Saturday, October 14, 2017

To Last A Lifetime

Saturday Stories
October 14, 2017


I

For the way my path is unfolding, I can only say "Thank You!" to God. My life is a smooth flow of wellbeing and a steady sense of moving forward.

I'm filled with gratitude because my lovelife, career, health, finances, and indeed, all areas of my life, are going extremely well.

I'm into a lot of new things right now, and I'm thankful to see progress and kaizen (continuous improvement) in all of them at the same time. Yet I don't feel pressured or overwhelmed – for which I'm also grateful.

I'm taking my own sweet time with some, like writing my new novel and studying for my international TEFL certification, because I'm enjoying every minute of it.  Others, like working out and using virgin coconut oil, are for keeps. But what gives me the most joy is the one I love, whom I love more than life itself.

II

If what I feel right now can be put into music, it would be from my beloved Jose Mari Chan:

"...We have more
than one adventure to take,
more than one dream to make
in our lifetime,
as for me, there's only one dream
and that's to love you, my love,
with a love to last a lifetime..."

III

I was recently asked how come I believe in God but I don't belong to any religion. All I said, before suavely changing the subject, was: "I have the most profound respect for other people's beliefs."

That reminded me of Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the deepest influences in my life. His writings have the mystic quality that shows he knows more than what he was saying. He also wasn't religious in the conventional sense, but his wisdom transcends creed.

"If the noblest saint among the Buddhists, the best Mahometan, the highest Stoic of Athens, the purest and wisest Christian could meet somewhere and converse," he said, "they would all find themselves of one religion."

Ralph is also the author of the 1834 immortal poem "The Rhodora." By coincidence (and my life is filled with those), I'm playing today my recording of it:

"...If the sages ask thee why      
This charm is wasted on the earth and sky,      
Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing,        
Then Beauty is its own excuse for being..."

The Rhodora
On Being Asked, Whence Is the Flower?
Ralph Waldo Emerson


A Love To Last A Lifetime
Jose Mari Chan


See Also



2 comments:

Jonathan Aquino said...

This is one of my favorite gems from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."

Jonathan Aquino said...

My photo was taken last Thursday, October 12, 2017, by a friend from work who doesn't have Facebook. By way of saying thanks, I gave him a tuna sandwich.