DREAM

Follow your dream

wherever it leads,

don't be distracted

by less worthy needs

Shelter it, nourish it,

help it to grow -

Let your heart hold it

down deep where dreams go.

Follow your dream

pursue it with haste;

Life is too precious,

too fleeting to waste ...

Be faithful, be loyal,

then all your life through

the dreams that you follow

will keep coming true

~ Larry Chengges ~

Moving On

The hardest part of leaving a place and moving on is missing the people who you’ve met and loved.

Recently, my daughter received a letter from one of her friends at school.  It was a beautiful letter full of compliments.  As a mother, it was touching to see how my child had impacted the life of another.  In the middle of the letter, her friend said something like, “There are no goodbyes, only see you laters.”

I love that!  No goodbyes!  Goodbyes are so…final.  End of story.  No more to come.

Yet life goes on, just differently.  Who knows when paths will cross again?  They often do.

I believe this is the same with death.  Death is just someone moving on to a new place.  Life goes on, just differently.  One day, we will all see how it works.  One day, we will all rejoice as we see each other again!

Here is a poem I love:

Death Is Nothing At All

by Henry Scott Holland

(1847-1918)

Death is nothing at all.

It does not count.

I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened.

Everything remains exactly as it was.

I am I, and you are you,

and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.

Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

Call me by the old familiar name.

Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.

Put no difference into your tone.

Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.

Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.

Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.

Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.

There is absolute and unbroken continuity.

What is this death but a negligible accident?

Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?

I am but waiting for you, for an interval,

somewhere very near,

just round the corner.

All is well.

Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.

One brief moment and all will be as it was before.

How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

I used to fear losing people to death or a move.  Now, I look forward to the day we are reunited.  The possibility of meeting again gives me tremendous hope.  Those reunions are gonna be great!

I am a Duck!

We have lived many places. Each place has good and bad...things to enjoy and things to detest. Wherever we are, we have numerous experiences and meet many people.

It is important to retain the good and leave the rest behind (though easier said than done). Life is too short to hold onto difficult experiences...nonetheless, forgetting completely may be out of the question.

Growing up in Utah, I learned all I ever really needed to know for a happy life. To name a few...be honest, be kind, be helpful, be prayerful, families are forever, there is life after school, learning doesn't end when school ends. I cultivated a love for beautiful mountains, which always give me a feeling of peace.

In Kansas, I observed simple pleasures - cicadas, fireflies, gardens, sunsets.  The lesson...Life gets too busy, so slow down, Enjoy simple things, and remember what is most important in life.  Honestly, before moving to Kansas, I wasn't fond of sunflowers, the Kansas state flower.  Now, I love sunflowers! Sunflowers are cool, and they follow the sun.

New Jersey, Fuhgeddaboutit! The quick pace of life sometimes left me feeling overwhelmed. I began to realize that you don't know what you don't know. The biggest lesson of all was "things are not always as they seem" so look deeper. Living near the coast, I developed a love for the ocean and its power and majesty.

Oregonians enjoy nature. Even the university mascots are from nature - University of Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers. During rivalry games, we've never taken sides to support either school. Instead of a duck or beaver, we were more like a platypus (a little of both). Now, I cheerfully declare "I am a duck!" Why? Because I have learned to remain calm on the surface when paddling like crazy underneath. The key to progress is persistence and consistency.

Oregon has left an indelible mark.