It was my birthday on Saturday (yay!) and we had a wonderful day! We went out for breakfast and had some REAL eggs benedict (unlike the ones our friend Norm had in New York :-P ). We then took our little girl fishing for the first time :) In the evening we had a few close friends come for dinner where we ate the fish our daughter caught (with some help from her Daddy :)
As in all my previous birthdays, I can say that I am another year older (dah!) but this year, unlike other birthdays gone by, I can also say with certainty that I am another year "wiser". In fact, I probably learned more this year that in all my previous years combined. Pain, afterall, is a great teacher.
After everyone had left and my wife and little girl had gone to bed, I was sitting in the living room with a beer, just "savoring" the day that had gone. My ipod was playing a song that seemed to be speaking to me. It's a song called "See the World" by Gomez (a GREAT tune from the House, MD soundtrack):
See the World
Day to day, where do you want to be?
Cuz now you're trying to pick a fight with everyone you see
You seem like a soldier
who's lost his composure
You're wounded and play a waiting game
in No-Man's-Land no one's to blame
(Chorus)
See the world,
Find an old fashion girl
And when all's been said and done
The things that are given, not won, are the things that you want
Empty-handed, surrounded by a senseless scene
With nothing of significance besides the shadow of a dream
You sound like an old joke
You're worn out, and brok-en
Asking me time and time again
And the answer's still the same (to Chorus)
You have a chance to put things right, so how's it gonna be?
Lay down your arms now
And put us beyond doubt.
So reach out it's not too far away
Don't mess around now, don't delay
I don't know if it was the day, the song, or the beer (probably the beer). But I found myself having a quiet "Okay...now what?" moment. Having "won it all" and then "lost it all", I have learned to appreciate the line in the chorus that says "The things that are given, not won, are the things that you want."...
So, on the night that I became another year "older", I took stock of what I have been "given", and decided on a "wiser" way of living the rest of my "new" life...
I have been given grace. I will live to extend grace even to those who have injured me.
I have been given forgiveness. If it takes the rest of my life to do it, I will strive to forgive those who have hurt me.
I have been given a story and a message. I will live my life to tell it.
I have been given incredible gifts of communication. I will use them to communicate what I have learned to others: Through writing, through speaking, through music.
Here's to living with what I have been given, rather than living for what I want to win.
Monday, August 18, 2008
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4 comments:
Hey man, don't knock that nouveau eggs benedict...it was amazing! :P
N.
祝你越來越聰明, 越來越醒目, 越來越靚仔! :) 飲勝!
cc 姐
happy belated :)
i'm so happy God's finally unveiling the bigger picture for you & i'm excited to be reading more from what you're learning!
hey norm, if his eggs benedicts comment is anything like his dan tat = creme brulee thing then don't worry about his comment :P
alf, glad to hear that you're seeing some light and not just darkness :)
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