Bird Droppings November 14, 2012

Can we give more than one hundred percent?

 

It has been an interesting week and past weekend. As I started out trying to get perhaps more done that was humanly possible it still was nonstop and rather exciting.  Even though Georgia Tech has not had a great year in football there is a chance they will be playing for the ACC championship. I need to mow my knee deep back yard and till my garden still. I have a dishwasher sitting waiting on a drain pump so there are many started projects ready for a holiday week off next week.

I took a few moments to sit in my quiet spot before calling it a day yesterday and calmed down my adrenaline a bit from running a hundred miles per hour all day. In one of my readings recently the author suggested taking a few moments to pause and listen. To try and listen to the earth and sounds from nature. It is difficult to sort through the manmade sounds, cars, dogs barking, and various other noises from our technology. As I sat though I heard or should say I was focusing on the sounds of the world. A few crickets even in the chill were chirping away and several birds ending their day singing away. As I sat a chorus of crows was cawing to my right across the field.  I felt at ease as I listened intently for five or six minutes. After I finished fixing dinner and a few minutes of family time I retreated to my writing area and put on some old Neil Yong tunes. I find it is always good to bring back the 1970’s and who better than Yogi Berra to start my Bird Droppings with today.

 

“You give one hundred percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn’t enough, in the second half you give what’s left.” Yogi Berra

 

I remember when Baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra played for the Yankees, a great team player and catcher and later in life a coach. It was back in the day and still now again a yogism would make the headlines, a profound statement somewhere in a jumbled bit of the English language. It may take a moment to rationalize what Yogi is saying perhaps several minutes but always within is some whimsical piece of philosophy well worth the sorting and distorting of the English language.

 

“I want to be remembered as the guy who gave his all whenever he was on the field.” Walter Payton

 

It was not that many years ago, Walter Payton played for the Chicago Bears “Sweetness” was his nickname as he ran over every team they played. Whether the Bears had a good or bad season, Payton always was near the top in professional footballs rushing and receiving stats for running backs. Never would you hear an announcer even hint at Payton not giving all. Throughout his life Walter Payton lived at a hundred percent. When diagnosed with a rare form of cancer he went to work promoting research and organ transplants even though his own illness was too far progressed for a transplant of his own. His legacy lives on in his charitable foundations.

 

“I don’t believe people die from hard work. They die from stress and worry and fear — the negative emotions. Those are the killers, not hard work. The fact is, in our society today, most people don’t understand what hard work is all about.” A.L. Williams

 

Many of you may not remember the name but it was not that many years ago Mr. Williams lived in and around our local Walton County Georgia. When he started he was a PE teacher with an idea and when he retired selling his company to Prime America, and at that time he was worth several billions of dollars. Art Williams was known for his hard work, day in and day out.

 

“A jug fills drop by drop.” Buddha

 

Years ago I recall a bucket sitting under a dripping pipe and one drop at a time does not seem to be much but the bucket would fill every time.

 

“I am a slow walker, but I never walk backwards.” Abraham Lincoln

 

As I rode home yesterday I came upon two runners going down the road near my home. I cautiously approached not wanting to run over them but as I came near I noticed I recognized them, teachers at the High School. I made a comment about how cold it was and was asked how fast they were going, 10 mph, but I was going faster. As I thought later you know what they still got where they were going. Maybe they were not as fast as I was but eventually their goal was attained.

 

“It’s not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.” John Wooden

 

As I think back on days gone by and various games played usually nearly always folks are concerned about who starts. Who’s on the starting team is the heroes chant and never ever does a person brag about who is on the finishing team. Yet those who have made it have completed the game, the task, and they are truly the heroes and the victors. Life too is not about whom starts the game; we all do, but who you are when and how you finish the game. It is about the journey my friends and may we all find that destination we seek. Please keep all in harm’s way on your mind and in your hearts and always give thanks namaste.

 

Wa de (Skee)

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