“Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.”
“The best teacher is experience and not through someone's distorted point of view”
“Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together; sophistication demands that they submit to sex immediately without proper preliminary talk. Not courting talk — real straight talk about souls, for life is holy and every moment is precious.”
“I was surprised, as always, by how easy the act of leaving was, and how good it felt. The world was suddenly rich with possibility.”
“I realized these were all the snapshots which our children would look at someday with wonder, thinking their parents had lived smooth, well-ordered lives and got up in the morning to walk proudly on the sidewalks of life, never dreaming the raggedy madness and riot of our actual lives, our actual night, the hell of it, the senseless emptiness.”
“I woke up as the sun was reddening; and that was the one distinct time in my life, the strangest moment of all, when I didn't know who I was - I was far away from home, haunted and tired with travel, in a cheap hotel room I'd never seen, hearing the hiss of steam outside, and the creak of the old wood of the hotel, and footsteps upstairs, and all the sad sounds, and I looked at the cracked high ceiling and really didn't know who I was for about fifteen strange seconds. I wasn't scared; I was just somebody else, some stranger, and my whole life was a haunted life, the life of a ghost.”
“But why think about that when all the golden lands ahead of you and all kinds of unforseen events wait lurking to surprise you and make you glad you're alive to see?”
“...we all must admit that everything is fine and there's no need in the world to worry, and in fact we should realize what it would mean to us to UNDERSTAND that we're not REALLY worried about ANYTHING.”
“all I wanted to do was sneak out into the night and disappear somewhere, and go and find out what everybody was doing all over the country.”
“There was nothing to talk about anymore. The only thing to do was go.”
“I suddenly began to realize that everybody in America is a natural-born thief.”
“I ate another apple pie and ice cream; that's practically all I ate all the way across the country, I knew it was nutritious and it was delicious, of course.”
“What do you want out of life?" I asked, and I used to ask that all the time of girls.
I don't know," she said. "Just wait on tables and try to get along." She yawned. I put my hand over her mouth and told her not to yawn. I tried to tell her how excited I was about life and the things we could do together; saying that, and planning to leave Denver in two days. She turned away wearily. We lay on our backs, looking at the ceiling and wondering what God had wrought when He made life so sad.”
“Soon it got dusk, a grapy dusk, a purple dusk over tangerine groves and long melon fields; the sun the color of pressed grapes, slashed with burgandy red, the fields the color of love and Spanish mysteries.”
“I just won't sleep," I decided. There were so many other interesting things to do.”
Monday, December 12, 2016
Friday, December 9, 2016
Life's Too Short...
Life's Too Short...
...To make excuses.
...To save the good dishes for special occasions.
...To think a compliment and not say it.
..To sing half-heartedly.
...To let fear hold you back.
...To hoard and keep too much stuff.
...To simply trudge through the days.
...To forget the touch and small of Play-doh.
...To eat the same meals day after day.
...To not pray often, giving thanks in all things.
...To not be able to read and write well.
...To have a weak handshake.
...To not look someone in the eye when you are talking to them.
...To stop learning new things.
...To not learn from others mistakes.
...To not learn from our own mistakes.
...To not know that Jesus died for you.
...To not acknowledge that there is a God.
...To forget prayer is a two-way conversation.
...To only read about the Grand Canyon and never see it yourself.
....To ever always be comfortable.
...To not go off the path in the woods and get wonderfully lost.
...To not stand on top of a mountain and enjoy the view.
...To measure success by possessions and life by years.
...To let technology replace personal human interaction.
...To not meet someone new every day.
...To feel uncomfortable with silence.
...To regret life not meeting your expectations.
...To insist God do it your way.
...To avoid life.
...To fail to admire how things are made (the those who made them).
...To major in the minors.
...Give up too soon.
...To lie.
...To cheat.
...To spend time in jail.
...To brag about doing a bad thing.
...Complain you are bored.
...To not accept yourself as you are today.
...To be prideful, arrogant or unkind.
...To be impatient and rude.
...To cuss at inanimate objects.
...To part company without a loving embrace.
...To spend time rehearsing your anger.
...To blame others.
...To watch football all weekend.
...To miss saying "I love you" every day.
...To treat each day as a drudgery.
...To misplace things.
...To not sit around a fire with friends.
....To lend. Give it away instead, you can never be too generous.
...To try to change what you can't.
...To get roped into unnecessary drama. Repeat after me: "Not my circus, not my monkeys".
...To complain about people who aren't going to change.
...To give it away to addictions.
...To open yourself up to spiritual evil.
...To blame your parents for your problems.
...To not look your best every day (If only for yourself).
...To not do your best every day (your best, not someone else's best).
...To spend it with people you don't like.
...To live only for the weekends.
...To miss the sweetness of simple things.
...To not smell great smells.
...To apologize for things you can't control.
...To wear clothes that don't fit.
...To not try new foods.
...To put others down when you could be lifting them up.
...To talk before you listen.
...To hold people to standards you cannot meet yourself.
...To break promises.
...To hold a grudge and not forgive others (and yourself).
...To not go on adventures. Travel is life.
...To be embarrassed to sing or dance.
...To hate Mondays.
...To not give an honest day's work on Friday.
...To take short-cuts and procrastinate. If you are going to do it, do it your best!
...To gossip.
...To talk about shallow things.
...To always have to explain yourself.
...To try to reason with an unreasonable person.
...To be surrounded with critical, negative people.
...To speak in cliche's, never expanding your vocabulary.
...To eat alone.
...To not know your neighbors.
...To focus on your failures.
...To always take the same route.
...To not share the original person you are.
...To make excuses.
...To save the good dishes for special occasions.
...To think a compliment and not say it.
..To sing half-heartedly.
...To let fear hold you back.
...To hoard and keep too much stuff.
...To simply trudge through the days.
...To forget the touch and small of Play-doh.
...To eat the same meals day after day.
...To not pray often, giving thanks in all things.
...To not be able to read and write well.
...To have a weak handshake.
...To not look someone in the eye when you are talking to them.
...To stop learning new things.
...To not learn from others mistakes.
...To not learn from our own mistakes.
...To not know that Jesus died for you.
...To not acknowledge that there is a God.
...To forget prayer is a two-way conversation.
...To only read about the Grand Canyon and never see it yourself.
....To ever always be comfortable.
...To not go off the path in the woods and get wonderfully lost.
...To not stand on top of a mountain and enjoy the view.
...To measure success by possessions and life by years.
...To let technology replace personal human interaction.
...To not meet someone new every day.
...To feel uncomfortable with silence.
...To regret life not meeting your expectations.
...To insist God do it your way.
...To avoid life.
...To fail to admire how things are made (the those who made them).
...To major in the minors.
...Give up too soon.
...To lie.
...To cheat.
...To spend time in jail.
...To brag about doing a bad thing.
...Complain you are bored.
...To not accept yourself as you are today.
...To be prideful, arrogant or unkind.
...To be impatient and rude.
...To cuss at inanimate objects.
...To part company without a loving embrace.
...To spend time rehearsing your anger.
...To blame others.
...To watch football all weekend.
...To miss saying "I love you" every day.
...To treat each day as a drudgery.
...To misplace things.
...To not sit around a fire with friends.
....To lend. Give it away instead, you can never be too generous.
...To try to change what you can't.
...To get roped into unnecessary drama. Repeat after me: "Not my circus, not my monkeys".
...To complain about people who aren't going to change.
...To give it away to addictions.
...To open yourself up to spiritual evil.
...To blame your parents for your problems.
...To not look your best every day (If only for yourself).
...To not do your best every day (your best, not someone else's best).
...To spend it with people you don't like.
...To live only for the weekends.
...To miss the sweetness of simple things.
...To not smell great smells.
...To apologize for things you can't control.
...To wear clothes that don't fit.
...To not try new foods.
...To put others down when you could be lifting them up.
...To talk before you listen.
...To hold people to standards you cannot meet yourself.
...To break promises.
...To hold a grudge and not forgive others (and yourself).
...To not go on adventures. Travel is life.
...To be embarrassed to sing or dance.
...To hate Mondays.
...To not give an honest day's work on Friday.
...To take short-cuts and procrastinate. If you are going to do it, do it your best!
...To gossip.
...To talk about shallow things.
...To always have to explain yourself.
...To try to reason with an unreasonable person.
...To be surrounded with critical, negative people.
...To speak in cliche's, never expanding your vocabulary.
...To eat alone.
...To not know your neighbors.
...To focus on your failures.
...To always take the same route.
...To not share the original person you are.
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