(In 2014 I opened up a Word document, all blank and white, and I wrote the first thing that came to mind.\u00a0 From that, another thought linked.\u00a0 Pop, pop, pop, one after the other\u2026and here they are\u2026)<\/i><\/p>\n
I\u2019d like to be level, and centered, and steady, and honest about all the measurements.<\/p>\n
Let me fit my britches, live within my means, float no airs.<\/p>\n
I am no bigger, nor smaller, I just am, one life, planted in a crop of billions.<\/p>\n
Where, I wonder, am I from my could-be?\u00a0 Am I a lake settling for pond, or a puddle trying to be an ocean and missing the point of puddleness?<\/p>\n
Where, I wonder, is God, and where from There am I?\u00a0 Am I mapped, am I plugged, am I synched, am I qualified?<\/p>\n
No more with fear.\u00a0 Fear is a lie.<\/p>\n
No more with pride.\u00a0 Pride is a lie.<\/p>\n
Let me be grateful in the gift of good moments.\u00a0 I won\u2019t expect the same of myself in bad moments, but I\u2019d like to see myself self-correct, be a cork fighting against the pull of minnows.<\/p>\n
In the arm wrestling between doing and thinking, let me give each arm its moment, and so spare myself from mindless doing and thinking unto coma.<\/p>\n
Let me be companioned though my day by my Father.\u00a0 Steer me through conscience and spirit.\u00a0 Shield me from the nonsense of noise and let me live my day with simplicity, clarity, and good acts sown by good intentions.<\/p>\n
Let me do good, and failing that, at least let me do no harm.<\/p>\n
Let me aspire to giving and not acquiring and let God take care of the daily bread.<\/p>\n
Let me always remember that I am His gift to me.\u00a0 Let me be me.\u00a0 All, full, to the spine of me.<\/p>\n
Eyes on high things, shielded from low things, purpose in steps, patience when it\u2019s not fun, gratefulness when it is fun, living life wide or narrow, deep or shallow, each to its time, may it all add up to a life all lived, a person all been, His will done, His words, \u201cWell done.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In 2018 I Found The\u00a0Document Again\u00a0\u2026and I agreed with 2014\u00a0\u2026and wondered what I\u2019d add\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n On those rare occasions where I am neither high nor low, but smooth, when I am filled with a saturating gratefulness for ever being alive, for still being alive, from sole of foot to soul of me, when I feel coated in humility, those moments are like a firefly lighting, and I think, \u2018Oooh, this is it!\u2019 and then the moment goes away\u2026but at least I had it\u2026and know where the arrow pointed.<\/p>\n Sometimes an old bad memory comes to mind.\u00a0 One morning, I woke myself up, hearing myself say, \u201cI forgive me.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s not that easy, is it\u2026\u00a0 Clean with the Big G, but my goodness, how to convince ourselves?\u00a0 Fuel in the tank for my daily goal \u2013 whatever you do, dude, do no harm.<\/p>\n Let me appreciate what I\u2019ve attained by not attaining too much.\u00a0 By not having too much money I still enjoy the little moments, like finding a $20 in the pocket of a jacket I haven\u2019t worn since last winter.\u00a0 By not having fame I have the great and wonderful gift of privacy.\u00a0 Every shortcut not taken is a gift of self respect.<\/p>\n Let me be an asker.\u00a0 I already know all I know, but in asking, I\u2019m in school.<\/p>\n Let me be a listener.\u00a0 It is student, it is audience, it is deferential.\u00a0 It is respect.<\/p>\n Let me lean on life experience.\u00a0 Nip in bud.\u00a0 Turn of cheek.\u00a0 Count to 10, and then count some more.\u00a0 Water off duck\u2019s back.\u00a0 This too shall pass.\u00a0 Nothing new under the sun.\u00a0 Self reliance.\u00a0 Cut losses, eat crow, get it over with.\u00a0 Trust neither black nor white, but where they meet, in the gray.<\/p>\n I\u2019m never gonna climb Everest, but that\u2019ll be alright, if I turn out to be someone brave enough to think for myself.<\/p>\n Let me be easy: to be around; work with; deal with.<\/p>\n Let me share.\u00a0 A funnel holds more than a clenched fist.<\/p>\n Let me be grateful for the whole of my life.\u00a0 The good, the bad, the timing, the people and places, even the misses and messes.\u00a0 In their particulars they are the ingredients of the gumbo of me.<\/p>\n One last word of advice for myself: pray.<\/p>\n _ \u00a0 _\u00a0 _\u00a0 _\u00a0 _\u00a0 _\u00a0 _\u00a0 _ \u00a0 _ \u00a0 _<\/p>\n This edition of Uncle P\u2019s Bedtime Stories is brought to you by Eighty-one, where we think there is no Best You until there is a Real You.<\/i><\/p>\n Other Bedtime Stories can be found on the Eighty-one Facebook page.\u00a0 Uncle P can be reached at 81creativity@gmail.com.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (In 2014 I opened up a Word document, all blank and white, and I wrote the first thing that came to mind.\u00a0 From that, another thought linked.\u00a0 Pop, pop, pop, one after the other\u2026and here they are\u2026) I\u2019d like to be level, and centered, and steady, and honest about all the measurements. Let me fit [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":279,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[59,894],"yoast_head":"\n