By G. E. Shuman
This
one comes from the heart. It is personal, and will still seem a bit vague. That
is intentional, and is an effort at privacy.
The
thing is… as the old saying goes, at times, life really can throw you a curve
ball. That analogy is one of a ball coming
at you that you cannot avoid, and of one that is impossible to hit with your
bat. It is one of the unexpected; of the
very ‘negatively’ unexpected. That said,
life really can throw you a curve ball once in a while. Days pass, things go
along very much as expected, right up until the time that the ‘unthinkable,
unexpected’ occurs. And, those things do
occur, to be sure, to all of us. “Been
there, done that…” right?
The
personal, and hopefully vague part of this, today, is that the ‘unthinkable,
unexpected’ has recently occurred for my extended family. Tragedy has struck, once again, as it seems
to do in every family, more often than any of us would ever be prepared for. The reason I am sharing even this much is to
let you know that it is not just you, when such things happen to you. Things happen, bad things, to all of us. Life is hard. There is no way to get around
that. Personalities sometimes chafe
against each other, causing unnecessary stress and hurt feelings. Things like
too much or too little money, or time, often affect decisions and actions, sometimes
in very negative ways. And then those
big, unthinkable things just jump out and hit us, once in a while, like that
unexpected curve ball.
So,
what do we do? How shall we then live? Do we keep going, or give up? Do we
soldier on, or do we angrily throw that cursed, ineffectual, curve-ball-missing
bat as far and as fast as we can, without thought of where it lands, or who it
hurts? Also, and probably most
importantly, what do we believe, and who do we really believe in?
So far,
the words of this column have been less than uplifting, and I wouldn’t blame
you if you stopped reading them, right now. No, I wouldn’t blame you at all. But, it seems that you are still here. You are still reading. Maybe that is because you have not only been
where I am, and where my family is now, but you might also be there, right
now. This day, for you, might be one in
which you have just been thrown that big, nasty, unexpected curve ball. If so, I wish you would read on. This one will be short.
My all
time, favorite, most cherished poem is one called Desiderata. I have discussed
that poem in at least one of my columns, before. In explanation, the word desiderata is Latin
for ‘desired things’, and the poem was written in 1927 by the American writer,
Max Ehrmann. The poem was largely
unknown in the author’s lifetime, but became more widely known after its use in
a devotional, and after spoken-word recordings in the early 1970s. If you have
never read Desiderata, I wish you would google it and do so. It has been, and
continues to be a very real comfort to me.
The poem ends with the words: “And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the
universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever
you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy
confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and
broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
To Barb, Art, Ron, and family… may our
loving God bless you all.
