On Beauty and Future

I could wallow in gloom and doom as the gorgeous summer and fall weather steadily marches toward winter. Cold, wind, sleet, ice and snow; those are the iconic symbols of winter. Yet as awful as they seem to us right this moment, when we encounter them they bring another vista to mind: pure, cold, calm and serene. The winter is a time of pause and recollection. It is a time of some inconvenience, too, especially for commuting and getting around on errands. But such times are also a reminder that we do not control the cosmos. Mother Nature has more to say about that than we!

We have to live through it. It toughens us. It gives us strength. If we can smile through this we are stronger for the struggle.

“Nothing is more beautiful than a real smile

 that has struggled through tears…”

                                                                        ~Anonymous

As our trees and shrubs are mostly leafless now, we ready for the cold of winter and warmth of our nests indoors. Cozy time is what we called it years ago. A time to nest with family and friends indoors where we focus on closer matters of life. A time to spend together and reacquaint us with family needs and relationships. Perhaps that is why Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays are so welcome. They remind us of what matters; and it is not weather!

There are other things this season that may lead to doom and gloom: moving from a home of 18+ years. Selling the home in a sick real estate market. Losing the home, actually. Rental housing for the future yet undetermined. Health issues that continue to annoy, not threaten. Just living differently at a time when the old routines were most comfortable.

Yet living differently also offers hope for something better, more focused, and of more value in some way. What will the new circumstance demand of us and how will we respond? Will we complain and regret the losses or will we see a way to live more openly, simply and honestly? I like the challenge of that. I see something of value crashing into our lives within that prospect of change.

Rocky found this anonymous gem on the internet the other day:

            “Three things in life you should never lose:

             Hope.    Peace.   Honesty.”

I can endorse this enthusiastically! 

Over the years I’ve loved being a member of organizations, especially the boards of those groups. The purpose of the organization is much clearer on the board, or should be. If it isn’t then that is a purpose for me to work toward for them. That very idea is what got me interested in long-term strategic planning, a profession I worked at for over 35 years. Who are we? Why do we exist? What is it that we do? These are the critical questions each organization needs to ask and fervently answer if they are to be successful. Their very relevance depends on it. And with that the energy and commitment of every person on the board and within the membership.

The same is true of our individual lives. We need to ask our self those same questions.

I once had an elderly woman claim I was a dreamer. At first she didn’t say this with a kind face or expression. But she later clarified her statement; she meant to call me a visionary. And she also stated for the record, that few are such, but each is needed wherever encountered! I felt very good about that!

An apt quote from John Lennon is this:

            “You may say I’m a dreamer,

             But I’m not the only one.

             I hope some day you’ll join us,

             And the world can live as one.

Powerful that! One thought that we can all live well by.

Dare to dream, friends. Dare to dream.

October 24, 2012