Buried Treasure

There is no easy road to freedom.

Nelson Mandela
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Hello Sandy
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Once you set out on the troublesome and unpredictable waters of life you will never reach a destination if you turn back to the safety of the port. It's the trepidation of facing new views, it's fear of and animosity toward taking the risks necessary to bring about the freedom we're entitled to that make the road difficult The recidivist urges that hold so many people in bondage, in a static state, comfortable with less than the rough road of progress can supply.

The rewards are rich for those who stick to the road, no matter how many boulders and wild animals appear. And what if freedom is the destination, freedom from oppression, poverty, sickness, fear or ignorance? The attainment of that objective is elation, elevation of one's life. Freedom from means freedom to. Freedom that will never be attained by backing up or standing still.

There are stories of people who have fought their way to freedom from cancer and other diseases, because the alternatives were not acceptable. There are stories of young folks who, at great risk, faced the dangers and freed themselves from kidnappers. There are stories of innocent people who painstakingly freed themselves from prison where they were serving a sentence for a crime they didn't commit. And there re stories of those who freed themselves from poverty and homelessness, even if it took many years. One story I frequently remember is of a woman who was blind and deaf, who came out of the ghetto, to earn a graduate degree is Psychology from a New York City University.

Life. No one ever said it was easy. But it's a pointless life if one sits in the port and complains about the weather instead of launching out into the rain and wind with courage, a noble purpose, a progressive goal and drawing the map to the buried treasure as you go.

DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
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This invitation is still open for anyone and everyone to post an entry of their own on my journal, Vagabond Journeys http://vagabondjourneys.blogspot.com/.

A new year is upon us and since it is a time for celebrations, remembrances, resolutions and plans for the future I think people have things to say.

Not to take away from the postings on your own journals, but to add to the joy of my own is why I invite you to write for me.

I want to read what your thoughts are about this magical time of the year. This invitation is open to everyone: Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Pagans, Agnostics, Atheists and the Uncertain or the Confused. Tell me your thoughts on any subject you wish.

There are no limits in regard to length. The only limitation is that, for reasons so far unexplained to me, my blog does not take photographs, animations, videos or pictures of any kind. I deal in words.

Please accept my invitation. Send your entry to my email address dbdacoba@aol.com I will copy and paste it into my journal and it will be displayed promptly. You may sign your name or not as you wish, and you may leave a link to your blog or your email or not, as you wish. I will do NO editing or censoring. Eloquence is not necessary, mind or heart or both is all.

I have 13 Guest Authors so far. Check them out.
All are welcome. Admission is free.

DB - The Vagabond
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I Sing Of Ben

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

Nelson Mandela
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I love my life because it is life living. I love my mind because it is mind thinking. I love my heart because it is love loving.

I once read an essay where it was asked why the Japanese gentleman always puts his shoes together when he takes them off. The answer was that it would never occur to him not to.

I have known a few people who I would characterize as genuinely good. One of them was Ben. Ben spent his whole life in show business. As a child and young adult he was an entertainer, a singer performing with variety shows and on the circuits. Later he became an executive in the motion picture business. He was a religious man of deep, unshakeable faith. He treated everyone with kindness, forgiveness and respect. He never did a mean thing in his life. Why did he go through life being a gentle, good person? I think it was because it never occurred to him not to.

People like Ben are a life lesson for me. I wish I could be more loving and forgiving of others, but when the frustrations of life kick in and the rage bubbles up I forget about Ben and the others who manage to be beacons of positive behavior in the dark. I think it's a question of focus. The special, spectacular idiot with my name on him is always there, just under the surface, to rant, rage and get destructive. I know he's there and so I spend a lot of energy avoiding him. What that means is that a certain portion of my being is focused down the well of unhappiness. I haven't yet reached the Elysian fields where such things don't occur to me.

One of the big traps to snare me is my habit of getting enraged and frightened by political, social and world events. Ben never concerned himself with any of those things, never defended or attacked. He had his job which he loved. He had his family which he loved. He had his religion which loved. He had his music which he loved. He surrounded himself with love. He would never allow anything inharmonious or disturbing to enter that love. It would never occur to him. He faced the same troubles in his life that everyone else does but they didn't trouble him. His faith and his love were too strong. I admire Ben.

I am trying to anchor myself in the same sort of faith and love, to treat everyone with respect even if they seem not to deserve it, to love my enemies, to behave with equanimity, patience, a good mind and a good heart.

DB - The Vagabond
Never Give up
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SUMMER QUESTION

The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.

It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.

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

dbdacoba@aol.com

21 interesting answers so far.

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

DB
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The Boy I Left Behind

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

Nelson Mandela
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I used to know a woman in her 30's who was unmarried with three older brothers and a father who was a great influence in her life. One of the things her father required of her was to keep a journal recording her life. She began it as a child and thus she had stacks of notebooks with jottings of her experiences, an autobiography of personal and very subjective bits and pieces. I don't think she ever went back to read anything she had written and I know her father didn't. I don't know what the point was except to record a life: what was, what used to be, what could have been, what is no more. I wonder what she would think of herself if she did revisit some of those writings.

I was born into a middle class family living in a New York suburb. Four years later my father died. There was then no income and hence no money. Two years later mother sold the house and we moved. After that we slowly drifted into a state of poverty. We had to keep moving, 25 times until I finally left home, 6 times one year.

I've had an occasion to go back to that town and look at some of the places we lived. I tried to remember and visualize what I was like growing up, as a youngster and a teenager, and seeing how much I have changed. When I had a chance to see the first big house, the one I was born into, with all its property, the back yard I used to play in, my early life seems completely remote from me. The child I was still lives in that house. I don't.

I went to visit some folks I knew at the college theatre where I had worked and learned. At one point they all wanted to go out to lunch but I was expecting someone to meet me there so I stayed by myself and was remembering some of the shows I had done.

I answered the phone. It was a new professor who didn't know me. I explained who I was to his satisfaction, I thought. But shortly after that the campus police showed up and threw me out. I had put up scenery, hung and focused lights, helped to build and repair that theatre, acted and directed many productions. But from that day on I was a stranger, not welcome any more. I never went back to that place.

I have relinquished many things in my life, some because I was forced to and some because I wanted to. We change, we grow. The great lesson is that we have to let go of who we used to be if we want to keep changing, to keep growing. That's alright with me.

DB - The Vagabond
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WINTER QUESTION
(This is not a contest)

What was the most significant event that happened in 2010?

dbdacoba@aol.com

Only 2 responses so far

I await your answer.
DB
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DB - The Vagabond