Grateful For The Gift

Relish every summer day.  Stretch them.  Fill them with memories.  Smile and laugh more.  Gather with friends and visit family.  Put my feet in the water.  Grow things and grill things.  I make my summers count by making them beautiful.  I have no intention of raging against my aging.  I intend to embrace it, to embrace the muscle aches and the crow’s feet as the price of growing in wisdom and grace;  to understand that age is not my body forsaking me but my life rewarding me.
Aging, as I see it, is a gift, and I will receive it with gratitude.
—     Charles Blow
From:  “The Beauty of Embracing Aging“
An editorial appearing in:  New York Times,  dtd:  June 5, 2024
[Found at one of the blogs I follow:  https://davidkanigan.com/
The specific post can be found at:   https://davidkanigan.com/2024/06/07/i-got-about-30-more-summers-left/
Please visit the original site if you have some free time.    —    kmab]
.
On This Day In:
2023	For Most People It’s Called “A Day Job”
	Alone And Adrift
2022	5 In 6
2021	The Principal Difference
	Picture Perfect   (The Color Of Love)
2020	So Sad, Faux Crowd
	The Spirit Is Willing
2019	And The Same For Blogs And Posts
2018	The End Of Asgard (For Now)
	I Learn The Hard Way Every Time   (The Hard Way Every Time)
2017	For Some
2016	Fragile And Explosive, Provocation And Privacy
2015	Bound Up
2014	Economic Engines
2013	Weren’t You Supposed To Be Reading?
	Absent Friends
	Where I Stand
2012	Hangin’ With His P’s
	Help Save
2011	Six Facets Of Good Leadership

Read Full Post »

Appreciated Warmth

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings.  The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
—    Carl Jung
.
On This Day In:
2022	U-B-U
	Voting / Election Day, America!
2021	Closer To Understanding
	On My Knees (Layla)
2020	Profit From Ongoing Disintegration
	I’m A Dreamer (Imagine)
2019	Even When We Have A Criminal / Dangerous / Incompetent President
2018	But It Keeps Trying
	Blue Wave, But Not Blue Tsunami
2017	The Promise At Risk
2016	Or As Will Come In Time
2015	It Is Another Beautiful Day At The Red Pony Bar And Continual Soiree…
2014	Days And Years
2013	Currency And Transport
2012	Something Which Did Not Exist Before
2011	True Magic

Read Full Post »

With Every Dawn

If we live long enough and deep enough and authentically enough, gratitude becomes a way of life.
—     Mark Nepo
.
On This Day In:
2023	With Every Dawn
2022	40Hrs
	Might I Have A Little More, Please
2021	All I See Are Nails
	More Money (For The Love Of Money)
2020	We Will Get Through This
2019	I Asked My Family Doctor Just What I Had (Good Lovin’)
2018	You Have Just Begun To Climb
2017	Equal Protection Under Law
2016	A Stubbornly Persistent Illusion
2015	Or You Don’t
2014	If You Ever Fall…
2013	Glory Days (part 2)
2012	They Follow A Pattern – If You Know What I Mean
	What I Live For (Precis)
2011	Giving

Read Full Post »

So Far, So Good

Well, it appears I have indeed survived my cardiac ablation procedure (yesterday).  Because I ended up as an afternoon procedure, I had to stay in the hospital overnight for observation…
Before I go any farther, I want to give a BIG shout-out to the wonderful doctors, nurses, aides and other staff working at John Muir Hospital in Concord, CA.  Every one of them were professional and caring!  I KNOW they were busy, but they all took the time to make sure I was comfortable and that everything followed the protocol / schedule without making it seem routine.  I genuinely felt like a person and not just a patient.
I am dating myself, but I’ll say it anyway:  “You guys ROCK!“
Now, I start the road to recovery.  The milestones are:
1)  survive the procedure (check)
2)  survive the first 24 hours and go home (check)
3)  survive the first 11.5 days.   According to the NIH, this is the median point for fatalities in the first 30 days after the procedure.  Fatalities for the procedure are “roughly” .46% – so 1 in 200, but the majority of those are related to co-morbidity factors, which I do not / did not have.
4)  survive 30 days post-op.  Again, according to the NIH, this is the critical time frame after which fatalities from the procedure drop to near zero(0).
5)  90 days evaluation of post-op medications and return to almost “normal” activity.
After 90 days, and assuming the procedure was successful, my “odds” of living a “normal” life expectancy (compared to those on or off of AFib medications) are the same.
Disclaimer:  As always, I would like to remind anyone reading this that I am NOT a doctor, I am not recommending this procedure to anyone, and you should ALWAYS consult with your own medical provider / primary physician if you notice any personal health issues.  My “road to recovery” checklist is based on my conversations with my cardiologist and my personal research on the Internet.
Finally, I offer my thanks to anyone who did offer up a prayer or positive thought for me.   I am and will remain extremely grateful.
.
On This Day In:
2023	So Far, So Good
	Thinking About My Sister
2022	Dust Under Your Fingertips (Dust In The Wind)
2021	Stopped Counting Decades Ago
	Just Enjoying The Sun (Girls Just Want To Have Fun)
2020	To My Idealistic Sister
2019	Respect For My Sister (I Can Do Hard Things)
2018	I Trust Cows
	No Boundary
2017	Don’t Sink Now
2016	A Burning Passion To Teach Freedom
2015	Before Debit (And Credit) Cards
2014	Herding Cats
2013	Ooops!
2012	Understand A Great Truth
2011	Start Here…
2010	Random Acts of Vandalism On Easter Weekend…

Read Full Post »

Is Your Life Rich?

In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude.  It is so easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements compared with what we owe to the help of others.
―     Dietrich Bonhoeffer
From:  “Letters and Papers from Prison“
.
On This Day In:
2022	Cheers, Mate / Cheers, Love!!
2021	Is Your Life Rich?
	Until Then… (What Kind Of Fool Am I?)
2020	Reincarnation Or Groundhog Day?
	Any Sunny Afternoon (Groovin’)
2019	Four Days To Go
2018	No One Man
	Day 15: Tired (Again)
2017	Strongly Convinced
2016	Me, Myself & I
2015	God, Give Us Men!
2014	Got Any Bezzy Mates?
2013	On Being A Nerd – Awesome
2012	Writers Write
2011	And History Has Proved This Correct
2010	Fascinating Discontinuity
	Tasted Bacon?

Read Full Post »

Masked Countdown And Gratitude

Today my wife and I received our second COVID-19 vaccine doses.  We both got the Pfizer version.  Now we wait fourteen days for the full effect to kick and and then we will be able to resume fairly “normal” life.
Saying that, we anticipate wearing masks in public until summer of 2022.  Wearing masks IS NOW the new normal until scientists can advise about the various strains of COVID and the effectiveness of the current vaccines against them.
What’s different then?  We anticipate “some” travel restrictions will be lifted and we’ll be able to visit family in Liverpool and go other places (stores and restaurants) without too much worry.  We also are looking forward to more casual and comfortable visits with family members (summer BBQ’s, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners).
We have lost friends and loved ones and we are grateful to have gotten through this pandemic by the grace of God, the luck of fate, the hard work of all the scientists and first line care givers and other critical staff who have worked throughout this crisis, and (probably not least importantly) by wearing masks, social distancing and washing our hands.
.
On This Day In:
2023	Time And Chance
2022	One Hour Per Year
2021	If You’re A Lucky 11 Year Old
	Just Got To Be (People Got To Be Free)
	Masked Countdown And Gratitude
2020	Democratic Aspiration
2019	Soul Before Will
2018	Small Things
2017	Clear And Warm To Me
2016	Ripple
2015	Amazing Or Full Of Wonder?
2014	Are You Confused?
2013	But The Odds Are Against It
2012	Far Better Off With Books
2011	Timid And Fainthearted

Read Full Post »

The Best Gifts

The best gifts to give:
To your friend, loyalty;
To your enemy, forgiveness;
To your boss, service;
To a child, a good example;
To your parents, gratitude and devotion;
To your mate, love and faithfulness;
To all men and women, charity.
—    Oren Arnold
[In the original, the quote is a single sentence.  I’ve modified the format to suit my “poetic” taste.  There is a variation on this quote which reads:  ]
“A Christmas gift suggestion:  To your enemy, forgiveness.  To an opponent, tolerance.  To a friend, heart.  To a customer, service.  To all, charity.  To every child, a good example.  To yourself, respect.”    —    Oren Arnold
[I like both versions – even when it’s not Christmas Season.    —    kmab]
.
On This Day In:
2023	Have We Reached A Verdict?
2022	Just Chill Dude…
2021	Don’t Let The Violent Take It From Us
	Scratch Me (Still The One)
2020	Or Frightens Us
2019	The Best Gifts
2018	Sweep!!!
	We Must Be Living In TRULY Historic Times
2017	The Best?
2016	Timely Opinions On “The Donald”
	Even Allowing For Coincidence
2015	First Things First
2014	Without The Other
2013	Earn This
	Seeking A View
2012	Stumblin’ Along My Way
	We’re Proud Of You, Jr!
	Union Card
	Two Philosophies
2011	Simply Unpredictable

Read Full Post »

Gratitude And Warmth

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings.  The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
—    Carl Gustav Jung
.
On This Day In:
2022	Thoughts
2021	Current Heroes (II)
	Glued To The TV – 3,000 Miles Away (Where Were You)
2020	Current Heroes
	I’m Mid-West Born, But California Raised (Good Vibrations)
	Appropriated To Her Being
2019	All In Good Time
	Day 13: Pause & Resume
	Ghrelin And Leptin
2018	Gratitude And Warmth
	Remembering Loss, Sacrifice And Service
	Making Little Ones Out Of Bigger Ones
2017	Never Forget
2016	It’s All Greek To Me (Well, Latin Actually)
2015	Truism
2014	Thank You
2013	Really
2012	Ordinary Five Minutes Longer
2011	The Wealth Of Sons (And Daughters)

Read Full Post »

Brown’s Rules

1.  Show up!
2.  Cultivate authenticity
3.  Set boundaries
4.  Actively practice gratitude
5.  Embrace vulnerability
6.  Let go of perfectionism
7.  Explore your emotions
8.  Build shame resilience
9.  Risk failure
10.  Don’t have any regrets
-= BONUS =-
* Let yourself be seen
—    Dr. Brené Brown
.
On This Day In:
2022	From Mountain Tops, Seashores And Under The Stars
2021	Learning Stages
	Sometimes It Only Takes A Smile… (Silly Love Songs)
2020	Come Laugh With Me
	Make Life Be Life To Me (Back In The High Life Again)
2019	For Your Consideration…
2018	Brown’s Rules
	Day 23: Fasting Visualized
2017	Still Trying To Make It
2016	One Lucky Man
2015	Food Change ==> Health Change
2014	10 Commandments Of Logical Arguments (Fallacies)
2013	Sociology Of The Future
2012	1010
	There In The Sunshine
2011	Not Enough Time

Read Full Post »

Grateful Humility

And yet, it’s a happier fact of human behavior that all tribes are separated less by walls than by membranes, and those membranes can break and the tribes combine as easily as two raindrops running down a windshield that need merely touch to merge.  But something must make the touching happen — and not many things can.
…
And if it made us small?  If it made us feel that we are of less consequence, less magnitude, than we usually think we are?  Well, good.  Humility was part of the veil of peace that was drawn over the country on Aug. 21.  So was community.  And so, it would be nice to think, was gratitude.
—    Jeffrey Kluger
From his article:  “Mother Nature, the uniter, briefly eclipses the nation’s divisions“
Describing the 21 August 2017, totality eclipse for Time Magazine dtd:  4 September 2017
.
On This Day In:
2022	Two Happiness
2021	Still Trying To Understand
	V Memories From Saudi Arabia (Ho Jayegi Balle Balle)
2020	Sometimes Just Being There Is Enough
	And I Owe It All To You (The Time Of My Life)
2019	Or Live For It
2018	Happy Thanksgiving (2018)
2017	Grateful Humility
2016	Obstacles
	Election + 2 Weeks
2015	Done What You Could
2014	Impossible To Other Men
2013	Just In Case
2012	Isn’t This Just Pleasant?
2011	No Void In Sight

Read Full Post »

Acknowledgement

No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others.  The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.
—    Alfred North Whitehead
.
On This Day In:
2022	A Little Of What’s Been Lost
2021	I Think They Mean It
	An Endless Stream (Homeward Bound)
2020	ITF (365) – Update
	Word Up! (Sussudio)
	My Fear: A Second More Tyrannous Term
2019	Reality And Imperfection
	Day 8: One Stone
2018	Pity The Nation (Part 1)
	Day 41: Hiccup Or End Of Days?
2017	Sharp-Edged Beauty
2016	Start, Keep, Finish
2015	Lifetime Friends
2014	Acknowledgement
2013	Longevity, Tenacity and Diversity
2012	What Reagan Really Cared About
2011	Seeming Sane (Or Not)

Read Full Post »