Nothing Left For Dreams To Steal

When I sleep with you Maria, there’s nothing left for dreams to steal.†…George Strait

😊 I practice on the guitar every day, and I must admit that I’m not very good. That song by George, titled “Maria,” is one of the songs I practice playing. The line quoted above is a wonderful expression of love. We try to find the right words to tell the one we love how strongly we feel, but I suspect we often fall short of our goal. I would change the expression to say, “When I’m with you Sweetheart, there’s nothing left for dreams to steal.†That would let her know she is in my thoughts all the time, no matter the battle’s life hurls our way. Marya Mannes said, “The curse of the romantic is a greed for dreams, an intensity of expectation that, in the end, diminishes the reality.†I’m not so sure that I agree with her on the “diminishes the reality†part. I believe the “dream’ enhances the “reality.†The visualizing of a romantic relationship plays a very large role in how we see the object of our affection. My dreams of my wife are always positive, and I am sure, affect how I see our travel through life together. So, I plan to continue dreaming. I hope you do the same.

😊 I was sitting at my desk the other day, and the phone rang. I picked it up, and the lady who called informed me that a close friend had passed away. Millie was 92 years old. We visited her in November, and since she lives about 10 hours away, we planned on another visit this summer. It has been said that a person dies twice: when you take your last breath, and when the last person that knew you takes theirs. I kind of like that thought. “Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.†…Sarah Williams. We will miss Millie’s smile and wonderful personality.

😊 If the timeline of earth is compressed into one year, humans would not show up until December 31st at 11:58pm. It appears that in our current human form, we have been around about 200,000 years. We are the only inhabitants who expect tomorrow or remember yesterday. We have mastered many of earth’s mysteries, yet so many exist past our grasp. Mankind has been a wonderful addition to this planet we call home but in a lot of ways we are so destructive. I watched a movie the other night, titled†Downsizing,” with Matt Damon. He was voluntarily down sized from 6 feet to 5 inches. The theory was that everything cost less for a small guy versus a big fellow. The other thread through the story was that by downsizing, all of us would use a lot fewer resources, and our planet would last much longer. That made sense to me, but I am not sure that I would volunteer for that project. My wife and I recycle everything we can and try to reduce our carbon footprint, but I am certain we could do more. “Regrets for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regrets for the things we did not do that are inconsolable.†…Sidney Harris

😊 I do most unimportant things satisfactory. I seldom do important things that way. I always seem to leave out critical parts in my process. What’s important is like a ship on the high seas, lots of calm water, but the occasional storm hits, and you need to be ready. Many times, I have disassembled machinery and find that after I have put it back together several parts are still on the table. That problem is always fixable. But, when you’re interacting with friends and family, and you do, or say, something that impacts their lives in a negative manner, that’s important. The hardest thing for me to do right involves my reaction when someone tells me of a serious situation: I lost my job; I have cancer; my brother passed away; my wife has Alzheimer, etc. How we react to those situations helps us determine how much empathy we have for others. My reactions to those situations are inadequate. By far, the most dangerous foe I have to fight is my inability to convey to others that I share their grief. I hope to get better at doing that.

😊 I have noticed lately that most people do not respond to “Thank you” with “You’re welcomeâ€. That response has been around since 1907 and “welcome†on its own was first used in the 1600’s. My observations about responses today are: “Thank YOU,” “Sure thing,” thing”, “Anytime!”, “No problem”. “You’re welcome†is a much better response, showing more emotion than the others. To me, those two expressions are forever tied together. I am aware that expressions come and go, but a substitution should be a better choice than what it’s replacing. So far, none of them are, in my estimation. Life is simple but we make it so much more complicated.

😊 What would happen if I restricted myself to 100 words for one day? That thought crossed my mind the other day and gave me reason to pause. Gone would be the constant banter between my wife and me. Most of the “I love you”, “Did you sleep well last night” remarks made daily would be eliminated. Most assuredly, my friends would benefit. Banned are long stories about things happening in my life, and absolutely no chatter about my latest gadget, or my granddaughters. Would I be a better person if I were more precise in my utterances? I must admit that I am a talker, a man of many words, and sometimes that can be a hindrance, if not downright annoying. So, if I restricted myself to 100 words I would have to insure there were enough words left for the entire day. Sort of like the fellow in the desert with one canteen of water. Run out and you’re toast! Well, not toast when it comes to words, but I imagine it would be pretty uncomfortable. For example, let’s say I used up all my words by 5pm. I go to bed around midnight, so that’s seven hours of silence for me. I imagine the wife to be delighted in that circumstance, while I fumed about being wordless. I haven’t made up my mind to do that yet, but I am giving it some thought. Paul Claudell said, “People go to take sun baths, why have so few had the idea of taking baths of silence?†Sounds encouraging to me! …Tommy