Star thrower

There's a story inspired by the writing of Loren Eiseley. Loren was a very special person because he combined the best of two cultures. He was a scientist and a poet. From those two perspectives, he wrote insightfully and beautifully about the world and our role in it.

Once upon a time, there was a wise man, much like Eiseley himself, who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had the habit of walking along the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore; as he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day, so he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead, he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?" The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing Starfish into the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked; why are you throwing Starfish into the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and Starfish all along it, you can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely, then bent down, picked up another Starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves. "It made a difference for that one."

His response surprised the man, he was upset, he didn't know how to reply, so instead he turned away and walked back to the cottage to begin his writings.

All day long as he wrote, the image of that young man haunted him; he tried to ignore it, but the vision persisted. Finally, late in the afternoon, he realized that he the scientist, he the poet, had missed the essential nature of the young man's actions. Because he realized that what the young man was doing was choosing not to be an observer in the universe and watch it pass by, but was choosing to be an actor in the universe and make a difference. He was embarrassed.

That night he went to bed, troubled. When morning came, he awoke knowing that he had to do something; so he got up, put on his clothes, went to the beach and found the young man; and with him spent the rest of the morning throwing Starfish into the ocean.
You see, what the young man's actions represent is something that is special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can, like the young man, become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our vision the power to shape the future.

And that is your challenge, and that is my challenge. We must find our Starfish, and if we throw our stars wisely and well, I have no question that the 21st century is going to be a wonderful place.




Remember:
Vision without action is merely a dream
Action without vision just passes time
Vision with action can change the world






Author: Loren C Eiseley

My Mustang Partner

You see I ride a Mustang and you stop and ask me why,
And as I begin to answer, my eyes well up with pride.
You see, I've looked at other horses with so called bloodlines, breeding and such,
But compared to my partner Abby, they sure don't amount to much.
She's a bit of Americana, folks see it at just one look,
Its somethin' that you feel inside, you won't find it in any book.
"How long'd it take to break her" they ask, "looks like you've had good luck,"
"I didn't break her," I reply, "she accepted me, without one single buck."
No, she doesn't like everything I have to make her do,
But she gets in and does the job, just because I ask her to.
I think God must 'of loved the Mustangs for he made them powerful and wild you see,
They remind me of where I am today, here, in the land of the free.
They're a part of us, what we've been, the heritage of our great nation,
Its a blessing for me to caretake one of God's finest creations.
So when you think of wild horses, don't think of them as food that some dogs eat,
Think of Abby the Police Horse, my partner workin' the streets.
At the end of our days, when we've run out our course,
The good book says the Almighty will return on what else but a horse.
So listen when our Maker returns, he may speak with a bit of a western twang,
‘Cause the beautiful horse he come in on, was once a wild Mustang.
Mounted Sergeant, Phil West

P.U.S.H.

Pray Until Something Happens

(Author Unknown)

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with bright light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man He had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This, the man did, day after day.
For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down with his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, the Adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man’s weary mind: “You’ve been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You’re never going to move it” —thus, giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.
“Why kill myself over this?” he thought. “I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that’ll be good enough.” And that’s just what he planned to do— until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. “Lord” he said, “I’ve labored long and hard in Your service, putting all my strength to do that which You’ve asked. Yet, after all this time, I haven’t even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What’s wrong? Why am I failing?”
The Lord responded compassionately,

“My friend, when I asked you to serve Me— you accepted. I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength— which you’ve done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me— with your strength spent, thinking that you’ve failed. But is that really so?”
“Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscular. Your back sinew is mighty. Your hands are callused from the constant pressure;and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you’ve grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you’ve done. I, my friend, will now move the rock.”

At times, when we hear from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants. What God ACTUALLY wants is just simple OBEDIENCE and FAITH IN HIM. By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it’s still God who moves the mountains.
P.U.S.H. = Pray Until Something Happens!
When everything seems to go wrong, just P.U.S.H.
When the job gets you down, P.U.S.H.
When people don’t react the way you think they should, P.U.S.H.
When your money looks funny and the bills are due, P.U.S.H.
When people just don’t understand you, just P.U.S.H.

TAPS

If any of you have ever been to a military funeral in which taps were played; this brings out a new meaning of it.

We in the United States have all heard the haunting song, "Taps". It's the song that gives us that lump in our throats and usually tears in our eyes.

But, do you know the story behind the song?

If not, I think you will be interested to find out about its humble beginnings.

Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land.

During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention.

Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment.

When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead.

The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock . In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army.

The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial, despite his enemy status. His request was only partially granted.

The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral. The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate.

But, out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician.

The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth's uniform. This wish was granted.



The haunting melody, we now know as "Taps" used at military funerals was born.

The words are:

Day is done

Gone the sun

From the lakes

From the hills

From the sky

All is well

Safely rest

God is nigh

Fading light

Dims the sight

And a star

Gems the sky

Gleaming bright

From afar

Drawing nigh

Falls the night





Thanks and praise

For our days

Neath the sun

Neath the stars

Neath the sky

As we go

This we know

God is nigh

Let me have the courage to believe in myself

AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Let me have the courage to believe in myself
Not only on the days when I'm going great and nothing seems impossible,
But on the days when the world looks lousy and I'm losing.
And the road ahead seems too hard;
When I wonder if I'm brave enough, smart enough,
Strong enough, and I must be crazy if I try
Don't let me quit - Let me have courage in myself.
No matter how many people discourage me, doubt,
Laugh at me, warn me, think me a fool...
Don't let me listen. Let me hear another voice saying,
"You can do it,"... and, "You will."
If no one else in the world cares or believes in me...
Let me have the courage to believe in myself!

Dime among pennies

Oliver Wendell Holmes once attended a meeting in which he was the shortest man present.

"Dr. Holmes," quipped a friend, "I should think you'd feel rather small among us big fellows."

"I do," retorted Holmes, "I feel like a dime among a lot of pennies."

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Antoine de Saint Exupery

YOU TELL ON YOURSELF

YOU TELL ON YOURSELF
YOU TELL ON YOURSELF BY THE FRIENDS THAT YOU SEEK,
BY THE VERY MANNER IN WHICH YOU SPEAK,
BY THE WAY YOU EMPLOY YOUR LEISURE TIME,
BY THE USE YOU MAKE OF DOLLAR AND DIME.

YOU TELL WHAT YOU ARE BY THE THINGS YOU WEAR.
BY THE SPIRIT IN WHICH YOUR BURDENS YOU BEAR,
BY THE KIND OF THINGS AT WHICH YOU LAUGH,
BY THE MUSIC YOU PLAY ON THE PHONOGRAPH.

YOU TELL WHAT YOU ARE BY THE WAY YOU WALK
BY THE THINGS OF WHICH YOU LIKE TO TALK,
BY THE MANNER IN WHICH YOU BEAR DEFEAT,
BY SO SIMPLE A THING AS HOW YOU EAT.

BY THE BOOKS YOU CHOOSE
FROM THE SELL-FILLED SHELF;
SO THERE'S REALLY NO PARTICLE OF SENCE
IN AN EFFORT TO KEEP UP A FALSE PRETENSE