My Dash* ~ Inspirational Sunday

G’day everyone,
 
To kick off Inspirational Sunday’s series of posts, I want to thank those who have inspired me or entered my life to encourage me to reach for what I believed was beyond possible.
 
I appreciate the support I’ve received over the years to pursue my writing adventure. My wife, father, grandparents, and especially my sister, have been openly supportive. My sister gets special accolades because she kept pushing and shoving me to remain focused on writing during a period of self-doubt. I gladly let her take on the media and promotional challenges inherent to writers who self-publish.. She’s let me enjoy writing again.
 
I do write using pen names, but the results have been far from desirable.
 
I also want to acknowledge  a very special family who opened their hearts and home to my sister and me. What they provided was stability — role models for how less convoluted life could be.
 
Then, there’s my belief in God. He and/or She has always been extremely important to me.. I am wiser and stronger, more compassionate and kind — characteristics granted to me by the grace of God. S/He helped grow our family at a time when it shouldn’t have been financially possible. Yet, we have four children. They are beginning to see the magic and mystery of life, and they appreciate all that God grants us.
 
Many know that I’ve enjoyed playing guitar for years. Music is in my blood — I search out rhythms in the sounds that surround us. I am blind, but I am grateful that I am not deaf. Without music, without the laughter of my kids, without the sweet sound of my wife’s voice, and without hearing the cacophony of the world, I believe I’d be an extremely depressed man.
 
I believe we’re only given the load we can bear. Yes, I lost almost all of my eyesight, but I’m grateful that its decay spanned decades — I got to see the world, other cultures, colors, my family, beaches, Australia (the coolest place ever), and so much more. I get around just fine, and I’m thankful for the training I received. It has provided me with the independence I need to feel whole.
Somewhere I read that you either get on with living, or you get on with dying.. , but whichever path you choose, get on with it. I choose the joy in living.

Do you see, do you feel, all the miracles that surround us every day? Physics says hummingbirds shouldn’t be able to fly. God knows differently. Isn’t it amazing that our planet wobbles in such a way that we get long seasons and a spread where most of Earth receives direct sunlight all year long? I can’t imagine I’m the only person who marvels at the beauty, simplicity, complexity, and amazing fit of our universe, our galaxy, our solar system, and our planet. I’m continually in awe of God’s reach and talents.

How are you living your "Dash"?
~R.J.

*Creative acknowledgement: THE DASH, a poem by Linda Ellis (www.thedashpoem.com)
{Footnote from "The Sister". This man, R.J., is amazing, brilliant, articulate, smart, exceptional, and a great brother. He is a good husband, father to his 4 children, and beautiful soul. I just wanted you all to know. Oh, and it is called, "Sister Poetic License" to add a footnote to a page. Just saying!}

Comments