Appreciation

During my morning reading and meanderings around the world wide web and my Bible verse of the day, a common theme seemed for form in my mind.

Too many people don't learn to appreciate where they are and what they have. Always in pursuit of what they believe is better... the proverbial Greener Pasture. But that pasture is an illusion.

God has asked that we learn to find our contentment in what we have. That's the key to happiness.

Happiness isn't about being overwhelmingly giddy or always jumping for joy. Happiness is about acceptance and finding the beauty in the everyday things. Someone who's there for us... the little things they do that we often take for granted.

We all do it at times. We all fail to see the beauty that lies in our own back yard. At times, our own gardens and lawns and walkways don't seem quite as lovely as our neighbors, or those we see in magazines. It's a shame, really, that so many of us believe in the "if only..."

If only, I had that. If only, I had something different than what I have. If only, I had a fancier car. If only, I had a sexier woman/man. If only, I had more money. If only my house were more luxurious.

Well, "if only..." is an illusion and the Bible teaches us that. Where your heart is, that's where your treasure will be. And God knows, if you can't learn to appreciate the treasure you already have, those other things aren't really going to make you happy either. So we must set our hearts on things that are truly of the most value; always remembering that only God Himself can help us see precisely what those things are.

It's all a matter of perspective. All a matter of what you choose to see and focus on.

We should all spend more time enjoying what we have, right in our own back yard, instead of wishing we had our neighbor's. Keep in mind, their yard has weeds and pests and leaves to rake, too many rocks or too few flowers. You simply can't see it from the distance.

What's Going On?

As is obvious, I haven't posted much lately. That's due to several things, one of which is that I've been reading the Hunger Game series by Suzanne Collins. Very good reading. Well written. 

I haven't seen the movie, as I don't go to the theater. I always wait until it's out on DVD. It simply costs too much to go out to see it and I can't pause it and there are more distractions.

The series is great though and I highly recommend it.

Also, our boy shih tzu, Griffin, swallowed a bandana from the groomer. Who'd have thought he could do that? It ended up costing us a trip to the emergency vet (anyone checked those prices lately?) and some serious surgery.

And there was Mother's Day and some doctors appointments and several other things thrown in there. Enough to keep me muddled a bit and not terribly focused on blogging.

I recently saw two of the cardinals (see previous posts). At least two of the three survived. Possibly all three but I have only seen two. I know it's them because they have a strange mohawk head. Two females. They look well fed and I'm thinking they have just left their parents.

Anyway... that's my update. 

Stay tuned for an actual blog post some time soon.

Cover

When another group or person covers a song like "Comfortably Numb" is has to be really good to interest me much. Particularly a song as close to perfection as the original Pink Floyd version. But this one does intrigue me and there's a dreamy quality to the vocals... something ethereal that they brought to it. I like it. It won't replace the original, but it's pretty good.