Very Vexing ( #AtoZChallenge )

Viruses are frightening because they are essentially invisible to our view.  We might see the effects attributed to the virus, but most of us have to take the word of scientists or doctors as to what caused the devastation that we can observe.  I take it on faith that viruses exist because the experts say they do.  The longer I live, the more things come my way that vex me for which the experts have no absolute answers...



 
  Very Vexing

       Violence seems to be the norm in nature, but so can kindness and caring.  We hate and we love.  Sometimes we are indifferent.  What affects us adversely might be a cause of great concern to us.  In other cases we are greatly concerned about what we perceive affects us or might affect us someday.  Humans can be a mighty perplexing bunch. 

        Many of the problems humans face are more ideological than actual.  It might be that we have too much time on our hands, use our imagination too much and not for something fun or diversionary, but to scare up new bugaboos to worry us.  It is the conundrum of modern society.  If a real threat is not enough then why not conjure up imagined ones or hypothetical scenarios?

          What would it take for all humans to be happy?   In the United States and much of the rest of the world for that matter, we have it easy.  For most of us, the days of hunting for food or growing crops for survival is not even in our purview.  The food is just there when we need it.  Reasonably clean water is available by turning on a faucet. 

           So, what do we need to be happy?  A new political installation?  More money?  Television shows that might interest or entertain us more?  We have an abundance of so much in our lives and yet it never seems to be enough.

             Yes, it is vexing to me when I dwell upon it.  In my own life,  there are indeed more things I would like to have. But I can also find a relative contentment in what I do have--or at least I accept it for the most part.  And still the world around me cries out for more and still more.

            It's all very vexing in some ways, while in other ways the answers seem as clear as a church bell reverberating across the verdant spring landscape on a placid Sunday morning.  People are stirring, but are they really listening?

          What is the most vexing life question on your mind?   Why do you think there is so much dissonance in society?   What is your answer to finding true happiness and contentment?

Qualitative Life ( #AtoZChallenge )

Quality is an important component in determining worth.   If it's not good then why would I want to accept it?   That's how I would measure life:  Do my days have quality?



  Qualitative Life

        Quantity of life sounds pretty good to me--I want to live a long time if God is willing.  But quality outshines quantity for me.  Would I rather have 20 years of struggling to get by and dealing with health issues where living was mostly a chore or would I prefer five years of the best life imaginable?   I think I would opt for the latter, but even better would be the former quantity with an abundance of good times and continual new discoveries. 

         Life to me is worth living as long as I can enjoy it.   The will to live is a strong one for just about anyone.  Living however entails so much more than just breathing and the processes of other bodily functions.  Pain or discomfort is not fun--not for the average person at least.  If l can't enjoy or reasonably appreciate my life then what value does my life have.

          The will to live is powerful though.  A spark of hope resides in the infirm or unhealthy.  Maybe a cure will be found.  Maybe science will find a way to restore our diminished state to something more like how it was in a healthier youth.  When sick we want to get better.  Very few of us relish suffering.  We want life, but we want a good life.

         So that's what I'm shooting for--a good productive life.  I want to travel, spend time with those I love, and do things that I enjoy doing.  Quality for sure and quantity if that is what has been determined for me. 

         I look forward to the good life that is yet to come.  I hope there is much of that life waiting ahead for me.

       How long would you like to live?    Do you think of your life as a happy one?    What would you most like to have in order to improve the quality of your life?

Look at Tomorrow ( #AtoZChallenge )

Looking at yesterday I'm thankful for places I've been and people I have known, but as I look at today I feel a bit stalled though still having hope as I look at tomorrow...



     Look At Tomorrow

         Life could always be worse and fortunately for me I don't think it ever has been for me.  After all I'm still here so I guess that counts for something.  Writing a memoir is something I work on continually whether it be actually writing or just thinking about my life.  That life has been a good one as far as I'm concerned.

         Still I'm not going to be content to just relax from now on while resting on my laurels.  Life is nowhere near the end for me as far as I'm concerned.  My days on this Earth could end anytime, but this has always been the case.  No point on dwelling on an end of things as I know them.  Life goes on for me for many more years I hope. 

          Looking at tomorrow I see dreams fulfilled and new adventures discovered.  I might be slowed down as years pass, but that slowing down allows me to savor the journey if I wish.  There are still new places to visit and people to meet.  There are music, books, and art yet for me to discover.  Grandchildren to watch grow and my own children to see flourish in their own lives.

           Life is worth living so I want to take advantage of as much as I can.   In some hopefully distant tomorrow I'll have plenty of time to be dead.  For now though, I'm continuing to look toward tomorrow and smile at the riches it sends my way...

          Are you generally optimistic about the future?   Is your life better now than it was when you were a younger adult?    What big things do you still want to accomplish in your life?

The Road Ahead (#IWSG) and #BOTB results

      Do you ever wonder where the hell you're going?    I've never liked traveling without a map--or these days my GPS--and yet I often forge ahead through life with few or no long range plans.  Seems crazy I suppose, but then again I avoid the disappointment of plans that get screwed up.  

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 




In terms of your writing career, where do you see yourself five years from now, and what's your plan to get there?

         This question ties in with the question asked in my previous post, What Does Retirement Look Like For You?   Since I am retired now, any thoughts of a future writing career are certainly tied into my life in retirement as it is. 

          Then there is a question of will I be around in five years?  I live with the intent of going strong for many years to come, but then I look at my father who suddenly left his life before he even actually retired from his job.  I don't think he was planning on such a quick earthly departure, but it happened to him just as it can unpredictably happen to me, you, or anyone. 

        Do I have a writing career ahead of me?  Will I even still be blogging if I reach that five years in question?  My life strategy has been to not have much of a strategy.  I live, I learn, I forget, and tomorrow comes before I realize that today has passed and yesterdays are distant memories that are more like pages from a book than any actual life I've lived.  

        I've lived a life worth living and continue onward as though it will never end.  There are few plans for me other than I plan to have fish for dinner tonight, have company coming over for dinner on Saturday, and in a couple of weeks my kids and grandkids are coming to visit for Christmas.  But that latter plan seems like a long time right now.  Five years is forever, but it is also like a blink of an eye.

        Perspectively speaking, I'm lousy at writing as a business.  And sadly in a way, I don't particularly have much concern about it.  Happily, I have a contentment with life and an optimism for the good things ahead, if not in this world, in the infinite eternity of God's grace.  

         I'll write as the spirit moves me and if writing success is somewhere in the years ahead then that is exactly what was meant to be.  For now though, the spirit is moving me to clean the kitchen and straighten up my office.   Then after a good night's sleep tonight, I'll look forward to another great day of being alive.  

Battle of the Bands Results

      In some ways my previous Battle using the song "Scandinavian Shuffle" provided a somewhat unexpected outcome. But then maybe it should not have been any real surprise.  I think both versions that I used are extremely good.  My dilemma of choosing a favorite is so difficult that I'm tempted to forego making the choice at all.  And either way I choose would be of no consequence to the outcome of this highly lopsided contest.   Therefore I'm going to go with the big winner which was the vocal ensemble Real Group.  

       I'm usually partial to violin music, but I do enjoy a good a cappella group.   So did most of the voters in this Battle...

Final Vote Tally

Real Group         18 votes

Mads Tolling         4 votes

Next Battle on Thursday December 15th

       In my next Battle I'll be staying within the Christmas spirit without resorting to actual Christmas songs.  You'll probably be familiar with the song I'll be using which may or may not be derived from another musical piece with which you may not be familiar.  However before we get to that Battle I'll be continuing with a couple more posts in my President Trump Acclimation Series--yes, I'm continuing with this as long as I keep seeing silliness online, on television, and elsewhere.  Wow, that could be a long, long time.   Then again I might just get fed up and move into the wilderness, off the grid, and surviving off the land.   Probably not, but you never know.

        What do you foresee in your life five years from now?  Are you a careful planner or do you just live relatively randomly?    Are you optimistic about the coming year?