This topic has been brought to our Friday gathering of the Loose Bloggers Consortium by my good friend Ramana.
People dying all around us – four major players in my family's world in the past year, with a fifth to come – and all the minor irritants of every day life. Where does a man find serenity in the midst of all this?
In a nutshell, right here:
Paul McCartney
What was that saying Ramana was so fond of? Something about the grass growing by itself! Hang in there my friend.
ReplyDeleteI am doing well and will expand on why as I answer Maria.
DeleteIt has been a very hard year for you and I am sure finding serenity has been most difficult and hard to come by. Wish I had some good advice, but everything that comes to mind seems trite. So I will simply believe in you and your ability to know the time for serenity to re-enter your life.
ReplyDeleteParadoxically, this year has brought greater serenity into my life because the petty concerns have been burned away by the bigger issues. It is the petty that I find disruptive to serenity.
DeleteYes, sometimes when life is in turmoil all around us we find a path that guides us. And as you say the small things disappear leaving you time to grief and heal at your own pace...
DeleteVery true, Cedar! Very true.
DeleteAh yes - music does work The times I've been happiest and enjoyed anything close to serenity revolve around a couple of songs - Hawaii for the people and Colorado for the natural beauty.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5JicO2bKec
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP7Chi9MPSg&feature=related
Music and good philosophy wrapped up in one package! The best musicians are often great poets and philosophers.
DeleteYes, not yet so Old Fossil, you have had a tough year.
ReplyDeleteMay I put forward the notion that when confronted with a "fait accompli", like death, we are at our most serene? Because there is nothing we can do to alter the outcome?
I only ever, and even then I don't, flap, running around like a chicken with its head cut off, when my course of action may make a difference.
U
U, our serenity is challenged by our grief, not because of the need to do or not do.
DeleteBy simply letting our grief pass through unobstructed in it's course, we come back to the center. Thus, my choice of "Let It Be."
Hey TOF, I plead not guilty to the charge of bringing the topic to you for this week. The culprit is Will who won't!
ReplyDeleteA man named Sei Weng owned a beautiful mare which was praised far and wide. One day this beautiful horse disappeared. The people of his village offered sympathy to Sei Weng for his great misfortune. Sei Weng said simply, "That's the way it is."
A few days later the lost mare returned, followed by a beautiful wild stallion. The village congratulated Sei Weng for his good fortune. He said, "That's the way it is."
Some time later, Sei Weng's only son, while riding the stallion, fell off and broke his leg. The village people once again expressed their sympathy at Sei Weng's misfortune. Sei Weng again said, "That's the way it is."
Soon thereafter, war broke out and all the young men of the village except Sei Weng's lame son were drafted and were killed in battle. The village people were amazed as Sei Weng's good luck. His son was the only young man left alive in the village. But Sei Weng kept his same attitude: despite all the turmoil, gains and losses, he gave the same reply, "That's the way it is."
I know. I doofed it when I said you brought the topic. But, you have to admit, this topic is very Rummuser in nature!
DeleteAnd, as Cronkite also said, "And, that's the way it is."
A farmer had a horse but one day, the horse ran
ReplyDeleteaway and so the farmer and his son had to plow
their fields themselves. Their neighbors said, "Oh,
what bad luck that your horse ran away!" But the
farmer replied, "Bad luck, good luck, who knows?"
The next week, the horse returned to the farm,
bringing a herd of wild horses with him. "What
wonderful luck!" cried the neighbors, but the farmer
responded, "Good luck, bad luck, who knows?"
Then, the farmer's son was thrown as he tried to
ride one of the wild horses, and he broke his
leg. "Ah, such bad luck," sympathized the neighbors.
Once again, the farmer responded, "Bad luck,
good luck, who knows?"
A short time later, the ruler of the country
recruited all young men to join his army for battle.
The son, with his broken leg, was left at home.
"What good luck that your son was not forced into
battle!" celebrated the neighbors. And the farmer
remarked, "Good luck, bad luck, who knows?"