Christmas 2014

Only A Ride

Every day I think about friends who have entered and exited my life. During Christmas the thoughts flood in. I’d like to reach out to each and every one.
The messages to be delivered vary greatly. Some speak of immaturity, others of deep thanks; Categories range from hope to prayer (which isn’t a very big chasm if you think about it), understanding to love (again not a country mile apart). I’ve written near all those letters, in a few cases multiple times… Delivery? Well.

It’s not because I haven’t wanted to. More than anything that’s exactly what I’d like to do (for me). Sometimes it’s just not the right thing for everyone involved. So on Christmas Day, to those who know the worst of me, please understand I write your letters everyday. I both shake my fist at myself for the pain and smile at all the good times.

I believe it’s true, in order to know pleasure you must experience pain. In order to recognize Good you must see evil. Finally, every beginning must have an end in order to “Begin Again”.
On this Day of celebration of the Greatest beginning, here’s hoping/ praying you all have a wonderful day. Don’t let love lie unspoken today. Who knows what tomorrow might bring. Thank you all for your entries and exits in my little world.

With Love, Merry Christmas
Signed
William
Will
Willie
Nelson
Willard
Vot
Smallest
Skilinsky
GMoney
And all the other Crazy nicknames y’all have given me…
Sent from my iPhone

Our experience, our lives, our journeys are just that, OURS. We all deal with a unique set of circumstances. Whether your pain comes from a past hurt as a child, a current battle with a disease, a loved one’s struggles, no matter what it is, it is real, unique and your own. The same holds true for our successes, joy and happiness. We all experience different types and derive pleasure from one of a kind circumstances. Wouldn’t life be mundane if that were not the case? Still we often can’t help but worry about how we stack up.

From a young age we are taught about comparisons. We start out free of judgment and ego, but invariably and rather quickly we are conditioned to measure ourselves against and compare ourselves to others. Take for example the height marks on the door jam in the kitchen. Multi-colored dated hash marks with our name on one and our brothers’ and sisters’ on the others. A small, but to me poignant, example.

As adults we spend time measuring ourselves against peers at work, to our neighbors, our relatives, our friends, and even our foes. Then we exacerbate the wasted time by judging both ourselves and the others who are unknowingly participating in our little obsession.

To me it is akin to what I have always thought about swindlers and hustlers. If they would simply put all that ingenious effort into an honest pursuit they would likely be extremely successful. If we’d put all our tape measures aside and focus on the next best right thing for ourselves we will experience a brighter, less stressful existence. After all, you can’t compare an apple and an orange and you sure has hell can’t turn one into the other, so why waste time trying?

Who cares whose pain is worse and happiness greater? Isn’t the point that we all experience hurt and joy? Do the degrees really matter? The types separate true from false?

Today as we deal with our own struggles and celebrate our own successes, let us remember those we come across are living their own set of circumstances. Whether they are smiling or scowling, singing or screaming, we are not privy to the cause so let us accept and be kind instead of judge and compare. Compassion and a desire for the success and happiness of all around us breeds the same for us and more of it for the whole of us. In the big picture we are all connected and that is heavy, good, great stuff.

Have the best unique day you can and remember whether the moment is up or down there is a new beginning every second.

Peace Out
William

9/3/2014

I woke up at two in the morning. Disoriented, I looked around to get a grasp on where I was. The items on the walls were familiar but a bit blurry. The speckled trout and wood duck settled it for me, but were still out of focus. It was then I realized I had fallen asleep with my readers on… I was simply getting a new perspective on a semi- familiar place; my bedroom. The semi familiarity is a story for another time…

As I chuckled about the irony of being virtually lost in one’s own bedroom, a thought struck me; A subtle change in view, simply looking at things “out of focus” can shed new light on anything. It got me thinking about the way we normally view and assess things.

Rules, man made rules, dictate how we read most people, their actions and situations in general. Guidelines give us a standard to compare things to; a list of criteria that tells us what we should think. Since we were children we have been taught right from wrong, good from bad, acceptable from unacceptable. Those rules, thought shapers as it were, give us comfort because the unknown is scary. Different is bothersome. In other words our mental 20/20 vision has been learned and is a product of our environment.

Might I suggest that sometimes we need to look at things with a different lens? When things look wrong to us, when judgement starts to creep in, we might only need to slip on our mental bi-focals. The different view may not ultimately change our opinion, but it could potentially help us more clearly understand the whole picture.

Understanding usually leads to better decision making. Better decisions tend to make for happier people. Happier people give way to more harmony. Harmony opens the door for love and, wait for it…. Love generates Understanding.

I’ll admit it, my 45 years have taken a toll on my “finer” vision. Looking through my receipts, I have begun to find more miss-added totals. Those figures never seem to be in my favor. I get “home cooked” by the vendor enough that waiters and waitresses seem to fight to get me in their section… I use to think it was my glowing personality. Turns out, it was simply my inability to see that caused the happiness factor in the service industry to increase at my local haunts. The addition of a new lens on the check has led to understanding, which has given way to better decisions, thus avoiding bankruptcy and allowing me to continue to frequent said establishments and given a boost to the overall economy. So, Everybody wins!

In my life I have made some really bad decisions based on “part of the story”. I will continue to make mistakes ’cause Im just not all that smart, but I am thankful for new vision that allows me to see the Forest and not just the trees.

If a situation or a someone is bringing you down, put on your mental readers and see if you can get the check to the right total. Here’s hoping your eyesight is adjustable in times of need.

Peace Out
Will

Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Monday, 16 June 2014

Being There

Being There

As I drove to the golf course on the Saturday before Memorial day, Willie Nelson’s duet with Sheryl Crow “Far Away Places” rang through the speakers. Mom and Dad’s kind of music…

I was instantly blessed with the image of Dad standing against the fence in left field watching me play Little League baseball. I was transported to that “not so far away place”.

Just as he always was, Dad is here with me. We walked so many miles together on land and in the water. Played so many games together, told so many stories to one another. I’ll admit being sorry for the fibs I told him… I did so appreciate him letting me get away with most of them, even though he saw right through me.

Dad created with me. Yes we created games together; in the old Country Squire Station wagon with the multi colored doors ( a gift from a wreck in the past). We fought imaginary World War II battles.. The cars were the Yanks and the trucks the Japanese. I was his copilot and gunner and he was the pilot and commander. Of course, We never lost a battle. The imaginary was magical, but Everything else was the great “good stuff”.

We built memories. Unforgettable beauties on all those golf courses, in all those bays, in the mosquito ridden canals, sleeping on rocks, trecking through marshes, picking our way through woods.

Sometimes we talked a plenty. Most times we were just together. Helpful instructions and words of encouragement the only words spoken, and then only when necessary.

I was able to dream, to conjure oneness with nature and God. I was safe and never had a worry with you. What a gift.

From serving our country to protecting and providing for us, Dad was always there, stedfast. In a strange way the silent presence in left field says it all. No judgement, no expectation and present.

Dad made me know that I could conquer the world. I now know he faced fear, but I never had one while with him.

Father’s Day without him? No, he is here. He is with and a part of every one of his 11 children. I see his smile in every one of us. I hear his laugh when you all laugh; see him dance every time I do. Hear him sing when one of us does. He is so very near like he always was.

Happy Father’s Day Dad. With all the love in the Universe.

William Joseph Nelson Sr.

Forgiveness