William Rainbolt

From one of my heroes, George Orwell, in "Politics and the English Language" (1946): "(Language) becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts." I will try to avoid contributing to the debasement of language and thought that abounds today.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Ok, so it's been two years since I posted. I've been . . . you know, busy . . .

. . . aging but growing . . . changing but staying rooted . . . laughing but crying sometimes too . . . smiling but not frowning nearly as much as I used to except for one particular thing (hint: I want to retire as soon as it is financially feasible . . . let's see, it's 9:19 p.m. right now, and I would retire at 9:20 p.m. if I could, but I can't) . . . understanding more (I think) but also accepting that I understand so little! . . . seeking but finding that more seeking is needed (and fun, too) . . . trying to adhere to the thought expressed on a scroll outside the room where I take yoga sessions: it says something like, "In the end, all that really matters is: (1) how well you learned to live, (2) how well you learned to love, and (3) how well you learned to let go" . . . would anyone agree with me that of these three, LETTING GO is the hardest thing for a person to learn? . . . basically, I've been trying to learn and live true mindfulness, and especially, acceptance.

Oh, I also got three tattoos: right forearm -- Chinese characters for "Father/Daughter;" inside left forearm, Chinese characters for "Acceptance" (see, I told you I was serious about it); and left forearm, Navy anchor. I put the "Acceptance" one on my inside left forearm because it's easy to glance it as a handy reminder. Especially, when I'm with certain people. No more tattoos forthcoming, I think . . . but Boz the great tattoo artist near me always says, "Oh, you'll be back."

l'll end with a quote from St. Francis that always leaves people a bit puzzled until they think about it (which is the point, after all): "What we are looking for is who is looking."

Got it?

Be back sooner than two years.

2 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

I am very disappointed you didn't come back sooner than two years :( this is a wonderful piece by the way.
"That last thing is what you can't get. Nobody can get to that last thing. We keep on living in hopes of catching it once and for all" the goal is to discover what that last yearning desire is for you

8:18 AM  
Blogger AlbanyTow said...

The funny thing is I ended up hiring one of your past students. She manages Albany Towing Services for us along with taking care of office management and benefits for my staff. She enjoyed your class.

3:28 PM  

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