42 escalators later

Today I utilized 42 escalators. 

Kind of an interesting take on things, but when you do 42 escalators daily once or so a week you get time to reflect upon  - -  well......things. 

So what did I reflect upon.....

I reflected upon - giving up

I kept thinking how hard things are, and then given that today is Good Friday- the day Christ was crucified, I kept comparing my hardships to his. And try as I may, and whether you believe Jesus is the son of God or not, I do think we can agree that he was a person who was beaten and crucified - - right?

So today was hard..FORTY-TWO ESCALATORS hard!!!!  and not to mention the pressures of the work-day. 

And was my day as hard as Jesus' day- today, some 2000+ years ago. The bible says - - "and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit" 

I try to think what it is like to; give up my spirit, and I cannot. As hard as my days may be, to give up, and to give up one's spirit is beyond comprehension. 

Tonight, after 42 escalators, and countless work encounters and trials and tribulations of the day, what is it that revived and relaxed me?

It was slowing down. 
It was smelling the flowers. 
It was talking to my neighbor. 
It was breathing. 
it was the moments. 

We all need to do more of that. 

moments

the embracing of moments is where I am striving.

I think when I learn to embrace moments I will learn to embrace God and all of His creation.

 being caught up in myself is where I falter.

this happens all too often...myself, my ego, my vents, my judgments, MY RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!

FOR I AM TATE AND TATE IS I !!!

when will i learn to just accept everything for everything, for the moments are what are to be treasured.

S.L.O.W.  I.T.  D.O.W.N.

SSSSSS.....LLLLLLL.....OOOOO.......WWWWW.......

make everything momentous

movies and television take advantage of the moments isn't it time we did?

who are you?

A facebook banner post that made me think.....

What is being yourself?

I always have to remind myself that I am a self-defeating Christian who believes I do wrong, and need forgiveness.

But I ask.....at the end of the day - - - Who are you?

The Who asked this very question....((and also answered it))
"Who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Oh, tell me who are you (Who are you?, ooo?)
I really wanna to know
Oh, I really want to know
C'mon tell me who are you, you, you?
Who are you?"

And then...they said - - - 
"Can you see the real me, can you, CAN YOU?"

so, "who are you", do you know, who you are and what you believe and want to believe?

dyeing your hair blue or tattooing your body with identifiers of who you are, or having a job of power or meekness ....do these VERY THINGS define YOU???

WHAT EXACTLY DEFINES YOU?

Is it guns?

Is it Nike, Adidas, Reebok??

Is it sports teams?

Is it, is it, what is it????

Is it television, is it movies or books or poets???

Is it the very world of which you live???

Or is it your <3

Ask your <3 and see. 

I mean......

"who are you?"

top love songs (imo)

The Beatles have many, many classic love songs.

My wife's fave is "Michele", this song always had a European flair; kind of a French/Italian feel to it. Michelle  is good, but does not ring as true for me as my lovely.

My all time favorite Beatles love song, primarily written by Sir Paul is...."And I Love Her",  talk about your international feel to a song- this song has a Spanish Flamenco flavor that is hard to disguise.

the lyrics are sublime- - - "I give her all my love, that's all I do, and if you saw my love, you'd love her too....I love her"

Really isn't that the epitome of love, her beauty, her grace?

"A love like ours...could never die" - true love spoken.

"Bright are the stars that shine, dark is the sky" yup my kinda song. Stars and sky. Great guitar and lyrics that just melt me.

This song, the guitar, the words are bliss.

Give a listen.

top love songs (imo) day #3

Top love songs day three.

This is a difficult journey. There are all types of love songs. Family love songs, people love songs, but let's face it. This week, this blog, leading to February 14th is a journey of the sweetest kind, a journey of pure bliss, a journey of love, love, love.

The options are almost infinite- but we will go directly to what was considered heavy metal in my day (the  70's), right to what is arguably a band of Beatles stature and that would be Led Zeppelin.

"Whole Lotta Love"
The lyrics of this song are of a deeply personal nature and of one of which this blogger will skip describing for you. Suffice it to say that the sexual nature of this song, for this 60's/70's raised lad are as hot and steamy as it gets.

Give a listen. Headphones strongly suggested.

TOP LOVE SONGS CONT. (imo)

When Margaret and I first became romantic these are the songs I remember as being my love songs.      "Ah! Leah!" Donnie Iris     - Mar would go to take care of her grandmother in Philly and I wouldn't see her for days, and this song; Ah! Leah!, this classic pop harmony bubble gum song . The lyrics were on my mind and more importantly, my heart.
"I see you lips and I wonder who's been kissing them....I never knew how badly I was missing them"
"Your'e looking better then a body has a right to". These lines were dripping with desire. Me for her.

Well I could go on about Ah! Leah!, but since I am offering up 3 songs today we move on-
"You Better You Bet" Pete Townshend aka The Who- Sense a theme here? I wanted commitment in my mind and hers ( I hoped). The lyrics of the song are a promise. The song goes through life's ups/downs, but on the promise "you better you bet" everything is spelled out, I like that. And the fact that the song says "I just like your nose",  well, I've told Margaret a million times how much I love her nose.

"What I Like About You" The Romantics
This is in my mind THE song for my wife and I. This is high energy, jam it out, jump around, spin around.
I do dance. It isn't pretty and this is my favorite dance song and a top love song.
"you really hold me tight" Does it get any better, you bet!
"you're whispering in my ear, tell me all the things that I want to hear, and it's true...that's what I like about you!"
I want to dance just writing about it!
"when you go up down, jump around, think about true romance" I love dancing that part and more!

So there you go....
Day 1 - Silly Love Songs
Day 2 - Ah! Leah! - - You Better You Bet - - What I Like About You

Day 3 is in the works....stay tuned.

Mar did ask if I was jealous of her grandmother- "I see you lips and I wonder who was kissing them", I was never jealous of her grandmother, but I didn't know what our relationship was and until we developed our relationship, I was unsure and not confident. Of course it is now 31 years later and then as we do now, we have love and happiness. 

top love songs of all time (imo) day 1

It was 1976, the year of our bicentennial and I was a 13 year old teen male with a growing body, an extreme lack of confidence and an exceptionally strong desire to be in love with every girl my age that would walk by. 

Every summer there was a carnival in Bellmawr, NJ put together by the local Catholic Church where my grandparents and in particular my great Aunt Mimi would take us children; siblings and cousin alike.

With spinning carnival wheels promoting early gambling and rides aplenty we would be in our glory. Enjoying the evenings as special as they were. 

There was this one night....atop the Ferris wheel with the stop and go of the loading slowing life down to measurable moments....when far above the flashing lights and din of the crowd a song played. 

Silly Love Song written by Sir Paul and Linda McCartney, performed by Wings. 

The simplicity of it's pop was overwhelming and yet the lyrics hooked me - - -pure wisdom and it was then I had an epiphany. 

"you'd think that people would have had enough of silly love songs, but I look around and me and I see it isn't so"

"some people wanna feel the world with silly love songs...and what's wrong with that"

That line, there it is...THE EPIPHANY!  "what's wrong with that????". There is the wisdom,  there it is....what's wrong with that. Really...what's wrong with filling the world with love songs, filling the world with love. Being in love, showing love, knowing love and WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT, I'd like to know, 'cause here I go again!!!"

I love you

true muse

There are days that sadness overcomes me and today is one of them. The positiveness I keep, the shield over life is waning and yet, I do have hope.

There is a definition of hope that is far different then what I have learned and know hope to be. Hope has meant a kind of dream, or desire of something to be, and recently a friend indicated to me that hope in ancient days is an indication of certainty, not a belief or a desire, but a truth.

That is the type of hope I desire. The type of hope I want to have in my life about God. In Hebrews 11 the verse states "hope is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

There are days I feel lost and without purpose and there are days I feel strong and confident. A psychologist once told me that life is like the spokes on a bicycle wheel; sometimes they point up and sometimes down. It seems like either I am really up or really down and generally far from a middle equal ground.

I long for middle ground. A ground of equilibrium  A mental state of normalcy. A place of safety. A warm blanket, a soft pillow the warming soothing sunlight warming my skin and heart.

What is it that cause the confusion?  My own selfish desires? My own doubts and self-righteousness?

Another friend always would say good-bye by saying- "God loves you". That is where I want to rest. In God's love. In His arms of hope (truth) and love.

The world and it's ways beckon me to confusion and misdirection.

It is the light of Christ that lights my path and I fear wandering off that lit path all to often.

Keep my paths straight o'Lord. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil. And forgive me my trespasses as I forgive those who trespass against me.

Thank you Lord.

tears

The joy of life is sometimes eclipsed by the pain and yet it is our strength of hope that keeps us afloat.

Where is it that we get that hope from?

I see others in pain and in hurt, I hear of the pain and hurt and my life seems so safe compared to those of the world.

The Sandy Hook Elementary School experienced 27 deaths.
Kiss a nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil experienced  over 230 deaths.

and those that have life....go onward
and those that mourn...mourn and go onward.

and my life seems so safe.

there are those among my travels who's lives are hurting (and I wonder, what if it was me???)

What if it was one of my children????

and yet...onward

a song I know sings - "love is all we have"

and another "love rules"  and yet another sings- "love reign o'er me"

and I wonder when I will get it.
when will I understand the power of love
the truth of love
the strength of love
when will I get  L.O.V.E.

there's a type of love called unconditional love.
I would like to think I know it and in some aspects I am sure I do.
But I still have so much to know and learn.
So much to explore and engulf into my heart.

there is little that I truly know-
love is the answer
love conquers all
i just want to be loved

and I know that above all else - - - God loves me.

hope is being certain of what we do not see.
I do not see God, yet I am certain that above all the pain//tragedy//hurt there is God.

of this I am certain.

snow angel

a good snow has taken place. it is a wonderment of life. the purity of snow is what always amazes me. it is just absolutely beautiful and pure. unblemished.  

snow causes conversation (at least in southern new jersey it does) and it erases the grey blemishes of man....at least for a time. 

isn't it time to go and make snow angels and frolic in the snow beneath the full moon?

what are you waiting for?

and should you not have snow......is the moon full?.....go and bask in its light. 

may the light always shine upon you and may you feel it's brightness. 

blessings friends, tate