LIVING ON BORROWED TIME

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Mr. Quote Man sent this to my email today. Oh you do remember him, right? The guy who won't let me idle my brain and the writing. The quotes he regularly sends me are like a 'carriage horseman's whip flicked so that horses would keep on with their regular pace'. Naahh, far from being mean he is such a darling sweet not-so-young gentleman who cares about my writing since the first time he came to my blog... and that was long ago. And the quotes are his idea so that I wouldn't lack in subjects for writing. He being a writer and blogger himself is apparently quite familiar with the famous and daunting writer's block. Anyway...
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Here's what he sent me...... to quote
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"We must remember that nothing in this world really belongs to us.  At best, we are merely borrowers." ----- Christopher Isherwood
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Unquote
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And this did make me think.....
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Whether you are looking at a sparse life or a generous one, one thing tells you straight up -- that you can never really own it. You may have something which the other guy may not have and he too may have something which you desire passionately but it all falls under the same category -- 'Nothing in this world really belongs to us'.
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Funny and sad that we punish ourselves hard trying to make our dreams come true and spend almost two-thirds of our life making it real. While those things which truly matter and which give life its authentic meaning, its wonderful reason and rhyme for living, things which are genuine treasures which the heart alone recognizes if given the chance --- all these precious gems simply pass us by unnoticed.
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I was that person too at some point in my history. Everything that I owned or acquired I considered 'forevermore'. But life in all of its wisdom would not allow such foolishness and rearranged things that soon enough found me bereft of what I held dearest to my heart... tangible and intangible. Was I beaten? Not really...... because man is never beaten. He moves on. And too with great compassion, life restores the soul to that place where it truly belongs.
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Now I look around me and can honestly say..... I understand. And with better clarity and appreciation of life's true value and that of my place in it.
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Blessings, everyone!

WORDS THAT HAVE MADE THEIR MARK

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Well, has it ever occurred to you getting hooked by something someone has said? That's what Maya Angelou's words did to me. 

Many, in fact dozens, of Maya Angelou 's quotes have bitten off a huge chunk of my heart and mind ... replaced them with her wisdom. Here are just a few which I bring here to share with you. I appreciate and thank Maya for putting these thoughts brilliantly together in such a wonderful piece.. or pieces.

Let's see.... beginning from the top....

1)   Admit that on this planet not everybody is your ally or friend. And people as they are have their own individual lives to live and agenda to pursue. Remember how often we've been told and reminded by the wise that life should be lived positively and not to allow any of the negatives to anchor itself on you. Sometimes I forget that rule because I just do what we ordinarily do.... trust. Realizing soon enough and too late that I was just an option. Sad but I have learned since. God is good.

2)   Friends have always warned me to be careful of 'friend requests' here or on any social site. They're talking about 'wolves in sheep's clothing'. Honestly, it's a fact in and out of connections and contacts. There will be good as well as bad in most everything in life. Yet I won't ever want to miss the chance to meet someone who God might be sending into my life as a friendly blessing. Or maybe meant to be both to each other. By God's design.

3)   Everyone is born with talent. But receiving this gift from God doesn't end there. Use it. God blesses you with a kind heart, be kind.. super kind. God gives you the ability to paint, paint masterpieces. God equips you with the skill to write, so then write till your fingers drop - write your heart out till it bursts. When you receive, learn to give back. You see, it's a wonderful way of praising and thanking a Magnificent God.

4)   I keep hearing this from my relatives who believe that success is measured on how much you earn or how much is in your bank account. But as a teenager I was bothered by that and felt that something was wrong in there somewhere. If it was all about money and looking from where I was starting, it would surely use up all of my lifetime to get where I wanted to be. But Mom would always remind me that ... 'it's what best you can put on the table which truly would define your success. The kind that matters.' -- And it's not always all about money.  

  
So there you are. Am sure that you have your own lists and corresponding insights to words of wisdom from people you admire. Indeed they too help us understand much of what goes on in life.

WE SUFFER PRIMARILY FROM OUR ILLUSIONS

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Quotes do better with things we would like to say ourselves. But looking hard at it you will see that it is written or comes from the thoughts of men and women just like you and me. Good quotes travel through the years, some add to it or remove from it ... it takes on a different flavor in different hands which try to inject some freshness into it. But the basic thought behind it is always the same. So it's like saying old things in new ways and differently. But I much prefer to seek out its authenticity and origin adding nor removing nothing from it. An original quote is a treasure. And equally so is its author. Remember when you bring in a quote, to quote his or her name too. Giving credit where its due increases its worth... and you.

I like quotes because it provides the missing word or thought I could be struggling with as I do my writing. Here's one quote I'd like to share with you, sent to me by a good friend.

--- "We suffer primarily not from our vices or our weaknesses, but from our illusions. We are haunted, not by reality, but by those images we have put in their place." --- (Daniel Boorstin)
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Illusions... oh but we have plenty -- of ourselves, of others, of our world. Sometimes we gauge our actual lives or decisions off it. Sometimes it defines in some measure our expectations, beliefs, hopes, and dreams. Sometimes it stunts us, makes us lose our way, makes us believe that we're getting somewhere but really are not. Illusions.