Just some stranger I met through a friend Who had too much to drink She sat on my lap, gave me hug Didn’t know who she was, but I was in love
Thought about her for a few days after Decided to return to look for her Found her sober, had a few laughs She gave me hug, still in love
Chorus Loving her is the best thing Loving her makes my soul sing Giving her that wedding ring Guaranteed what love brings
Took some time before we dated Knew on our first kiss I lost the fight Wanted to stay for the rest of the day Ended up staying all through the night
Come home from work and she’s still there waiting Seventeen years of loving stronger Growing inside, beside as souls Looking towards what all the future holds
I had learned the easy things
how to laugh, and cry
how to work and play
but what a miraculous day
it was...
when I first laid eyes on you
and my mind abandoned me
went bounding light and fancy free
any sanity escaping me
it was...
the singular greatest event in my life
which as till now and forever shall remain
the miracle of you, my wife
the holy grail of my life
and so...
these words seem empty compared
to feelings so beyond explaining
all the blessings that you've brought to me
the greatest being that
life is...love
as this great adventure continues
and news horizons await beyond
windows filled with mystical vistas
you and I will step through the thresholds
unfettered by doubt, anchored by love
and so, my love, hand in hand
off we go to Adventureland
engulfed in crazy puppy love
still, after all these years
and so...let's go
All I want to be
Is the first thing you see
As you open your eyes
When you can't disguise
That feeling inside
As a smile creeps into your eyes
As if somehow you're surprised
Of a new romance and
I've just appeared by happenstance
Each day finds a new way
You hold the world at bay
As I lay in your arms
Kidnapped by your charms
What determines the value of a life? Is it the size of one’s bank account? Or, is it the quality of life one leads that determine this value? Sadly, it seems the former is becoming more of a reality with each passing generation. Let us take a trip back in time when this was not the case.
Let’s revisit America the last time it suffered from a catastrophic pandemic in 1917–8. America was a country experiencing a great transformation. Like many countries across the globe, America was still adjusting to the great changes the Industrial Revolution created.
Rural Americans, by the millions, left the only way of life they knew. They left a slower-paced life often determined by the ebbs and flows of nature. They never punched a time clock or were late getting to work. The word weekend was not in their vocabulary. Many left this life out of desperation rather than choice. They gained new opportunities for themselves and their children. But, they had to make a significant adaptation, spending less time with the people they love the most.
They chased a dream of a better life and future for themselves and their families. Many women joined the workforce for the first time. The great cities of the country were exploding with newfound energy. Each new day brought an evolution of inventions and new possibilities.
This is not unlike the world Millenials have experienced being the first generation to live their entire lives during the insane explosion of today’s technology. Many Baby Boomers, just like the farmers of a century ago, had to adapt to these changes as well. But it was their children that had to learn to thrive in a completely new and ever-changing world without being swallowed whole. How many households now have both parents employed?
In both these scenarios, the driving factor was adaptation. How to adapt to a world that is forcing one to change or be left behind to suffer economic consequences. But, more importantly, how to find or make the time to not just make a living, but to make a life.
H-mm. Make a life. Just how exactly does one describe “a life” worth living? I have recently had serious revelations regarding this issue brought forth due to the death of my wife. This year would have been our 45 anniversary. Needless to say, between feeling intense loss and grieving I have had revelatory moments of clarity.
Of all these revelations the one that stands out over all others is this. How many people in your life have you had a truly positive effect on? Those that will be forever grateful just for the fact that you were in their life. Be it for a moment. Or a lifetime.
On a personal note, it would take volumes to list those my wife affected this way. Always, her first instinct was to help others. It took decades of her dragging me by the hand for me to realize that chasing money or fame can’t compete against the benefits one gains by helping others achieve a meaningful life. This does not mean one cannot enjoy financial wealth as well. But it should not be the driving force that blinds one to the true treasures life has to offer.
Whether you are 16, 36, or 66 ask yourself one question. Then ponder the answer. Search your soul. Which will you cherish more towards the end of your life? Your bank account or all the lives you touched? Don’t sell yourself short. The simplest of gestures; kindness, advice, a hug, can be forever cherished when given unselfishly in a time of need.
What determines the value of a life? Is it the size of one’s bank account? Or, is it the quality of life one leads that determine this value? Sadly, it seems the former is becoming more of a reality with each passing generation. Let us take a trip back in time when this was not the case.
Let’s revisit America the last time it suffered from a catastrophic pandemic in 1917–8. America was a country experiencing a great transformation. Like many countries across the globe, America was still adjusting to the great changes the Industrial Revolution created.
Rural Americans, by the millions, left the only way of life they knew. They left a slower-paced life often determined by the ebbs and flows of nature. They never punched a time clock or were late getting to work. The word weekend was not in their vocabulary. Many left this life out of desperation rather than choice. They gained new opportunities for themselves and their children. But, they had to make a significant adaptation, spending less time with the people they love the most.
They chased a dream of a better life and future for themselves and their families. Many women joined the workforce for the first time. The great cities of the country were exploding with newfound energy. Each new day brought an evolution of inventions and new possibilities.
Not unlike the world Millenials have experienced being the first generation to live their entire lives during the insane explosion of today’s technology. Many Baby Boomers, just like the farmers of a century ago, had to adapt to these changes as well. But it was their children that had to learn to thrive in a completely new and ever-changing world without being swallowed whole. How many households now have both parents employed?
In both these scenarios, the driving factor was adaptation. How to adapt to a world that is forcing one to change or be left behind to suffer economic consequences. But, more importantly, how to find or make the time to not just make a living, but to make a life.
H-mm. Make a life. Just how exactly does one describe “a life” worth living? I have recently had serious revelations regarding this issue brought forth due to the death of my wife. This year would have been our 45 anniversary. Needless to say, between feeling intense loss and grieving I have had revelatory moments of clarity.
Of all these revelations the one that stands out over all others is this. How many people in your life have you had a truly positive effect on? Those that will be forever grateful just for the fact that you were in their life. Be it for a moment. Or a lifetime.
On a personal note, it would take volumes to list those my wife affected this way. Always, her first instinct was to help others. It took decades of her dragging me by the hand for me to realize that chasing money or fame can’t compete against the benefits one gains by helping others achieve a meaningful life. This does not mean one cannot enjoy financial wealth as well. But it should not be the driving force that blinds one to the true treasures life has to offer.
Whether you are 16, 36, or 66 ask yourself one question. Then ponder the answer. Search your soul. Which will you cherish more towards the end of your life? Your bank account or all the lives you touched? Don’t sell yourself short. The simplest of gestures; kindness, advice, a hug, can be forever cherished when given unselfishly in a time of need.
Practice it until you become a master. Then you will have lived a life of immeasurable value.
What makes for a great illusion? One that is so convincing you have no doubt it is real. Any master illusionist who has mastered the art the illusion will tell you that confidence and attitude will help sell the illusion. It is easy to sell the trick to an audience that is a willing participant. But the illusion itself is what stands the test of time.
This is not unlike what we as souls create for ourselves time and time again. We, souls, are a fun-loving, playful, experimental bunch. Not unlike a child. As beings that have eternity to entertain ourselves, we must create our own entertainment.
Children role-play to experience both sides of their imaginations. One day a group of young boys could be playing cops and robbers and they will experience what it is like to be the robber being shot and killed and the next day being the cop doing the killing. And they are highly creative and have fun with both roles. They go home as friends, having had a great time “just playing”.
Then, sadly, they grow to be adults, and most will lose their playful self to the illusion they themselves created…their grownup lives. All of us without exception create the world we live in. It is simply an illusion that seems so real we find ourselves trapped within it. Only with the help of good friends we have known through countless incarnations can we eventually break free.
Now, what I mean by good friends is this. We as souls attract like-minded beings to play with. These souls are often good friends and family members in your physical incarnations because you all like to play the “cops and robbers” game. One of your best friends may be the one that murders you in this lifetime because that was the experience you both wished to have this time around.
I know what I am proposing may seem blasphemous to many. So be it. Every spiritual master that has walked this earth has been considered a blasphemer in his/her lifetime. Not that I am proposing I am one. I, like you, am no different than them. They simply are more evolved souls trying to tell us to break through the greatest of illusions, that being that we are fatal creatures that die. Nothing could be further from the truth.
We are eternal, loving entities on a journey to God-realization.
Having gotten that out of the way the question that remains is how do we go about our daily lives once this realization dawns upon us? This is the tricky part. We are so utterly consumed by this great illusion that all of us will need help from one that has seen behind the curtain.
No, I am not referring to some religious figure. I am talking about a real person or persons in your life that through their example they take you by the hand and expose the illusion for what it is. One that is close to you and demonstrates a love that rises above the pettiness that often shows its ugly face in human encounters. A divine love that touches everyone around them.
If you think hard, I am sure all of you have met someone in your life that fits the bill. A person who rarely has anything bad to say. Easily forgives. Smiles so bright it hurts your eyes. Seems never to be controversial. Makes you grateful just to be in their presence.
I have been fortunate enough to have known several such souls in my life. But none more than the woman I married. For 47 years we spent a wonderful life together until she chose her end to this particular illusion of hers by creatively using dementia as her excuse. Like she did for me every day in our shared world we created she is most likely lighting the way for me towards our next adventure. I cannot wait to see what’s in store for me.
Needless to say, this scenario crushed me. Tore at my very existence. For two weeks I could barely breathe. No, I did not want to breathe. And then, on that fourteenth day, and no doubt with her assistance, I had an awakening. This is MY illusion. This is the role I created. This is what in my make-believe play world I wanted to experience. Now, we can laugh together again at how much fun this adventure has been for us.
Faster than a hummingbird’s wingbeat speaking cosmically, we will again be together, planning our next adventure. But I will insist on perhaps both of us dying together in a crash while flying a glider over the Grand Canyon at sunset. Doesn’t that sound like fun? I know we would both be laughing our asses off.
When we meet
We shall touch the stars
The little children will laugh at us
And to each we shall teach love
And we’ll float on the soft summer breeze
I’ll carve our initials in the clouds
And in a fleeting moment
That which not tangible shall succumb
And our love will become inimitable
We’ll explore the silver sum
And search for the silver man
And will mix the colors on the palette
And paint the world
Then we’ll say our good-byes
And no regrets will there be
Only happy memories we share
And our initials in the clouds
