Category Archives: Breaking Away

For the first time in many weeks, Gretchen and I took a work break together. We sat out on our deck in the warm autumn sunlight, enjoying caffè lattes I had brought home from Starbucks.

As I watched the gentle shower of falling leaves, I was reminded of the song based on a passage from the Old Testament, “To every thing there is a season..”

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There was a TV series, “The Visitor”, which developed the theme, “All life is connected.” I truly believe that is so, based on almost seventy years of experience.

There is a mood created by living things and it is as pleasant or unpleasant as those occupying an area. Good vibrations come from healthy happy people, animals, and plants. Keeping them all that way takes work, and more than a little knowledge.

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Dictionary.com defines “family” as:
1. A fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.
2. Two or more people who share goals and values, have long-term commitments to one another, and reside usually in the same dwelling place.

While there may be continuing erosion of the family according to the first definition, there seems to be a corresponding growth in the concept of family as described in a larger sense. That is probably because being part of a family promotes the survival of all members of the family. Even if the extended or nuclear family is dispersed by economic circumstance, individuals need the protection and support of a group that functions as a family.

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There are times when all seems lost. We’ve all been there. The job of a lifetime turns sour, that one true love turns out to be a mirage, or you have really screwed up and there is no hope. You are so crushed and scared that you can’t even see where went wrong.

You probably feel like this lizard.
There are at least two ways you can go. Since there is no other reasonable alternative, you can bow to the inevitable and take your lumps. After all, no one can expect you to do the impossible. Or, you can defy all reason and insist on surviving long after hope is lost.

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