A WELCOME NOTE:
Greetings, and a very warm welcome to you. Thank you for taking some time to share in my philosophical foibles. It's my hope that within these entries you might find encouragement, challenge, laughter, counsel and companionship for the journey ahead. Carpe Diem!
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So, with today being my birthday, it's got me feeling a bit contemplative. You know, the kind of thoughts that deal with dreams and potential, purpose and destiny. I've been sensing a gentle nudge over the last few weeks - a reminder that there's something for me to do, and that it will require some dedication of me to do it. It's a sobering thought that I will never be the person I have the potential to be unless I commit passion and persistence to the endeavours that I believe matter to me.
There's lots of talk flying around about pursuing one's dream(s). You see it on posters. Read it on bumper stickers. Hear it in movies. But what is this business of pursuing one's dreams really all about anyway? How do we bring it from the realm of the ethereal and the abstract into the tangible world of the real and the achievable? Well, let's take a look at a few of the signposts along the road of life that will help give you an indication of what you were called or meant to do with your life, or at least, what you can engage in to the betterment of yourself and others.
I was reminded today of my favourite artist, Michelangelo. I'm fascinated by his sculptures in particular. Sketching or painting something with convincing realism is hard enough to do, but carving insanely intricate lines out of a massive, solid chunk of marble just astounds me. It's all the more baffling when you consider he had no power tools, and that he consistently worked through the night with nothing but soft, flickering candlelight to guide him.
(Taken from an article I wrote some time back for CrossRhythms.co.uk. The topic has been on my mind again of late, so here you go. I hope you enjoy it.)
I've seen it said that regret for things done can be tempered by time, but regret for things not done is inconsolable. These words have stuck with me since the moment I read them. They have echoed a sentiment that I have long clung to. Better it is to take risks in life in pursuit of a wild adventure, even at the expense of bruising your head, than to wrestle with the bitterness of regret over chances never taken and paths never followed.
And so...a living legend has become a late one. By now most of the world knows that Michael Jackson is dead. Arguably, and in my opinion probably, the greatest entertainer to have walked the face of the earth. These past few days I've watched the circus of a shameless media fiasco unfold. I'm not referring to the dispensing of pertinent information by legitimate journalists, but rather to the sensationalizing of ratings hungry leaches concerned with nothing other than their own image and advancement. I'm mindful also of the controversies, scandals and blunders that have surrounded the king of pop in the eyes of his critics in the latter years of his life. I wonder who among us could have lived any more 'normal' a life given his upbringing and circumstances.
I find it shameful that his experience of life was increasingly weighed down by the embarrassment and pressure thrust upon him as the result of the conduct of greedy, self-serving and unscrupulous people. I think it sad that a genius of modern times may have breathed his last breath on earth without being adequately aware of the worth and beauty of the legacy he left behind. In my humble opinion, this gentle, kind and generous soul deserved better. He deserved to leave this world with far more dignity than he did. Thank you Michael, for your passion, your dedication and your life. May God be with you.
Day by day,
Dear Lord God these three things I pray:
To see Thee more clearly,
To love Thee more dearly,
To follow Thee more nearly,
Day by day.
Amen.
Who among us can honestly and fervently pray the words from this little children's prayer, and in having it answered not greatly please and warm the heart of God? Simplicity over eloquence. Passion over professionalism. Honest pursuits of Truth over dogma. May each of us as God's little children cling yet again to innocence and guilessness. May it be said of me: "Let this little one come to me, and do not hinder him, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." May it be said of us all. (Mark 10:13-14)
