It’s Time To Begin, Isn’t It?

Yesterday, I was driving back from dropping my son off at school.  Many travel routes in Northern Delaware were congested due to a truck flipping over and dumping copper pennies all over I-95 in Delaware.  This caused havoc with traffic for the next 18 hours.  I drove down 301 South.  As I drove near an exit for Chestertown, MD, I made a decision to take some time for myself.  I visited Chestertown many years ago in one of those odd moments in my life that didn’t make sense until later.

My wife would be picking up my son from school so I knew I had some time to kill.  I decided to drive down to the part of Chestertown where the Chester River winds pass.  I needed time to myself.  Away from Delaware.  Away from the craziness of it all.  Away from the DOE, the charters, the districts, the campaign signs, the legislators, all of it.  A chance to recharge my batteries.  I already know upcoming things I will be writing about.  Things that will be vastly different from anything I’ve written before.  I’m scared and excited at the same time.  It will be a radical shift.

As I walked to the Pavillion overlooking the river, I noticed how quiet it was.  It was almost majestic.  I just stood there, enjoying the silence.  It looked exactly the same as it did years ago.  Nothing had changed.  But I had.  I don’t take these moments as much as I used to.  I need to.  To keep things in perspective.

I didn’t stay super long, but enough to just calm down and relax.  To see the beauty in this world with fresh new eyes.  To remind myself that no matter what happens, it is still there if you take the time to see it.  I thought of my friend who lost his life in this town 24 years ago.  I thought of my mom who passed a few years ago.  I thought about 9/11 and the 15th anniversary of that horrific day.  I wasn’t sad.  I was at peace, for the first time in a long time.  I still feel the dead guiding me in ways I can’t explain.  Time is passing by.  Every single day I breathe life.  We all have a purpose no matter what it is.  Once you find out what that purpose is, you need to hold on to it and not let a moment pass you by.  But sometimes, you need to take the time to pause, to slow down.  To appreciate what has come before, what we have now, and the promise of what lies ahead.  It’s time to begin, isn’t it?

Chevaliers de Sangreal 2016

The one thing I can be certain of is this: I have faith.  As it says in the beginning of the video,

FAITH

Acceptance of which we can imagine to be true, that which we cannot prove

I have faith that the good guys will win.  That those who seek to mold children into their playthings will pay for their sins.  That the Rodels and adults in Delaware who use children for power and greed will one day face a mighty reckoning of public shame.  That they will be cast out of power and will not be able to harm children again.  That those who have broken the law will face a jury.  I cannot prove any of this.  But I have faith.

The most powerful music is that which lifts you above yourself to something higher.  That takes you away from yourself and makes you see the world as it could be.  Something wonderful and glorious.  We are here such a short time.  Why do we waste it?  Why do some plot and scheme when they know one day they will not be here?  Does it help them to sleep better, during the long night, when no one can hide from their true face?

Tonight, before you go to sleep, go outside and look at the stars. Try to find your place among them. Think of those you have lost who carried the light for you so you could be here.  See who you carry the light for now. Are you doing it? Are you living up to the gifts that life gave you? Are you speaking for what is right even if you are afraid?  Even if it means others may shun you?  When you see the universe before you, feel blessed for what you have no matter what you think you may not have. You are alive. You are breathing. You have responsibility. You only get one lifetime to do what is right.