"...we part with tender relations stretching far behind us, that never can be exactly renewed..."
I ejoyed spending this few minutes in your company, listening to the wind, the murmurings of your cat, and your thoughts.
I, too, become more questioning at this time of year. And the thoughts of larger purpose come to mind. Your phrase "living deliberately" comes to me with the image of riding a wave. As the wave moves forward I think of "intention" and balance. My intention is to express as much goodness as I can, either in action or words or thoughts. Balance is how I manage the chaos thrown at me.
Sometimes I feel lost, at least compared to others who have a "plan". But, as you speculate, life is not so much about the medals or measurments, it's the intention, the deliberateness, with which you "rode the wave" as it was happening.
Garnet:
Good to see you here. Your kind, thoughtful response is appreciated, and in turn, has given me perspective as well. I like how you say: "As the wave moves forward I think of 'intention' and balance. My intention is to express as much goodness as I can, either in action or words or thoughts. Balance is how I manage the chaos thrown at me." So true, and well put. Thank you.
Scot
Yes Garnet said it well, and he describe the experience of reading this expertly. It was like sitting with your thoughts and your cat.
My thoughts have been in similar places of late. I keep thinking of the word, history--not the broad, sweeping term that encompasses whole populations, but the word that describes what I see when I look back on my life and the people who have been part of it. To me that has become what life is making one small history that says I have used well what was given me.
Deliberately, a good word that has gotten bad press over the years, it stands straight and tall with intentions clear. Hard to be alive without being deliberate about it, because so much requires our paying attention.
So I'll pick up my coffee mug, take a sip, and go on to my work with deliberate and heartfelt intentions.
Thank you Scot for having me over this morning to share in your thinking again.
Liz
Scott
Fall has descended upon Emporia too. Along with it have come the days of sitting and reflecting on life, lost in thought, in the manner you described so beautifully.
Thanks for sharing yours with us.
Scot,
Stopping by to say thanks for the comment you left on my blog.
Having read yours now, as you reflect and capture those memories in words well written, I think I've found another stop in the blogsphere for regular visits.
Eric.
PS: if you are interested, you can submit your blog to Teh Blog Father. I'd like to write a review and link to it - for FREE!
Liz:
Thank you for such a heartfelt and insightful comment. Thinking of the word, as you say, "that describes what I see as I look back on my life
and the people who have been a part of it" really says it all. Only recently have I begun to understand and appreciate that realization. It was good that you stopped by. You're welcome.
Scot
Phil:
Good to see you check in. I've really enjoyed your last two essays by the way. It is good to see someone who can discourse in a manner that goes beyond the dichotomy of either-or, black and white thinking.
Scot
Eric:
Welcome. It is good that you have come by. I appreciate your thoughtful comment, and hope to see you on a regular basis. Thank you for your offer of a review of my blog. I would be honored.
Scot
Whenever you sit in your chair and look out your window, I know we're going to "hear" something good. And yes, I do feel like I'm hearing the story, rather than reading it when you write. I'm sitting in a cozy room with a cat lingering around, a million stars splayed across the sky, and a man speaking in a soft, wise voice.
Patry:
Thank you for coming by. I appreciate and value your comment, and the image you create of me. I want you to know that I enjoy your work, and that it is good to have you as a reader.
Scot
...do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?...
...But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:25 and 33-34 (NIV)
Takes us a while to get our heads round such things, doesn't it? In the end, the time we have is this moment of this day. Get that right and the past will be as a well-tilled field, planted and raising its crop in season. And the future, as ever, remains in His hands...
Clive:
Thank you for such an affirming comment.
Scot
Very nice post, I enjoyed it immensely.
rdl:
Good to see you check in. Thank you for your comment. I'm pleased that you enjoyed. . .
Scot
"living deliberately" - one of the best things I've heard recently.
I try to explain it to people sometimes, maybe now I can use that phrase. But I don't think it's something you can "teach". People either learn how to live like that on their own, or they don't.
Thanks Scot.
Melly:
You're welcome. It's good to see you stop by. Appreciate your thoughtful response.
Scot
I'm sorry you got divorced. That must have hurt. I agree with you that life is a series of experiences strung together shaping us. Once you realize that, you also realize that living life is really all about the accumulation of the 'little' things. If I resist the urge to bite someone's head off often enough, then I am on my way to being a nice person. If I can do one good deed a day, then, for that one day, I feel pretty darned good. etc. etc. I have a new life's motto. It has to be really simple and short or I forget it and then it never happens. It is "live life".
Dot:
Thank you for your kind and caring comment.
Scot
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