Second Thoughts – Meteors and Wireless Phones

Greetings Dear Reader,

Sometimes I will end the day with thoughts that are important to get out.  Usually I just write them and put them in my journal folder.  I have chosen that on occasion I will share them with you Dear Reader.

I was privileged to have dinner with my Son and Grandsons on Thursday.  It had been the first night of the Orionid Meteor Shower and I shared with them how much fun I had watching it.   I explained the relationship between the meteor shower and Haley’s Comet.

I then asked my eldest what he wanted for his birthday.  He first deflected the question by reminding me that I should know since I am Santa Clause.  My Son and I gently pressed him to tell us what he wanted. 

After some hesitation, the soon to be six-year-old said he wanted his own phone.  The look that passed between my Son and I was one that every parent knows.  I watched as my Son gently inquired as to why he wanted a phone.  

The lad’s explanation was that he wanted to be able to call his family whenever he wanted.  My Son deftly explained how my Grandson could use his phone to do that whenever he wished.

The moment carried me back to when I would call my Grandfather.   My mum never knew about the long talks he and I had when I was home alone.  We would listen to afternoon baseball games together and talk about baseball and fishing or hunting.  We would plan our adventures when next I visited him. 

The heart longs to communicate with those we love.  It desires to be with others in any way possible.  Perhaps this is why I find that I pray so much more of late.  I long to talk to my Father and know that he is there with me.  I long to hear his voice reassuring me that all is unfolding as it should.  I long to lay under the stars with those I love and see the meteors streak across the autumn sky.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Already and the not yet – Digital Dissatisfaction

Greetings Dear Reader,

Next month I am due for a new phone at a low price.  In trying to decide which phone I want to acquire it occurred to me how skilled the phone industry is at creating digital dissatisfaction.  My current phone is excellent.  Most of the new ones I have to choose from lack features that I value.

As I ponder this I realize that computers generate this same discontent.  When I transition to my home hardware to the hardware I use at work there is instant desire for more, better, and faster.  The constant spiral of new software and hardware push both in the direction of constant need.

This is a great example of how we fail to embrace the already and abandon it for the not yet.  We live in the constant state of dissatisfaction over what we do not have.  We miss the potential and value of contentment with what we do have.  If I compare the speed and power of this PC to my first one there are light years of advancement to appreciate. 

Whilst most of my life needs to be moving from the already to the not yet, when it comes to contentment it is the opposite.  I must learn to be content with what I have already and not overthink what I do not have.  It is in the moment that I must value and appreciate what I have.  I must avoid the greed inherent in material not yet. 

There will be constant enticement to dissatisfaction with my already have.  In the case of possessions I must not allow dissatisfaction to push me to greed and obsession with passion.  It only causes me to gather things that weigh me down and hinder my following.

Loose Ends – Dan Fogelberg

Climbing a mountain in darkness

Stranded alone on the ledge

Every attempt that I make to hold on

Pushes me nearer the edge

Sensing the changes impending

My thoughts are diffused by despair

I feel like I'm swimming straight up underwater

Desperately racing for air

I'm racing for air

And the chords struck at birth grow more distant

Yet, we strike them again and again

And we plead and we pray for a glimmer of day

As the night folds its wings and descends

Exposing the loose ends

Surrounding myself with possessions

I surely have more than I need

I don't know if this is justice hard earned

Or simply a matter of greed

A matter of greed

And the chords struck at birth grow more distant

Yet, we strike them again and again

And we plead and we pray for a glimmer of day

As the night folds its wings and descends

Exposing the loose ends)

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)