My Writings (New 10)

What is Life?

What is Life?
An emptiness in the night,
A troubled heart,
A wondering and not knowing,
A going to and fro,
But always staying the same,
A hurrying, worrying hither and yon,
a sickness of people and society,
A darkness on every hand,
A flame that consumes,
A desire unfulfilled,
And a longing unappeased,
Is life.

What is life?
Hands that tremble,
Eyes that water,
A throbbing temple,
Fear as old as the hills,
The horror of the unknown,
Broken hopes and broken dreams,
A wrapping up in,
And a disgust for,
A going to the summit,
And falling into the pit,
Being all and nothing,
Riding the white horse,
And being ridden by the dragon,
A diamond studded crown,
And a garland of thorns,
A key to knowledge,
And a path to ignorance,
Ghosts from the past,
And shadows from the future,
Is life.

The Wonder of Life

Slowly, haltingly we come to appreciate life. We awake one morning and God reveals to us all the promise, beauty, and majesty life has to offer. As a window opened revealing a marvelous scene our heart takes in this new serenity of soul.

It sometimes takes a lifetime before we become endeared to life in it's true sense of beautiful simplicity. Albeit how wise, we must become humble to truly appreciate and love life.

The promise of life is unlimited. The living have the stars within their grasp. Life is a treasure whose value is inestimable, a diamond of lustre toobright to look upon.

The Chamber of Horrors

Nothing is more frightening than those thoughts concocted by the mind. The mind can be a chamber of horrors. All we fear and dread lie chained there in the mind ready to be unleashed at the first opportunity. Once freed the horrors of our mind can drive us to the brink of insanity.

The monstrous thoughts of our mind rage to and fro threatening to devour us with their venomous force. The mind can exhibit the greatest serenity of thought on occasion as the thoughts are so calm one doubts any desturbance could create a turmoil, but in an instant the madness can strike, and terrible burning thoughts roar forth as we are at the mercy of those dark and desperate thoughts.

How the thoughts grasp at what is sinister, and will not let us escape, dwelling on the heinous and dispicable, the grim and unhappy aspects of life. The mind is also the reservoir of unpleasant memories, guilt, and regret, dire imaginings, terrible grief and sadness, exorbitant melancholy, uncontrollable anxieties, morbid fears, and manias all bent on rendering us into a state of emotional collapse.

The mind is exceptionally adept at fashioning the most grotesque and worst of situations, and of plunging us into hours of mental agony. The contemptible thoughts hold sway over our entire body, churning and burning our stomach and intestines, tensing and unsettling our nerves, causing insomnia and lack of appetite, completely disrupting our physical body, and darkening our spiritual outlook as well.

The mind and our thoughts have such power, and can cause such distress and unrest, that we wish we had the power to turn the mind off at times. Oblivion would almost be preferable to the stormy mind at times.

Violence

Violence is a seed from which sprouts a thousand woes. Human beings are at times the instruments of violence. Our world is increasingly threatened by this compulsion of people and nations for violence. In an age where catastrophic destructive power is readily available to people who would commit violence, an instant of unthinkable horrible violence can so transform our world as to make it virtually unlivable.

There exists within the human heart a capacity for evil, and for aggravating and violating every known law and code of conduct, even to the extent of sacrificing one's ownself to appease the hunger for destruction and violence.

Pehaps there will come a day when human beings overcome the violence within them, and learn to direct their energies toward peaceful constructive channels-a day of peace and good will for all who exist on the earth.

The Mind

The mind is the final frontier. We have only begun to explore the wonders to be found in the mind. It is true there are darknesses and horrors there, but the wonders and the capacity of the mind to perceive and create good and beauty far outweigh all that is negative.

I think that the farther that human beings go without, and the greater their achievements and discoveries, the greater will be our need to explore within the territory of the mind. It is unwise to go very far outward without going an equal distance inward. We can only control the outward as we are controlled by the inward.

Only a minute part of the mind's power and capacity has been tapped and utilized. The human race is only in its infancy in understanding the mind, and using the mind's energy and full potential. One of the greatest wonders of the universe is the mind and its thoughts. For in a sense without our thoughts nothing could exist for us, but with our thoughts everything can exist, and anything lies within the realm of possibility. Thoughts cannot be limited, therefore we cannot be limited so long as we have our mind and thoughts.

What a marvelous thing God has instilled in a human being, the mind, the ability to think and reason, the ability to chose right or wrong, the ability to learn and create, and the ability to comprehend all the other things of creation.

Perhaps one of the most amazing abilities of the mind is our ability to communicate and express ourselves, and to let other people know how we feel and what we are thinking, and to feel and express our love and tenderness for one another, and work together toward common goals. Without that ability of the mind for self expression and communication civilization and society would not exist.

Rainy Days

I like rainy days. There is something about rainy days that is so soothing, peaceful, and relaxing. Rainy days are the perfect days for thought and meditation.

Sunny days are great, but they are so bright and the pace is quicker and less conducive to pensive contemplation. On a day when the rain falls slowly the mind drifts naturally and easily down a channel of thought much as a canoe under the influence of agentle current.

Although I love sunny days, I count myself fortunate to live rainy days as well.

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Email: walterwestfall@webtv.net