Let Your Light Shine Down

Thanks to Collective Soul for today's headline. It's a great song. One of the few I play every time I don the Rhapsody mp3 player.

so what are you, or I, going to do today to let our light shine down? that's a challenge for every day, isn't it? what a shame for days to slip away when not only do you not shine, but doing so doesn't even cross your mind due to the daily distractions of "real life".

my cousin, Chris, is fighting for his life and he's letting his light shine in every post in his blog (see the link to Chris Olin). can we do any less? do we have to be scared to death to lift ourselves from the muck of laundry, bills to pay, and dishes to think about bigger things or reach out to people around us? it is a daily opportunity for self-discipline, I guess. you can't sit back and wait. like Jackson Browne says, "people you got the power to pull us through". he's so right.

Here's one illustration of letting your light shine. Harry Bernstein

Harry Bernstein, 96 year old first-time author. I think I'll buy his book from Amazon later, as a tribute to him. What a guy.

Motorcycle Ride

Went for a 15 mile ride around Seattle yesterday. No destination. Just "head out on the highway, looking for adventure"...Never got on the freeway. Stayed on city streets and went around Lake Union, up Westlake, through Fremont/Ballard to Golden Gardens and back home. Had to go over two metal bridge grates which makes me nervous, but that was the point of the ride. Just practice being in traffic, staying alert and maybe see a little something interesting. It is very "be here now" to ride when you really connect with it. The focus to be in the moment, to stay safe, quiets the chatter. The ping pong thoughts bouncing around fade away. In the good moments it's like a dream of flying or something. Lol....my mp3 on random play has just delivered "Highway To Hell" for my listening pleasure...right while I write about riding. Certainly hope AC/DC is wrong or that the road has quite a few miles left.

Friends

Maybe one way to let your light shine is to treasure and celebrate your friends. Kathy and I have certainly been blessed with lots of kindness from friends, particularly in the last year and 1/2. what a mystery how people connect across the distance between. everyone comes here alone and goes alone, but along the way, sometimes, you find those whose presence just feels right and makes the journey better. there's something there that doesn't occur with most people you meet, and that rareness makes it that much more valuable.

Last night we had dinner at Divine, near our house, with Eric Stephens and his wife, Rebecca. Eric and I met in 1977 or 1978. He owns a moving company and I've been hiring them for years to do office moves. So, there's a business connection, but there's more to it than that. He says what he means and means what he says, which I like. He works hard and cares about doing a good job. So do I. From that, we've known each other 30 years, through raising children, suffering losses, making a living, etc. Rebecca showed up on my door at the office to chew me out for being rude on the telephone to her when I was griping about some move problem. She was right..ha ha. So, we all had a nice dinner and griped about Bush, talked about kids, the stupid waiter, office politics and expensive purses. Such a great way to spend an evening sharing our perceptions and learning from each other.

The Shining

Time for to get on with my Sunday, time spent with my best friend, Kathy. Not sure what we'll do, but I hope I can remember to try to make it special some way, to learn something, to shine just a little bit.