And in the interim, we wait. In between the now and then are the thoughts of expectation because, put simply, we’ve never been here before and we don’t know what to expect.

There were times in school when we would go over history lessons and learn about The Great Depression. We learned about the times of the great plague and quarantines of old days, like black and white stories from the past, and yet, here we are in the middle of something we never thought we would see. No one ever thought we would be here.
But yet, we are.

The ideas we have about you and me or us and anyone else are only as real as we make them out to be. The truth is either way, no matter what we do or what happens next, the sun will continue to go up in the morning and the moon will always take its place in the sky at night. The notion that either you or I will be able to re-litigate the past or change something beyond our control is crazy, but yet, here we are trying as hard as we can to change something we have no control over (like yesterday, for example).
All we have is this, right here and right now. All we have is our energy. All we have is our ability, which is really unstoppable when we use it properly.

You’re beautiful. You do know this, right?
I’d like to invite you to think about something. What does it mean to be truly beautiful?
We often lose ourselves in comparison to others. This is true, especially when it comes to beauty.
This is so when it comes to both social and personal comparisons.

There are times (like yesterday) when the sky is blue and the leaves on the trees are as green as they can be. The roads are free from congestion and the upstate drive is calm and soothing. The scene is pastoral and calm to say the least.
There are times when although everything else has gone crazy, the world has gone mad, life took a turn, and although the normal routine has been interrupted by politics and the threat of a virus (not sure which is worse, by the way) still, the world is really a beautiful place.
There are times when the heart is heavy. There are times when pain comes and redesigns the way we interact with one another. There is loss and there is tragedy, yet still, there are still beautiful things we can discover in this world.

There is an alarm going off right now. This means it’s time to “Wake up!” This means it’s time to open our eyes because life has a way of teaching us things.
However, for some reason, people have a hard time learning. Either way, whether we learn or not, life is always trying to teach us something.
There will always be signs and red flags. There will always be hints and  suggestions and there will always be reasons and excuses why we looked away in the first place.

The question is what’s in a word?
What is in a word that we invest so much in or allow them to either build or destroy us?
Why do we give in so often or allow what someone says to define or decide how we live, think, act or feel?

What is it about a simple word or what people say that can either build us up or rip us apart in the blink of an eye? 
A word can change the face of the day. A word can change perspective. A word can bring a smile or cause a tear.

There is no mistake anymore. In order to move ahead there has to be a strategy. There needs to be a plan because there is no more room for guess work. We already know what we don’t want.
We know about the things we don’t want to feel.
There are times (like now, maybe) when the world is still moving. The sun is out and everyone is living life, but yet, deep down, there is a piece of darkness on the inside that overshadows the light that brightens our path.

I watched an airplane fly off into the sunset last evening. Its wings lifted as the plane turned southwest to fly off into parts unknown.
Usually, I see this and imagine sitting in an airplane with my seat leaned back and my tray-table down. I envision myself going somewhere or anywhere but here.

Ever fish out at sea by yourself?

I was about 8 to 9 miles southeast of the Jones Inlet. The sea was mainly calm with a steady roll of slow-moving waves that swelled beneath the boat. It was quiet.
The air was clear but the sky was gray. Yet, there was no threat of rain. It was just quiet is all. There is no other way to explain it.