Fifth Sunday "Get up and Walk"

 

Avenue at Middelharnis (1689) by  Meindert Hobbema
National Gallery, London

All religions will pass, but this will remain: simply sitting in a chair and looking in the distance.  V.V. Rozanov, Solitaria, 1912

At a time when our lives have been slowed down by isolation and immobility, there is a lot to be said for just being able to sit and stare.  I have a pair of binoculars on my table and make a mad dash for them as I see what might be a woodpecker, or gold crest, in the branches of a tree.  If all is stripped away, what are we left with?  Because this is all that is important.   

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven

What would you prefer, expensive perfume, or a good reputation?

The day of your death is even more significant than your birth.

Funerals are more meaningful than parties.

Sorrow is more profound than laughter.

Sorrow can change your destiny.

A fool ignores death with many distractions.

 

Extortion and bribes corrupt the heart.

Finishing is more significant than starting.

Move on from the ‘good old days’.

Wisdom and wealth are a powerful combination;

But it is wisdom that saves your life.

 

Accept what the Creator has done,

Building with the crooked beams of humanity (cf Immanuel Kant)

Enjoy what you have today.  Remember that it might change.

Nothing is certain in this life

 

I have seen beautiful young people cut down, and the wicked grow old in luxury.

 

How to find a balance in life?

Just as I try to be humble, happy and wise,

These are out of my reach.

I easily find the opposite;

No problem there.

 

I believe that the Creator intended us to be perfect,

But each of us has followed our own downward path.

PRAYER: When all is taken away, I am left with only you.  You are all I need, and I bless you.