Rest
From the Darkness take a rest,
Give yourself a Break;
Accept Encouragement, Respect,
Let go of the Ache.
Feel the Right beyond the Wrong,
You cannot do this on your own;
There’s more than Dark to run from here,
Alone with Him you own a Throne.
Don’t chase yourself in circles —
Wait for Insight at the Dawn ––
And when no strength remains within,
Rest in the everlasting One.
~ Author Unknown
Al Terego said
ReplyDeleteI'm tired of tears and laughter,
___ And men that laugh and weep;
Of what may come hereafter
___ For men that sow to reap:
I am weary of days and hours,
Blown buds of barren flowers,
Desires and dreams and powers
___ And everything but sleep ...
~ Algernon C. Swinburne (1837-1909)
Swinburne knew the score.
____________ Riders in the Sky ___________
ReplyDeleteAn old cowpoke went riding out one dark and windy day
Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way
When all at once a mighty herd of red-eyed cows he saw
A'plowin' through the ragged skies and up a cloudy draw
Yi-pi-yi-ay, Yi-pi-yi-o
Ghost riders in the sky
Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel
Their horns wuz black and shiny and their hot breath he could feel
A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky
For he saw the riders comin' hard and he heard their mournful cry
Yi-pi-yi-ay, Yi-pi-yi-o
Ghost riders in the sky
Their faces gaunt, their eyes were blurred, and shirts all soaked with sweat
They're ridin' hard to catch that herd but they ain't caught them yet
They've got to ride forever in that range up in the sky
On horses snortin' fire, as they ride on, hear their cry
Yi-pi-yi-ay, Yi-pi-yi-o
Ghost riders in the sky
As the riders loped on by him, he heard one call his name
"If you want to save your soul from hell a' ridin' on our range"
"Then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride"
"A-tryin' to catch the Devil's herd across these endless skies."
Yi-pi-yi-ay, Yi-pi-yi-o
Ghost riders in the sky
Ghost riders in the sky
~ Oliver Jones (1949) - recorded by Frankie Laine, Vaughan Monroe, Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee, and Johnny cash among others
When I was a boy, this song was heard on the radio every day and on every jukebox in every hash house and restaurant for many months. It was certainly not Jersey's style –– at least not as he presented himself here in Blogistan –– but I think he would have found it appealing all the same. I was fortunate to be able to get to know him outside the blogosphere, and found he had a vivid imagination and the capacity to see far beyond his familiar parochial interests.
He knew full well that I frankly despised the kind of music he professed to love best, and yet he was KIND enough, and WISE enough to realize there was great virtue in classical music.
He told me he did in fact enjoy Beethoven & CO. a lot, and had even been known to attend the opera now and then, though he preferred not to emphasize that side of himself here –– part of maintaining the unique, rough and ready blog persona he had created for himself no doubt.
At any rate, –– though I doubt two people could be farther apart in their stated political aims and preferences, –– and all the other things that might have kept us forever at odds ––, we were able to look beneath the surface and find much to like and respect in each other because of our common humanity –– and doubtless our common point of origin in the New York metropolitan area.
The latter created an instant bond no doubt. You'd have to have been born and brought up there, yourself, to understand, but we New Yorkers and Jerseyites have an instinctive understanding, love and respect for each other that transcends, social, economic and cultural barriers.
In short Jersey and I LIKED each other –– even LOVED each other before it was al over –– and in the end, my friends, that is ALL that really matters.
WE NEED MOST DESPERATELY to LOOK FOR THINGS WE CAN LIKE, RESPECT, and ADMIRE in EACH OTHER, and STOP SEARCHING ENDLESSLY for THINGS about which WE CAN FIND "A GOOD EXCUSE" to COMPLAIN , LAMENT, LAMPOON, DESPISE, and DISDAIN.
My seemingly unlikely friendship with Jersey McJones taught me that, so to him I shall be eternally grateful.
Indeed. Charity (love) has been drained from our public discourse, and we wonder why we have descended into babbling, foaming incoherence.
Delete"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." 1 Corinthians 13:1
Those words from St. Paul writing in his first letter to the Corinthians have meant more to me than anything in the Old Testament, and even than the Sermon on the Mount.
DeleteWithout Charity we, and all our endeavors, are, indeed, utterly worthless.
You found in your unlikely friendship with Jersey one flickering light in the howling darkness, and you are wise to see it as a blessing from God worthy of eternal gratitude.
ReplyDeleteNot to sound trite, but I truly believe in the motto adopted by The Christophers, whose newsletter i used to receive regularly long ago.
Delete"It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness."
That thing Old George Bush used to say about "A Thousand Points of Light"was dismissed by the ENEMEDIA, of course, as "corny," "shallow" "naive," "insincere," "impractical," –– even "irresponsible" –– but it DOES contain within it the germ of what really could become our Salvation –– as a people, a culture, a nation and as individuals.
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
ReplyDeleteWe would do well to meditate on the meaning and implications contained in those few words.
"REST" is not the same thing as "UNCONSCIOUSNESS." It's quite the opposite. Real "rest" comes with an ever-expanding awareness of the true nature of Reality.
"Lift thine eyes to the mountains whence cometh our help."
What could "mountains" possiby mean in this context?
Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God by which ye are sealed unto the Day of Redemption.
ReplyDeleteLet all bitterness and wrath and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice.
And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God, who for Christ's Sake hath forgiven you."