Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway. – Emory Austin
Article written by Alex Blackwell. Connect with me on Facebook.
There is a special song meant just for you and one intended only for me. No one else is experiencing what I am experiencing nor does anyone else think, feel or love like me; or like you. Through my life’s journey, a song is being written. The power of this song resonates through me and echoes in my mind when I need to hear its reassuring beat.
Our life song has a perfect melody and its rhythm is calibrated with our souls. We hum the lyrics on the days we are happy and on the days we are sad and on all the other days in between. We have memorized its cords and can play the notes by memory. Our life song is our anchor when we don’t know what to do, but we know we don’t want to give up.
Word by word and verse by verse, my life song is being written across my heart. The words are becoming easier to find and their meaning is clearer. My life song is on the end of my lips waiting to be heard. This song will be with me forever – in this world and in the next. Read more
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. – Marianne Williamson
Article written by Alex Blackwell. Connect with me on Facebook.
Sometimes we allow our lives to become stale and uninspiring. We begin to settle for the good enoughs and we don’t challenge ourselves to be who God has meant each of us to be. We may pretend we are living a passionate life, but really we are just going through the motions.
There have many times when I perfected the art of being busy. My workload and long hours was impressive to some, but I wasn’t accomplishing anything of real substance. I wasn’t improving my relationships and I was not moving any closer to living my life’s purpose.
The mechanics of life should not be confused with the content of life. For me, it’s easy to go through the motions. I can get up in the morning, shave and begin my day with a calm and self-assured outward appearance. I know how to say the right things and what to do, and not to do, that will create a favorable impression. I know how to feign that I’m engaged and interested, but underneath the polished exterior I feel like I can’t hold my breath any longer. Read more
The dedicated life is the life worth living. You must give with your whole heart. – Anne Dillard
Article written by Alex Blackwell. Connect with me on Facebook.
Red is the classic color of love. It conveys passion and heat. At Valentine’s Day, boxes of red candy and red roses are the tools of choice for some men who are looking to ignite a romantic response.
However, times are indeed changing and the color red is now being challenged by the more earth conscious color – green. This shift in color doesn’t mean we love our partners any less; it just means we are beginning to love and appreciation the Earth more.
Dating today (yes, my wife Mary Beth and I still go on dates) is a lot different, from an eco-friendly perspective, than it was 25 years ago when we first met. In 1984 we would hit the McDonald’s on the way to the beach and order bags of fast food placed in Styrofoam containers. After we had our fill of the sun, we would jump back in the car and drive the short one-half mile distance from the shoreline to the Boardwalk where we would play Putt-Putt and shop for souvenirs.
While Mary Beth and I still enjoy our time at the beach, our approach has changed based on our knowledge of how we can better protect the Earth for our children and grandchildren and so on. This June we will celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary. While there is still plenty of interest from both of us to keep the passion and romance alive, we are beginning to learn how to find romantic things to do that respects our planet at the same time. Read more
Money is like a sixth sense. You can’t make use of the other five without it. – Somerset Maugham
To say we are in a full-blown recession is obvious. We don’t need to watch the news to find out which companies are laying off employees or simply closing their doors; we know it because our neighbors and friends tell us what’s happening to them.
As a man, and as a father and husband, I would be distraught if my employer told me I was losing my job. For me, and perhaps for some of you, money can be both a source of comfort and shame. My job, and my income, is often tied to my sense of personal worth and value.
This internalization of how we view money is an organic part of us. For example, just as the color of our eyes is controlled by our DNA, so is our attitude about money. From a very early age, our money blueprint is developed. Usually it is our parents who create this blueprint for us. Read more
We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance. – Harrison Ford
Article written by Alex Blackwell. Connect with me on Facebook.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
My mother died today.
Her body finally gave up. It had enough. My mother’s liver, exhausted from working so hard to filter the toxins she put there, finally reached its limit. So, it’s over. A life of abuse found a quiet end.
There will not be a viewing of her body, or funeral, and very few people are even aware she is dead. My father has ordered a cremation for sometime next week. Later in the summer my brother, sister and I will join our father for a church service to memorialize her life. Her death, similar to much of her life, will be isolated.
If second chances are granted, I wonder if my mother requested one. In the last month of her life, I could hear the fear in her voice. She was aware of the damaged she had done and the fact she was getting close to the end. I want to believe in the final week she would have traded the cigarettes, alcohol and pills for a chance to live her life differently. Maybe it’s my need for a second chance that I allow myself to believe this.
After my father called, I made arrangements to leave early the next morning. My sister also made similar preparations and will arrive on Friday evening. No one should face death alone. Read more
