I saw a tree today

Alone in mature confidence

Its leaves of scarlet and gold perfected

Sparkling in morning suns radiance

Autumn of life and another year’s rings

Cool breeze rustle cause a few to leave

But loud and strong her voice still sings

Rising above occasioned fog and dew

Glistened leaves reflecting beauty

Delighting senses for all of us too

Mike 

Dreams

Ageless again I’ll be

As time stands still

Night in my forest, its me

Angels, demons and sages

A tug of war they play

In scenes of life’s many pages

Joy, fears, inspirations they use

To win by making me believe

In this forested game of no rules

I hope the angels or sages win

Joy or inspiration in this timeless game

And not the demons from within

Dream in my forest where forever young is me

Dream in my forest where time knows no bounds

Dream in my forest and lets see who I’ll be

Mike 

 Hi, I’m back… I’ve been neglecting my musings for the last week and half. The week before, I took a golf trip with my golf buddies. It was a great time. Grown, successful men playing around and having fun like adolescents, and I did pretty good winning at both golf and cards 🙂

This last week I was very busy managing events at work that promise to lead to very interesting, exciting and profitable changes.   In all this I realize that change is challenging, change can one moment be foreboding and the next fun, such that the very nature of change is changing.

All our lives are about managing change in one form or another, life is change and how we handle it determines our happiness, our dignity, and our future.

Change

Give me the joy of change

Send me your whispering winds

For sure, for you I’ll rearrange

Give me perspective on road ahead

Give me strength to embrace this path

Give me wisdom and passion, and never dread

Change you are certain to ask

Some sacrifice or burden you’ll need

Just give me strength to answer the task

Embrace this world for change will be

Inevitable these winds of change you see

Let me be at peace as I sail along with thee

Mike

Mother Earth

Mother Earth dancing into the night

Blue diamond shining beautiful and bright

Spinning graceful across the room

Watching in loving awe is Mr. Moon

Chasing the sun, leaning in and leaning out

Bringing seasons of life without a thought

Moon influences her emotions

Tides moving upon her oceans

Precious this diamond we call mother

We who watch, draw loving life from her

She is strong no need to hold her hand

But be close to enjoy and protect her land

Her body of waters, so beautiful the sea

Keep her waters clear for you and me

She dances on, a graceful timeless soul

So fortunate for us as we must know

Mike

My Forest

Woke early this morning wondering if I was still me

Would I know or would I care if myself I could not see

I tossed and turned with some worry and concern

For what reason today I could not discern

A hurricane of thoughts running through my mind

A worry I didn’t do, didn’t say enough for them to find

If I were lost would you look in this forest behind every tree

Would you risk what you might find and what you might see

In the forest of thick and heavy wood

Be gentle with what you find if you should

Mike

The Old Man and Me

I look in the mirror and see gray

I feel as if I’m twenty if I’m but a day

My mind says I’m a boy in baseball hat

But my stomach is clearly no longer flat

It looks easy, muscles twitch to play

But when mind says go, they just stay

Pretty young ladies, I notice and still see

But if they notice, it’s an old man that’s me

In my mind I can still work hard and long

But experience is smart and seldom wrong

Must be better to age, keeping heart young

Then to not and hear that final bell rung

Maybe I’ll learn to age gracefully

Or not and continue as me playfully

This, I guess, is but a little rhyme

Something old men do to pass the time

Mike

I have some interesting and impactful decisions to make.  Ok so good news I recognize that I have to make the decisions.  Now what about how I make the decisions?  Day in and day out we make hundreds of small decisions.  Should I make eggs for breakfast, what section of the paper to pick up and read, do I want coffee now, what do I put in the coffee the morning.  What is my route to work today, what do I wear today, on and on.  Even, do I read this blog in front of me?  So we get good at making hundreds, maybe thousands of logistic and administrative choices in our day.  We give them virtually no real thought.  Maybe, if asked, we can say I wore those clothes because they were on top in the dresser, or I like how that looks on me when I need to make a decision :-).  I went this way to work, because traffic seemed to be moving better, or I had to stop at the cleaners and drop some clothes off.  All in all the decisions make themselves and we rationalize them afterward.  So when it comes time to make important decisions, and there are rarely more than one or two a week, or month at the most.  Important decisions, means they are consequential to our livelihood, or our relationships, or our health (mental and physical).  Then those decisions deserve some of that brain power that is blithely being applied somewhat on autopilot getting us through the logistics of our day.   If I’m really honest and look back at business decisions, there are probably no more than about 5 or 6 a year that matter much, the rest are nearly obvious choices, administrative, logistical, or simply not very consequential because so much of the result of the decision is out of my hands.  Relationship and health decisions are far more prevalent, because we relate with others in a social fabric and dance that is a vital part of our lives and our health, of course we are creatures of habit so even those decisions were really made long ago and we are reinforcing them with our personalities and behaviors every day… so consequentially we are simply reinforcing the handful of significant relationship and health decisions we’ve made long ago.  Additionally we make daily decisions that are driven by emotion, these too will often fit patterns that are burned into our consciousness and are part of our personality responses.  These emotions, whether our own or those around us are like waves on the ocean that buffet us and push us in different, but still foreseeable directions.  The decisions we are making are to put ourselves on that ocean and allowing the waves of our and others emotions to push us around… good and bad… for waves are essential energy and essential life, until its stormy 🙂

So back to these consequential decisions… I work hard to see situations and the options from as great of a distance as possible.  What I mean by that is to extract myself from the emotions of the situation (mine and others) and to look at the options and consequences of those options with as much detached perspective as I can muster.  These type of decisions are so very different than what we do every day.  The every day decisions we make are in a way a hindrance to making good consequential decisions. They get in the way because they encourage us to be lazy, to make the big decisions just like we make the easy, every day decisions.  We also at times let emotion take over, and its no longer a decision, its how does it feel to me right now.  I can tell you that consequential decisions often feel one way now and feel another way years from now.  Don’t let the waves buffet us and push us toward the rocks.

So back to perspective…  If I can get far enough away then I can see the paths beyond the forks in the road.  I can reason and see where that road will take us if we take the left path or the right because I’m far enough away, and I’m not making decisions on how easy or hard that path looks when I look down at my feet.  Reasoning and vision into the future is not natural to us as a thought process, it requires work to bring ourselves up above the day-to-day decision process and the personal emotions that drive us.  However if we can make good decisions, the rewards for doing so can be great.  Well as I said I have some consequential decision to make, but I’ve done my work, I’ve stood high on the hill and looked down to see the route the alternative paths take, even the path choices that branch away in the future, I like the path that looks the most promising with more decisions yet to be made in the future.  Secure enough to ensure success, near enough to the direction and goals I’ve set forward.  I can make the decisions with a minimum of fear and emotion.   This allows me to be more sure in the decision process.  I know why, so I can act with conviction.   Some find pros and cons lists to be helpful, but I find that when we make these lists we often lie to ourselves because our emotions matter more than honest logic and the perspective of distance and objective view of the future.  No, I’ll stick with my abstracted perspective, give me the high point so I can see further into the future for that path.  Then I’ll feel better about how I’m going to get where I’m going.   Decisions, decisions… it makes our lives interesting and along with passion makes us human!  Oh, please wish me good perspective!

Mike

If your heart be open and your mind be free

Could you then understand someone like me

If I really listen careful to whisper on the wind

Would I know what is in your heart just then

Fear, joy, love and proud can they be understood today

Across the room or many miles with no discerned delay

If it is faith, or if it is intuition, is it perception, or simply love

Life’s emotion lives barely perceived like rustle from wings of a dove

Nature is resplendent with diversity, beauty and mystery

Be one with this nature and take in time, this point of history

For time is this point and future unknown, and past sins please relieve

Be in the moment and know what we know and allow our hearts to believe

We are connected by time, by nature and by whispers on the wind

Believe and then you’ll understand and know the loving message I send

Mike

I find it fascinating that Pope Francis, to fabulous acclaim, is speaking to the US Congress and to the United Nations.   His style of bringing everyone onto the same page to address problems as we and us instead of they is hopefully infectious. His compassion for others and inclusiveness is a good thing in politics as well as for the human spirit. Maybe, just maybe, we will be witnessing the second and third greatest miracles of all time: actually getting Washington DC and the UN to work!

I have hope and I pray for the seeming miracle of constructive dialog and cooperation to address many challenging problems in the USA and the world.   I fear however that those that are not able to stomach the constant bickering and gridlock will use this opportunity to resign.   I’m not certain of John Boehner’s purpose in resigning at this time, but it seems to me that someone so obviously moved by the Pope’s message should endeavor to carry on and fight for the civility and compromise so sorely needed.

We do need those miracles and maybe it’s too much to ask of a Parish Priest from Argentina who is 78 years old, but I think it’s worth the dream and the prayers.

Mike