he thought and began to pull in an attempt to free the moon. he pulled and he pulled. Then giving one great effort he pulled as hard as he could. The rope broke, and Haojia fell on his back. As he lay back he sighed, the moon was back in its place in the sky where it belonged.

He was very happy for the moon but the trouble for him was that now he did not have a long enough piece of rope to fill his bucket with water.

It is so often the case that we allow ourselves to get so caught up in running around doing things without really taking time to think things through. In the end, we find ourselves doing this and that and never doing anything to the best of our ability. Better to do one thing at a time to the very best of your worth and then you will not end up on your back chasing moons.

Have a fruitful day.

Time to breathe.

Back to square one, the painting without the titles and the name. I chose this because the aim of the book I am working on is to create time and space for quiet contemplation. A time each day to gather thoughts before facing the hectic day ahead.

Maybe I need to take this a bit more seriously myself, I ended up yesterday with far too much to do and ended up not getting it all done. Today looks as though it will be another day of the same with no time left to write.

It is so simple to allow ourselves to become overloaded. This is even worse when it is a person who is supposed to be retired and plenty of time to spare. 

There is a lovely and very true story of a famous archaeologist who was working in deepest Peru. He had employed local tribesmen to help carry all the need equipment to the site of the dig.

After many hours of travelling through difficult terrain, the locals laid down their loads and sat down refusing to go any further. Despite all the protestations of the archaeologist and the persuasion, he could not get them to move. Through a translator, he explained that he was paying them above the expected rate and he expected them to cooperate with him. In spite of all, they refused to move.

Then all of a sudden without a word they all stood up picked up their loads and resumed the journey. There seemed to be a complete change of attitude among all of them. Once again they sang as they travelled.

When the bewildered archaeologist asked what had happened and what the stop was all about he was told, "They could not move any further because they had been moving too fast and they had to wait for their souls to catch up."

Now, whether you believe in a soul or not, there is a strong message here in this tale. We all have to take some time to allow our inner being to catch up. To steady our lives, take time out to gather ourselves and our thoughts before making haste yet again. 

So before you get about the business of the day, relax for a moment and then enjoy it.

What lies behind the door?

While playing golf yesterday in the calm and peace of the day I had time to ponder. It is a shame I did just that rather than ponder more seriously the next golf shot I was going to play. But then that for me is life, I frequently make wrong choices, or follow the way of doing things that I always choose. 

It is a bit like the criminal who was brought before the judge to pay for his crimes. Found guilty he was given the choice of the noose, the rope, or he could choose to go behind the big dark door and take his chances. Looking at the door he promptly chose the rope, it would, after all, be over much more quickly.

As the noose was being placed around his neck he looked at the judge and asked him what was behind the dark door? The judge smiled and told him freedom.

" It is amazing," said the judge, 'everybody makes that same choice." Freedom or the drop and rather than take a chance most opt for the known.

A powerful reminder about how many of us, like myself, choose the familiar. We are so afraid of the unknown that we get our selves all tied up in the familiar. The alternative might lead to less pain and unhappiness but because we do not know what it is we stick with what we know.

We keep the door of freedom and happiness closed.

We are a planet full of people walking about with the metaphysical ropes around our necks, wondering why we feel a bit emotionally and spiritually dead to the world around us in all its beauty.

Today decide to finally take off the ropes that bind you and possibly even blind you to great possibilities

Open a few doors that will lead to new opportunities, unfamiliar but new and different. Who knows just where you might find yourself.

Whatever you choose the rope or the door have a marvellous day.

I 

Being Grateful.

A big thanks to a dear friend who lives in the village. The other night as the sun was going down she took some pictures as she walked home. I could not resist just taking some ideas from each of them and creating this little painting from them. This is the road that heads out of Freuchie.

We are so fortunate that we live in such a beautiful part of the world but even more so that we can see and appreciate it. I do not see nearly as good as I did as a youth, who of us does, but I do see things differently and I always do appreciate seeing them at all. 

I am not sure if I have shared this story before but if I have this is just another attempt at my telling it again.

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which read, “I am blind, please help.”

There were only a few coins in the hat, some spare change from folks as they hurried past.

A man was walking past. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words.

Then he put the sign back in the boy’s hand so that everyone who walked past would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon, the man who had changed the sign returned to see how things were.

The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”

The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.” I wrote, “Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it.”

Both signs spoke the truth. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind, while the second sign conveyed to everyone walking past how grateful they should be to see the beauty he could not.

When your life seems full of troubles, it seems difficult to maintain an attitude of gratitude.  All we see are our problems, like a blackened storm cloud casting a dark shadow over our lives.

And the times when everything just seems to be going smoothly? We often take these precious moments for granted.  Caught up in the bliss, comfort, and familiarity of it all, we can simply forget to be thankful.

Simply put, gratitude is a habit. It’s a way of looking at the world and all the good things in it with a feeling of appreciation, regardless of whether or not your current situation is to your liking, there is still much to be happy about.

Gratitude is a grateful approach to being at peace with yourself and with all you have.  

Rejoice in the day and be grateful that you awoke to enjoy it. have a great day. 

The precious comma.

I wonder what it is about me that no matter what I do in life it raises all sorts of feeling and emotions in my head. When I turn my thoughts to art I find my head is full of paintings. Everywhere I go and everything I see becomes either a picture or an abstract.

I have an idea that if I went to sleep at night I would dream in the abstract.

For a while, my head has been full of words. First, there were the words of the Tao Te Ching then my Tao of Mindfulness. A family member asked what it felt like to be an author. My honest answer is I do not know. 

At present, my thoughts have returned back to my years as a minister.  I did paint in those days but not nearly as much as I do now. I did a great deal of writing in those days. Notes for sermons. Talks to be given in prisons and various other places. At one time I even produced the manuscript of a book which I sent off to publishers. One suggested some changes and they would publish it. 

I never did get around to making the changes and the script has lain on the back shelf of my bookcase for all those years of teaching.

I have recently dragged it out and returned to it and once again my head is full of words and thoughts. I never seem to be able to take time off. I am either actually writing or I am thinking about what I will be writing. I am even, with some help learning about the marvel of the question mark and the comma, something I never concerned myself with when making notes for sermons or talks. If I saw the words,  "Let's eat grandma."  I knew that when I spoke the words I would say, "Let us eat, grandma." What a difference a little comma can make.

So the Comma says let us slow down and the full stop says let us stop for a bit.  We might not need those little things when we are talking to our friends but on paper, they are needed.

In life, we also need to have some commas and some full stops. It is the wise person who takes a little comma to have a breather and to collect one's thoughts and energies. Even more important now and again to put in a full stop and take a rest.

Yes, I know it is time for me to stop being boring and take a full stop. 

Have a great day and remember to have a few commas and the odd full stop. A lesson there for myself I think.

Home Sweet Home

I eventually arrived home last night, the journey seems to get longer each time I make it but I did get there and did not get lost on the way.

I had a good time and even though some of the trails I walked seem to be getting higher and harder to negotiate I did manage to walk some that I have not done for a number of years. I was working on the basis that the next time I am in that part of the world I might have two new ankles, not just the one. But I will be even older. 

Sharing a holiday with my son often meant that I walked twice in a day. I get up out of bed much earlier than he on holiday, which meant I had already walked six miles before he got out of bed. He, of course, wanted to walk again later so I ended up doing two walks and feeling exhausted. Lawyers, they seem to work on a different clock from me.

I heard an interesting tale about two lawyers who had met at a conference and became friends. One was Canadian and one was a Czech. They decided to visit each other. 

They went walking together in Canada and the poor Czech ended up being eaten by a grizzly bear. The Canadian reported the incident and the police decided to kill the bear if it had turned bad. They asked the Canadian to identify the beast. He pointed out a large male bear. When it was dissected there was no sign of the Czech When the killed the female bear there was the evidence.

So you see you should never trust a lawyer when he tells you the Cheque is in the mail.

Yes, forgive me I am getting older but think of this. 

Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me! My theory on ageing is that I want people to know 'why' I look this way. I've travelled a long way and many of the roads weren't paved.

First, you forget names, then you forget faces.  

Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth, remember Algebra, which even to this day I do not understand.

Have a great day.

Out in the Wild.

I sat below this massive yesterday to catch my breath after the gruelling slog to reach this point, about a third of the way of my overall walk and climb. I felt wonderfully at one with the world as I sat even though there was a bitterly cold wind. I looked around and felt pleased to see that I was probably the oldest person who had made the climb, there is still life in the old dog yet.

As I sat and began this painting I overheard some comments from some of the people gathered near me.  One girl made the comment that "It is a real pity they have not put in a chairlift. These views are spectacular it is such a shame it is so difficult to get up here to enjoy them." Now I thought the whole idea of being out in the wild was to expend some energy and enjoy the payback.

Over the years I have heard many such comments and have read some in visitors comments at some places at the beginning and ends of some walks.

Here are one or two I hope like me you find them amusing.

I was eating my picnic and a deer stole my sandwich, is there anywhere I can claim compensation?

They need to widen the trails and tracks my husband and I like to walk together holding hands.

We need a great many more trails that do not go uphill.

There seems to be a great abundance of spiders and their webs. Is there no way of controlling the numbers?

While camping I am often kept awake by animal noises can this not be kept down?

We need more signs to enable us to keep the area pristine, there is far too much rubbish around.

There are far too many rocks lying around in those mountains.

A McDonalds at the summit would have been nice.

Probably the best of them all. The places where there are no trails are not very well marked.

Have a great day I am heading out to find some of those unmarked trails.

Getting Older.

 

The above is a drawing I did two years ago. He is a very friendly and gentleman I have met on and off for a number of years as I make my trips to the Lake District. I spent some time in his company last night and laughingly he said about the drawing he had aged a bit in the last two years. I just smiled had we all not done the same?

I found myself thinking back to when I was younger and came into contact with a much older lady. We were both attending an evening class on theology. I was there to see if learning more I might make an effort to go to university. She told me she was there because she was too young to stop learning.

She played an enormous part in my becoming a minister, and in my understanding of life.

I remembered another older lady who taught me many things in another way. I first met her when we were attending a course together. We had been told to introduce ourselves to somebody we did not know. Before I got a chance she was introducing herself to me. She was in her eighties and had a beaming smile.

She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Mary. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?” I laughed and enthusiastically responded, “Of course you may!” and she did just that.  

“Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked. She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of children”

 “No seriously,” I asked. I was curious about what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m making a start on getting one!” she told me.

So began a great friendship that did not last as long as it might have but at her age, that was to be expected.

I do remember she had been invited to speak as an after dinner speaker and I attended as her guest.  I will never forget that night  She was introduced and stepped up to the podium.

As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her prompt cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, “I’m sorry I’m so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.”

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humour every day.

You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.

If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old.

If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.

Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. And have no regrets.

To end a little thought of my own. Life should never be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely and well preserved. Rather we should skid in sideways with your favourite food in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. Your body should be thoroughly used up and spent totally worn out with living. There should also be a smile of satisfaction on your face for a life fully lived.

Have a great day.

Little green men.

Today I am heading out to walk in the Lake District with friends who are fortunate enough to live here all the time. I am sure that during the course of the day I will see some really beautiful scenery. There will of course still be the need to keep a vigilant eye on where we are placing our feet. Sadly there are still those who do not clear up after their dogs on public footpaths and tracks.

It is almost impossible to walk anywhere without finding the evidence that humans have been where we are before us. It never fails to amaze me that cans used to carry liquid drinks get heavier once the liquid has been consumed. This has to be the case because it is possible to carry them to where the liquid is consumed then too heavy to carry to a rubbish bin or home. Of course, we could look at all of this and blame it on the little green men. 

Once upon a time, the planet was a beautiful place and then for no reason, all sorts of litter and rubbish began to appear all over the place. There also appeared little animal looking things which people called squidgies alongside this. These were really strange creatures and nobody was ever able to catch them because they just seemed to disappear when almost caught.

Then one day a young boy managed to catch one. Everybody was excited to see this creature and science wanted to learn more about it. A broadcast for television was arranged when the creature would be dissected. There was a huge audience from all over the world as the broadcast went on air.

The creature was placed before the cameras and the procedure began. As the creature was cut open all sorts of litter and rubbish began to spill from it. Then four little green men appeared and said they were from Mars.  People were very angry when they discovered all this rubbish was being dumped all over the place by them.

The little men seemed pleasant enough and began to explain. They said they wanted to be a part of the earth people because it all looked amazing to them. They said they had studied earth for years from afar. They said they had learned how to adapt and possibly act just like humans so that they could fit it and be accepted so they learned how to make rubbish and dump it all over the place just like humans did.

Oh, that we had the power to see ourselves as others see us.

Have a marvellous day I am off to walk in the Lakes District with my friends.

She could do anything.

I heard a tale just the other day and at the time I thought not much more about it. This morning as I walked along the side of the water on the rocky path I had an overwhelming sense of wonder and a strong feeling of happiness.

I was out walking, I was enjoying the difficulties of the path. I had in the past few days shared some lovely moments with friends who had teased me about not being happy to be an artist so you just taking up writing books. It was friendly banter. But as I walked this morning I became very aware of how fortunate I have been in my life. I have written and played music, painted, taught and so many things. Sadly on too many occasions, I have taken it all for granted.

So the story I heard I share and leave with you.

Once upon a time, there was a girl who could do anything in the world she wanted.  All she had to do was choose something and focus.  So, one day she sat down in front of a blank canvas and began to paint.  Every stroke was more perfect than the next, slowly and gracefully converging to build a flawless masterpiece.  And when she eventually finished painting, she stared proudly at her work and smiled.

It was obvious to the clouds and the stars, who were always watching over her, that she had a gift.  She was an artist.  And she knew it too.  She felt it in every fibre of her being.  But a few moments after she finished painting, she got anxious and quickly stood up.  Because she realized that while she had the ability to do anything in the world she wanted to do, she was simply spending her time moving paint around on a piece of canvas.

She felt like there was so much more in the world to see and do—so many options.  And if she ultimately decided to do something else with her life, then all the time she spent painting would be a waste.  So she glanced at her masterpiece one last time and walked out the door into the moonlight.  And as she walked, she thought, and then she walked some more.

While she was walking, she didn’t notice the clouds and the stars in the sky who were trying to signal her, because she was preoccupied with an important decision she had to make.  She had to choose one thing to do out of all the possibilities in the world.  Should she practice medicine?  Or design buildings?  Or teach children?  She was utterly stumped.

Twenty-five years later, the girl began to cry.  Because she realized she had been walking for so long, and that over the years she had become so enamoured by everything that she could do—the endless array of possibilities—that she hadn’t done anything meaningful at all.  And she learned, at last, that life isn’t about the possibility—anything is possible.  Life is about making a decision—deciding to do something that moves you.

So the girl, who was no longer a girl, purchased some canvas and paint from a local craft store, drove to a nearby park, and began to paint.  One stroke gracefully led into the next just as it had so many moons ago.  And as she smiled, she continued painting through the day and into the night.  Because she had finally made a decision.  And there was still some time left to revel in the magic that life is all about.

Strangely enough, the latest chapter of my next book is about grasping the day and not to let life pass by as you allow time to pass you by.

Have a marvellous day and grasp it with both hands.

The Wrinkles of Life.

I was walking this morning along the side of Coniston Water. I love this part of the world and this track. I met a couple who were trying to work out exactly where they were and if it was possible to find another way back to their motorhome. I was able to give the very detailed instructions including telling them about an old metal seat they would pass called the Jubilee Chair. It had been placed there to commemorate a jubilee celebrated by Queen Victoria.

They asked if I had walked this track a few times? I was able to tell the I had run and now walked it so many times I was almost on talking terms with every single rock and boulder. That I had given many parts of this track names that marked off certain distances in my head.

That morning prior to leaving my own motorhome I had looked in the mirror as I shaved and once again become very conscious  of the ageing face before me. Like the boulders and rocks I was very familiar with the wrinkles and creases that created the contours of this old face.

As I left the couple to proceed on their way and me on mine I reflected back in my mind of the days I ran at a fair pace up and down over streams and roots of trees. 

Now hear I was walking. The hands of time were moving on and  could not be stopped or held back by man.

Gone were the days of running this and feeling the exhilaration.  But think of the bonuses I was now having. The sounds of the birds singing, new born lambs. The Red Kite sitting on the fence post never moved as I walked quietly past. Running I might have seen those.

I hope that the hands of time allow me many more years to enjoy that track and those things. I may have to take longer and the blind tattooist may have added some more wrinkles and creases to the face. But rather than lament or despair I will accept and as the sage says go with the flow and be at one with the Chi. 

I managed to even content myself this morning to a stop to eat my apple and draw in the scent of the gorse and hawthorn and listen to the wind on the water. I hope the painting done on my IPad shares some of that with you. 

Have a great day and forget all about the invisible tattooist.

Taking the correct path.

 Tomorrow I am heading off for a few days to one of my favourite spots where I will be spending time with my son and daughter in law. 

 I was remembering an earlier visit he and I had to the same place.  We went out for a run one morning along with a route I could almost have run blindfold I had been there so often.  As we ran I became aware of my age. I was correct so to be concerned it was not long after that I stopped running and took up the more leisurely pace of walking.   I said to him that I was aware that age was making me a bit slower. He laughed, and commented, “I have two things to say. One you will notice you are in front of me, and two, we have not passed anybody else your age out doing this.’ Point made and point taken.

Then I saw that my years had not been totally wasted. We came to a small river. Having run this path so often before, I knew where I could, without losing stride, step over two large boulders to the other side. At this point, my son said, “Come on dad just go for it.” He proceeded to make the jump, only to land flat on his face his shoes full of water. It is all about the right things at the right time.

There is a tale of another old man and his wife. They were a lovely old couple in their 80s. They had been married for 60 years and we're still looking fit and well. In spite of their health, they met an untimely end one day in a traffic accident. 

They found themselves at the pearly gates. The angel showed them around. They were shown where they would live it was beautiful. The husband asked what the rent would be? They were told it was free. He then noticed just behind his house a beautiful golf course. He enquired what the green fees were and the membership rates. Again he was told it was all free. In the clubhouse, he saw all the wonderful food. He asked where all the healthy fat-free food was. He was told there was no such thing. He could not get ill so he could enjoy whatever he wanted. 

He looked at all this and considered it.

He turned to his loving wife and asked her, “What was all that about those awful bran flakes, we could have been here ten years ago.”

The road is in fact just what we make it. Rough or smooth hard or easy. The better road is always the one that leads to a feeling of achievement and wellbeing.

Have a great day.

Lets get honest.

The other day there I was out walking when I passed a lady deeply engrossed with her mobile phone. Running around her were three very large dogs, getting passed he became almost impossible even though I had asked twice if she could excuse me. Eventually, I was able to pass only to find her three dogs barking and snarling at my heels.  "They have never done that before," she said trying to get them under control. It must be what you are wearing. This sounded familiar. I cannot recall the number of time I have been to blame for barking dogs.

Wearing the wrong clothes, walking too fast and many other excuses for the behaviour of their dogs.

I walked onwards and eventually, they stopped chasing and barking. As I headed upward I heard the same dogs barking and snarling again this time two children were shouting to their parents for help obviously in fear of the dogs that had never done that before.

We live in a blame society. Less and less are we ever responsible for our actions? Somebody else has to be to blame it can never be our fault.

There is a little tale about a donkey.

Khandya owns a donkey, that is a very lazy donkey even although it has always been treated kindly by its owner. It is well looked after but still, it is very lazy. it will do anything to avoid having to do any work.

One day Khandya loaded the donkey with bags of salt. On the way along the edge of the river the donkey slipped and fell into the river. Of course, the salt began to dissolve in the water and the load became lighter. 

The donkey thinks this is marvellous. The next journey carrying the bags of salt the donkey does not slip but he makes sure that he ends up in the water, again lightening his load.

This happens a number of times and the Khandya thinks that he has to find a solution to this problem, this is costing him money. The next day he loads two sacks onto the back of the donkey weighing almost the exact same weight but this time not with salt but with cotton. Again the donkey makes sure he ends up in the water. This time, however, rather than the load becoming lighter becomes so much heavier. The donkey finds it difficult to get out of the water without the help of its owner. 

He gets out of the water with help and starts back along the track but now the weight on his back is almost unbearable. A lesson has been learned.

The moral of this story is simple yet worthy of some thought. Honesty and sincerity is the best way to work because laziness and blaming others only leads to trouble. 

Have a marvellous day.

   

A true tale.

I had the pleasure of walking under this waterfall yesterday on one of my really popular walkings routes. I had noticed a friend had painted a similar scene and I just could not resist walking up that way and making a little attempt myself.

It is lovely when we find ourselves inspired by others and encouraged by friends. I took a number of my books around to the local tavern last night had we had a little signing event. I sold almost every book I had except for the one or two I had to keep back. How encouraging it is, not because they bought my book simply because they gave me the encouragement to keep going.

There is a true story, I apologise if I have told it before. It reminds us that offering a little helping hand to another seldom if ever costs us and we never know just how much our help might mean to the other.

It happened late at night, at 11:30 pm, an older African-American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a taxi or a lift.

Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her - generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry!

She wrote down his address, thanked him and drove away. Seven or so days later there was a knock at the young man's door. Standing there when he answered was a delivery man, he had a giant colour television and music player addressed to him. Also attached was a letter addressed to him, it read:

Dear Mr James

Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but my spirits. Then you came along, and because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God Bless you for helping me so unselfishly.

Yours Sincerely

Mrs Nat King Cole.

 Thanks to all who over the past months have encouraged me to write, you will never know just how much it has meant to me. Now working hard on a third one.

A few more questions.

I read somewhere yesterday that being second for a team was marvellous. I am sure it was and I am sure that there were many reasons why the writer felt this to be so. But who remembers?

I smiled yesterday when having written a blog around three questions and then did not answer them my very good friend and my first ever real boss in teaching wanted to know the answers to the questions. There is something about teachers that we are never happy with questions hanging in the air, we want answers.

So here are some more questions. Make no real attempt to answer them unless of course, you know the answers instantly. I am sure the answers could be found by searching online, unlike my questions of yesterday.

1.  Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2.  Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3.  Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.

4.  Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5.  Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners.

6.  Name the last four years second placed premier league teams. 

How did you do?

The point is, very few of us remember the headliners of yesterday.

These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners. In spite of their success, they are mainly forgotten.

Now here are another six questions have a try at these.

1.  List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2.  Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3.  Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4.  Think of a few people who made you feel appreciated and special.

5.  Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

6.  Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.

Easier? Much easier I am sure. In fact, I am confident you answered all.

What does this say to us?

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are not the ones who win celebrity bake-off or celebrity portrait painter of the year. 

They are the ones that care. The ones who touched your life. The ones that gave a meaningful lesson.

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today.  It's already bedtime in New Zealand."

Have a great day or a great sleep whatever the case may be.

My biggest loss?

I had an interesting time yesterday sitting in the waiting area of the local hospital. I had with me my IPad, of course, I did, so I sat quietly and did a little painting of East Wymes a little fishing village along the coastal path not too far from where I live.

Once that was done, I wondered what now? I looked in my bag and discovered I had a copy of my Tao Te Ching an Interpretive Translation with me. I opened it in a very random way and read chapter 44.  I read my own interpretation of what was said.

Here are three questions. Fame or self, which is the most important? Self or wealth, which is most precious? Gain or Loss, what would cause you most pain?

I thought I would just sit quietly and consider these three lines of thought. The lady sitting very close to me began calling around her friends and family telling each of them, in turn, the same story. I began to hope that she did not have very many more to call because I could now recite it almost word for word.

I looked around the waiting area and almost every single person had a cell phone in their hands. I thought again of my three questions and the third one. Gain or Loss. Maybe I should have translated that verse to friends or cell phone which would you give up first.

A young couple who had entered the waiting area together holding hands were now each sitting texting on their phones. I wonder if they will have a bride and groom on top of their cake with the couple texting their friends, “I have just got married can you believe it?”

Three young children and I mean young, were sitting with their Gran who was in a wheelchair. I imagined them asking her, “Gran what was it like before phones?”

“ Well it did not matter where we were, in the park or on a bust or going to school we talked to each other about our plans. We put time and energy into our friendships. We let our minds wander and our imaginations were set free. The gran looked down all three youngsters were now sitting on the floor each playing a different game on a phone.

I saw another couple the female sitting engrossed in her phone the man seemed bored out of his mind. I imagined him saying to her, “Do you mind if I strap your phone to my forehead so that I can imagine you are looking at me as you talk to your friends?”

Friends or cell phone what loss would cause the biggest pain.? Seems that is a no brainer.

Have a wonderful day. I am thinking of starting a no cell phone day.

Equality for all?

I do my very best to not say anything political in this blog but there are times when I find it very difficult to keep on doing that. I was brought up to be politically aware and at the same time concerned for the views and opinions of others.

But there are sometimes politicians shoot from the hip and open their mouths before engaging their brains.

So the other day there it was suggested that the long term unemployed should be made to collect litter to get them back into the ethics of work. It had hardly been said when another asked if such jobs were not demeaning.

I leave that hanging in the air and make no judgement about whether it is a good idea or a bad one. What I do ask is this, how does that make the little fellow who takes great pride in making sure the streets where I live are litter free?  He comes up regularly with his brush, shovel and bucket trolley and makes sure the place looks well. He takes great pride in his job. Does he find it demeaning?

How easy it is to shoot from the hip for all the right reasons but in the process to forget that others can be affected by our words.

The heart surgeon had a car that was in need of being serviced. He took it to his local garage, where he usually exchanged a little friendly banter with the owner, a skilled but not especially wealthy mechanic.

"So tell me," says the mechanic, "I've been wondering about what we both do for a living, and how much more you get paid than me."

"Yes?" says the surgeon.

"Well look at this," says the mechanic, as he worked on a big complicated engine, "I check how it's running, open it up, fix the valves, and put it all back together so it works as well as new. We basically do the same job, don't we? And yet you are paid ten times what I am - how do you explain that?"

The surgeon thought for a moment, and smiling gently, replied, "Try it with the engine running."

Sometimes we need to stand in the other shoes of the other person to get the full picture.

Maybe a rather apt saying in the light of my new book, never judge a book by its cover.

Have a great day.