Sometimes when I’m out in yard looking at the small stream that flows through my property it looks like a tiny raging river. I have made a concentrated effort to maintain and cultivate my Peter Pan Syndrome. I still toss leaves into the water and race them downstream. The small minnows in the eddies become sharks. A crayfish makes a fine sea monster and the rocks are islands that are ripe for expiration. Who said that being a grown-up means that there’s no time for daydreaming? Gene Roddenberry once said that the best part about the success of Star Trek was having a nice office to daydream in. He made a successful career out of pretending to have adventures in the vastness of outer space. Sure, he used the format to tell morality plays and make important comments about society but in my mind’s eye I can see him with a toy Enterprise having space battles with Klingons. I’ll bet that when nobody else was in the room he even made the “pew pew” sounds of Phasers and photon torpedoes. I have seen a lot of writers post about the finer points of creativity and how to properly relate your story to the audience but it all starts with holding onto a daydream.
Tag: thoughts and musings
A Peaceful Day On The Lake
Sitting on the bank in the warm August sun last year. Small birds swooped down and skimed the surface of the lake as they picked off insects. Dragonflies and Damselflies dart around and occasionally hover to check out the large creature in a fedora that had wondered into their hunting grounds. A large carp lazily floats up to surface and rolls back into the murky depths. Small feet scurrying across the forest floor. The dry leaves make it sound like a bear romping but it’s only a squirrel. He runs up the trunk of one of the trees so he too can get a good look at me. Then disappears with the flip a bushy tail. A shadow zips across my field of vision. It’s a red tail hawk. “That’s why the squirrel left in such a hurry ” I tell myself as I shade my eyes from the sun’s glare. The busyness of every day life melts away from my soul in the warm summer days by the lake.
A Moment Of Grace
I’ve been working on a side project that has me a little down. I’m not ready to reveal the nature of the project. Only that its been hard on me emotionally. But I do think it will worth it. When dark times come just have faith that God is still operating. His grace is shining down on your life even if you don’t really know it. The storm will break. The clouds will part eventually. And, light will return to the world.
The Secret Of Winning
An aerial battle of titanic proportions is playing out in sky above me. There’s not a flying ace that ever lived that could out maneuver these airborne warriors. Both are masters of the sky. I gaze skyward and watch the spectacle. Just as many times before, the little raven vanquished the large buzzard. It’s a true David and Goliath story. Being the biggest and the strongest does not guarantee victory. Ever.
We all have to face a battle at some point. We’ve either given ground until there’s just no more ground to give or what we’re protecting is too valued to lose. Oftentimes the enemy we face seems too big and too strong. We have doubts about our skills and ability to overcome. The lesson I have learned from watching the experts is don’t pick a fight but if the fight picks you then give no quarter and don’t hold back. When people ask me how deal with a big problem I have the answer because a little bird told me his secret.
The Next Tomorrow
Sometimes when I am feeling stressed and just want the day to be over I try to take a deep breath and look at the big picture. I call it the “Next Tomorrow” theory. It’s not about procrastination. Procrastination only makes things worse. Procrastination gives problems time to build up a little problem army so that they can jump you all at once. The idea comes from the thought that its tomorrow already. The next tomorrow I can enjoy life if I get things accomplished today. The next tomorrow is just around the bend in the rails and I really don’t have much time to wait or waste.
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