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HOLD YOUR HORSES
Wednesday Sept. 21, 2011
this column written and published from my residence in Cranston (SE Calgary) near the Bow River valley
Morning walk: 4C/39F, clear crisp and calm; Gusta wanted to play with lap dogs coming around the corner but then opted for the freshly sprinklered soccer field grass as our playground du jour.
Good things come to those who wait. And carpe diem
When life gives you a lemon, make lemonade.
Wake up and smell the coffee.
Hold your horses, get your ducks in a row, get your butterflies flying in formation – we’ve all heard and used so many of these clichés. My gag-reflex is triggered each time I hear going forward. But my horses are chomping at the bit.
But cliché is important. Because ideas and feelings resonate around them.
Yesterday, today and tomorrow . . . going forward:
Great food, venue and service highly conducive to creativity. Brain fueled – ample measure of caffeine, adrenalin and endorphins – opportunity elixir, an intoxicating brew that led to intermittent rest and great brain candy . . .
Symbolic hinge halves, of yesterday; meeting with KC over dinner at Janice Beaton’s FARM restaurant was no doubt the knuckle in the middle of that hinge . . . because, you see, yesterday brought two wise old lessons together in one day.
One, an old cliché - “when one door closes, another door opens”. The other, the morning after - cute phrase and a song cue.
We’ve all heard, and used, this one - “when one door closes, another door opens”, or words to that effect. The full quote: “When one door closes, another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell
The morning after a great idea, the morning after a great meeting, the morning after (insert activity here).
There was a fascinating opportunity that did not work out. One which would have been fantastic; and yesterday was my feel-sorry-for-myself day. It would have been marvelous . . . but someone else will solve that problem, in different ways than I would have, and if that would have worked out I would not be available for this exciting opportunity.
And, good for me. Sure, I licked my wounds – felt sorry for myself for a day; one is OK, but two would be overdoing it. And, this morning, is my morning after.
One challenge, in having lots of coffee with dinner, is that easy sleep doesn’t follow. I am so glad of that. So many ideas percolating, still, have energized me more than I would have imagined.
Ideas and energy are wild crazy things, unless they are harnessed – like horses, all pulling in the same direction; reigned in they can be made to plod, but a team of horses pulling in one direction have enormous power.
This new opportunity may not be everything I think it will be, but for the moment it is a spark for my plug, fuel for my engine and a dreamscape to paint . . .
And, just a few minutes ago, e-mails came in providing next-step and next-meeting information following last night’s discussion.
I won’t count my chickens before they’ve hatched, but I’ve put on another pot of coffee . . . because the early bird gets the worm.
Mark Kolke
309,380
Comments Received:
HAVE A VAGUE IDEA
Hang in there! Hoping tomorrow finds you in the alternate "excited" state of mind. I've never been one to yell, and I've always taken the cliché, "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" to heart - and it's served me well. I've always found things go so much smoother when you're nicer than you have to be, CJ, Beaumont, AB
Is a majikal (yes majikal) thing..many forms it takes...one maybe touched by a sigh.. a pause...spoken picture or rhyme..a hand..lips.brushing as soft as a breath .. across the wrinkled furrowed brow...A hand taking yours.. without hesitation just a bit of squeeze... a smile saved for you when you least expect it....The glory of a tree golden as it embraces fall.. stubborn flowers hanging to the last moment to fall. The first drops of rain on an up turned face.. the squeal of a child..happy bark of a pup.. Love of a lover.. Embrace of the wind..turn of a page with the next act to begin...Or maybe an author.. each day opening a heart to express the private reaches of his soul... The best we can bring in a day is a smile deep in the heart of dismay... , SJ, Evanston, WY
NOT JUST A PLAIN RIDE
your dreams are certainly more interesting than mine..., SB, Calgary, AB
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