Something To Think About and Journal Notes

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

Inge natura renovator integra          -          Through fire, nature is reborn.

     Oh, these vast, calm measureless mountain days, inciting at once to work and rest.  Days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God.

     Nevermore, however weary, should one faint by the way who gains the blessing of one mountain day; whatever his fate, long life, short life, stormy or calm, he is rich forever!

                                                                          John Muir, From My First Summer in the Gulf, 1919

JOURNAL NOTES, NOVEMBER 2024

     The beauty of Fall is everywhere in Colorado.  Driving through Glenwood Canyon later in the day than normal revealed beauty unseen in the light of morning.  The sun fell at just the perfect angle and had a softness that brought softness to the ancient rocks stacked upon each other by molten matter from volcanoes, cemented, uplifted, melted and many times twisted from intense heat during the formation of the canyon. Deep red color with vibrant patches of yellow vegetation.  I could not hold back the overwhelming thankfulness I felt at being alive and able to see this sight.  Momento mori

     The time will come when I leave this life.  It isn’t the thought of death that brings fear.  The knowledge during my living years of what I will be leaving when my time arrives; this occupies my thoughts when I think of death.  Life is a precious resource that runs out too quickly.  The key is not to lament the loss of time, but to enjoy all that is left.  Watch the clouds on a stormy morning.  Go outside quickly when you hear the geese passing over.  Be excited by the sight of an American Kestrel perched on the neighbor’s roof.  Imagine the activity of seeds waiting in the soil for the warmth of the Spring sun.  These are special things. 

     I have been gifted eudaimonia (happiness.)  I do not get caught up in things that are not within my control.  It is not mine and therefore I do not own it.  Everyday I try to be the best I can be and treat others with kindness no matter how they return that kindness.  This life is too short to waste time reacting to the behavior of others.  Live your life well and do not regret what you cannot control.  Don’t dwell in the past.  Everyday is new and as Thoreau said, “Morning is when I am awake and there is dawn in me.”  Be open to the newness of the day.