It’s been exactly two years since I made my first blog post. Time for a short review. I started my blog because it was an idea that just wouldn’t go away. A shout out to my friends Jim and Greg for giving me the encouragement I needed to pull the trigger and to my daughter Ruth for helping me with the necessary technology.
All the ideas I’ve written about are important to me. A few such as The World is Going to Keep Right on Turning, Why Take a Chance? and Kindness Changed My Life became a part of me long ago. How many fingers do you see?, The Big Secret and The Great Thief changed the course of my life profoundly and made this blog possible. You Mean From Here?, Lighting Candles and Threats have become more impactful lately.
I use You Mean from Here many times every day. It helps me deal with things as they are instead of wanting them to be different. Often it’s a minor thing like getting caught at a traffic light when I’m running late. Now and then it’s something more important. The giant ice storm of February of 2021 killed three of my trees. I planted five foot trees twenty years ago and babied them so they became thirty five foot shade trees. They even had names, Sampson, Manu and Splitter. Losing them was a big deal. It really stung. I decided the only thing worse was staying upset about it. That prolongs the pain. If I’m going to write about dealing with things as they are, I should practice it, especially when it hurts. The trees have been removed and will be cremated in the fireplace this winter. Replacements will be planted this fall. I’ll have new trees to name and baby.
Lighting Candles is mostly what this blog is about. I started writing in the middle of the Covid pandemic and massive civil unrest. I thought, what can I do about these giant problems? I can post ideas on the internet that have helped me. Maybe they will help someone else. More problems have been added to world since I began. Time to light more candles. In the past year I volunteered to mentor a fourth grade boy and started a campaign to promote mentorship in my community. Lighting more candles is better than cursing the darkness and might make the future a little brighter.
Threats is my most recent post. It took the death of a friend to help me realize how often I have succumb to phantom threats. They can’t take my life, but they do take life out of my existence. Marcus Aurelius said “Life is short. That’s all there is to say. Get what you can from the present-thoughtfully, justly.” I am now am on guard for threats I create in my mind. I almost didn’t start this blog because of what others might think. I’m glad I exorcised that specter and have enjoyed writing these past two years.
Who knows what the next two years will bring. I’ll do my best to deal with things as they are, lighting candles along the way. That starts by eliminating phantom threats.
I would appreciate knowing which posts if any have made an impact on you. I hope to hear from you.
May you have enough today, one moment at a time.
THIS HELPED ME 
I’ve been impressed from the start with your ability to illustrate sometimes complex ideas clearly.
Many of us have the same experiences you use as examples. But few of us stop to think about how they can enlighten us.
So thanks for using your talents in a way that might help us.
And..Happy Anniversary!
LikeLike