Turn Turn Turn by The Byrds
To everything
There is a season
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
The year comes to a close, and it’s a time for a new beginning. I am like a little child who rushes downstairs to the Christmas tree. I hope to catch a glimpse of Santa. The tree shelters all the presents, and I can’t wait to open them all to see what next year will bring.
When we look back, how many blessings can we be grateful for? I remember one man who had very little money for a Christmas present. He felt ashamed that his life had gone so wrong. While he sat, and stewed in his misery, a beggar approached. The beggar was dressed in rags, and motioned with his hand to his mouth for food. Our miserable man gave what little he had to the beggar, and realized then that he was so blessed. While he had clothes on his back, a job, a place to live, he had food, and he was warm. He realized his family loved him, and he was healthy.
Hopefully, we have our health, our families, and our freedom. We are blessed to live in a relatively safe country, unlike Aleppo, Syria and so many other places in the world where bombs drop every day.
Here we have many strange and colorful flowers. Some are buried right now under ice and snow, but the ice will soon will melt. The flowers will poke their heads above the ground, and they will bloom. The sweet fragrance will fill the air, and hummingbirds will be drawn to the nectar. Their beauty will slowly fade, and they will retreat back to the earth. The snow and ice will come, and the cycle will repeat.
The economy blooms naturally, and then pauses to rest, retrace some of the gains, and bloom again. It’s inevitable and no national party is immune. The cycle should give us all hope and strength. Remember Turn, Turn, Turn by The Byrds. This too shall pass.
I see the inevitability when I look in the mirror. My mind couldn’t contemplate the changes without Turn, Turn, Turn by The Byrds. I might otherwise rage against the changes. I have no choice but accept that others will replace me as I replaced the fading flowers.
Nothing stays this way permanently. When your financial condition falls down, an up lies around the next corner. If you are sad over some aspect of life, soon there will be laughter.
We have minds that can dream great things, and we have the ability to accomplish those dreams. I was always struck by the empty lot I passed on my travels around town. Someone saw that lot, dreamed of a house, and a family to live in that house. Soon there was a building crew on that lot, who dreamed of being carpenters, plumbers, and roofers. Then a house appeared made of wood that someone somewhere dreamed of cutting into two by fours. And today, when I passed that once empty lot, a family has made a home like birds make nests.
The holiday season approaches, and a new year is coming.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Feliz Navidad y Feliz año nuevo.