Begin My Life Again

"If I were to begin my life again I should want it as it was. I would only open my eyes a little more. I did not see proper]y,  and I did not see everything in that little universe in which I was feeling my way." ~ Jules Renard

    If we look back on our lives and say, "Well I wish that didn't happen," we forget that if one thing was omitted, it could change other events that were wonderful and unforgettable. If we begin our lives again, we must open our eyes wider and see each other more clearly.  I wish I had spent more time with the people I loved who are now gone, but it  reminds me to spend that time now and to cherish those little things in life. The small things make our hearts bigger in love. 

Namaste

Namaste means "I salute the light in you."

Most  loving people give off a special light, or incandescence.  This light has the
power to illuminate the dark places in the world.

  Namaste is derived from Sanskrit and is a combination of two words, "Namaḥ" and "te". Namaḥ means 'bow', 'obeisance', 'reverential salutation' or 'adoration'^[ and te means 'to you' . Therefore, Namaste literally means "salutations to you". 
 As it is most commonly used, namaste is roughly equivalent to "greetings" or "good day", in English, implicitly with the connotation "to be well". As opposed to shaking hands, kissing or embracing each other in other cultures, Namaste is a non-contact form of respectful greeting and can be used universally while meeting a person of different gender, age or social status. When spoken to another person, it is commonly accompanied by a slight bow made with hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointed upwards, in front of the chest. 

Pressing hands together with a smile to greet Namaste – a common cultural practice in India

The gesture Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another.

  To love another person is to seek the spark within them. In his book Paradiso, Dante Alighieri said, "A mighty flame followeth a little spark." This musical fusion of saxophone and santoor embraces the spark in both cultures. 

Listen and Silent

The same letters are in the words listen and silent.  It is a strange coincidence that two different words guide each other to a deeper meaning. If I really want to listen to you, understand you, and follow you, it must be quiet. When you listen to that softness of silence, you enter another dimension of beauty.

"Hear my words that I might teach you. Feel my words that I might reach you." ~Paul Simon

The writer Aldous Huxley said, "After silence, that which comes
 nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."

I close my eyes  when I listen to Simon & Garfunkel, so I can feel the silent strength within me.  
When you act from a resilient, silent love, this force is bigger than any other human power. Silence is not an option where there is this kind of love, either you must speak out or sing out. 

Chalkthoughts

Where would you write your chalk message? One woman illustrates her message on the laundry room wall, another brings us joy drawing  just one word (see the video below).

Chalkboard Drawing Video

Love reminds us of the rewards in taking the first step. Faith is believing that your step leads to some destination. Hope sustains us in the journey.  The greatest of these is love.

Time

Time Is

Time is
Too Slow for those who Wait,
Too Swift for those who Fear,
Too Long for those who Grieve,
Too Short for those who Rejoice;
But for those who Love,
Time is not. 

             ~ Henry Van Dyke  (page 146)

  I've seen this poem also end with the words:

But for those who Love,

Time is eternal.

 When you are with the one you love, there is never enough time. Time goes by, but it is not, the poet says, any of the above choices. The timepiece of love ticks on beyond our own lifetime and truly is eternal. Love never dies. Even after death, she/he is near. They can "tear down the hotel", sings Billy Joel, but not the memories. 

                                                                 "This Is The Time" by Billy Joel

Sweet Dreams

When we go to sleep at night, we disconnect from the world, but we often connect to the person of our dreams. Dreams can be passed on, as in "I dream of a better life for you." Or  dreams can be part of our strongest desires, as in, "I dreamed that someday I will marry you."
Dreams can be inspirational, prophetic and for freedom, as in the pivotal "I Have A Dream" speech, by Dr. Martin Luther King.
   Sweet Dreams are different. Sweet Dreams are soothing, colorful ( they say blue is the most  relaxing color to paint your bedroom for a good night's sleep)) and full of possibilities. Dreams can be hypnotizing and magical. Your eyes are closed, but you can see visons of yourself with the one you love.  In a dream, the heart and the mind come together. No wonder some people prefer to live inside a dream.

                                                           "Sweet Dreams" by Richard Elliot

The Land of Nod

  by Robert Louis Stevenson

From Breakfast on through all the day
At home among my friends I stay,
But every night I go abroad
Afar into the land of Nod.

All by myself I have to go,
With none to tell me what to do--
All alone beside the streams
And up the mountain-sides of dreams.

The strangest things are there for me,
Both things to eat and things to see,
And many frightening sights abroad
Till morning in the land of Nod.

Try as I like to find the way,
I never can get back by day,
Nor can remember plain and clear
The curious music that I hear.

- See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15242#sthash.5J3mQbca.dpuf

If I Had A Boat

  Lyle said this song is about "a cowboy on the ocean". The song is also about two T.V. cowboys, lightning and a horse. But the boat seems to be the main theme. It represents a way to get out of one problem and get to a better place.  Walt Whitman realized that crossing a river would be something future generatioins would do after him:

"And you that have crossed it years hence are more to me in my meditation  ~Walt Whitman

Lyle is crossing an ocean and is reflective. Maybe this is the point--to know that life is about crossing oceans and rivers.  Is the crossing dangerous? Is it disappointing? Perhaps life is about traveling with your favorite animal, finding another marriage, making new friends, creating new songs,  new adventures,  and new loves.

Moonlight With Claude Debussy

I am not sure if you saw this animation of Clair de Lune ( French word for "moonlight'), but it is gorgeous. I will never look at a red umbrella the same way again.

   It may be raining, but do you have a big umbrella? If not think about getting one. The woman in this video animation happens to have a Big Red Umbrella. I think we should all keep one in our car, boat, home, or office. Make sure it is big enough to cover more than yourself.

    

“Our lives disconnect and reconnect, we move on, and later we may again touch one another, again bounce away. This is the felt shape of a human life, neither simply linear nor wholly disjunctive nor endlessly bifurcating, but rather this bouncey-castle sequence of bumpings-into and tumblings-apart.”
― Salman Rushdie, The Ground Beneath Her Feet