Aspire to more than rage,

Today I received an email from a person that I had been giving some advice to about changing or upgrading or even trying to make the best of his job. Seems a little ironic that I have done so much of this over the last few years. This individual was referred to me and I have as yet never met him face to face. In looking at the need I had made suggestions and then after talking some on the phone I sort of summed up some ideas and passed them on. Today after a follow up email to ask how it was going the person thanked me for the ideas and said "you ought to write a book".

This comment is one that I have heard a lot the last few years. Seems as though the cast of characters and sequence of events that represent the last 60+ years have become interesting. So I wonder about it. I figure an overview of it all might be worth doing just to save it. It might be of interest to some of the family. Looks like a thin line between capturing something interesting and offending everyone, or maybe half of everyone you have ever known. Hear no, see no, and say no evil or bad or harmful thing seems like a good rule. Then on the other hand the events speak for themselves it seems.

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Dylan Thomas in his poem said,

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

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So this seems clear enough. Since I am getting older maybe I should rage, and rave, get down to some words that will be like forked lightning. It would be easy to be anything but gentle. Sounds like darn good advice but then I can see a contrast in what Dylan has suggested and what can happen. The older one gets the more insight, understanding or at least less surprised one is with events. It becomes easier to purge the rage, and quench the burn and perhaps want to find a gentleness.

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Nevertheless a book might be a good thing. Rage, aspire, use the insight old age brings.

Lord, grant that I might always aspire

to more than I can accomplish – Michelangelo