2 Rough or Smooth the Choice is Yours.



Rough or Smooth the Choice is Yours.

From time to time I have gone running in wild places with my son. Remembering such an occasion he and I decided to head out for such a run one morning a route I could almost have run blindfold. I had been there so often.  As we ran, I became aware of my age. I was correct to be concerned it was not long after that I stopped running and took up the more leisurely pace of walking.   I said to him that I was aware that age was making me a bit slower. He laughed, and commented, “I have two things to say. One you will notice you are in front of me, and two, we have not passed anybody else your age out doing this.’ Point made and point taken.

Then I saw that my years had not been totally wasted. We came to a small river. Having run this path so often before, I knew where I could, without losing stride, step over two large boulders to the other side. At this point, my son said, “Come on dad just go for it.” He proceeded to make the jump, only to land flat on his face his shoes full of water. It is all about the right things, at the right time.

There is a tale of another old man and his wife. They were a lovely old couple in their 80s. They had been married for 60 years and we're still looking fit and well. In spite of their health, they met an untimely end one day in a traffic accident. They found themselves at the pearly gates. The angel showed them around. They were shown where they would live it was beautiful. The husband asked what the rent would be? They were told it was free. He then noticed just behind his house a beautiful golf course. He enquired what the green fees were and the membership rates. Again, he was told it was all free. In the clubhouse, he saw all the wonderful food. He asked where all the healthy fat-free food was. He was told there was no such thing. He could not get ill so he could enjoy whatever he wanted. He looked at all this and considered it.

He turned to his loving wife and asked her, “What was all that about those awful bran flakes, we could have been here ten years ago.”

The road is in fact just what we make it. Rough or smooth hard or easy. The better road is always the one that leads to a feeling of achievement and wellbeing.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

13 The Pencil and its Maker.

The Pencil and its Maker. The Pencil Maker finished making another pencil and looked at it with a sense of pride. He was about to place it in the box with the others but stopped for a moment.  Then he spoke to the pencil,  
 "There are five things you need to know," he told the pencil, "Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be." 
 
 "One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone's hand. Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil. Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make. Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside. And Five: On every surface, you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write." 
 
 The pencil understood and promised to rememb...
Read more

17 Love is.

Love Is Over the years I have had discussions with young people and students about what they mean when they speak about love? The answers I found interesting and worthy of thought I took note of. I also found some others while doing some further research.  Over the next two dates of this daily thought let me share one or two that are well worth pondering.    "When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So, my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."  Karen - age 9 When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth."  Billy- age 8 "Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on deodorant and they go out and are happy to just sit and smell each other." Karl - age 5 "Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of...
Read more

12 A Comma or a Full Stop.

A Comma or a Full Stop. How simple it is to become fully engrossed in what it is we are doing, to the exclusion of everything else. When I am painting, everything I see, is a possible painting or an abstract. When I am writing I frequently lie awake thinking words. I recently wrote a book reflecting on my time as a minister of religion.  I did paint in those days but not nearly as often as now. I did a great deal of writing in those days. Notes for sermons. Talks to be given in prisons and various other places. At one time I even produced the manuscript of a book which I sent off to publishers. One suggested some changes and they would publish it. I never did get around to making the changes and the script has lain on the back shelf of my bookcase for all the later years spent teaching. I then dragged it out and returned to it and once again my head was full of words and thoughts. I never seem to be able to take time off. I am either actually writing or I am thinking...
Read more