“Man does not live by a turkey in every oven or a color TV set in every home. Man lives by faith and hope and love, by the star on the horizon, by the trumpet that will not call retreat.”

– E. Merrill Root

(1895-1973) American Writer

In the quest to have as much material stuff, it’s easy to get lost in the acquiring of all that loot and the managing of all of it. It all must be open, set up, cared for, put away, maintained and used. TV in the bath, the den, the kitchen, the dressing closet, the garage, which do you watch, well, all of them, I guess. When do you watch them?

I am now at the point in my life when I just need to get rid of stuff. I can’t add another room to my home, I won’t get a storage bin or pay for extra stuff. I can’t wear all my shoes, shirts, and sox. I have too much. It’s is a burden to me and makes a mess. What I need is a pair of glasses that will help me see that star on the horizon and a new hearing aid to always hear that trumpet that calls to me daily to move forward in my life and never retreat.

The noise of life can keep us for looking forward to the single goal in our lives. The still small voices that call to us daily are drowned out by the noise of too many demands that hit us daily. Even the trumpet of triumph can be drowned by the roar of the traffic of “must do’s” that yell to us constantly.

“You, enlightened, self-sufficient, self-governed, endowed with gifts above your fellows, the world expects you to produce as well as to consume, to add to and not to subtract from its store of good, to build up and not to tear down, to ennoble and not degrade. The time is short, the opportunity is great; therefore, crowd the hours with the best that is in you.”

– John Hibben, , 1913 graduation address

president of Princeton University

Yes, our time in life is truly short. 70 years old is 613,200 hours of life, 80 years old is 29,200 days, but 20 years is only 7300 days and 40 is only 14,600 days. At 62, I now realize that I must do what I love in life. Listen to the best music, eat the healthiest foods, sleep and rest enough (hard for me), keep a good weight (my metabolism has shut down!), stay away from TV and too much Internet, speak highly of others, don’t get too angry and don’t be a nasty person. Offer a helping hand, be strong when needed and be supportive when possible.

“Instead of always harping on a man’s faults, tell him of his virtues. Try to pull him out of his rut of bad habits. Hold up to him his better self, his real self that can dare and do and win out.”

– Eleanor Porter (1868 – 1920)

American Novelist

I often think what would happen to my staff if I only praised them on their better selves, the self that dares to win out. What would happen if I corrected less and praised the good and said more words of encouragement than correction? I am trying to work on this. Life is hard enough as it is, and I certainly do not need to create an atmosphere of negativity. Telling others of their virtues is still a huge goal for me daily.

“The naked truth is always better than the best dressed lie.”

– Ann Landers (1918 – 2002)

Columnist

The truth is that we take with us what we bring into our lives, nothing but the legacy of life that we leave behind, the lives that we touched, the words of wisdom we gave, and the love we shared. The richest person and the poorest person in the world are the same at birth and death. This is truth to me, so I had better store up the riches that I can leave behind that will not tarnish, be sold or given away, or perish. The lives that I can change will be my legacy and my wealth.

Live by faith, hope and love!

Thanks for reading!

David Earl Woodbury

Keep on Dancing!

DavidEarlWoodbury@gmail.com

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