Blog 745 – 09.05.2017
Again

I used to marvel at the way children watch the same movie over and over again or read the same book and are enchanted as if seeing or reading it for the first time. I find myself doing the same thing and finding that one viewing or one reading is just not enough to get the real deeper meanings of stories. Thinking we know a story is a sure fire way to really miss it entirely.

As a boy I remember seeing several of the I Love Lucy shows as they originally aired but most of us came to know and love Lucy and Desi, Fred and Ethel in the countless reruns of those shows. When Lucille Ball died many years after the I Love Lucy Show was first broadcast multitudes mourned her passing like that of a close friend or family member. We had spent hours upon hours with her and knew her well and loved her well. As an author I am always tickled when anyone reads my writing. One long time friend in particular is a bit jealous of new friends who read my blog and feel they know me. Though I may not have had the privilege of visiting with you in your home in person, through my words you may indeed come to know me quite well. In these pieces I try to share the very best of me, my thoughts, my dreams. Not because I think I am better or have bigger better dreams but because I believe we are related, connected, alike. And I very much want to share any tricks, benefits, shortcuts that I may have picked up along the way with all my friends, my family.

Many of these I did not fully get the first time that I heard or saw them. The deep lessons require repeated exposure and practice before we can own them and make them real in our lives. To become a master in or at anything you must practice, practice, and practice some more. Want to master a song, a musical instrument, a sewing machine, whatever? We get good at anything by doing, we get better by doing it more and more, and we get great by putting in the hours. Several times in my life I started to learn Spanish, play the guitar, the harmonica but I never had the discipline to stay at it till I got good, better, or mastered any of them. On my latest personal business card I describe myself as “Your friend and fellow traveler.” Both of those I am indeed and I write each and everyone of you a personal letter every day to prove that. I have no hidden agendas. I do not believe in secrets – they always end up being revealed and people are hurt and disappointed. I am as I write – warts, misspellings, incorrect grammar, poor punctuation and all. Though I strive to improve I am not seeking perfection of myself or anyone else. My aim is just to share an encouraging word.

Under may name DAVID WHITE on the card, as you can see in the picture attached, I further describe myself as: Writer, Speaker, Singer Songwriter, Teacher. I gave up on Spanish never getting much past “Buenos dias mi amigo. Como esta usted? Estoy bien, e usted? (Good day, my friend. How are you? I am good and you?) I gave up on the guitar and the harmonica too but I practice speaking, writing, singing, song writing, and teaching every day. If I live, as I intend, another forty years plus I expect to master those skills and become if it is possible an ascended master in the next life. Did I hear some of you laughing? That is perfectly fine. I myself would have laughed at such an idea throughout most of this journey. It is good to have goals, to think about them daily, and to take whatever clear steps you can in the direction you want to go. I follow a little formula I found in an old, mostly unread book, at least not often enough to be understood. The anagram for the formula is ASK for ask, seek, knock. A popular teacher said long ago that we do not have because we do not ask or because we ask amiss. Three ways we ask amiss are:

  1.   Short circuiting our requests even before they are sent by changing our           minds.
  2.   By doubting we would get anything by just asking for it.
  3.   By failing to act as if it was already ours. All things are ours the old book         says, but how many open their umbrellas when they ask for rain? O ye             of little faith.

I close with Zorro. The old Zorro played by Anthony Hopkins is in his lair teaching the new Zorro candidate, Antonio Banderas, how to be Zorro. Over and over he is drilled in precise monotonous steps like grasshopper Caine learning to be a King Fu master. The Zorro candidate struggles on ever at the verge of giving up. The old Zorro, himself exasperated at his pupil, says “Quit then.” The candidate almost does but then utters the magic word that always leads to mastery in anything- “Again!” He trains again and again for he is Master Zorro. We are all masters of our fate.

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David White