The long walk...

around the campus.
Today the Wellness Committee presented the annual Fun Walk on Campus and I decided to give it a bash. I was not first across the line but not last either! It was fun and getting an ovation while twirling a crutch like a baton gave me quite a thrill... the inner performer in me came out for a while!
Will get hold of some of the pictures and one of the medals we all received for completing the four kilometre walk some time and put them up as well.
Walking is a wonderfull way to get about, you have time to experience the world at pace that lets you think as well, almost as if you are communicating with the world, I suppose that is how it was meant to be. Adam and God took regular walks in Eden... I must make time to walk more... I may just meet God taking his constitutional at the same time.
"Life is like getting dropped off in the middle of the woods, and then year by year, gradually walking home." April Foiles

A-maze-ing!

Pop your poem/lyrics into the box after clicking on the link with cut and paste and be amazed... Some people are just so creative. This is a app on Sveriges Radio by the way, not that I understand a word of Swedish, but the application takes phrases from songs to match your words and then puts it all together as a song using these sound bytes.
I can drive... Had to concentrate more than usual and leave a good 10 second gap but at least I am no longer dependent on the kids to run me about and go on shopping errands. Amazing how soon muscles start to work again. So I am looking forward to being able to go to Church under my own steam tomorrow.
Another amazing thing is the Bok's win over Tonga... that was a close one and I was on the edge of the chair the whole game! If we had kicked all conversions and penalties it would have been much better, losing discipline did not help matters either, having 2 in the sin bin made things tough for the other 13 players. It always amazes me that players at this level still lose control to the detriment of the team.
"It is amazing how much crisper the general experience of life becomes when your body is given a chance to develop a little strength." Frank Duff, A Coder in Courierland, 03-20-05

Eina!

I think I overdid my exercises yesterday... I have backache, bellyache, and even my arms are sore... so I only did two sessions today... and I can move my foot more than yesterday, yay! Tomorrow I will see if I can get behind the wheel... Shrek has been serviced and repaired and should be back under the carport on Tuesday... seems like it will still be at least 5 weeks before we can head out on the highway again... dang! I have an itch that needs scratching...
TUT had this to say today "Think of everyone on the planet, everyone, as your special friend...And so they shall become. Dang."
When I look at my favourites and my Blogroll I can see that, some of those bloggers feel like close friends and some even are. Others touch my soul and others make me think, then there are the guys that just think like me. However others have faded from the scene... as one fades a new star usually rises. It makes life interesting.
No music or vids today... I am on a musical sabbatical, I am not in the mood for music at present, it kind of hurts too much... I am working on a music blog though... keep watching for Angelic Voices, it will be worth it I promise.
"I finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it." Rita Mae Brown
Footnote: Eina is an Afrikaans colloquialism for "Ouch".

It can bend!

My knee! Wow... I'm out of the plaster cast... Doctor is happy with the progress as well as the Physiotherapist... Now I can get started on the Physio/Torture program to get my puny leg more or less back to the shape of the healthy one... I will refrain from posting pics of the scar... suffice to say now it really looks like a shark tried to nibble on my leg! Counted 30 odd staples... Gnarly battle scars dude!
I thought I may be able to start driving myself but at present the leg is still a bit weak, I will give it a few days and see how the recovery of muscle tone goes. Now for that bath...
Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931)

Lessons from walls

This posting has been long in gestation and today in Church I got the final threads to finish it off as promised previously... It is neither a lengthy or noble dissertation, just something that I have felt needs to be said.

Life is a procession, some may call it a comedy of errors, others call it a learning process. I call it an adventure these days...We all get hurt by life at some time or another, some build defensive walls and attitudes to protect them from the hurt. Others carry on regardless in their selfish ways. Others hide away in despair. Others take on the poisoned chains of pride.
Then there are people that want to throw off the yoke of past experiences to be able to live again as we are supposed to.Joyfully and adventurously.I am one of those people, but before I could do that I had to love myself again, to see that even with my bruised ego, broken heart and mangled self worth I was a person that was worthy to be a creature of joy again. Part of this was accepting and realizing that God loved me no matter what I did or had done. He had made me and He had loved me enough to create a way for me to be with Him eternally. How could I doubt my worth if the God of creation considered me worthy?
Once this was out of the way I realized that I had to get rid of my fortress that I had built around me as a result of past experiences.I had to get my psyche naked, this was the toughest part, because when you are exposed like this the flame of a passing soul is like a blowtorch, some have a flame of hatred, others of jealousy, even friendship scorches...
However if you persevere the freedom of not hiding behind a wall or mask is bliss itself, you know that you mean what you say and do what you mean. This honesty is sometimes disconcerting to others catching them off guard and flowing over them like a tsunami. I keep forgetting that part...

What I also have found is that I have lost the art of picking up hidden cues... I do not expect them because of my directness and openness... why should others play games when I cannot? But they do, mostly not intentionally but on a constant basis... I have to retrain myself to read these signs I suppose. Then I go read a recent study on kisses and I seem to be once again the exception to the rule as my goal when kissing is not to end up in the boudoir... I put a lot of emotional value in a kiss, to me a kiss is not part of what they say, a kiss is like cement for my heart, it fills in the cracks and makes me whole again. Yes it does set my heart racing but it also tells me that I am not alone in the adventure of life or the building of a relationship. Without a kiss it just a great friendship... but with a kiss once in a while there is a hint of something that may well grow to become that once in lifetime experience.

Being a gentleman is also a given when one has chosen the path I have, considering the other person and respecting their wishes is worth it, trust me, as the other way of being a boor and throwing a tantrum is not going to get you any points either. What I am talking about is when you have told the object of your affections your feelings, respect what you get back, I know it is hard to have to reign in your emotions but unless you expect instant gratification you are far better off being a friend than earning instant enmity. I actually think that the Victorian era had perfected this as a man would very often court a woman for many years before even telling her what he felt, rather getting to know her over time through many conversations and countless letters... we have forgotten that art gentlemen! Time to back track and do things in a proper and fitting fashion I believe. Chastity has it's own reward...

However as mentioned in a previous post, I think modern men are losers when it comes to understanding their purpose in the scheme of things, I am not excusing myself either, I have learnt that lesson well and have been shown the error of my ways regarding our responsibility to children we bring into the world. Only when we understand what the true meaning of being a Gentleman is will this change. Leaving a child in the lurch is a cowardly way to excuse
yourself from your responsibility. Just as God loves you you should love that child and do all you can to provide for this gift you received. At the same time if you had followed the proper order of things you may well never have gotten in this place at all... passion has both a price and a place.

Now all I want is to nurture those I love, to protect and serve and lead by example, in some small way show them the love I have been shown. When I see one of them hurting I wish I could take that cloak and put it on myself and bear their pain instead. I cry more easily because of this... I seem pray more often as well.
Lastly I leave you with this test of love that I only recently came to understand in full and without this any relationship is doomed to failure:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. - I Corinthians 13:4-8a (NIV)

Back after the break..

The author of Ramblings from a Blue Dot, my friend rObC had a motorcycle accident on Friday, 17 August. He was admitted to hospital and his knee was operated on saturday. He was discharged this morning and is at home. He can tell you all the gory details himself, as soon as he gets behind his PC - I am just relieved to say: rObC - I'm glad you are OK, please take it slowly and get better soon. Love KatieB