The list of the Beautiful

Dear one,

The Bride and I are more than one third of the way into our thirty third year of the experience. I really wanted to call this " "thirty two and counting" But strangely, adding "and counting" at this point, thanks to a family in Arkansas due to choices made and choices not allowed, frankly seems sends a very uncomfortable vibe.

We're trying a new thing, inspired by one of the strangely wisest people I know (you should know who you are, but you don't because your wisdom often gets discounted by your lack of knowledge about yourself, by yourself. So yes, it's you, Grace Grace. Surprised? Color me shocked.)

This new thing? No. The Bride won't let me try peyote. Maybe next decade, she'll feel a need to try it herself. I pre-apologize. While we're enjoying crossing off her bucket list, she's got a decidedly different attitude towards my bucket list. Something about blowing a hole in the bottom of the bucket, if I read the Braille in her eye rolls correctly.

The new thing is that, thanks to one of my young friends, we're writing things down. We're going to create the list of Beautiful. So that when we're forced to stop, we aren't overwhelmed by steep climb ahead. When we're tired, and our tendency is to forget Faith or lose track of Truth we remember. When we're battling the voices and we're not sure what is right. When we forget to thank our God for the Good. In those times? the list of beauty.

The Bride told me one of her second grade minions was listening raptly one of her stories about family. "It goes by so quick, doesn't it. Right context I asked? Bride says he nailed it. Said she felt like was a shoulder pat away from "Bless your Heart." But even if the munchkin's comment doesn't seem nearly as founded in personal experience as that of a portly politician speaking about poverty, that doesn't mean he's not correct. Dude knows things. Beauty fades.

Strange, isn't it, that our tendency is to hang on the the pain and forget the joy? We remember the missteps and the misdeeds. Situations and sights and sounds and smells bring back signs of struggle. But beauty? That seems somewhat fleeting. We're preprogrammed to chase it, and it's harder to hang on to. The Bride and I are getting older. So we're taking a page from Grace Grace and we're beginning to write it down. We're committing to one another to build a new habit. We're going to write down daily one joy, or one praise, or one moment for which we're incredibly thankful.

Because Grace Grace got her wisdom from somewhere. Strangely, the God of the Galaxies. Doubt me Grace Grace? OK. I'll play. God of the Galaxies says what? Says this, after posting the Big Ten Commandments on X:

Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.

Why? No, GoG didn't need the ad revenue streams. They're not even copyrighted. They're in public domain. No, the reason is much simpler. So we don't forget. The reason it's important to keep important things in front of us is because the things about which we think and the things about which we talk affect our decision making in a much more powerful way than the things that are rolling around in the back of our brains. The commandments that were given? The recipe for resisting death in the desert. Never were these top ten intended as the highest order of happiness or hopefulness. These words weren't written as a roadmap up to heaven. They're seen as minimum guidelines in a survival strategy. If you want to get to your promised land, it doesn't start with killing Kevin.

Do we need the same list today? Maybe. Because, you know, Kevin is kind of a douche. But maybe other things are exactly as important. I'd argue yes. If we'd put up a copy of the Sermon on the Mount, maybe we wouldn't worry so much about the Big Ten. Or how much of the entire nation is energized by the performance anxiety of a single assistant coach. Strange also is how the never ending expansion of the Big Ten has always been incredibly problematic to all but a few, Or the fact that GoG could also be called the B1G but people mired in history forget about the B1G and only talk about the Big 10. Squirrel Somersault. Just came full circle.

So we're starting our list. Can I encourage you to start yours with those you love? Not just pictures and posts, but real words. Day one for me? "It just goes by so quick , doesn't it." Thanks tiny human. Yes, yes it does.

thus Spake,

Me.