Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

It does not matter I don’t make money I still have to do things that matter to me.  Every person has a need for purposeful activity.  The worst situation is when you prostitute yourself–do a job solely for the money.  If your whole heart and soul is not in it, you will burn out.

You can get trapped by money.  You want to go in a different direction and it will initially mean less money but you are used to having a certain life style and you can’t stand your job any more.  Your heart and soul is no longer in it.  You just dream for the weekend when you are off from your job.

It is hard.  You have to make a living and support your family.  The most fortunate people are the ones who can’t wait to get back to work.  Thoreau in “Walden” says, ‘Make living thy sport’.  It is easier said than done.

Sometimes some accept their whole heart and soul will not be on the job.  It is a a shame it is not on the job and find you have to find satisfaction elsewhere.  It is always a balancing act.

Tags: "Make living thy sport", balance, life style, make a living, make money, purposeful activity, support your family, Thoreau, trapped by money, Walden, weekend, your job
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Some people get educated despite themselves.  Education is not an end point but a process.  The literal translation of the word education means to lead toward.  It is not a degree and is on going.

And it is true:  some people do get educated despite themselves but most of the time it is a journey.  There is really no point you have arrived which is not to say a piece of parchment is not an accomplishment.  It is.  But don’t stop there.

I could never understand people who get degrees and stop reading.  And an education is not simply books.  It is the process of learning during your life.  It never stops.

Some of the wisest people have no degrees.  It is all about learning.  And learning is not always in books.  We need carpenters and mechanics and plumbers.  In fact, there is a shortage of these people.

Whatever you do, do it with your whole heart.  In Thoreau’s words, ‘Let living be thy sport (from Walden).’

Tags: 'let living be thy sport', a journey, books, do with your whole heart, education, learning, learning during your life, reading, Thoreau, to lead toward, Walden, wisest people
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It is so easy to take God’s creatures for granted.  I have been feeding the birds since I moved here.  I remember how excited we were when we first put up the finch feeder and the first goldfinch appeared.

I never ever saw a tufted titmouse and now we get a steady stream of them every day.  Very seldom did I see downy woodpeckers until I placed a suet feeder near the trunk of the large pine tree which can be viewed outside our living room window.

I never saw the white-breasted nuthatch who has become a regular visitor to our yard.  It likes both the suet and the sunflower seed I put out.

And there are other visitors we get every day.  How easy does it become to become jaded.  And forget these are all creatures created from above and deserve our praise and wonder.

Somehow you need to restore this quality and see these birds again with true amazement.  How do you see things as if it was the first time?  I have no answers.

PS Thoreau in Walden said it much better:  ‘Nothing is greater than to have an expectation of the dawn which will never forsake you even in our soundest sleep.’  I am not sure whether this is an exact quote but it is close.

Tags: become jaded, created from above, downy woodpecker, expectation of the dawn, feeding birds, finch feeder, God's creatures, goldfinch, living room window, our yard, pine tree, praise and wonder, see as if it was the first time, suet feeder, sunflower seed, Thoreau, tufted titmouse, Walden, white-breasted nuthatch
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Life without joy is a life of despair.

Rejoice.  Again I say rejoice.  It is a commandment of the Bible.  There is much to rejoice about.  If your blood is pulsating through your veins.  That is no small thing.

Life is, in deed, very precious.  And so is your health.  Take good care of your self.  We have that in control.  There is a correlation between health and joy although sometimes you have to override that and determine to seek joy.

Men live lives of quiet desperation.  Words by Thoreau.  Very much quoted.  Accept the bounties God has given you.  And find joy in them.  Rejoice.  Again I say rejoice.

Tags: accept God's bounties, again I say rejoice, Bible, bounty, commandment, despair, God, God has given you bounties, health, health and joy, joy, life, life is precious, quiet desperation, rejoice, take care of yourself, Thoreau
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Sometimes I leave my newspapers (and magazines) unread and eventually pitch them.  I have no illusions.  If I miss one story or one article, my life goes on.  I never forgot what Thoreau said in “Walden“:  ‘why read the same thing rehashed over and over?’

There is a glut of information out there.  One thing has never changed:  the saturation point.  There is so much information you can absorb at one time.  As King Solomon says in the Bible:  you can be weary of too much study.

These words were written several thousand years ago.  Nothing has changed in that regard.  There is so much you can study, read.  You still have to live your life.  Sure you can learn from newspapers, books and magazines but if you do not integrate that knowledge into your life it is all for naught.

Thus, I have no reservations about not getting to any written material.  There is so much you can read and so much you can absorb at one time and you certainly have to live your life.  I have absolutely no guilt about leaving any newspapers, (etc.) unread.

Tags: Bible, books, glut of information, God, King Solomon, live your life, magazines, saturation point, Solomon, study, Thoreau, too much study, unread newspapers, Walden
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I really can’t answer that.  Only you.  Do you listen to the tiny voice only you can hear?  This can be very difficult in a society that values conformity.  There are so many pressures you face–inward and outside.  Your conscience can be a dictator (or free you).  There are no easy answers.  To love another means to be able to reach out to others and forget yourself.  First, though you have to like and love yourself.  Respect starts with you.  If you do not respect yourself how can you possibly respect others?  Listening to a tune of a different drummer (words coined by Thoreau) means having the courage to follow the path only you truly can follow.  There are no lack of people to tell you how to lead your life and somehow you need to respect the lives of those closest to you.  That is truly a balancing act.  Maybe now you can answer that question a little better:  Do you walk to a tune of a different drummer?  Only you know to what degree that might be true.

Tags: balance, different drummer, follow your own path, God, like and love yourself, reach out to others, relationships, respect starts with you, society values conformity, Thoreau, tiny voice only you can hear, tune of a different drummer
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We learn about others in dribs and drabs.  Sometimes the interactions are seconds here and there.  Maybe minutes if we are lucky.  Maybe, it is better and more meaningful that way, especially if time elapses between contact.  We have more time to take in everything.  As I mentioned in one of the quotes, ‘The value of a man (or in this case it could be a woman) is not in his skin that we should touch him.’  (Thoreau in “Walden”)

(originally written 1/31/9, 8:15 p.m., Saturday)

Tags: friends, God, relationships, the value of a man, Thoreau, Walden
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