January 28th, 2009
SIGN IN A MALL: I want to ice fish . . . as soon as I’m done beating cancer.
The phrase accompanies a picture of an elderly man, wearing a fur cap, holding up a fish. The purpose of the ad is to promote a local cancer center at the hospital.
I look at it and wonder if the old man is still alive. Did he beat the cancer? Or was he just a model, posing for the photo shoot, having nothing more than a few arthritic aches and pains? Patient or model, from age alone, are in the twilight years of their lives, disease being the main indicator of how many days they have left.
Cancer is from a Latin word for “crab.” The Greek physicians likened the crab’s appearance to a tumor with swollen veins. The astrological sign Cancer seems to also take its cue from the crab, meaning hard or tough, like the crab’s shell, indicating a personality that was determined or resolute.
We usually see cancer as all bad news, a destroying of life. And life is what we’re here for. Unlike other diseases that can strike quickly and hasten death, cancer can develop unseen for long periods, then proceed to kill with great suffering beforehand.
Read more »
January 15th, 2009
atheism -noun 1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God. (dictionary.com)
Did you catch that? Taking a position that there is no God is in itself a doctrine and requires belief. How cool is that! It allows for the fact that you can’t be sure, so you must believe such — just like the rest of us.
Not many people go through life without questioning their existence, as well as their mortality. A recent AARP poll noted that the older folks get, the more they begin to believe in God and the afterlife. Those who make it to their twilight years and face death’s door often see it as fish-or-cut-bait time; invariably, they will go with some type of religion in order to hedge their bets.
Have we ever seen God? Not really.
Read more »
December 31st, 2008
In this ‘season of calm weather,’ when the past has receded so far that he can behold it as in a picture, and his share in it as the history of a man who had lived and would soon die; when he can confess his faults without the bitterness of shame, both because he is humble, and because the faults themselves have dropped from him; when his good deeds look poverty-stricken in his eyes, and he would no more claim consideration for them than expect knighthood because he is no thief; when he cares little for his reputation, but much for his character — little for what has gone beyond his control, but endlessly much for what yet remains in his will to determine; then I think, a man may do well to write his own life.
George MacDonald, from Wilfrid Cumbermede
How many of us ever take the time to reflect on our lives and give serious thought as to its purpose? Even those who are regular churchgoers confirm to themselves each Sunday that they are to “do God’s work,” only to slip back into the same routine throughout the week — eat, sleep, go to the job, pay the bills, raise the kids, do the laundry, mow the grass and fill the voids with some form of entertainment (TV, movies, sports, etc.).
You might be surprised to find that doing those very things is God’s work.
Read more »
December 21st, 2008
I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly — my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
Ecclesiastes 2:3
Life is what happens between the bookends of birth and death. Infants constantly seek attention because they are limited in ways in which to communicate their needs; they are also absorbed in the concept of focusing — on anything.
We regard the activities of children as “playing”, when they are actually mimicking life. Everything they say or do stems from their years of observation. This gives serious consideration as to how we should behave in front of them.
The elderly spend a great amount of time reflecting on their past. They will either dwell on it, with many regrets, or smile over it, with fond memories. They also tend to give more attention to the possibility of an afterlife.
What we all seem to have difficulty with is focusing on the present. We brood over the past, due to our own mistakes, or hang onto feelings of how we were misunderstood or mistreated.
Read more »
December 17th, 2008
We are at the end of Autumn in our region, a season of beauty that too quickly fades into the chilly deadness of winter. Each season has its highlights of splendor, but Autumn has a special attraction in that it displays a final burst of glory preceding a long sleep, only to awaken into the new morning of spring.
I am blessed to live in a mountainous area with so many varieties of trees, each having a leaf that turns a unique, brilliant color that blends so well with that of its neighbor. Before this seasonal show begins, the hills and mountains are carpeted with various shades of green, looking luxurious against the blue sky.
Read more »
