Contemplation and more videos

Some days are good for sitting back and feeling nostalgic and yet simultaneously content. I have had to spend a lot of time reflecting on myself as I watch myself continue to deteriorate at a rate I am finding rather unsavory. A medical trip home is in order for next month - to see if we can stave some of this off. I am today a shadow of the physical person I once was - albeit a rather rotund shadow. :-) My hands feel useless, now unable to perform but the most basic tasks requiring dexterity for extended periods of time. Writing, giving massages, using hand tools - all these things are now only something I do for relatively short periods of time before requiring a bit of a recuperation.

At this type of life juncture, a person has a few options. You can become angry, bitter, depressed, upset, or desperate. Or, you can take it all in stride and be content at all that you HAVE and all that you HAVE DONE to this point, and the options still available to you.

I choose the latter. This summer, I saw my first batch of students graduate - and I was proud of them. And with that, sealed an accomplishment that left me rather content and satisfied. I look forward to many more opportunities to feel this way, but I know that I have the joy and satisfaction of this one - and anything further becomes a blessing (or "gravy" in a more common idiomatic vernacular. :) ). There is great hope in the upcoming medical interventions, but I also do not stake my happiness on their outcomes. I stake my happiness in my daily life, and those whom I love and care for - regardless of my own condition.

However, reflections require reflective music, and this selection has been with me for a couple of days now. So, reader, whoever you may be, join me in reflection - and hopefully you can find the things in your own life from whence joy can unquenchably spring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_nGObVkLsE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1rWaYfG6eU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky271W94VHA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSWTgLvxPYc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8_EfDqF7YI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYMn7L1Ro80

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_P26rP52hA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUKEOshP9YY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uKPFBr_Nqc