Thought for today:
"I believe that everthing we do, everyone we meet and every obstacle we cross on our journey of life is put in our path for a purpose. Things happen because they were meant to be and fate is rarely prone to accidents and moments of chance.
Admittedly, we need faith to travel unexplored paths of uncertain outcome, but we can usually bet that when we find a path without obstacles, it doesn't lead anywhere worth going. There are so many paths that we can follow and by a different path we each are prone to stray.
There were many times in my life when I went down the wrong path and found myself in the wrong place; a time when I found myself without compass and moral moorings. Fortunately at such times fate stepped in and someone was there who believed in me enough to give me 'a second chance' to take a new path. Indeed, I was to stray from the path of goodness so frequently that like many a sinner, I needed 'second chances' four, five, six and many more times than I care to remember before I found the strength to stay on course.
While my father, who'd had a hard upbringing as a child, often warned me against choosing the path of least resistance as the right one to follow, my mother had more hope in me and my eventual choice. She cared not which path I took so long as 'I chose it' and didn't walk it in blind ignorance or neglectful intent. The one piece of advice she gave me which I now paraphrase was, 'Remember, Billy, all the schooling and learning you've had is useless, unless you can use it to ease your journey and the passage of others.'
So I tossed a coin in the air to decide which parents' advice was best for me to follow. You know, tossing a coin doesn't of itself decide one's future by which side it falls to ground. It is that briefest of moments when it is in the air that it comes to you what you really want. My mother's path seemed much easier to follow and along it, I'm happy to say, I found my puddle of peace and contentment.
And while I haven't yet reached my journey's end, all of the beautiful people I've met along the way has made the travel worth any hurt or heartache I've been asked to bear. I hope it is a while yet before the finishing post comes into view as I still need a few more 'second chances' before I get some other things right." William Forde: February 24th, 2015.
"I believe that everthing we do, everyone we meet and every obstacle we cross on our journey of life is put in our path for a purpose. Things happen because they were meant to be and fate is rarely prone to accidents and moments of chance.
Admittedly, we need faith to travel unexplored paths of uncertain outcome, but we can usually bet that when we find a path without obstacles, it doesn't lead anywhere worth going. There are so many paths that we can follow and by a different path we each are prone to stray.
There were many times in my life when I went down the wrong path and found myself in the wrong place; a time when I found myself without compass and moral moorings. Fortunately at such times fate stepped in and someone was there who believed in me enough to give me 'a second chance' to take a new path. Indeed, I was to stray from the path of goodness so frequently that like many a sinner, I needed 'second chances' four, five, six and many more times than I care to remember before I found the strength to stay on course.
While my father, who'd had a hard upbringing as a child, often warned me against choosing the path of least resistance as the right one to follow, my mother had more hope in me and my eventual choice. She cared not which path I took so long as 'I chose it' and didn't walk it in blind ignorance or neglectful intent. The one piece of advice she gave me which I now paraphrase was, 'Remember, Billy, all the schooling and learning you've had is useless, unless you can use it to ease your journey and the passage of others.'
So I tossed a coin in the air to decide which parents' advice was best for me to follow. You know, tossing a coin doesn't of itself decide one's future by which side it falls to ground. It is that briefest of moments when it is in the air that it comes to you what you really want. My mother's path seemed much easier to follow and along it, I'm happy to say, I found my puddle of peace and contentment.
And while I haven't yet reached my journey's end, all of the beautiful people I've met along the way has made the travel worth any hurt or heartache I've been asked to bear. I hope it is a while yet before the finishing post comes into view as I still need a few more 'second chances' before I get some other things right." William Forde: February 24th, 2015.
