8/6/2018 2 Comments What Is It That You Love?What is it you love? Really, stop, think about it: do you remember as you focus so many big and little things? What is it you love to do? What attracts your attention most? What do you find you give your attention to or would like to give your attention to? That last question might be something you want to pay some serious attention to. Because whatever you give your attention to, is what probably matters most to you. You may not love it or them or whatever, but bottom line, it is very important to you. I found myself thinking about that today and found myself giving a full attention to things, while important and necessary, were not the things I really loved to do. They are definitely important to others in my life and perhaps even in the world in general. occupational, political, emotional, all sorts of things. Things I give myself over to while forsaking the things I think I love. Tough question. What is it that you love? What brings your heart joy, your soul peace, your funny bone a giggle? Are you focussing on those things? I know people who seem to be doing just that. They amaze and make me wonder why I cannot do the same. Funny thing is, I can. I just have to say "yes." So what brought all this up, you may ask. Go ahead, ask. Well, I'll tell you. It is now going on 10pm here on the west coast. It has been a hot and muggy day. There is a new fire blazing nearby in the Trabuco Canyon. The evening sky was filled with smoke and even with all the windows and doors closed, I can still feel the irritation in my eyes. Life is short, I thought. Why let things I have no control over control me? Then, as I got ready to go to bed, I realized I hadn't written my blog of thoughts and musings. And I really love doing that. I love to write. But for some reason its the last thing I do. Perhaps. But I knew I wanted to do it, so here it is, and this is what came out. Now isn't that just something? So one more time, what is it you love? Pay attention to it...now. What you pay attention to, persists. It is prudent then, to pay attention to that which you love to do, to experience, to be. And so there you have it. Love, they say, is always the answer. You just need to ask the right question.
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Sometimes I feel like I grew up in another time, another place. Well, sort of, I guess I did. I grew up in Michigan. We were close enough to farm country that it wasn't practical to start school until after Labor Day. Kids were needed not far from where I lived to help with the harvest. Or so we were told. Nowadays those farms are shopping malls, subdivisions or big box stores. So I guess the after Labor Day rule doesn't apply in Michigan any more than it does here in Southern California. But starting school on the 6th of August? That seems so like rushing it. I get the idea that if the semester starts earlier, it will end before the winter holiday break. Then the new semester can start in January and there is no earning gap per se. Makes sense, I guess. It just seems like we rush everything these days. Stores start stocking Christmas/Hanukkah/Festivus gifts and decor before Labor Day. spring apparel debuts in February. Valentine's appear the day after New Year's. And so forth and yada yada. Was it always so? And isn't is funny how we act as if summer begins Memorial Day in May, when there's still a month before the summer solstice in June and that summer ends Labor Day when it really doesn't end until later at the autumnal equinox? Why the heck do we bother with those when we just arbitrarily start and end summer whenever we feel like? And while I'm ranting, don't get me started on daylight savings time, campaign or TV show "seasons", or for that matter sports seasons like basketball, baseball, football and the like that all overlap each other and seem to last forever, stop a day or two, and then start again. Whatever happened to clear demarkation of time and temperature? Okay, I guess I'm getting carried away. It's just how life is these days. No time honored traditions that can't be adjusted to suit our needs. Wear white when you will. Drink hot apple cider in July and lemonade in December. Its all as you like it. And really, I guess that's okay. As an old curmudgeon, I will just remember the old days and go with the flow. Happy back to school. I suddenly have the urge to buy new pencils, notebooks and maybe a nifty red backpack. Click below for a very old tune that is still timely today in so many way! !! Enjoy!! The lyrics appear below that! Anything Goes
by Cole Porter (I had no idea it was so long!) Times have changed And we've often rewound the clock Since the Puritans got a shock When they landed on Plymouth Rock. If today Any shock they should try to stem 'Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock would land on them. In olden days, a glimpse of stocking Was looked on as something shocking. But now, God knows, Anything goes. Good authors too who once knew better words Now only use four-letter words Writing prose. Anything goes. If driving fast cars you like, If low bars you like, If old hymns you like, If bare limbs you like, If Mae West you like, Or me undressed you like, Why, nobody will oppose. When ev'ry night the set that's smart is in- Truding in nudist parties in Studios. Anything goes. When Missus Ned McLean (God bless her) Can get Russian reds to "yes" her, Then I suppose Anything goes. When Rockefeller still can hoard en- Ough money to let Max Gordon Produce his shows, Anything goes. The world has gone mad today And good's bad today, And black's white today, And day's night today, And that gent today You gave a cent today Once had several chateaux. When folks who still can ride in jitneys Find out Vanderbilts and Whitneys Lack baby clo'es, Anything goes. If Sam Goldwyn can with great conviction Instruct Anna Sten in diction, Then Anna shows Anything goes. When you hear that Lady Mendl standing up Now turns a handspring landing up- On her toes, Anything goes. Just think of those shocks you've got And those knocks you've got And those blues you've got From that news you've got And those pains you've got (If any brains you've got) From those little radios. So Missus R., with all her trimmin's, Can broadcast a bed from Simmons 'Cause Franklin knows Anything goes. Songwriters: Cole Porter Anything Goes lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, IncAnything Goes Cole Porter Times have changed And we've often rewound the clock Since the Puritans got a shock When they landed on Plymouth Rock. If today Any shock they should try to stem 'Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock would land on them. In olden days, a glimpse of stocking Was looked on as something shocking. But now, God knows, Anything goes. Good authors too who once knew better words Now only use four-letter words Writing prose. Anything goes. If driving fast cars you like, If low bars you like, If old hymns you like, If bare limbs you like, If Mae West you like, Or me undressed you like, Why, nobody will oppose. When ev'ry night the set that's smart is in- Truding in nudist parties in Studios. Anything goes. When Missus Ned McLean (God bless her) Can get Russian reds to "yes" her, Then I suppose Anything goes. When Rockefeller still can hoard en- Ough money to let Max Gordon Produce his shows, Anything goes. The world has gone mad today And good's bad today, And black's white today, And day's night today, And that gent today You gave a cent today Once had several chateaux. When folks who still can ride in jitneys Find out Vanderbilts and Whitneys Lack baby clo'es, Anything goes. If Sam Goldwyn can with great conviction Instruct Anna Sten in diction, Then Anna shows Anything goes. When you hear that Lady Mendl standing up Now turns a handspring landing up- On her toes, Anything goes. Just think of those shocks you've got And those knocks you've got And those blues you've got From that news you've got And those pains you've got (If any brains you've got) From those little radios. So Missus R., with all her trimmin's, Can broadcast a bed from Simmons 'Cause Franklin knows Anything goes. Songwriters: Cole Porter Anything Goes lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc It's getting late on this a Saturday night. There was a time I might have found myself putting on my platform dancing shoes and Angel Flight slacks, getting ready to head out for a night at the disco. Yes, I used to go to the clubs and dancing my tush off, all the while hoping to meet "the one". But that never happened and a 2am I'd trudge to my car and drive home...along...and go to bed, my clothes reeking of smoke and alcohol, even though I didn't smoke and usually had nursed a Michelob Lite or Black Russian all evening. Such a swinger I was. Sometimes I feel like its getting late, as in, too late to do anything about anything. I wonder if maybe you ever feel this way? This is related to the forgoing reminiscence only in the fact the hope seems to spring eternal for me. Even now if someone asked me to head out to the dance club, I'd probably at least consider going. And yes, I would probably even briefly entertain the fantasy that I would meet "the one" and fall in love and the whole nine yards. But these days, that would quickly pass I fear. I tend to be disheartened these days by all the madness going on since the 2016 election. No matter what side you are on, you have to admit, if you are being honest and real, that it's hard to be an optimist these days. And that is why I wonder if it is really as late as I think? Is there any hope of getting through this as in "this too shall pass."? But of course, this too shall pass. We will move on, persevere and find yet another shiny object to attract our magpie minds. Geez, I am sounding cynical. Am I? Are you? I truly hope this, as with all the nadirs of eras past, will truly pass; that too much damage will not have been done and we can all remember we are one big human family. Below is a song sung as a commercial for Coke. Funny thing, I always thought it was possible to buy the world a Coke and keep it company...its the real thing. 8/3/2018 1 Comment Getting It Just WriteI often find myself not doing something because I know it won't be perfect. Or, if I do attempt doing it, I find myself getting frustrated, maybe even pitching a tantrum and abandoning the whole enterprise. In illustration, I was trying to create something special for someone special earlier this evening. The first print was the wrong size. The second printed out on the wrong side. The third was smudged. Finally the fourth was "good enough". And in actuality, had I not seen the first three iterations, it would have been close to perfect.
It's times like these I finally become grounded again in reality. Perfection is an illusion. It really doesn't exist. If it did, it would never survive because it would simply transfigure itself to the next level of existence. So that's my healthy outlook tip for today. When you are writing the great American novel, you will never get it "just right" if you don't "just write". And that can be applied to whatever one is doing at any particular time. The hibiscus pictured here was in my wonderful Ann's garden last spring. I don't imagine it suffered getting itself perfect. It just was without trying! 8/2/2018 3 Comments Sitting Write DownIts been nine, count 'em, nine, weeks since I wrote a blog...wrote much of anything. I've been busy, distracted, uninspired, inspired but lazy, procrastinating...well, you get the picture. It just hasn't been in....well...a priority? No, that's not exactly it. A necessity? Some might say not, but, truly, it think it is for me. A regular writing practice is imperative for any writer. So what is it? Distracted. Energy drained. Out of gas. Perhaps. Probably it all boils down to this: discipline. Its a reduction sauce of what's left when you simmered the ingredients in your roux, the clarified butter with a pinch of flour. You take it down until what you have left is a savory sauce to make your dish tasty. That's what I've been doing! Making a roux! So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Like a roux. And I shall not rue the day. Lets call t this sort of sabbatical. I was studying. That's the ticket. At least that's the best explanation I can come up with. But sabbaticals end...unless they turn into retirements or something like that. Not from writing...no, I'm not there yet. Hope I never will be. In the last nine weeks I have been elsewhere. I house-sat in Santa Barbara couple times, drove an elderly couple up to Orcas Island in the Puget Sound. I've tried to cope with the excessive heatwave here is Southern California, finding energy and stamina in short supply. I've even written some on my two memoirs I've been working on for, what, nine years! Maybe there's something in the number nine? The Bible numerology code number 9. Most of the religions maintain numbers carry hidden meanings which are supposed to carry the secrets of universe. ... It is also the number of man and depicts gestation which is also a period of nine months. It is the number of hierarchy; it representednine choruses of angels.The Bible numerology code number 9 - AstroVera.comwww.astrovera.com/bible-religion/190-bible-number-9.html That's as good reason as any. LOL So here goes. Let me blog again! And perhaps the results will have been worth the wait! |
Rob McMurray,
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