How long will it take for you to remember to write 2019? It'll take me a while. I have to say it won't take as long as it used to, guess I've had more practice at it. Not sure if that is a benefit or a liability. I suppose it is all a matter of opinion. 2019 doesn't sound too bad, but the idea of 2020 seems far fetched. Of course I do remember when 2001 a Space Odyssey was in the theaters. That was back in '68 and 2001 did seem it was that far into the future. I don't remember much about the movie and never read the book but 2001 stuck in my mind. Remember when a lot of folks thought all the computers would crash? That was supposed to happen with the turn of the century. I wasn't concerned a bit. At least I wasn't concerned about any business computers. I just figured if there was money involved the banks, and anyone else that you owed money too, weren't about to let anything go wrong! My personal computer, maybe, but definitely not the banks.
Every year there is that much more history to remember. Every year adds information. That information can and should alter your thinking and perspective. It's like a big puzzle. The difficulty lies in sorting out the pieces. Not all the pieces belong in your personal puzzle. Even the ones with a straight edge, the first ones I search for, may not apply to you. I believe you have to define that edge for yourself and act accordingly. When you discover things that don't fit inside your box you either change the box or exclude that piece altogether. The challenge lies in defining just what goes inside that box. That's where perspective plays a major role. Just because others find that piece fits into their puzzle doesn't mean it will fit yours. We all see history through a different lens. Some are myopic and others are presbyopic. Some things we choose to remember and others we choose to forget. Lately people have become focused on individual actions rather than the larger picture. The past should be viewed with a wide angle lens, not a microscope.
For some years there are memorable events and for others not so much. I remember '71 as the year I graduated high school and joined the Navy. What happened in '72? I went to my first command, a ship stationed in Mayport, Fla. The USS Pawcatuck AO-108, a fleet oiler and an old ship even then. She has long since been scrapped, in fact every ship I have served on has been scrapped or sold to a foreign country. 2018 is a memorable year, for several reasons. I had cancer, I had a heart attack, and I lost my sister. The first two didn't have nearly the impact as the last. That's because the last is permanent! There is no getting past that fact. It did add perspective as she was only 67. Our days are indeed numbered and there is no stopping the count. No time outs in life.
I look forward to 2019 and wonder what it will reveal to me. Each year is a learning experience. Each year a few more pieces to the puzzle are added. It's true sometimes I need to discard a few pieces that just don't fit. It isn't that the picture has changed, it's that I'm discovering what that picture should be. Like putting together a puzzle without the picture on the cover of the box, it's a mystery. Is happiness achieved when the picture is revealed? I guess that depend upon your expectations. Do you like it or not? The picture that is. Thing is, the picture really is what you make it, choose your pieces carefully. Life is an illusion, death is the reality. And we don't know a thing about dying, the best we can do is pray. I read somewhere that Buddhists believe all life is an illusion and that scientists have confirmed that, according to quantum theory. I know very little about that. I do believe life continues after death. What form that life takes I haven't really decided upon. I question whether that is even important, my current thought is it isn't. All is as it should be in the universe, all I need to figure out is where I fit. Isn't that what we all wish to know?
Every year there is that much more history to remember. Every year adds information. That information can and should alter your thinking and perspective. It's like a big puzzle. The difficulty lies in sorting out the pieces. Not all the pieces belong in your personal puzzle. Even the ones with a straight edge, the first ones I search for, may not apply to you. I believe you have to define that edge for yourself and act accordingly. When you discover things that don't fit inside your box you either change the box or exclude that piece altogether. The challenge lies in defining just what goes inside that box. That's where perspective plays a major role. Just because others find that piece fits into their puzzle doesn't mean it will fit yours. We all see history through a different lens. Some are myopic and others are presbyopic. Some things we choose to remember and others we choose to forget. Lately people have become focused on individual actions rather than the larger picture. The past should be viewed with a wide angle lens, not a microscope.
For some years there are memorable events and for others not so much. I remember '71 as the year I graduated high school and joined the Navy. What happened in '72? I went to my first command, a ship stationed in Mayport, Fla. The USS Pawcatuck AO-108, a fleet oiler and an old ship even then. She has long since been scrapped, in fact every ship I have served on has been scrapped or sold to a foreign country. 2018 is a memorable year, for several reasons. I had cancer, I had a heart attack, and I lost my sister. The first two didn't have nearly the impact as the last. That's because the last is permanent! There is no getting past that fact. It did add perspective as she was only 67. Our days are indeed numbered and there is no stopping the count. No time outs in life.
I look forward to 2019 and wonder what it will reveal to me. Each year is a learning experience. Each year a few more pieces to the puzzle are added. It's true sometimes I need to discard a few pieces that just don't fit. It isn't that the picture has changed, it's that I'm discovering what that picture should be. Like putting together a puzzle without the picture on the cover of the box, it's a mystery. Is happiness achieved when the picture is revealed? I guess that depend upon your expectations. Do you like it or not? The picture that is. Thing is, the picture really is what you make it, choose your pieces carefully. Life is an illusion, death is the reality. And we don't know a thing about dying, the best we can do is pray. I read somewhere that Buddhists believe all life is an illusion and that scientists have confirmed that, according to quantum theory. I know very little about that. I do believe life continues after death. What form that life takes I haven't really decided upon. I question whether that is even important, my current thought is it isn't. All is as it should be in the universe, all I need to figure out is where I fit. Isn't that what we all wish to know?
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