Doing Things

Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade.

Rudyard Kipling
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Hello Linda
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Inertia. Ssssss. That's one of the nastiest words in the language. In human terms it's the official word for laziness, immobility, noninvolvement, slacking off, taking it easy, phoning it in, out to lunch, gone fishing, I can't be bothered.

When I was about 12 years old I remember sitting on the ground, playing with some sticks, with the warm sun on my back. It felt so good to be doing nothing important and having the sun caressing my central nervous system I decided then and there that was the way to live my life, no cares, no responsibilities, nothing serious. And so I did, for a while. I coasted my way through high school doing well enough to pass with a good grade and then coasted my way into college, which turned out to be the wrong way to coast.

At about the same time I discovered that I had talent as an actor. It was easier for me to be an actor than a scholar . I thought. That idea and my whole life with it went through a major change. I know I've written before about Edward, my first and only acting teacher who taught by directing plays, real plays in a real theatre with rehearsals, a dress rehearsal, an opening night and an audience of strangers.

Edward and I had spoken to each other as acquaintances a few times, but when I signed the contract he became my teacher and my boss. And I will never forget the first official words he said to me. "Can't you find anything to do?"

That remark set a spinning wheel of energy inside me which has never stopped. I can write about many ways that spinning wheel has characterized my life, but it's all in the past and the past doesn't interest me anymore. Contemplating bittersweet memories of the past is enervating and bothersome. I'd rather have a stiff drink and forget the past, the good and the bad.

The real story of Edward's energy cell gift to me is that it's still spinning. Now I can enjoy sitting in the shade and imagining a garden. But sooner or later I will get up and start poking in the ground to create the garden I have in mind. Everything you do has an effect and that effect is the future. If you sit still and coast along through life where's your future?

Sue Hertz took the challenge and knitted herself a sweater, something she's never done before. It's a success. Maybe she can't wear it now. But when the nasty winter winds begin to blow she has a brand new sweater to wear.

It's Spring. Poke in the dirt, push some seeds in there, water, fertilize, tend, weed and in the near future sit in the shade and admire your garden. But don't sit too long. Can't you find anything to do?

DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
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Wake Up

Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives.

William Dement
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Hello Mark
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"We are such stuff s dreams are made on" wrote Shakespeare. If that is so how can we tell the difference between the sleeping dream and the waking dream? Furthermore, if the sleeping dream affords us the right to go insane, doesn,t the waking dream do so too? And if insanity is what the sleeping dream feeds on why can't the waking dream do the same? Or are we all still asleep while we think we are awake?

When I read the news I perceive many human activities that seem to have no other explanation than that someone, or some group of people, has gone not so quietly or safely insane. How else but by madness can you explain some of the outrageous behavior of humans: suicide bombers, decisions by fundamentalist religions, the plundering of citizens by banks and other institutions, the kidnapping of children, millions of dollars being poured into a relatively small Midwestern state to garnish votes of doubtful worth. legalized torture, rape, murder, cruelty, infidelity, police brutality, nuclear weapons, the exploitation of children, other people being paid a fortune for performing acts of dubious quality, home owners being disallowed to display an American flag on their property, drones. Are we all guilty of this daytime craziness, and do we all need to wake up?

"Keep a level head" the saying goes. How level is my head? Rudyard Kipling wrote about that:
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you," and
"If you can dream - and not make dreams your master."

That's the question. Are we letting our dreams master us? When a man blows up a building and says that God told him to do it in a dream or in a vision you can be sure there is a mad man loose.

It seems to me the peculiar type of insanity that people are victimized by is not being able to tell the difference between a rational and irrational act or decision. Where is the buzzer, the alarm clock that should wake us up? Are we still asleep after we crawl out of bed? Do we sleepwalk through the day? And when we decide on the mad act, whatever it is, do the non thinking tools of passion, will power and tunnel vision take over our lives and hold us captive?

It's an odd fact that we spend most of days somewhere between asleep and alert. What we need to do is to understand, first of all, that we may well be still asleep and moving through a dream of life. Then let the cold breeze of reality blow across our thoughts and startle us into alertness. We need to ask "Wait a minute, what am I thinking of. Does it make any sense? Do I really want the results I'm heading for? Are these really my thoughts or do they come from some goblin of the night?" We need to be clear, "level headed," to keep our own heads and not rent them out to some inane fantasy. We need to confine our own inexplicable madness to the night time slumber.

"O dreamer, leave thy s dreams for joyful waking,
O captive, rise and sing, for thou art free."
(Rosa Turner)

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

The 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 mine.

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.

Tell me your thoughts on Chanukah, Christmas, Ashura, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, the New Year. or any subject you wish or associate with this holiday season.

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 11 Guest Authors so far. Check them out.
All are welcome. Admission is free.

DB
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