We know what happened yesterday
we know our present stint
but what shall come tomorrow, we
have not an ounce of glint
Perhaps that’s for the better, thus
we live life as bestowed
no worry of what if’s and how’s
just watch as it unfolds.
For isn’t it a grander scheme
eyes upward toward the glow
to cast anxieties aside
and let the worries go?
Weekly Photo Challenge: Glow
First Movement : I started taking piano lessons when my kids were young. It was, you know, one of those things you want to try. As it turned out, although I truly enjoyed making sounds on the piano, I never could manage to really play.
Second Movement: Before Ludwig Von Beethoven was completely deaf, he composed “Quasi una fantasia,” roughly translated as “almost a fantasy” but better known as Moonlight Sonata.
Third Movement: Around this time, I was also taking art lessons. I wanted to draw something other than stick figures. So, I tucked a bunch of art classes under my belt.
Fourth Movement: I watched a a movie about the great composer who left his estate to his “Immortal Beloved” – also the name of the film. I love this movie! Especially 2 particular scenes – the one at the end (you’ll have to watch), and the one where Beethoven, in his later years, plays Moonlight Sonata with his head rested on the piano so he can “feel” the notes.
Wrapping up this Composition:
So, I took a screen shot of that particular scene. (A great idea for practicing artists)
And made my own interpretation.
As I assumed all along, we can’t all be Beethoven’s.
But in our own ways, we can play along.
(Even if it’s a play on words)
I know, I know. It’s hard sometimes to get motivated to eat right and exercise, not only our bodies, but our minds. But since I’m about to scroll down another line to hit the year I was born (lucky cursor), I thought I’d find some inspiration.
Aging is a relative term. Some might feel their life is almost over when they hit the big 30. Others, like me, understand that we knew very little at that time.
As actress Helen Mirren said, “Your 40s are good. Your 50s are great. Your 60s are fab. And 70 is f*@king awesome!”
Want to keep your get-up-and-go getting up and going? Ponder these:
— “For the unlearned, old age is winter; for the learned, it is the season of the harvest.” ~Hasidic saying
— “I believe the second half of one’s life is meant to be better than the first half. The first half is finding out how you do it. And the second half is enjoying it.” ~Frances Lear
— “None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.” ~Henry David Thoreau
— “I am appalled that the term we use to talk about aging is ‘anti.’ Aging is as natural as a baby’s softness and scent. Aging is human evolution in its pure form.”~ Jamie Lee Curtis
— “The great thing about getting older is that you become more mellow. Things aren’t as black and white, and you become much more tolerant. You can see the good in things much more easily rather than getting enraged as you used to do when you were young.” ~Maeve Binchy
— “We don’t grow older, we grow riper.” ~Pablo Picasso
— “You’re either marvelous or you’re boring, regardless of your age.” – Morrisse
— “Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And Dreams are forever.” – Walt Disney
— “Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be.” ~Robert Browning
Accept and be loyal to yourself.
And remember, that WON’T and CAN’T are two entirely different kettles.
The CAN polish is free.
photo 1: Royal Free Stock Photos
Painting 2: by Claude Joseph Bail (1862-1921)
Daily Word Prompt: Loyal
Do not trespass upon my goldmine
try to uncover, take or polish my gems.
It is my shaft of discovery
waiting only for me
It is my quarry.
Why attempt to tend,
cultivate, till, harvest,
tame a terrain not your own?
I planted the seed
It is my terra firma.
Why mold a clay
with fraudulent hands
spinning, forming
on a potters wheel meant solely for me
when I am the potter of my destiny?
To understand my true legend,
I must do these things on my own.
Daily word prompt: Tame
they knew it wasn’t hard to believe in something greater than themselves.
art my CD-W
Daily Word Prompt: Believe
Life by Charlotte Bronte
LIFE, believe, is not a dream
So dark as sages say;
Oft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day.
Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
If the shower will make the roses bloom,
O why lament its fall ?
Rapidly, merrily,
Life’s sunny hours flit by,
Gratefully, cheerily,
Enjoy them as they fly !
What though Death at times steps in
And calls our Best away ?
What though sorrow seems to win,
O’er hope, a heavy sway ?
Yet hope again elastic springs,
Unconquered, though she fell;
Still buoyant are her golden wings,
Still strong to bear us well.
Manfully, fearlessly,
The day of trial bear,
For gloriously, victoriously,
Can courage quell despair !
Daily word prompt: Elastic
We didn’t know it at the time. It wasn’t planned. But it happened.
On the walk home from our second grade class, my best friend, Vanita, and I took a wee bit of a detour. We walked down the creek bed and into the drainage tunnel. After an immediate right, we discovered a new way of looking at things.
The sight (and site) was pure magic! Whoever thought to build this foxhole was a pure genius!
From inside the gutter, at ants view, car tires whizzed past, feet with voices attached walked above us. Yes, we would be late coming home from school. But the newness, the discovery, the giggles, made it worthwhile.
I’m not sure how much time passed before we saw the car pull in front of us. We recognized the shoes. We definitely recognized the angry voice.
Can you imagine this mother’s horror at seeing our heads in the gutter?
A silent car ride later, Vanita’s mother pulled into my driveway, spoke a few words to my mother, and drove away with my best friend in tow.
Over fifty years later, this brief moment in my life still makes me smile. The world, I’d learned, was not mundane after all. It was filled with shared bonds no one could ever take away and discoveries waiting to be found.
As the world turned, the small heads of two young girls were filled with a new perspective on life.
Vanita and me – obviously photoshopped. Her mother wasn’t packing a Polaroid at the time.
Daily Word prompt: Genius
When she told me NOT to throw away the moldy orange, I questioned her sanity.
Why in the world would we want to keep this tainted fruit within arms reach of four-year-old children? And why would I, the 24 year-old teacher with a degree in Early Childhood, listen to my 56 year-old assistant teacher with no formal education?
“Because,” she’d said, “It is a learning experience, a teachable moment. It’s science.”
I was awestruck.
That is why “Vivian” and I worked so well together. I taught her how to implement bias-free education in our classroom. She taught me that hoarding can lead to serendipitous learning and creativity.
Today, over 20 years later and still a hoarder, I was reminded of my friend, Vivian, when I cleaned out the trunk of my car. Behind the boxing bag, a ton of smelly hand wraps, and a couple of sweaters, I found something which must have fallen out of my grocery bag months ago.
I’ll give you a hint. They used to be grapes. But now …
I hear Vivian’s voice in my head saying, “Don’t throw it away! Show your grandchildren.”
And so, I will.
Wherever you are today, Vivian, THANK YOU for one of many teachable moments!
photo credit
I have no interest in who wins a national game.
I have no interest in popularity or fame
I have no interest in taking aim
Mostly, I have no interest in the mundane.
Daily word prompt: Interest
I was too young to remember the times my dad came home with blood on his clothes. It was my older sister who told me how our non-violent mother would cringe at the sight.
Interesting that, even though I was two at the time, my father’s evening work would influence my life and expand my awareness.
The blood wasn’t my dad’s. Not then. His own blood was spilled years before when he boxed for the army.
The blood on my father’s clothes were from young men who, like my father, tried to prove something, make something of themselves in the boxing ring “at a time when boxing mattered.” (Quote by Mark Brown, my first and continuing boxing coach)
(My dad’s in the middle)
Participants of this sport or not, think of the lessons learned in boxing metaphors.
(I keep these 1950’s baby rattles in my boxing bag as a reminder)
Ask yourselves these questions:
— Do you feel trapped? Cornered? Are you UP AGAINST THE ROPES.
Try maneuvering to the center of the ring.
— Do you keep yourself from getting hurt, literally or figuratively? PROTECT YOURSELF AT ALL TIMES.
Do this because, as my dad used to say, “You are your own best friend.”
— Do you care about others? Then you are IN THEIR CORNER.
Make sure you find someone who will be in yours.
— Think you’ve hit bottom? Then you are DOWN FOR THE COUNT.
Do you have the stamina and willpower to get back up even if the odds feel against you?
— Have you gone too far with your criticisms? Then you’ve delivered an illegal A LOW BLOW.
Hurting others will eventually lead to hurting yourself.
— Are you thinking about THROWING IN THE TOWEL? Have you given up?
Sometimes we have to say “enough is enough.” Consider the towel carefully.
— Do you miss dangers coming your way? Do you LET YOUR GUARD DOWN?
How vulnerable are you willing to be?
— Do you ignore rude comments and take adversity in stride? Do you ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES?
Good! Backbones and self-confidence are sure wins.
— Were you luckily interrupted before sh..t hit the fan? Then you were SAVED BY THE BELL.
Who doesn’t love a blessing in disguise?
Because, at the end of the day when the rounds are over, you can kick up your feet and know that you fought even when tired, and you put up a good fight.
(painting by C. Dennis-Willingham)
Carolyn Dennis-Willingham 