Normally, my breakfast is the same each day. I have type of cereal (I rotate the kinds of cereal daily),add a dash of cinnamon on top, zero sugar Greek yogurt, a dish of blueberries with a handful of goji berries on top, and a pot of coffee. I’ve been doing it so long, I could sleep walk through it. Today, I switched it up. I toasted a slice of seeded multigrain bread and ccovered it with freshly ground peanut butter, and, of course, I had my blueberries with the goji berries on top and my pot of coffee. The switch was wonderful for my taste buds and my mind. It’s good to switch up our routines every now and then and get out of the ruts we make for ourselves. What will you switch up tomorrow?
I Like for You to be Still
Pablo Neruda
I like for you to be still
It is as though you are absent
And you hear me from far away
And my voice does not touch you
It seems as though your eyes had flown away
And it seems that a kiss had sealed your mouth
As all things are filled with my soul
You emerge from the things
Filled with my soul
You are like my soul
A butterfly of dream
And you are like the word: Melancholy
I like for you to be still
And you seem far away
It sounds as though you are lamenting
A butterfly cooing like a dove
And you hear me from far away
And my voice does not reach you
Let me come to be still in your silence
And let me talk to you with your silence
That is bright as a lamp
Simple, as a ring
You are like the night
With its stillness and constellations
Your silence is that of a star
As remote and candid
I like for you to be still
It is as though you are absent
Distant and full of sorrow
So you would’ve died
One word then, One smile is enough
And I’m happy;
Happy that it’s not true
Joe: “The five of diamonds.”
Pete: “What?”
Joe: “Sorry, Pete. My mind was playing tricks on me.”
Victor Frankl says in Man’s Search for Meaning, speaks of three ways in which we can find meaning. He says, “(1) by creating a work or by doing a deed; (2) by experiencing something or encountering someone; and (3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering. P. 115
NOTE: Frankl’s words resonate with me. I discovered meaning (at various times in my life) in each of the three ways he describes. I found meaning in the publication of my research and books while I was a university professor. I found meaning in the love I shared with my wife and for my children. And, I found meaning in the unavoidable suffering I experienced with the death of my wife. I was determined to show my daughters I was strong enough cope with the suffering I was experiencing. I wanted to be an example for them. How have you experienced the types of meaning Frankl describes?
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Joe: “My yoga instructor was drunk today.”
Pete: “That’s too bad.”
Joe: “She put me in an awkward position.”
My amigo Jose is worried about the affect of the hot Texas sun on the new grass he planted this spring. I can understand how Jose feels since we are in a day after day cycle of 100 degree (38 C) weather. There are things in our lives we can’t change no matter how much we want to change them. Why waste a moment of energy fretting about it? It’s better to focus on what we can change and make the most of the moment. I think I’ll just roll along with the hot weather and pour myself another Texas sized glass of iced tea.
Victor Frankl says in Man’s Search for Meaning, in speaking of responsibility, “Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now. . . . Such a precept confronts him with life’s finiteness, as well as the finality of what he makes out of both his life and himself.” P. 112
NOTE: I’ve met many people who live with regrets wishing they had done things differently. An old Texas rancher told me, “Ray, wish in one hand and poop in (he other (he didn’t use the word poop, but you get his meaning) and see what you get first.” When we live in the moment, we have the opportunity to, as Frankl says, act as if we were living a second time and as if the first time we acted as wrongly as we are about to act now. By following Frankl’s advice we will live a life without regrets.
