05.22.07
Posted in Music, Uncategorized at 9:57 pm by Administrator
Oh, how I love public television, particularly Sunday afternoon offerings. This past Sunday, I caught a very short segment that lasted just a few minutes. Featured was a song that I remember well from when I was a teenager and a member of the Grange, in my hometown. Scenes of sunset were chosen as a backdrop to the sung words of the old, nineteenth century hymn. I know not the religious preference of the eighteen year old woman who wrote the song in 1854, but this song has universal appeal.
“Fill brightest hours with labor, Rest comes sure and soon,” is a poignant message that is not dissimilar to other written sentiments of the same century and those before. Man lives life one day at a time, but we all have that knowledge, whether we want to think about it or not, that we shall not ALWAYS be here.
I love the words and the melody of the song and it was made even more meaningful, accompanied by visuals, and of course, because of the song’s connection to my past.
At the time, I was only fourteen years old and a member of a dwindling group of steadfast and devoted Grange participants. We were quickly losing the older members through attrition, and one by one, they left our midst. Do you have any idea of how strange it felt for me to be the youngest in a group of seniors, some in their late eighties?
Grange meetings were sort of like going to Church. The group emphasizes the care of growing and living things, be they plants or people; the care of the orphans and the widows; and the support of each other.
Anyhow, I decided to record the song for you to hear. I offer it as a “piece of my past,” and as a window into what life was like in the mid-nineteenth century when the song was written, and the 1960s, when I first became acquainted with this piece of music.
Best Regards,
Pat
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05.21.07
Posted in Musings at 2:45 am by Administrator
Lately, I have been asked a number of times if I would give my permission for an essay I wrote in 2002 to be reprinted. The title of it is “Happiness.” Five years ago is a long time to remember what I even wrote then, without reading my thoughts again. In fact, it has been so long, I might even become inspired by my own writing!
I will revisit the subject a bit here. To me, happiness is never found when it is sought after, as an entity in itself, and for its own sake. Happiness is not something that happens to you. Usually, it is the result (or the pay off) for an action you have initiated yourself. If you “do the right thing,” or “give to others,” - those can be two sources of joy.
A lot of times, people look for happiness in places where there is none to be found. For example, it is a known fact that unhappy people sometimes go to bars and drink, hoping to find a happy person to engage for the evening, to date, or even to marry. The trouble is that most people who hang out in bars are unhappy already, and since alcohol is a depressant, they become even more unhappy as a result of drinking. Then, say, they get arrested for Driving Under the Influence. They may get fined, or they may even do some jail time. Then, they have a real reason to be unhappy. I don’t know why people get into vicious cycles like that which are so self-destructive and can result in the loss of career, or spouse. I’ve seen this happen and have indirectly been a victim of this kind of behavior, and I know from whence I speak. People are their own worst enemies.
In thinking about Happiness, it does seem to be a moral obligation to dismiss unhappy thoughts from one’s mind, if only to be more bearable as a companion or life-long mate. While it can become a habit to wallow in old hurts, old grudges, and old complaints, and you know you do that, as well as I, it is more mentally healthy to develop a sense of gratitude for both the big things and the little things in our lives.
Case in point: As I was about to unlock my back door today, a friend and I noticed that there was a flock of Cedar Waxwing birds feeding on the nectar or bugs (?) on the blossoms of the apple tree. We both stood there for a good five minutes, watching these beautiful, distinctive, lovely birds. Just yesterday, Jim and I saw a pair of Orioles in the same tree, sucking the sweet nectar. I felt so happy at these sightings, if only in a fleeting sort of way.
While it is difficult to maintain a cheerful attitude in the face of daily disappointments and frustrations, we can all rejoice in the unexpected, little moments of joy: a greeting card in the mail; an e-mail from an old friend; the fragrant smell of flowers in the moist, night air; the smile of a friendly postman…all of these happenings can “make your day.” If you want to be a blessing to others, try smiling. It’s universally understood.
Savor those little moments. Together, they make up the essence of life. As for the rest, ignore your enemies (we all have them), and make the most of all of your personal talents and gifts. The above statements are my “recipe” for happiness and are ideas gleaned from a lifetime in which I have, at times, been subjected to the most abject misery possible, including severe mistreatment at the hands of others, in situations beyond my control, to a time, now, when I am feeling content most of the time; grateful, all of the time; and as Garrison Keillor would say, “Happy to be Here.”
The best is yet to come.
Pat
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05.19.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:13 pm by Administrator
Just recently, I viewed a television program that highlighted some of the details of the Spanish Inquisition. The show was an alarming account of fifteenth century Spain when the “Catholic Kings” attempted to extricate every last Jew or Moor from their midst. This was done by documenting the tattlings and gossip of maids who were present in every household, at that time, and who reported to “the authorities,” (that being the “Church”), any wrongdoing such as having witnessed the circumcision of a Jewish boy in a household, secret ceremony.
Files and files still exist that list the questions of the inquisitors at their tribunals, the answers of the accused, calligraphed by a “court” attendant, and the judgments made - for torture, for death by burning at the stake, for hanging, or for chopping off one’s head. Sometimes truth is more strange than fiction. These were actual events that happened to real people, difficult as that is to believe.
Humans have been persecuting others, for the beliefs they hold, for as far back as recorded history, it seems. Romans threw Christians to the lions. Witch hunts in Salem, Massachusetts are still a black mark on the history of the intolerant Puritans. However, the Spanish Inquisition perhaps topped the other purges of “infidels,” up to the time of the devastating events of Nazi Germany in the twentieth century.
In Contrast - Beauty All Around
As I stood doing my dishes this morning, I was looking out into my backyard where two robins were busily finding insects and worms on this rainy day. A patch of yellow wildflowers are blooming right outside the window. Maybe they are some kind of a weed. I don’t know their name. Beside them, are some pink Lily of the Valley flowers, an antique cultivar that I’ve not seen offered in any recent seed catalog. The Rhubarb plants in the distance are ready for me to pull some stalks and make a Rhubarb crisp, when it stops raining. I am surrounded by the beauty of Nature, even in the simple act of looking out my back window.
When I look at Nature, whether it is a sunrise, a sunset, a beach with tides going out and coming in, flowers, animals, or even babies, for me, it is not within the realm of possibility that there is no Supreme Being from which all of this wonder emanates.
Whether one calls that entity, “God,” “Jehovah,” “Allah,” the “Supreme Master of the Universe,” or simply the “Source,” it is a comfort to think that there is a “Divine Plan,” and “Someone Who Will Watch Over Me.” People celebrate this Being in song, and in prayer, yet we cannot agree on His name, or if one listens to the feminists, “Her” name.
I’ll leave you with one very radical thought. What if we set aside all the names - Methodist, Episcopalian, Jew, Muslim, Catholic, Seventh Day Adventist, Shaker, Presbyterian, Congregationalist, etc.? What if we all just quietly and passionately believe our own thoughts, without having to try to convert others to concur with our thinking?
The greater benefit to humanity would be, in some instances, less war and more peace. God, as I envision Him to be, is about peace, not war. Again, you are welcome to believe anything you wish, even if your choice is to have no ideas about religion, at all.
In conclusion and in my opinion, Faith is about Faith. One can have Faith without having Religion. Religion is about dogma and the insistence of thinking about a Supreme Being in a certain, prescribed way that adheres to the same thoughts of like-minded individuals within a certain group of Believers.
I share these thoughts because I have struggled with trying to make sense of it all, for many years now. There isn’t a day that I do not think about this subject.
Don’t Let Jesus “See”?
In the case of the Spanish Inquisition, it is reported that a black veil was used to cover the crucifix of Jesus so that He could not “see” the torture being carried out in His name. If Jesus is truly the Son of God, He is ubiquitous (meaning He is everywhere and “sees” everything), so this idea of veiling the cross is ludicrous. Sometimes, humans “can’t see the forest for the trees.”
I don’t often weigh in on the subject of religion, but in this instance, I am compelled to make these statements. I respect everyone else’s views, and their choices in the ways that they worship. Religious tolerance, after all, is the only option that is reasonable.
Peace,
Pat
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