Maturity

Tags

greatness, maturity, mentor, vine

Maturity

Reach out and touch me

Like a vine, hold on and grow

Entwined seek the light

What about maturity? It seems a lot of people mistake independence with maturity. Independence though doesn’t lead to maturity. More likely it leads to loneliness. Sure, when people are young or children, we teach them to be independent, to think for themselves, make their own decisions, take responsibility. But I have never seen a really great person (and great doesn’t mean famous), a great man or woman, who got there by themselves, by being independent.

They always had some mentor, somebody, who helped them to fully become what they could be, somebody to grow with. It could be a parent, it could be a teacher, or even a spouse. Another great person. Somebody, who inspired them to grow into the full stature of what they could be, sometimes unknowingly.

A word of caution: Some plants live in symbiosis, growing together, beneficial to each other. But some vines are parasitic, where one sucks the life out of the other and finally kills its host. Beware! True followers will enhance and encourage their mentor, not hold them back. Become all you can be.

 

 

 

 

copyright:              princeling

Photo credit:         myself

 

 

 

 

Comfort

Tags

heart, life, trees

Comfort

When my heart hurts me

I talk to the trees, no words,

Leaves stirred by the wind

Trees are faithful listeners, they don’t try to give you quick answers. They don’t judge you or wonder how you could have been so stupid. They let you find the answers for yourself, and remember, they have heard it all before from someone else, who already went that path.

They understand. They know, mistakes and failures are the way to wisdom.  They will never give up on you. They only shade your walk from the heat or the rain or the storms or the desperation that you feel. They only stand their ground. They only wait for the sun to return. They suck the life from the earth and the light from the sky and live.

They comfort me. They have been here before I came. They will still be here when I am gone. They let my feet pass by; they let my thoughts pass by; my desires, my disappointments, my dreams. They are teaching me that life goes on. That I go on.

 

copyright:      princeling

Picture credit:      Saffa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mastery

Tags

master, mastery, perfection, skills

Mastery

Aspire to be good

Attempt to become better

Mastery awaits

I am not talking about degrees. In colloquial language a master is someone who has fully developed a skill.  Someone we respect, because he has become  more knowledgeable or skillful than most in some kind of skill, craft, or field of knowledge. And there are not many masters in any kind of undertaking.

How do you become a master? Why are some trying to attain to mastery and others don’t? Most anybody knows or can simply see that someone, who studies or works in a certain activity becomes better at it day-by-day. And if you do this over time, often a long time, you can become really good at it. And yet, some stand out.

Why? I assume many people once they reach a certain level are satisfied with what they do. “It is good enough,” they say, and having reached a certain high level, a certain plateau, stay there and inadvertently stop improving. They often compare themselves with others and see their work is good. But some are not satisfied.  They don’t compare themselves with others– instead they are reaching for perfection. “What could I have done better?” “What am I missing still?”

To be better than others with great effort is an attainable goal. But perfection is unattainable, though it makes you reaching for more, to further advance. Maybe herein is the mystery. What do you think?

 

copyright:               princeling

picture credit:      Free for commercial publishing, DMCA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opportunity

Tags

life, opportunity, sunrise

Sunrise

As the morning calls

Ev’ry new day awakes with

Opportunity

 

Opportunity for what?

Opportunity to chase your dreams. Opportunity to add to your accomplishments. Opportunity to get one step closer to success, to get your degree, or to make your first million, to become a winner, the winner, the Best. And to find “the One”, the great love of your life. As the writers of the American Constitution put it, “the pursuit of happiness.”

Or opportunity to discover life, something new in life. Or something new inside yourself, something inborn,  but never realized. Opportunity to see life in a different way, in a new way. Feel what you have never felt before. New sounds, new tastes, and yes, new smells.

Or opportunity to help, to fill some need; opportunity to encourage someone, to make somebody feel loved, without asking for anything in return. Opportunity to be by somebody’s side, to listen, to comfort, just to be there.

Life is full of opportunities. Every day has its opportunities.

 

copyright:         princeling

Picture credit:              Sunrise in Ko Samui, Thailand.  (Published under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License)

 

 

 

 

 

Pilgrimage

Tags

pilgrim pilgrimage life

As time progresses

Our life not to be random

It is pilgrimage

As you progress in years you may realize that accomplishments of our life disappear into the past. not fully disappear, but kind of fade. The world lives in the present. Stars and heroes of the past are almost forgotten. They maybe important to you, but become less and less important to the people of the present day.

And yet we feel there must be something that leads to a conclusion, some thing valuable to our life. We want to find some epiphany, some great culmination of our efforts, sufferings and victories to our lives. Something that leaves us satisfied when the clock, our clock, stops.

This is what a pilgrim seeks: some enlightenment. some divine or joyous insight, an answer to the question that leaves us satisfied. The big question that is life itself. We are here, how do we answer that challenge? We are born into this life, what will we do about it?

I wish you well on your pilgrimage.

 

 

 

Credits:              Haiku – Colin Cedar Bell

Picture – The British Pilgrimage Trust / Twitter

A Short Story or just an Idea

Tags

Action, Idea, Rag Doll

The Rag Doll Salvation

This is no Haiku. It’s hardly a story at all. But maybe it is something to think about that could lead you into something new, some action. And if something you read leads you to some action, which might change your life somehow, I would think it a good thing.

Here is the link if you are interested. Simply click on the picture.

Broken Glass

Tags

broken glass, hope, stained-glass window

Pieces of my life

Scattered shards of broken glass

How can it be fixed?

When I was young I expected my life to grow like a tree. Branches growing out of another, always into new and more sophisticated diversity, with leaves all over, finally flowers, beautifully adorning the whole picture. Some beautiful manifestation of life. Picture perfect.

But that never happened. Looking back on my life it’s more like a broken stained-glass window. Colorful, yes, but disjointed. Things that began and then abruptly ended, sharp edges, things out of place, parts that could have been beautiful, if they hadn’t been broken. Blood smears from wounds the sharp edges caused. Does it show any picture at all?

Sure, we want that perfect, beautiful life. We try to built it, but too often life itself interferes, bruises us, cuts and breaks us, and leaves us wondering, what is all this for.

Nevertheless, my hope is that one day these shards will become a picture again, maybe not as beautiful as we hoped, but maybe more meaningful: A stained-glass window, letting light shine through, telling my story.

 

Copyright:     princeling

Picture source:       Pixabay   CC0

 

 

 

House of Cards

Tags

cards, house of cards, safety

I built for myself

A beautiful house of cards

A wind blew, it fell

Have you ever tried to build a house of cards? Some people have amazing skill and are able the make the most awesome constructions.

Problem is, though, just a little wind (or a dog) can just move one card and it all comes down.

Metaphorically speaking, haven’t we all tried to build a wonderful life for ourselves, everything in the right place, everything just as we like it, and then a little wind called time blew and moved or took away just one little detail of our lives and it all came crashing down?

The safety and security we seek we will never find in a life that is perfect, we can only find it in ourselves. Our faith, our integrity, in being sure of who we are and what we live for.

 

copyright              princeling

picture credit      Brett Jordan    “House of Cards”     Creative Commons Generic (CC by 2.0)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appreciation

Tags

appreciation, thank you, transience

Appreciation

To be thankful for the things

We took for granted

Well, once we thought we deserved it, now we know we don’t. Once we thought we earned it, now we see it as a gift. Once we thought it was ours, now we realize it is given to us only for a time.

Whatever it is, it is only temporary, transient, because our life is temporary, is transient,

So enjoy while you have it, life itself or anything that comes with it. Be thankful for what was, be thankful for what is, be thankful for what will be. With time we lose it all — and we gain it all.

 

 

 

copyright                         princeling

picture credit                 Source: http://www.publicdomainpictures.com      public domain

Darkness

Tags

consciousness, darkness, enlightenment

Darkness closing in

Believe in the light to come

And become the light

This was triggered following the story of some young teenagers getting trapped in a cave, but of course this is a metaphor. We cannot literally become light and live.

However, people have always thought  of our consciousness, our faith, and love being a light in an often dark world. Being in darkness, for a time, makes you aware of many things, mostly of what is inside of you. Would take me a life time to write about that.

Only to say this: Don’t fear the darkness. And don’t fear what’s inside of you. Bring it to the light. Maybe this is enlightenment.

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Copyright                  princeling

Picture credit          Source:   www.Pixabay    Creative Commons