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3 days ago
Over the decades of my life, I have been able to see at very close range the impact of a full spectrum of choices in the lives of others and myself. Some of the choices and their consequences I have observed have been terrible. Some have been beautiful. I have heard more than one man say, "Oh—I love my kids so much" and then make choices that would bring a lifetime of heartache to his children. That's not love. Too often in life what we claim we want and what we actually do can be at tragic odds one with another. It's as if we set out to build a "dream house" but burn it to the ground as we go. What do we really want? How can we tell what we really want? Can we see a "dreamhouse" to completion, or is it just Fate that our dreams end up perpetually homeless? What we really want is manifest not so much by our whims and wishes. What we truly want is evidenced by our daily, almost trivial, decisions and choices. One of the grand achievements in life ...
9 days ago
This is the kind of lonely song that comes from wearing my heart on my sleeve for one woman. I Am Rain That Was Meant to Pour Only true love can truly hurt It's ours, but we don't get any say It tears us apart to remind us how close We've grown day after day My bags are in the car Paycheck's telling me to go And as I walk out the door, I know I am rain that was meant to pour I'll unpack my heartache And beat the sunset until it cries I'll hate myself for staring at the TV Until my boredom finally dies I'm giving all my secrets away Like a busker on an empty metro quay Now, just what was the last thing that you wore? I am rain that was meant to pour Memories are like a jester That can only make people cry This room couldn't be more empty And I'm bluer than the sky We were made to hurt each other We found all we ever wanted But never looked for And, I'm just rain that was meant ...
16 days ago
(From my hand-written journal yesterday while on a plane over the Atlantic) I think, in the end, Heaven is a place where all our love, like every perfect feeling I have for Carolyn and my boys, goes. And, those feelings--- that love--- is put in a safe with no walls, where no one can ever interrupt it. It will never diminish. It just grows and grows. jrd
21 days ago
Giving is vital. But, it is also good to receive. I am not talking about selfishly taking . I'm talking about humbly receiving . Too often, our pride, stubbornness, or other feelings get in the way of receiving what is selflessly, graciously, and kindly offered—everything from a compliment to a generous gift of financial aid or other assistance. Receiving gifts of any sort that are benevolently given by others is very different from taking . Taking implies seizing or capturing what is not offered. This impulse, too, may come from pride and other unproductive feelings. God knew that we might need some guidance on the humbling and sanctifying act of receiving when He declared, "Deny not the gifts of God for they are many." Those gifts come in many ways. Earlier this year I was chatting with a friend who lives back near my home town (hurray for Minnesota!), and we connect now and again. He and his family had fallen on hard times given the state of the world economy ...
