The father of one of our closest friends passed away at the end of April at the age of 92. To hear it told, he’d lived a very full and rich life. One of the things he left for the generations to follow was a collection of poems, sayings, and other bits of wisdom he’d gathered since he was 17 entitled, “Bread for the Journey”. Every once in a while, I’m going to pick something from there to share with you.
The first is an excerpt from Sidney Jourard‘s 1971 book entitled, The Transparent Self:
“A person lives as long as he experiences his life as having meaning and value and as long as he has something to live for — meaningful projects that inspire him and invite him to move into his future. …
[People] die after the loss of money, work, their beauty, their sexuality, or a loved one, or status when they discover they are no longer the persons they believed themselves to be. …
When this ground for his existence is outgrown or lost, a person may begin to die. It is time for him to stop that way of life and invent a new way. Society needs a new specialist, one who helps people find new projects when their old ones which made life livable have lost their meaning.”
Other excerpts from "Bread for the Journey"
More Friday pot pourri
American Administration “angry” at Putin for not showing his commitment to peace in Ukraine
“Ceasefire?” Trump, Putin, and the selling out of Ukraine
Will Allen Dromgoole – “The Bridge Builder”
“Three Million Acres of Flame” – A review
It’s OUR OWN stories that speak most to us!
“Imagining Imagining”: Wisdom from award-winning author Gary Barwin
Flag Day is February 15 in Canada
Global communication: These are the “good old days”
The blind men and the elephant
Resolutions for 2025 for a man in his mid-60s
Basketball has changed in the past 40 years – but has it changed for the better? (Part 2)
Basketball has changed in the past 40 years – but has it changed for the better? (Part 1)
Thanksgiving 2024: Gratitude for those who share this writing journey with me
Another trip to Ireland in the books in 2024
The day in 1980 I struck a blow for Canada
Interesting place names in New Brunswick and Alberta
Ukrainian independence in the face of cowardice and appeasement
Ukrainian invasion of Russia??!
Steiner – What does it mean to live a “good” life?
Bremen, Indiana – “A good town”
Unreturned messages: A New Brunswick particularity?
“Zelensky” (the boat, not the man) has moved on to other seas
Moving to a new community: Take the first steps
The brilliant thesis advisor I never had: Professor Ivan Lysiak Rudnytsky (1919-1984)