26 April 2024

The Frozen River of Time

The past never dies, it just freezes, and it trails along behind us
In the frozen river of time like the long tail of a blazing comet.
It is the finger of fate that writes upon the wall and then moves on.
It is the history of our past and cannot be erased by piety nor wit.
Everyone has a record in this history, some long and some short.
It is a record of our world line and all of the squiggles thereupon.
Be mindful of what fate may record in your haphazard biography.
Be careful about what you say and do and to whom you do it to.
Make good choices now so that you won't have to wince later.
We are marching in a grand parade through time immemorial,
Where countless millions have gone before and millions go after.
Many try to leave a mark so that they will never be forgotten.
What will the last one do when there are no more to remember?
Perhaps those fortunate who make it to Paradise will be able to
Watch it all again like episodes of a long streaming video series.
After all, we will have plenty of eternity to watch reruns.


.

09 February 2024

Look forward, not backward!

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of the Holy Spirit.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
Seek not to make them just like you,
For life goes forward and not backward.
They don't care about your memories.
They care only about their own desires.
You are the bows from which your children
Are sent forward as living arrows.
Pray that your arrows go swift and far
And meet the mark that the Lord intended,
For even as He loves the arrows that fly,
He also loves the bow that is good and true. 
​(Bob Mrotek 2024)

.

19 January 2024

Year after year...

Year after year the material desires we long for recede before us
Into the future and we, with arms outstretched, chase after them.
The sad thing about loving material things is they can't love you back.
The "American Dream" as some people call it, the dream of solvency
And equality with liberty and justice for all, will never come true.
Life is not a bitcoin. Time is the one true currency.
When you look up at the clock it's already suppertime;
When you look up at the calendar it's the end of the month;
When you look up, the year is over and many years have passed!
Once a year we hold a festival and all with one accord unite
In brotherly affection and good will, and afterward the rat race continues.
And so we beat on against the current, borne back ceaselessly.
As it was so, it will ever be, and as it first began, so it continues.
But...It doesn't matter how hopeless to us that life may seem.
Don't let a day pass without an effort to make the world a better place.
More shall be given to those who give of themselves.  
For peace and harmony and the greater glory of our Creator.
Between stimulus and response there is a space, and
In that space is our free will power to choose good or evil,
And how we respond determines our freedom and eternal life.
We must love God with our whole heart, and soul, and mind,
And love our neighbors through non-violent self-sacrifice.
Therein lies the mystery. The answer lies in fervent prayer.

.

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. I have been living in Mexico since January 6th, 1999. I am continually studying to improve my knowledge of the Spanish language and Mexican history and culture. I am also a student of Mandarin Chinese.