Dying satisfied

I watched a number of Science channel episodes on the universe yesterday.  They were all quite enlightening.  Not all the information was new.  However, the information turned my mind to how majestic the universe is all over again.  Several of the pictures delivered to us from the Hubble telescope amaze with their clarity of many of the nearby galaxies and galaxy networks.  The number of stars represented in the skies outside the Milky Way is boggling.  The number of planets circling those stars make the mind spin with calculations.

So, when I look up at night from my humble home on Earth and peer through a haze of an atmosphere, my mind goes wild with imagination.  What life is peering back at us outside our galaxy?  Where is that life?  What form does it have?  Have they been around longer than humans?  Are religions the same on all planets?  Does intelligent life have governments like Earth's?  Is there love and marriage and sex on those planets?  Can others exist outside of the three dimensions humans exist in?  What do they know that we don't know?

I feel a little trapped, being here on Earth.  But one day, before I die, I hope to see at least the planets up close and personal in our solar system in all of their holographic beauty.  I would love to simulate walking on Neptune or flying past Pluto.  I can die satisfied whenever that happens.

Flags we see

Life many times unfurls like a flag.  We have been told by those older than we are what the flag looks like, but we are only able to see the flag for the first time as it unfurls.  We make our plans based on what we have been told that the flag looks like, but really, we shouldn't.  The flags are sometimes similar, but at least half of the time, the flags are unique.  And, we don't know during which unfurling the flag will be the same or different.

I say this because I had counted on the flag being the same as I was told when I embarked on adulthood.  As it stands now, my flag has only been similar in some instances as my former generation's flags.  It also has been true that the older I get, or the more the flag unfurls, the more different it appears from what was told to me or what I had expected.

I have noticed that some people hate their flags as they see it for the first time, seeing what they expected.  They were hoping to see something they didn't expect.  I also have noticed that many think they can predict accurately what they will see as the flags new portions appear to them.  Satisfaction in life is based on reactions to the flags they see.  I am working on my reactions.  I have been sorely mistaken at times.  I know I can't predict accurately, so I am left with molding an attitude of satisfaction as I learn to react with a beautiful spirit.

Spending money

I'm one of those that doesn't spend my leisure moments performing manual labor if I have made the money to pay for a service.  I would rather spend leisure time doing hobbies I like or going places that give me pleasure.  One of those jobs I freely entrust to other hands is mowing my lawn.

Each Saturday I count out the money for my lawn mowing person and put it into an envelope with his name on it.  My granddaughter, who spends most Saturdays with me,  either watches or helps me fill the envelope.  When it comes time to pay the person, I let her hand the envelope to him.  She takes great pride in helping to pay for the lawn.

A week ago, I was about to go for groceries at the store.  I was rounding up my money from wallet and the place I empty my pockets.  My granddaughter saw me and wanted to help pay for the groceries.  she went to the place we had envelopes, then to her little money box that she keeps because she is learning how to save and how to count money.  She put a fair amount of change of different denominations, which she thought was a lot of money, and handed it to me.  "Use this."

I smiled really big, told her thanks.  It took me a couple of minutes more to round up my keys and get ready to go, and as I was leaving, she said, "Don't forget to spend my money."  I thanked her prolifically.

My granddaughter is 4 years old.  I was humbled at what a child works hard at contributing to a larger cause.  Somewhere up the path of life that principle gets reversed.  I love her purity of heart, singleness of purpose, and all-for-one attitude.   Life taints I know.  But what a crystal clear memory I have of a time when her heart was pure beyond belief!