BOOK 08, CHAPTER 7, PAGE 22

A LITTLE STORY FOR YOU TODAY…

Sandcastles

Hot sun. Salty air. Rhythmic waves.

A little boy is on the beach. On his knees he scoops and packs the sand with plastic shovels into a bright red bucket. Then he upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to the delight of the little architect, a castle tower is created.

All afternoon he will work. Spooning out the moat. Packing the walls. Bottle tops will be sentries. Popsicle stix will be bridges. A sandcastle will be built.

Big city. Busy streets. Rumbling traffic.

A man is in his office. At his desk he shuffles papers into stacks and delegates assignments. He cradles the phone on his shoulder and punches the keyboard with his fingers. Numbers are juggled and contracts are signed and much to the delight of the man, a profit is made.

All his life he will work. Formulating the plans. Forecasting the future. Annuities will be sentries. Capital gains will be bridges. An empire will be built.

Two builders of two castles. They have much in common.

They shape granules into grandeurs. They see nothing and make something. They are diligent and determined. And for both the tide will rise and the end will come.

Yet that is where the similarities cease.

For the boy sees the end while the man ignores it. Watch the boy as the dusk approaches. As the waves near, the wise child jumps to his feet and begins to clap. There is no sorrow. No fear. No regret. He knew this would happen. He is not surprised. And when the great breaker crashes into his castle and his masterpiece is sucked into the sea, he smiles. He smiles, picks up his tools, takes his father's hand, and goes home.

The grownup, however, is not so wise. As the wave of years collapses on his castle he is terrified. He hovers over the sandy monument to protect it. He blocks the waves from the walls he has made. Salt-water soaked and shivering he snarls at the incoming tide. "It's my castle," he defies.

The ocean need not respond. Both know to whom the sand belongs...

And I don't know much about sandcastles. But children do. Watch them and learn. Go ahead and build, but build with a child's heart.

When the sun sets and the tides take - applaud. Salute the process of life and go home.

GOOD MORNING !

Many many times I’ve built my castles in the sand and it’s never failed to surprise me when they are washed away. I don’t know why I was surprised, I should have learned a lesson along the way, but I hadn’t.

Hopefully, I’ve reached the point in my life now that I’ll have no more surprises and disappointments, because I’ve stopped building the castles. I try very hard to be a day to day person and just accept what comes each day. I’ll take what comes and if doesn’t come that’s ok too. Life happens no matter what we plan so we might just as well accept it and go on.

We had some good showers yesterday afternoon, but no bad storms so that was nice . Today is much much cooler than the previous few days for sure. When I looked at the long range forecast, there was no rain for the rest of the week. Maybe this weekend will finally be the one with no rain. It has rained every weekend since I started camping.

It’s terrific Tuesday. Did you know that one report said people are at their best between 10 and noon on Tuesdays. I’ll have to make sure to keep track of what I do in those hours today and see if I was doing something really well.

The boss said he would be in the office today. He’s been out more than in lately so we’ll see how that goes. I get used to having the office all by myself. Oh well, he’ll be in his office and won’t bother me so that’s ok.

I’m looking forward to having a lunch hour. I haven’t had many of them lately either as if no one else is in, I have to stay in also.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

When I Was A Little Girl

When I was a little girl and we would go to the beach, I would try to play in the water, but the waves scared me. And so, I would run out into the water, and I'd see the waves coming and get scared and run back. But the waves would be faster than I could run and it would always overtake me, and throw me off balance, and I would go tumbling.

Then I learned (someone told me) that the way to deal with the waves was to put your hands out in front of you and jump into them when they came.

Author Unknown

I hope the summer is a great one,

 with lots of fun and excitement.

But should the heat become,

too hot to bear, and should trouble find you,

I hope you'll remember to fly

as gracefully as a butterfly above it all.

Just slip your sunglasses on, kick back,

and let the woes slide on by.

MA

 

 

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