Quotes of the week
Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity; they seem more afraid of life then of death.
~James F. Byrnes~
John Gay, was buried in Westminster Abbey with an epitaph he wrote for himself:
"Life is a jest, and all things show it.
I thought so once, and now I know it."
"Life is a jest, and all things show it.
I thought so once, and now I know it."
Old age and poverty are wounds that can't be healed.
~Proverb, (Greek)~
Meditation of the week
The most wasted day of all is that in which we have not laughed.
--Sebastian R.N. Chamfort
When we wallowed in the self-pity of obsession, we were sure we'd never laugh again. How easy it was to weep, alone and secretly, inspired by sad music like "Born to Lose" or "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry."
What a shock it was to hear people laugh in our first few meetings! How could they laugh about something as serious as addiction? What an awakening when we were able to join the laughter.
We laughed with them as they laughed at the sad objects they once were. Today we can also laugh for pure joy at being free of restraints, and in gratitude for the resolve not to return to our old ways. We can laugh just for being alive.
Laughter is a source of growth for me. It keeps me thinking positively. It reduces the stress of problems. It tells me that any effort at progress is worthwhile. Laughter is progress.
--Sebastian R.N. Chamfort
When we wallowed in the self-pity of obsession, we were sure we'd never laugh again. How easy it was to weep, alone and secretly, inspired by sad music like "Born to Lose" or "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry."
What a shock it was to hear people laugh in our first few meetings! How could they laugh about something as serious as addiction? What an awakening when we were able to join the laughter.
We laughed with them as they laughed at the sad objects they once were. Today we can also laugh for pure joy at being free of restraints, and in gratitude for the resolve not to return to our old ways. We can laugh just for being alive.
Laughter is a source of growth for me. It keeps me thinking positively. It reduces the stress of problems. It tells me that any effort at progress is worthwhile. Laughter is progress.
Poem of the Week
My Father's Wallet
Small curve of leather that rode
on his backside in the pickup
to auctions every Tuesday,
that stretched and marked
the right pocket of his Levis,
that padded the wood chairs
of the café where he gossiped
with other farmers about
grain yields, corn futures,
that rests now in the cupboard
above the sewing machine
like an upturned turtle shell
abandoned among spools
of thread, jars of buttons,
where Mother put it after
she cleared away his fifteen
trim suits, his thirty shirts,
his pajamas and robe, his neat
row of shoes. His pickup
sits undriven in the left bay
of the garage. Only the wallet
remains, packed, as he left it,
with plastic cards, photo IDs,
gold membership numbers,
the unspent fifty dollars
and the unused lines of credit
we all hope will someday
save us. At the White Knights
Casino we plug the slots
for him, for the big lotto payoff,
waiting for his always earthly
luck to rub off on us.
But everything comes up lemons
oranges, diamonds, flags,
and rubies in the wrong
combinations—the mixed bag
of fruits and wild cards
that never fell in place the way
we'd always hoped or expected.
on his backside in the pickup
to auctions every Tuesday,
that stretched and marked
the right pocket of his Levis,
that padded the wood chairs
of the café where he gossiped
with other farmers about
grain yields, corn futures,
that rests now in the cupboard
above the sewing machine
like an upturned turtle shell
abandoned among spools
of thread, jars of buttons,
where Mother put it after
she cleared away his fifteen
trim suits, his thirty shirts,
his pajamas and robe, his neat
row of shoes. His pickup
sits undriven in the left bay
of the garage. Only the wallet
remains, packed, as he left it,
with plastic cards, photo IDs,
gold membership numbers,
the unspent fifty dollars
and the unused lines of credit
we all hope will someday
save us. At the White Knights
Casino we plug the slots
for him, for the big lotto payoff,
waiting for his always earthly
luck to rub off on us.
But everything comes up lemons
oranges, diamonds, flags,
and rubies in the wrong
combinations—the mixed bag
of fruits and wild cards
that never fell in place the way
we'd always hoped or expected.
Video of the week
Aquaskipper
