We had a wonderful substitute choir director on Sunday. She told us if we do it musically, we can never go wrong. How’s that for good advice for life?
Blog
Yesterday my mother and I went to the movies. Since she’s almost 96, we can count on a few age-related snags on our outings. There were several. Here’s one suitable for public consumption: Someone parked less than a foot from the passenger side of my car so, after the show, Mom had to manage getting into the back seat behind me. Once we were all strapped in and ready for take-off, she exclaimed, “Well, this is different. Different but necessary.”
The most unusual part for me was my quiet mind. I am irritated when inconvenienced, often with her. Could it be that the petition for quiet minds during the benediction on Ash Wednesday, the ask I have been repeating since then, is taking hold?
During this Lenten Season nothing better than sharing one of my favorite poems. Enjoy!
“Do not love half lovers
Do not entertain half friends
Do not indulge in works of the half talented
Do not live half a life
and do not die a half death
If you choose silence, then be silent
When you speak, do so until you are finished
Do not silence yourself to say something
And do not speak to be silent
If you accept, then express it bluntly
Do not mask it
If you refuse then be clear about it
for an ambiguous refusal is but a weak acceptance
Do not accept half a solution
Do not believe half truths
Do not dream half a dream
Do not fantasize about half hopes
Half a drink will not quench your thirst
Half a meal will not satiate your hunger
Half the way will get you no where
Half an idea will bear you no results
Your other half is not the one you love
It is you in another time yet in the same space
It is you when you are not
Half a life is a life you didn’t live,
A word you have not said
A smile you postponed
A love you have not had
A friendship you did not know
To reach and not arrive
Work and not work
Attend only to be absent
What makes you a stranger to them closest to you
and they strangers to you
The half is a mere moment of inability
but you are able for you are not half a being
You are a whole that exists to live a life
not half a life”
― Gibran Khalil Gibran
Durante esta epoca de Cuaresma, que major que compatirles uno de mis poemas favoritas. Espero les guste!
“No ames a medios amantes
No entretengas a amigos a medias
No te entregues a obras de medio talento
No vivas media vida
y no mueras una muerte a medias
Si eliges el silencio, entonces quédate callado
Cuando hables, hazlo hasta que hayas terminado
No te silencies para decir algo
Y no hables para quedarte en silencio
Si aceptas, exprésalo sin rodeos
No lo disfraces
Si rechazas, sé claro al respecto
porque un rechazo ambiguo no es más que una aceptación débil
No aceptes una solución a medias
No creas medias verdades
No sueñes medio sueño
No fantasees con medias esperanzas
Media bebida no saciará tu sed
Media comida no saciará tu hambre
Medio camino no te llevará a ninguna parte
Media idea no te dará resultados
Tu otra mitad no es la que amas
Eres tú en otro tiempo pero en el mismo espacio
Eres tú cuando no estás
Media vida es una vida que no viviste,
una palabra que no dijiste
una sonrisa que pospusiste
un amor que no tuviste
una amistad que no conociste
Alcanzar y no llegar
Trabajar y no trabajar
Asistir solo para estar ausente
Lo que te hace un extraño para aquellos más cercanos a ti
y ellos extraños para ti
La mitad es simplemente un momento de incapacidad
pero eres capaz porque no eres medio ser
Eres un todo que existe para vivir una vida
no media vida”
― Gibran Khalil Gibran.
Photo taken during one of my trips to West Texas.
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Religious Language
Our daughter Carolina is off to Australia! On Saturday we met midday near the airport.
As usual she got me thinking when she asked, “Can I share a thought about your blog?”
With some trepidation, I answered, “Yes?”
“I know it’s Lent and all. But I thought you wanted to increase your readership. The language you’ve used so far could limit who’s interested. Religious language can be polarizing.”
Of course, she has a point. And, after all, my desire is to welcome and build bridges, not separate by building walls.
Then again, during this first week I recognize that this round of daily posts for me is not about the wide world of potential audience members out there. Instead I notice how my heart warms when a guest author posts. I perk up. I am curious. I delight. Lent 2024 is about relationships. About providing a platform. And seeing what I can do to make this smooth and warm and maybe even delightful for them too.
My hope is that my use of religious language can also be live love language, especially for those I relate with directly.
Always Bridging 