Marjorie Holmes wisely said; “There is no thrill quite like doing something you did not know you could.” I will explain what that means in relation to this thought shortly. Every day, day in and day out, we greet our friends and associates with light conversation, i.e. “Hi! How ya doin?” the response, “Jess fine, how’re you?” There are probably ten or so renditions of the same greeting. My wife and I started a little different response a few years ago. “Super!” and then I started adding; “If I was any better I would have to go out and buy me a cape!” Though in some cases I could hardly walk, let alone run, definitely not ready to fly. Less vocal acquaintances will raise their arm slightly and point their finger up. In case you don’t know, that means “Hi!” It seems that we seldom converse anymore; we have a difficult time getting past the greeting in order to carry on an intelligent conversation. I am no different. Our light conversations, if they get past the greeting, seldom pull any energy out of what’s in our skull. Though we all know that if we were to mix in a little philosophy or serious thought that it probably would not dimin- ish our mental capacity. In fact if we had such a conversation we would probably all agree that it would expand, not diminish what we have left up there. When we are asked to teach or to describe something to another we tend to make it as brief as possible, as if there were only so many words we have been allowed in this life and we don’t want to waste them.
I Have done a lot of writing in my life, but the writing I have done has usually been work related. As an educator and administrator most all my working career, seldom has my writing been expanded beyond memos, policy manuals, job descriptions etc. In other words, I was unaware that I could write other things, things that were in my head, things that I wanted to express and share. Things that I really wanted to get out. Things I wanted my children and grandchildren to hear or read. In a moment of grandeur, I even thought there might be some wisdom mixed in with the rest of it. Some wisdom that might help them live a better life, to love and to get along better with other people, to help them start wearing their religious or spiritual clothes. I didn’t want to leave this life with all that stuff still locked up in my head. Whether any of it is ever read by those I love and those I want to share with is really inconsequential. I have no power over that, but I do have power over whether or not I express it and make it available. I realize that I am nobody special, I have never sat on the top of any pinnacle and advised celebrities who have travelled halfway around the world to learn wisdom at my feet. I have never tried filling their pointy heads with wisdom. I am just a guy that has been around the block a few times and am now old and before I go I want to share the few things that I have learned and have thought about. I never knew that I could express my thoughts on paper, but then I thought, ‘Maybe I can” and then a few years ago I tried. Now my wife has a hard time getting me away from my ‘lead plates and stylus,’ (Computer). As mentioned above, Marjorie Holmes wisely said; “There is no thrill quite like doing something you did not know you could.” Now I know I can, I can leave my thoughts and wisdom for my descendants. (I spelled wisdom as wisdom because I am not sure I am fully there yet.) Though our daily conversations may be no more than a ‘raised arm and a finger pointing up’ in greeting, does not mean that we cannot sit down and write or carry on a conversation with our pen in hand. John Greenleaf Whittier, said that; “For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been’.” Had I held back, had I not sat down to write and to share, then after I depart this life, I would regret for all eternity not having done what I knew I should have. It is so true that ‘when a man dies they bury a book’ and I know that whatever I write, it will not represent all that I would like to say to those I love and have to leave behind. Even though I know that our separation is temporary. Youth think, in their abundant energy, that they are immortal. But one day, they like me, will come face to face with their mortality, when that time comes and it comes of a sudden. At that point, life becomes more serious. Than, you too, may think you need to write what you know about life and how to make it through in one piece, with a grin on your face. Though you may never have written a word, now you may think, ‘Maybe I can!” The doubts that people have about what they can or cannot do are not a part of you but only a part of your imagination and you can let that negative go. What we imagine about our strengths or weaknesses can only control what we do, as long as we let it. Free yourself of doubts that are negative about your capabilities and just do those things that you would like to do. Freedom from doubt and negative imaginations are exhilarating. The power of “I can” is actually a freedom train for any who can get it out of their mouth. We may go through much of our life thinking like Andy Warhol who said, “I am a deeply superficial person.” You are not. Why? Because you are a son/daughter of God and that makes you special.