A reading from the journal (today) of Robert Fulghum
What I see in different shades of gray, from behind my reading glasses
A reading from the journal (today) of Robert Fulghum
Bob Fulghum has faced many a challenge in his life, & a fire that swept through his neighbourhood hasn’t gotten him or his attitude down.
The first question was “What were my valuables?” Not much.
Just me and my memories and my attitude.
And I saved those.
As for “stuff”?
I always turn to the words of the 4th Century Greek philosopher, Epictetus, for perspective.
He said: When a neighbor breaks a bowl, we readily say, ‘These things happen.’ When your own bowl breaks, you should respond in the same way as when another person’s bowl breaks. Carry that understanding over to worldly consequences.
One of my favourite authors, Robert Fulghum, celebrated his birthday recently & revised his personal ‘declaration’:
Ever since that recent day in June, the man I know has been thinking about the advantages of having been around for quite a while. By now, one knows some things, or should. By now, one has come to some conclusions about the quality of life. And before plunging on into the future, it might be useful to consider what he knows that makes the time to come workable and wonder-full.
Bob Fulghum has his say:
Like most people I maintain an active Things-To-Do list.
But that’s not my only list – there are others.
Like The Things-I-Will- Do-Tomorrow-Whenever-Tomorrow-Comes list.
And the Things-I-Should-Have-Done-By-Now-But-Don’t-Want-To-Do list.
Plus the list of things I actually did, but in a half-assed way, knowing I should have got somebody who knows what they’re doing to do it.
There’s also a reality list of Things-I-Know-I’m-Never-Going-To-Do.
Bob Fulghum shares how he gets his inspiration.
The only thing better than a story-teller Bob Fulghum is a reminiscing Bob Fulghum. He shared this letter he wrote from decades ago, titled Benediction.
Bob Fulghum never shies away from trying out something, & this time he’s tried out the ju-ju-juices from his local store:
One morning I studied the shelves. The names alone make me nervous. “AMP”, “MONSTER”, “FULL THROTLE”, “ROCK STAR”, “GO FAST”, “BLUE ENERGY”, “ADRENALIN SHOT”, “BLAST”, “JOLT”, and, my favorite, “NO FEAR!” Most of them are available in Regular, Plus, and Gold..
Eighty per cent of the human brain is water – most cells are mostly water.
So it’s not true that your ideas don’t hold water.
It’s more accurate to say that water holds your ideas.
read more here.
Why do I love the “Occasional Writings of Robert Fulghum” so much? It’s because they are not occasional, and they’re not stories, but a philosophy. Read this called “It’s not the size… ” to see what I mean.
Bob Fulghum reasons his choice about the oldest song in the world:
Sometime way, way, way back in human history some alpha person invented humming by running tones together.
And later, when language developed, words were turned into song.
And it may just be possible that the first songs were about the sun and love.
Think about it.