Friday, August 13, 2010

RANDOM QUESTION/AUGUST THOUGHT

HERE'S A QUESTION

It always helps to hang one's thoughts on those of someone whose thoughts have reigned supreme throughout history. Say like Leonardo de Vinci who famously said: "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

So simply speaking: What is the most dangerous idea in the world today....?

Some have said, "The current idea that being human is not all that important!" Others say, "The bilge of free-range ideas spilling out of the Internet!" Still others argue, "Relativism!" Not a few have tossed in, "Capitalism!" Then there are those from Alaska to Arizona who insist, "It's Obama!"

This is no survey; but it would be fascinating to hear back some answers to this question.

HERE'S AN AUGUST THOUGHT

Seasons come, seasons go, all part of the cosmic symphony that all too often we take all too much for granted. But one thing's for sure -- you can always tell when the music is shifting into a different key. Right now it's happening again. Right on schedule.

Fall is in the air....! That certain distinctive bite of pungency that catches your nostrils in the late afternoon. Just as winter's frigidity, spring's fragrance, and summer's fire do when it's their cue.

However, there's something special about the symphonic segue from August into September. September is not only a new month and a new season, it's also a new beginning. Not January -- that's simply a name on a calender -- but September which always augurs the unofficial beginning of the new year. The start of school...the start of the TV season...the start of the holidays...along with that little extra burst of emotional energy which comes from winding down what-has-been and starting up what-is-once-again-possible.

Everyone feels the key shift, each in our own way. Mothers usually have wardrobes to change and homework to watch over....fathers often have new job assignments and quotas...teachers and custodians and coaches and crossing guards are all resurrected from their brief slumbers...and kids, well, kids reluctantly realize their summertime Tom Sawyer/Becky Thatcher gig has come to another end.

Oh, sure, there are city committees crunching budgets, snow salt supplies being ordered, and another November election to fight over. Each in their own way important. However, what's truly important in these next several weeks is that our planet is starting to tilt into a new seasonal orbit and into a new seasonal key to the symphony.

If we listen with our hearts, it seems to be in the key of: "Here's another chance..."





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