Tracks In The Dust

A Father's Advice About Learning the Mission of Life

Archive for the tag “Joy”

19 Dec 2014

House Full Of Love

Something that has become much more evident since my wife and I became “empty-nesters.” We love the evenings of solitude, but we miss the “activity” of the house we once had. Four grown up kids later we realize that with that activity came much more.

Sure there was the worry about where your kids were in those teen years when they were “just going out with friends”. Yes there were those late night phone calls with urgent requirements ( I won’t explain, but some of you understand I am certain).

In the end the house was full of motion. We tried to create a “house full of love” that our children could feel comfortable to bring their friends to. To share in the laughter and the angst of growing up together. Rock music bumping loud enough to rattle the ceiling fans. video games going into the early mornings, mysteriously missing food from the pantry, laughter and doors opening and closing frequently.

Believe me some of it got on our nerves as parents, but we knew it would end someday and we were happy to know that our kids were okay. Several of their friends have become like part of our family and we still enjoy hearing from them. Sometimes we hit and sometimes we missed with our kids. Some of our kids understood it and some truly didn’t understand the gift.

Today as they are all adults and moved out, we still truly enjoy them bringing friends (significant others too) over, sharing a meal, relating to the world in so many more levels now than in years gone by. What joy it can bring.

It really is a gift of life, and makes for great moments to share and remember.As my wife and I work to enjoy the passage of time, as we have come to realize that our time here on earth is short and we have come to cherish it even more. At this holiday season what we want more than anything that can be wrapped up with a bow is to embrace our “house full of love”.

For your parents out there with younger kids or adults, you will no doubt at one point or another in the next few weeks step back and take in the moment. It is the only one like it and then time moves on. Embrace it as one of the greatest gifts.

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life and tagged Acceptance, Advice, Change, choices, Christmas, Faith, Family, Grace, Happiness, Hope, Joy, life is precious, Memories, moments, Parents, Self-Awareness

09 Dec 2014

I Want Music Everywhere

For a lot of us who are music enthusiasts (and perhaps many who aren’t) it feels like we have a soundtrack for our life stored up on our imaginary music list in our heads. Movies, television and other media help encourage the idea that we are in our own sort of “movie” or video, and we are working through our lives with a soundtrack.

These days it is easy to walk through an airport or mall and see people with headphones on. Over the ear Beats headphones (among others) can shut off the rest of the word pretty well and allow for a full scale stereophonic soundtrack to be playing while you are living your daily life.

When I was very young there was “transistor” radios that made portable soundtracks possible. Then in the car, then on tape with the Walkman, then CD’s and ultimately iPods and MP3 players. All designed to allow for a portable soundtrack to play as we moved along our lives from one interaction to another. Even when we are interacting at gatherings, or out in the clubs – we have another soundtrack that complimented our feelings and emotions of the moment.

Perhaps there are some brainwaves that are stimulated by it… allowing for us to be in our own personal movie in our head. Perhaps it is just an emotional indicator for how we see life at the moment, or a way to create the mood we need…. Just watch out for the screen credits to roll (ha)!

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life, Life's Sound Track (Music) and tagged choices, Happiness, Joy, Life Soundtrack, moments, Music, Opinion, Rock music, Self-Awareness

25 Sep 2014

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The Colors of Your Mood

Changing moods. Something that we all experience at many times in the course our lives, in the course of a minute, hour or day in fact.. Although we may dream that we can be happy every day, there are going to be a lot of times that we are not.

Our moods come in all colors in our lives don’t they?

Blue- we have those days. We have those times. We sing them, we are them. Blues

Black- those specific days we want to never live again – the black day

Red- Those angry days

Grey- those days of emotion, of loneliness or despair

Yellow- happiness? caution? urgency?

Our best answer to manage our lives is to understand our “true colors” and make the choices that help to color our attitudes.

What are the colors of your moods? The color of your world?

Cyndi Lauper – True Colors

Donovan- Colours – a songwriter of many colors indeed.

Posted in Life's Sound Track (Music) and tagged choices, Cyndi Lauper, Donovan, Emotion, Happiness, Hope, Joy, life is precious, Memories, moments, Music, Postive Thinking, Self-Awareness, Sprituality

20 Jun 2014

Perils

No doubt about it – there are going to be “perils” . That’s the term insurance companies use when they are talking about those “risks” we want to be insured against.

Things like illness, loss of property, accidents and inclement weather and all of those things that have a chance of happening at some point – so insurance companies what us to be “safe”.

But what amazes me most is that we work so hard to attempt to recognize them. But it seems we are always in denial. What ever the perils are we want to know about them, but we don’t want someone to stop us from being in the way of them.

We are good with the idea that today’s industries are polluting the world, but we are not willing to give up their benefits of energy and goods that make our immediate life easier.

There are so many ways we could be safer, could avoid some of life’s perils. But it seems that protection could come with the sacrifice of our freedom to experience them. So experience we do- and then we are amazed when people step into the perils of life and living. It becomes the fodder for Internet news daily.

But doesn’t it seem that we are always in denial of that fact that we could be “next”? Some poor person, group, country has made a blunder beyond belief, but we are always thinking that “that’s not me” and we will be just fine. No perils in our way.

Do you notice that there are always other “do gooders”: that are out there trying to help us avoid these perils? Yet we reject their help in the sacrifice for independence, for freedom. Maybe that is from our childhood? When we were young (and even as we got older) our parents and teachers would warn us of perils – “be careful” – “don’t do that” – but we would not listen. We would want to go ahead anyway.

We would desire our independence and work on our own to just avoid them, but we don’t. We embrace our freedom. Freedom to be stupid on our own perhaps. Freedom to make mistakes, and perhaps- just maybe- freedom to be ignorant of the reality of what is really important.

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life and tagged Acceptance, Being Safe, choices, Danger, Doubt, Fear, Happiness, Joy, life is precious, Perils, Postive Thinking, Recognizing Danger, Risk, Taking Chances, Uncertainty

07 Jun 2014

If It Makes You Happy

“If it makes you happy, then why are you so sad?” Great words from a great song that my family loved. It is just an easy question that can sometimes have the most difficult answer.

But really what is it that makes you happy? Is it goodness, something that you can cherish and embrace and love because you are you?

Then why the hell are you so sad (as the song goes)? Life is so very short and then it is over and we can look forward to the eternity ahead. But in the mean time we all need to get more inspired. There is so little time, and while we are here on Earth we have to make our tracks.

We have to embrace those things that are positive, make the best of them and be sure we are “right” with our world first. Before we are right with the rest of the world and all it offers, before we try to search for the meaning of life for others, we need to understand our meaning.

It is “purpose”- and those that defer purpose, or decline it all together are missing so much. I mean do they look at it like “first you live, then you die and make the most of everything in-between”? Or do you look at it as the more you embrace the purpose of life, the more happy you will be?

“If it makes you happy” doesn’t mean to do whatever you want and damn the circumstances. It means what really makes you happy when you understand the purpose of what you are doing here. Understand your part in the process of life, and it is a grand scheme… but a good one.

So advice to my kids: make sure you enjoy it, but be sure you understand your purpose. And look for it- when it arrives be sure to embrace it- and you will be happy.

Here ya go kids. What we used to sing in the car as loud as we could. If it Makes You Happy!