The Measure

Do anything that keeps your brain working and your heart filled with passion.

Anonymous
********************
Suppose you are crossing a desert, or hiking through a forest, or climbing a mountain. And suppose you've been doing that for a long time and you haven't reached an oasis, the edge of the forest or the summit of the mountain. Since all you see are dunes, trees or cliffs and crags it would be helpful if you had some sort of a map to tell you where you are and how far you have to go, some sort of device for measuring your progress.

So how deeply have you thought things through? How much of your heart have you put into something? We have no devices to measure our own subjective lives. It is too easy to jump to conclusions, to decide on a moment's flash of stimulation that something is right and true, wake up the next morning not so sure and discard the whole idea by tea time.

Is that really what you think? Is that really how you feel? How do we find the monitoring mechanism, the measuring device that keeps us from getting lost in the desert or the forest, confused and uncertain about where we are and what we're doing?

We are all victims of our own impulses, those "moments of truth" that lead us astray in the wilderness. The right answer is to recognize that, make the connection between dull old organized thought and the excitement of foolishness. There isn't much that's exciting about plowing and planting. It's when the crop is ready for harvest that the excitement comes. But the planter knows the thoughtful preparation of the soil and the heartfelt sowing of each seed.

By all means go mad every now and then and do something silly. But when the important things are on the table grab the ruler and measure your thoughts, how deep and practical are they? And measure the convictions of your heart to the opportunities at hand. And when you reach the summit of the mountain you will know how you got there and why.

Never give up.
DB - The Vagabond
***************************

SUMMER QUESTION

It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you. Don't let the recent New York State decision rob you of your thunder.

Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

dbdacoba@aol.com

8 answers so far.

You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.

DB
************************