Seasonal Ebb & Flow

Isn’t it interesting how the mood of our lives in our society seems to follow the ebb and flow of the seasons? We often are so consumed by just “doing our best” as we surf life from day-to-day that we are oblivious to the grand scheme of things that swirl about us making up the quilt of our lives. Life is punctuated by events that act like batons in a relay race as it keeps us in the race. Seasons, holiday dates, sporting schedules, new music, plays, movies or TV programs previewing, family milestones all energize us as me move in a fervor to immerse ourselves in the latest and greatest that has floated to the top. These are the things that make life worth living.

 

Think of what stands out head and shoulders above the mundane as you cast your mind backwards over what excited you during the past year. From “what are you doing New Years Eve” to the gifts that you juggled last Christmas, we are constantly driven by “the next big thing” on our agenda.

None of this was innate as our culture conditioned us to respond appropriately to what is expected of us in every social situation. Our elementary school days surrounded us with seasonal bulletin boards and a calendar built around holidays as they counted the quantity of days over the quality of the days. Secondary school upped the ante by adding in the mix of seasonal sports and getting a date for the next social dance to teach us how to behave in the right way at the right time. College days and the workplace added in the focus on the right career, right place to live, and how to raise a family in the right way. How long have we been “keeping up with the Joneses” in our struggle to keep the baton in play in our actual relay for life?

All of this sounds pre-packaged and industrialized when we feel like we have been pawns in a society that is centered on conditioning us to constantly behave in the appropriate way as we surf through the seasons of life. In real-time however, it is these ever-changing attention grabbers that instills in us a zest for life. Our money is spent on responding to the seasons in the right way, and it rewards us with good feelings as we sense that it has been a job well-done. Looking ahead to the “next big thing” is what keeps us driving ahead. the great by-product here is that this is the fuel that drives our economy, which in turn dives our jobs, which provides us with income to look to the next big thing and complete the circle. I’m sure you get the picture here. It is a case where the clinical actual is not what it seems, as ignoring the big picture and just living life is what gives us a smile and a glow.

If marching to the right beat and responding to the next big thing in the right way is the driving force of our economy and our very lives is it a good thing or bad? Our nation keeps rolling along as we strive to be fulfilled. We keep the baton in play, yet at times we wonder what would happen if we fumbled the hand off. Generation after generation pauses at times to lament the way things seem to be changing, yet society survives and we morph gently into another rendition of ourselves either through our work, our connections, and our family. Life happens all around us and we either embrace it and make the best of it, or we devour ourselves with resistance. What is your approach to the race? How do you handle the baton? Embrace the day, but do not lose site of the big picture as you are in charge of living your life to the fullest.

…and then there is reality television. Some things are just beyond explanation.

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Seasonal wonders

Seems like this has been “round two,” as far as the weather woes goes, as we have endured two successive nasty winters which seem to linger around as we ooze into spring. While last winter hit the Appalachian hills with some thunderous knock out punches, this waning season of ’11 was more of a dull aching day-to-day bout with just enough winter to make you long for summer breezes.

To welcome smiles, March “came in like a lamb,” giving us a breath of spring air as the ground was uncovered from its blanket of snow finally and the early flowers and buds started popping out all over.

Isn’t it amazing how the changes of the seasons seem to alter our outlook on life? In my ramblings this always seems to fill my mind like ocean waves as i become pleasantly distracted by the new-found energy surrounding each seasonal change.

As the typical one-day-warm-the next-day-cold of early spring gives way to sizzling summer winds i will host an inner smile remembering the various incarnations of the seasons and how it sets the beat and moods of our lives. Enjoy the wonders!

Another amazing installment

Wow- I have floated so many blogs, that I have totally forgotten to update here!  Summer has long faded, and we are into Autumn now as the leaves are starting to take on that beautiful carpet of color look.  Since I have rediscovered this special blog of mine, I will add this to my list of things to do!  More later!

July fades….

Wow! I suppose we are moving toward Autumn as the local high school bands and footballers are on the move as the calender flips to August tomorrow….Ah the “summer wind” as Sinatra sang….the most wonderful time of the year in so many ways! Although the foliage still has the “summer green look” to it it won’t be long until the leaves turn that dark green color just prior to turning into a blaze of beauty. I have a few trees here at Sumner Place that always seem to turn first and begin to cascade to the ground in a furry carpet. Fall is wonderful with its orange, red, and a multitude of browns and tans, and it certainly has its own beauty. One of the nice things about living in the mountains is the pronounced four seasons we enjoy. I’ll begin to be on the lookout for those few trees to give me the siren call of autumn coming, but for now I’ll linger a bit over the next days and weeks to savor the wonder of summer!

Thoughts and Ramblings

How do we move through life?  Many seem to be like cows in the field as they mow along with their heads down foraging for an existence while being oblivious to the world about them.  Meanwhile others seem sensitive to every element that crosses their path and often they are distracted in their battle plan for life coming up short in realizing their dreams.  Certainly it is a much more enriching life to be centered on life while pacing yourself in a fashion to savor the wonders while conquering the mundane.  Attempt to balance your essence by accomplishing your goals while constantly finding quality in everything encountered.  This blog will be filled with my observations of life as it swirls about me, and I hope that my thoughts and ramblings strike a chord in you to ponder the abstract as we interact in our own circles.  Take up the challenge to sensitize your trek enough to see the goodness and the wonders that you encounter daily!

Sumnerplace

Our minds race along processing everything we encounter and subliminally sort through what we choose to remember or allow to fade away. Every generation lives in world that seems so amazingly busy that each of us laments that we don’t have time for anything as we are so consumed by just living. The words that I splatter on this palate will be an attempt to create a reflection of my take on what I see in my world. Hopefully it will create a spark in others to join in taking a moment to be introspective and soak up what is right in our world!