Let's sit around an imaginary campfire

Let's sit around an imaginary campfire

Telling stories of our days

How we came to do this or that

All the factors along the way.

Let’s sit around an imaginary campfire.

Let's sit around an imaginary campfire

Catching up on things which have occurred

The places we’ve been to, seen, or experienced

Small things and big things, funny and absurd.

Let’s sit around an imaginary campfire.

Let's sit around an imaginary campfire

Talking about things which are a treat

Whether it's things we ate, or things we cooked

All the talking points that can't be beat.

Let’s sit around an imaginary campfire.

Let's sit around an imaginary campfire

Telling of our journeys to new places

The things which were surprising, and the things which weren't

All the sights, experiences, and faces.

Let’s sit around an imaginary campfire.

Let’s sit around an imaginary campfire.

Sharing our thoughts and insights

What we've learned by reading, listening, experiencing, or researching

All the information or thoughts we should bring to light.

Let’s sit around an imaginary campfire.

Let's sit around an imaginary campfire

And take a trip down memory lane

Talking and laughing about past moments we have never forgotten

And reliving them in conversation again.

Let’s sit around an imaginary campfire.

Let's sit around an imaginary campfire

And share what's in our minds and hearts

Life events we may be still processing.

And all that weighs heavily, present or past.

Let’s sit around an imaginary campfire.

Let's sit around an imaginary campfire

And not just talk, but hear

Let's be there for each other

Without anything to fear.

Let’s sit around an imaginary campfire.

Sure, it's fun to text and post, swipe left and right

But it’s no match for heartfelt talks, experience shows

So let's sit around an imaginary fire and talk, really talk,

Just like our ancestors did around a campfire long ago.

Just like our ancestors did around a campfire long ago.

Just like our ancestors did around a campfire long ago.

Let’s sit around an imaginary campfire.

Let’s sit around an imaginary campfire and talk...

Just like our ancestors did around a campfire long ago!

There is a purpose and a plan for you

There is a purpose and a plan for you

And a purpose and a plan for me

And when we reach a certain point in our lives,

You and me will clearly see

What that plan and purpose is

For you, and for me.

That plan and purpose may be

To add to the music of the world

To make people dance

And smile

And weep

And be moved

Set their emotions in a whirl

This is what that plan and purpose may be

To bring the magical and intense power of music into reality

And when we reach a certain time in our life,

It will be clear for us to see

That music was the plan and purpose

Music was the plan and purpose, for you, or for me.

That plan and purpose could be

To cook and to feed

To put things on the table

To use all the wonderful things that are sown

And that are grown

And that are waiting for the skillful touch of someone with a passion to put ingredients together in an artistic and satisfying way

This is what the plan and purpose may be

And when we reach a certain point of time in our life,

This is when we'll see

That the joys of cooking and serving up culinary delights

Was what our plan and purpose was meant to be.

That plan and purpose may be

To create art

With words and ideas, with paper and paint, 

with metal and stains, or performances with various names

To use the color palette and materials, and ideas of the world

To craft beautiful or exciting works of art

With our imagination, and a touch of inspiration

To bring to life something magical that has never be seen, experienced, heard

This is what that plan and purpose may be

And when we reach a certain point of time in our life,

It will be clear for us to see

That our life was meant for art

And our art was meant to be.

That plan and purpose may be

To heal, save, or protect

To help reduce the vulnerability

Of the young, the weak, the helpless, the sick

Or those who are in a position

Where danger or suffering lurks, and where they are not supposed to be

A plan which asks us to be selfless and brave

Thinking of only one thing - how to protect, how to free, how to heal, how to save

And how to fight for what is right.

This is what that plan and purpose may be

And when we reach a certain point in our life,

Or when certain things happen,

It will be clear for us to see

That protecting, healing, and saving lives, and fighting for what is right,

is our plan and purpose

Protecting, healing, and saving lives, and fighting for what is right, is what our plan and purpose is meant to be.

That plan and purpose may be

To create solutions to problems, or to solve life's puzzles and mysteries

The puzzles of illness, the puzzles of limitations

The puzzle of problem personalities or system deficiencies

To solve with test-tubes, or analysis

With hypotheses, calculations, and deductions

The problems of humanity

That are keeping the world from moving forward

This is what our plan and purpose may be

And when we reach a certain time in our life,

It will be clear for us to see

That our life was meant to create solutions, or to solve life's puzzles and mysteries

Finding answers and creating solutions is what our plan and purpose was meant to be.

That plan and purpose may be

To teach

To open minds, open hearts, and open eyes

To create aha moments and generate insights.

To help human beings become better at processing information

And able to think better about any situation

That is what our plan and purpose may be

To shine a light where there's ignorance, so people begin to see

Everything there is to know about A, and how it is different from B.

And when we reach a certain time in our life

It will be clear for us to see

That shining a light was the plan and purpose

Teaching and enlightening human beings is what our plan and purpose was meant to be.

Or our plan and purpose may be

To live a life of quiet satisfaction, quiet dignity, and doing our duty

And by our actions, to be a role model to relatives, friends, acquaintances, coworkers, and everyone we meet

Which may seem like nothing

But really is everything

When you consider it is the exception, rather than the rule,

And maybe, we are not able to see that this is what our plan and purpose was meant to be

Or to appreciate its value,

Until we have done this or that, and it becomes clear for us to see

That to live a life of quiet satisfaction, quiet dignity, and doing our duty,

Is as grand a plan and purpose as ever a plan and purpose could be

And we should each, celebrate this discovery

That a life of quiet satisfaction, quiet dignity, and doing our duty,

Is as grand a plan and purpose as ever a plan and purpose could be.

Here's to your plan and purpose,

And to my plan and purpose,

Whatever that plan and purpose may be,

And even if we are still in the process of discovering,

What our plan and purpose is meant to be,

Let's wish each other well for our journeys.

Your journey and my journey,

Our journeys of discovering

What our plan and purpose is meant to be.

Here's to us enjoying that journey

Whatever it brings along the way,

Whatever it brings you,

And whatever it brings me.

Welcome Back! Welcome Back!

Like a bottle with nothing in it

Like a vase with no flowers

Like a house with no occupants

Like clouds with no showers

There's something missing, when friends and family who are dear to me are away, or we are not in touch.

⚘

So welcome back, welcome back!
Welcome back into my life, welcome back to being in touch.

⚘

Like a lamp with no light shining from it

Like a tree with no leaves

Like a song with no music accompanying it

Like a flower with no bees

There's something missing when friends and family who are dear to me are away, or out of touch.

⚘

So welcome back, welcome back!
Welcome back into my life, welcome back to being in touch.

⚘

Like a cup with no handle

Like a kite with no breeze

Like a fireplace with no flames burning in it

Like a park with no trees

There's something missing when friends and family who are dear to me are away, or out of touch.

⚘

So welcome back, welcome back!
Welcome back into my life, welcome back to being in touch.

⚘

Like a bow with no arrow

Like butter with no bread

Like a pen with no paper

Like a needle with no thread

There's something missing when friends and family who are dear to me are away, or out of touch.

⚘

So welcome back, welcome back!
Welcome back into my life, welcome back to being in touch.

⚘

For everyone who is dear to me

Know that when we are not in touch, or you are away

I can't wait for us to catch up again

You are greatly missed, and it's always wonderful to be able to say...

⚘

Welcome back! Welcome back!
A warm welcome back!

**********************************************

Dear Reader: The inspiration of this poem was the return of a dear friend to the Bay Area. But it is for each and everyone of you, who is dear to me.  This poem gives you an idea of how I feel when you are away, or we've been out of touch for a while. And how absolutely wonderful it is to be able to say, "welcome back" or "great to catch up with you again" 😊

The Bills Will Come Due

Whatever we do
The bills will come due.

We can spend to excess
The bills will come due.

We can work and play, and never rest
The bills will come due.

We can consume, but not produce
The bills will come due.

We can pack on the pounds, and never reduce
The bills will come due.

We can rack up debt
The bills will come due.

We can ignore risks and threats
The bills will come due.

We can spend and never save

The bills will come due.

We can give into every alluring, fancy or tasty thing we crave.

The bills will come due.

We can have only one MOA (mode of action) which is to complain
The bills will come due.

We can make excuses, but never change
The bills will come due.

We can avoid doing our share
The bills will come due.

We can pretend, but never truly care
The bills will come due.

We can strut and preen
The bills will come due.

We can take narcissism, image, and self-centeredness to extremes
The bills will come due.

We can encourage divisiveness with our rants
The bills will come due.

We can put guns and other life-killing weapons into the wrong hands
The bills will come due.

We can turn a blind eye to suffering
The bills will come due.

We can watch atrocities happen, and do nothing
The bills will come due.

We can admire people for the wrong reasons
The bills will come due.

We can fill our minds with ideas for a season
The bills will come due.

We can show no care for others
The bills will come due.

We can be only talk about being sisters and brothers
The bills will come due.

We can use money to solve problems, where it has no place
The bills will come due.

We can use power and status, or might and violence, to buy redemption and grace
The bills will come due.

We can ignore the truth, or the writing on the wall
But the bills will come due.

We can hem and haw, and just go shopping at the mail
But the bills will come due.

We can display an "I don't care, don't know" attitude
But the bills will come due.

Whatever we do
The bills will come due.

The bills will come due.

May as well go ahead and say, "Check please!".

True or False: Curiosity is a unique and special force in our lives

The start to many interesting things in our lives begins with us being curious about something.

Every subject we are well-read up on, or well informed on, or become an expert on, begins with curiosity.

Curiosity is another word for attention. When we are curious about a subject, it means we have chosen to pay attention to that subject.

At different points in our life, we will be curious about different things related to our age, our health issues, our physical or mental problems, our jobs, our relationship problems, our experiences, our passions, our hobbies, our life challenges, and more.

When we can't stop reading a book, or we can't stop watching a movie or show, it's because of curiosity - we are curious, and we want to know all there is to know, or we want to know what comes next, or we want to know what happens in the end.

We have a better chance at improving at anything (whether cooking, or gardening, or playing an instrument) by being curious.

Any new brave step you take, whether it is deciding to enter a contest, or deciding to enter a new field, or deciding to become an entrepreneur, it requires curiosity. You have to be curious about everything and anything connected with the step you are taking.

There are different levels of curiosity. You can be slightly curious about something, very curious about something, and curious to the point of being obsessed about something.

The more interested you are in a subject or puzzle, the longer you are involved in trying to find an answer to it, the better your chances of finding useful information and insights about that subject.

Curiosity is easy to satisfy when it comes to finding answers for simple things such as who wrote that book, who acted in that movie, who is the president of a country. We can get an immediate answer by using Google search or Alexa.

For answers to more complex things, and questions without a clear answer, we have to keep staying curious.

We have to have patience and persistence, even when we are not able to find a clear answer.

Rabbit Hole : In the process of being curious about one thing, we may discover something else. In the process of being curious about that something else, we may discover yet something else. We can do this multiple times, and discover many new things completely unrelated to the starting subject we were curious about. This is called going down a rabbit hole. It is fun to go down rabbit holes, and many wonderful discoveries and inventions have come about this way.

Curiosity is the main reason people spend time on social media.

It is what makes Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Pinterest so addictive, and so successful.

We are curious to see who is doing what, who has what to say, and who has what to show.

Kids are prevented from being curious by their parents about many things, so curiosity may have to wait till adulthood..

Parents may keep their kids from being curious about things they are too young to be curious about, or things they feel they shouldn't be curious about ever.

Social customs, religion, family secrets, and taboo subjects are some things a child may be instructed not to be curious about.

A curious child may thus get into trouble more than an uncurious child, by not being able to follow these instructions.

Children may keep many secrets from their parents, including what they discover from their curiosity, until they are living on their own, or for life.

In adulthood, we are free to be curious about everything.

By allowing ourselves to be curious, and learning new facts, ideas, and truths, we may discover we do not think like our parents, and we do not share some of their beliefs.

Curiosity is mostly good for us, depending on what we decide to be curious about, and the motivation for our curiosity.

For instance, we may be curious to stop and look at an accident, or watch a horror movie or a sad documentary, even though we could potentially see or experience something terrible, which will give us nightmares or heartaches after.

Likewise, we can be obsessively curious about what everyone is posting on Facebook, WhatsApp, and other social media apps, but it can lead to a sense of lack, if everyone seems to be having more fun and enjoying a better life than we are. This is not healthy for us.

Regards motivation, curiosity can mask as concern; and only if we know someone well, can we tell whether they are just being curious, or concerned.

Schadenfreude : For example, someone may be curious to hear how you are doing in a new job, or a new relationship, secretly hoping that things are not going well for you. The German word for enjoying other people's failures is called Schadenfreude.

When all is said and done, however, the advantages of being curious outweigh the disadvantages. You will discover many things that can be of value to your life. Like when I discovered why a low performance streak in my career is most likely to be followed by a higher performance streak. Besides curiosity is fun - check out the links to some of my previous curiosity-stimulating fun posts at the end of this post, and tell me if you agree.

True or false - there's a lot to think about when it comes to curiosity, and its unique and special place in our lives.

Fun previously-published posts of mine which will make you curious:

What do Bill Clinton & George H W Bush Have in Common?

What do Lakshmi Mittal and I Have in Common?