life lessons

                      in order to accept others

                             one must accepts one's self first

last man standing

The phrase "last man standing" seems to refer to drinking where the last person left standing is the one least drunk. 

Not at all what I have come to grasp from this phrase. 

I have come to think that in a battle, be it a battle of drinking or shooting or war or as illustrated here, in life, that the last man standing wins. 

I guess I am confused by this, there will not ever be a last man standing and on this I think we can all agree. 

We will all be left to disintegrate into the earth. 

What WILL matter?

Will it be the items I have collected?

Will it be the fame I have attempted to obtain, the recognition?

Will it be the contributions I have made to humankind?

Or, will it be, the love that I have given my brothers and sisters that carries onward?

When I am gone and buried I hope it is love I have left, for in truth that is all I really have. 

Paddling the ocean(s)

Last week we rented a paddle board. Here is a recap. 

Tues- The waves were challenging, but not often. The swells were small and manageable. 

Wed- It rained most of the day and in the late afternoon the sky cleared.We thought the ocean would be rough, but it was the opposite. Calm, smooth and like glass. 

Thurs- The wind was pushing the waves north and the tide was coming in and a sandbar caused the waves to break here and there. The paddling was difficult.

Fri- The ocean was very rough. The waves were stronger and more often. The wind pushed harder. Paddling south was futile. 

There were times I paddled far out into the ocean where a silence overtook me and the beach was just a small strip of land, all the moments took on new meanings. 

All that was left was the ocean, me and God. 

Today- The paddling continues and the conditions are yet unknown. All I have is myself and God in this ocean of life and it is on this that I rest. 

Dear God.....

Dear almighty and magnificent God, 

Thank you for today. 

From my waking moment to the day of work (which was good) and all that lied in between...it is for all of this I am grateful. I am most thankful for the people who showed me love today and can only pray I did the same for them dear Lord of Lords. 

Thank you for Matt, and Kenny and Rob and Sean and the people who sold me coffee and Joyce, and Vicki and Rick and Matthew and Terry and Holly and Andrea and Renee and Denise and Nick and John and Jennifer and Mary and Chrissy and Fatima and all of those who showed me encouragement good and gracious God...and as always thank you for Margaret the woman whom you have blessed me with. 

Thank you for teaching me your law today for which I must meditate on more freely and often. 

May God bless you all. 

Peace.

Much affection, 

Tate

(Psalm 1)

useless beauty

is beauty ever useless?  


can we/I find beauty in all and everything?


the simplicity is to find beauty in music, landscape, friends/family/co-workers


but what about John and Jane Doe?


it is easy to find beauty/love/happiness in the people and things that you love


but what about the ugly/messy/sticky/disgusting things - (people)


can we find beauty there?


will we WORK towards finding that beauty?


or, will we.....just carry on?


ignoring the meek, the poor, the hurt, the angry, the mean, the sticky dirty smelly yucky people 


Jesus didn't ignore them...I know I do. 


Jesus didn't ignore me

extra sky

imagine getting some extra sky today. 


imagine waking up and there was extra love, extra sky and even extra pizza for all!


imagine if it was up to us to imagine that


imagine if we did


then our imaginations would be reality

innocence of children

the moments of enjoyment spent watching a family of robins grow and develop

where the highlight of the day is checking the nest to see what is new and exciting

where time has no meaning, but the moment of time of which you spend


this is what matters most