DANCING WITHOUT MUSIC

TODAY'S QUOTE:

"He that lives in hope danceth without music." - George Herbert

 

Hope is music to our soul. It has depth and tempo powerful enough to levitate us above any issue. It can keep our feet marching, even through the most brutal terrain. But tuning in isn't automatic. And finding the right rhythm can't be left to chance. Any exercise used to gain, (or regain) a balanced outlook requires just the right hopeful melody. A soft wistful tune is often all we have to build on. But build on it we must, or defeat is certain. 

 

Without hope we become listless and overwhelmed by even the slightest irritations. Life can be  irritating in the extreme, but it's also a precious one of a kind treasure. Hope insulates us when things are less than perfect. And face it folks... less than perfect is how everything is.

Hope smooths the bumpy patches. It gives breath to the winded. It straightens crooked backs and winding thoughts. It's all we have sometimes, but it's always enough to make things better. It spans across even the widest of chasms if we allow it to lift us up. It's a wish with possibilities. It's an optimists best defense against developing pessimism. It's a flu shot for the soul.

Reality must be faced of course. Hope alone won't alter fact, and without-a-wand wishes won't be automatically granted. What is imagined has to be possible. We may have the deepest desire for a change in someone else, but we haven't a chance in hell of that changing anything.

I always hope today for a better tomorrow. I view hardship as a challenge and sorrow as a lesson that I must master before I can move on. Opportunities are not all dressed in party clothes, some are ragged and tattered. When I feel naked and exposed, I simply wrap myself with hope and dance forward at whatever pace is possible. Think about it.... Let it ride.... Then decide!!!!

A SIMPLE FORMULA

TODAY'S QUOTE:

"Learn from the past, Hope for the future, Live in the present." - Ken Lancaster

 

This is such a simple, well-phrased formula for true happiness and soul silence. Each portion flows... one into the next... ready or not... duck and cover, or stand and fight for your life. Understanding the true nature of the beast levels the playing field.

 

The past is the school everyone attends. From first breath to last, attendance is mandatory. Wisdom is the reward that allows forward progress, but graduation isn't ever an option. As long as there are tomorrows, yesterdays will certainly follow. But beware... lessons not learned will be retested... and retested... and retested when least expected. Count on that!

 

The best way to face a school of such lofty magnitude is to make the cost worth the reward. Suck it dry of all it can give then turn the page and go on. Remember that each cloud has a silver lining... every thorn its rose attached. Better to find the beauty than let the ugly have control.

 

The future is a spring of eternal possibilities that never dries up, unless we do. We can drink from it or drown in it. We can gaze at it in awe or turn our heads and ignore its bright beckoning glow. It can be our best friend or worst enemy. We choose whatever role it plays.

 

Choice goes so much deeper than most of us ever realize. The future is forward. The past is behind. We can step ahead or doom ourselves to walking backward... how we travel is of our own personal design. But travel we must.

 

The present is where the two join in a constant crossroads, choices made there are colored by the past and alter the shade of the future.
When the mistakes and successes of the past teach us nothing we end up continuing on a path that goes around in tight circles.

 

Without hope for a future that outshines the past we are doomed to travel in constant shadow. Enlightenment illuminates wrong turns and dead ends. Know your shortcomings. Understand the why... make note of the when... take possession of the blame. Knowing how you arrived at an unpleasant destination will help you to avoid future visits.

 

Consider on a deeper level the choices that you make. Letting them mean less than they ought to is such a terrible waste of your precious time. We never get it right every time. That's the nature of the beast. But if there's never any method to your madness it leaves a lunatic in charge of the asylum. And how crazy is that? Think about it.... Let it ride.... Then decide!!!!