In July, 1942, Anne Frank’s parents received a summons from the Nazi’s to report to a labor camp. Instead, they went to a secret annex to hide from Nazi’s. Thirteen year old Anne Frank remained there until her arrest on August 4, 1944, deported and eventually killed. Anne Frank maintained a diary while in the secret annex. The following excerpt is taken from Anne Frank’s diary.i
NOTE: We strive for the big things, material things, accumulation of things. In the end, it is the small things that matter. The feel of warm sun beating on one’s back. The grasp of a child’s hand. The kiss from a lover. Seeing a rainbow as a storm clears. A phone call from someone close to you. The smell of coffee brewing. A hug from a friend. The list is endless. Small things are really big things, and they are the things that make life worth living.
All that I know
Of a certain star
Is, it can throw
(Like the angled spar)
Now a dart of red,
Now a dart of blue;
Till my friends have said
They would fain see, too,
My star that dartless the red and the blue!
Then it stops like a bird; like a flower hangs furled:
They must solace themselves with the Saturn above it.
What matter to me if their star is a world?
Mine has opened its soul to me, therefore I love it
“We are travelers on a cosmic journey,stardust,swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.” ~ Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
NOTE: The Earth moves at a speed of about 1,000 miles (1600 kilometers) per hour and orbits around the Sun at a speed of about 67,000 miles (107,000 kilometers) per hour. We travel with our home planet hurtling through the cosmos. Our life expectancies are relatively brief. What do we do with the brief time we journey on our planet? We have choices on how we spend each of our precious moments. In my experience the moments I cherish are moments when I’ve witnessed those I love succeed. I cherish the moments I’ve been loved and had the opportunity to love. I cherish the moments when I’ve experienced the joy of victory with others. I cherish the moments when I was alone in nature with only the sound of the wind and insects to keep me company. I cherish the moments when I was on my knees and I felt as if God were kneeling next to me. How do you experience your journey on our cosmic ride?
William Wordsworth
I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
NOTE: The beauty of life is all around us. Each evening after dinner I head out for a walk just as the sun is setting. The sunsets are strikingly beautiful. Each one is different. Each one fills me with awe. By the time I return home the evening stars are making their appearance. I don’t look down, I look up. My heart takes the photos my iPhone is not capable of taking. Become one with the beauty surrounding you. It makes a difference.
