What’s Important

Skimming through the internet I caught an article on the world ice skating championships. I had not thought about ice skating for a long time. Suddenly I was reminded of one of my favorite TV pastimes.

Ice skating – figure skating on the national and international stages – presents beauty, music, incredible physical feats and coordination. Whether singles or pairs, competitive ice skating is a beautiful sight.

Ice skating is paired with music that creates an artistic base for interpreting the skating moves. Whether rhythmic or symphonic elegy, the music and skating flow together. They make sense. Showmanship becomes a reality.

A pleasure. A reminder of something positive, not negative.

The reminder of positive is stark against the backdrop of day to day living when ordinary news is so awful and negative.

What is important is often clouded by other happenings. A meal well planned and implemented is a feast of mind, taste and physical satisfaction. Anticipating flavors from the aromas of preparation is an hours long exercise. Same with awaiting a special event like a wedding, gala, or entertainment gig. Anticipation is as much part of the pleasure as the main event itself. Think vacations; that is a world of pleasure in itself. The before, present and after.

Easy to forget life’s good while the bad is played out incessantly on the news, movies and literature. We are accustomed to the bad, so much so we push the good aside temporarily.

I want Trump behind bars in recognition of his con man value system, his bullying, his bold nastiness. Will he go to prison? I doubt it. It just isn’t done for the nation’s leader past or present. It is such an indictment on our own system of values to admit that the top elected position in the USA was filled by a crook, a liar and cheat. It reflects badly on all of us. Forever. And for that reason I believe the man will avoid prison.

The planet continues to spin toward a disastrous climate that will likely not support human life. Such a sad possibility. Such an inevitability caused by man himself. Foolish and avoidable. Let the science reign and inform us of what we cause and warn us of possible solutions. But no, this is deemed political by too many and thus not fit agenda for actual collaborative problem solving.

With such enormous issues at hand, we allow life’s pleasures to be lost. Intentionally pulling them forward seems selfish. Even manipulative. And yet, it is right that we rekindle the positive, the pleasurable, that which is enjoyed by each of us.

It is not selfish. It is life itself to know and be happy in private moments. That is the essence of life and living it well. Hard to believe at times, but it is what it is. Evil does exist but it needn’t be the controlling power of what defines us.

March 27, 2023

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more