Stepping into the heated hall is a treat. Ours is a little dwelling; a living and kitchen area in the front, then down a short hall to the rooms in the back. We keep the hall doors closed in winter, and at night.
My favorite is in the early morning hours, predawn, the house is mostly dark. Maybe a small light on in the kitchen or front room; the back of the house is dark. The kids are asleep in their room.
Stepping from the cooler front of the house into the hall, dark and warmer from the wall heater at the end. The furnace creaks and softly hisses as heat pours out into the hall, into the back rooms.
I love the sounds; I’m thankful for the warmth; I’m thankful for this roof over my family’s head.
I heard about this song on NPR a while back, and always trying to expand my awareness and appreciation, gave it a go. Well worth it, even if I don’t understand what’s being said. 🙂
“Súbeme La Radio (Sean Paul Remix)”
(feat. Sean Paul)
[Enrique Iglesias & Sean Paul:]
Súbeme la radio
Sunshine in the rain
In the mind is the pain
Tráeme el alcohol
Deep on me heart like stain
Yeah yeah
Súbeme la radio que esta es mi canción
Siente el bajo que va subiendo
Time will heal it but now we feel it
Turn up the music and run pain away
[Enrique Iglesias:]
Súbeme la radio que esta es mi canción
Siente el bajo que va subiendo
Tráeme el alcohol que quita el dolor
Hoy vamos a juntar la luna y el sol
I wanted you forever
Don’t act like you don’t feel it
I should have loved you better
But I still can’t believe (remember that girl)
It’s killing me that you’re gone
How the hell do I move on
I’m drinking from this bottle
Cause I can’t take it no more
[Sean Paul:]
(Hear me, I tell you)
Alright then girl, yo
Lights on in the hallways I feel awake
Baby girl come and look me I see your face
Remember the days when we would blaze
And everything was amazing
[Enrique Iglesias & Sean Paul:]
Súbeme la radio que esta es mi canción
Siente el bajo que va subiendo
Time will heal it but now we feel it
Turn up the music and run pain away
[Enrique Iglesias:]
Súbeme la radio que esta es mi canción
Siente el bajo que va subiendo
Tráeme el alcohol que quita el dolor
Hoy vamos a juntar la luna y el sol
My body on your body
My heart against your heart
But when I go to touch you
I just wake up in the dark
You gotta know that I miss you
I can never forget you
Girl I know I gotta let go
But I wish that I was with you
[Enrique Iglesias & Sean Paul:]
Súbeme la radio que esta es mi canción
Siente el bajo que va subiendo
Time will heal it but now we feel it
Turn up the music and run pain away
[Enrique Iglesias:]
Súbeme la radio que esta es mi canción
Siente el bajo que va subiendo
Tráeme el alcohol que quita el dolor
Hoy vamos a juntar la luna y el sol
[Sean Paul:]
Tell you this
Make your body turn twist, make your reminisce
Baby girl cause you know so me never miss
Though you gone from me life, me remember this
How me and you turn into enemies
Sunshine on me life mia memories
To get you back into my life, I swear it is
I swear it is
Baby girl you are drain all me energies
[Enrique Igleasias:]
Yo no te miento
Todavía te espero
Sabes bien que te quiero
No sé vivir sin ti
Yo no te miento
Todavía te espero
Sabes bien que te quiero
No sé vivir sin ti
[Enrique Iglesias & Sean Paul:]
Súbeme la radio que esta es mi canción
Siente el bajo que va subiendo
Time will heal it but now we feel it
Turn up the music and run pain away
[Enrique Igleasias:]
Súbeme la radio que esta es mi canción
Siente el bajo que va subiendo
Tráeme el alcohol que quita el dolor
Hoy vamos a juntar la luna y el sol
[Enrique Iglesias & Sean Paul:]
Súbeme la radio
Sunshine in the rain
In the mind is the pain
Tráeme el alcohol
Deep on me heart like stain
Yeah yeah
Súbeme la radio
And BONUS TRACK!
This one lifted me up and helped me believe in that ideal, that higher love. Would that we all strive for that, the world would be a better place.
Running to stand still; it’s a common feeling for me in the day-to-day. Chasing the to-do list, between the primaries — family and marriage and my elderly mother, and work — to secondaries — regular writing and Lionism (community service work through a local Lions club I belong to).
Most days I feel like I’m hustling to check at least one thing off each list. Sometimes I don’t even get to each list. Something gets pushed out, paused, placed to the back-burner.
If my mood’s not good, if I’m doubting, questioning, a wrench gets in the works, what ever the obstacle…well, it can be a little…bumpy.
And so a common theme bubbles to the surface, would that it would also do so in the moment, helpful if it does, grateful too:
“Do what you can do.” Yea but what about how much there is left to do?! What about the long lists?! What about expectations? Deliverables?
Never mind. “Do what you can do.” Take a couple deep breathes, and do the next right thing. And then? Another. and again.
I got into a little verbal scarp with my older daughter recently. It was a quick exchange, didn’t seem that extreme, but she was nonetheless offended and went off crying.
A few minutes later my younger daughter gave me a little talking to, what had happened and what I should do about it.
When I came in the house a few minutes later I asked my wife if she’d heard my younger daughter talking…
My wife said “Yes, she’s sticking up for her sister, like her sister sticks up for her. She’s got her back.”
Most mornings part of my prayer is for other people; I pray for family, for friends, for those who have passed on.
And then I pray for people who suffer illness, and are effected by war and other armed conflict; there’s plenty of suffering in the world to go around.
The following three groups come to mind most days. In no particular order I think about these people; though you might be able to rank by how many displaced, how many mamed, how many murdered.
Pray for them. Pray for us all.
Rohingya are a stateless, persecuted Ethnic minority in Myanmar. Hundred of thousands have been forced to flee ethnic cleansing, to refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Yazidis are a ethnic/religious minority in the general area thought of “Kurdistan”: a blended region of Syria, Iraq, and Turkey. They were particularly targeted by The Islamic State.
From the darkness, I pray this metaphor most everyday; I pray for the light to inspire and guide me along my way. “But why?”, you might wonder…and so let me share, for the reason is clear.
From time to time uncertainty and sublime angst are my companions; they seem to find common purpose resting on my shoulders. Most mornings they are there.
And then prayer of gratitude for the things I have in my life, for all the blessings of people and everyday comforts, and for the light to guide me through the darkness of mysterious despair, this practice has indeed become my refuge.
And in this unwittingly, with unintentional parallel, my words might seem to echo scripture.
I was raised in the Christian tradition and have been a believer most all of my life. That said, I’ve not been one to quote the Bible; book, and chapter and verse are not swiftly from my lips.
And yet when I read the passage below, I see the common theme, from three thousand years to present.
And I know the light I seek. And I know that prayer brings the light, and dispels the darkness, and calms the angst, and I am grateful. Amen, AMEN.
From Isaiah 8:23, “…Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness: for there is no gloom where but now there was distress. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.”
The original title of this post was going to be “Addicted to Data?”, but then I decided a different title would be more accurate, as it ended up.
A day without wearing a steps tracker; I’ve had a couple days when my beloved (!?) steps tracker, my Fitbit watch, it didn’t come through as intended. In neither case was it the fault of the device.
One day (or evening, Thursday, to be precise), I thought I properly set it up to recharge; but then when I got to work, I discovered it didn’t charge. Didn’t realize it until four hours after I put it on in the morning. Lame. : – /
And the other time? I just forgot to wear it. Didn’t put it back on after I showered in the morning. Lame times two. : – / : – /
And my initial reaction each time I discovered I wasn’t properly “tracking”? I had mixed feelings. I felt a little like my day was going to be a little empty, something was missing.
Weird, right? I mean, who really cares how many steps I take? Why do *I* care so much about the number of steps I take in a day? I asked myself, “Am is addicted to data?”
After all, I pretty closely keep track of my activity (walking around, long way to the loo, up the stairs repeatedly and around the building), in effort to pass 10,000 steps for the day, and this year 2020, trying for 20 floors of climbing each work day too.
I feel like I gotta stay active, as I don’t really have any other regular exercise regime. Integrating, being consistent, striving to hit the numbers, that’s my best effort at this stage in my life. And the data helps motivate me for sure.
But on the topic of the data itself…well…I do *enjoy it*, keeping track, that is FOR SURE. I love looking at the numbers, the trends. But I’m not addicted to having the data. It’s a motivator, yes. But it’s not necessary.
What is necessary is moving every day.
No data for the day? A lapse in my graphs? Boo hoo.
It is what it is. That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. The main thing is to keep moving, keeping up the regular routine anyway.
Didn’t have the data to back it up? Oh well. The underlying truth is the same:
GET OFF YOUR BUTT. Every day. In other words, MOVE IT, OR LOSE IT.
Learning can be very challenging. VERY CHALLENGING.
Sometimes you find yourself in the mud, the thick, and it sucks. You make repeated mistakes, same issues, and it’s confounding, really…troubleshooting, reviewing your process, trying to understand why the errors are happening.
It can feel like a smack down. A SMACK DOWN.
It’s abrupt; it gives one pause. It strikes at self-confidence, belief in one’s own thinking and awareness, and capabilities too.
The way forward?
Deep breaths. DEEP BREATHS. A few seconds pause; maybe even a few minutes. Reset. RESET.
You may even find when you climb out of the mire, you may even discover that things aren’t exactly as you perceived them. Maybe other factors were at play. Maybe it wasn’t even entirely your fault.
WHEW. And if it was entirely your fault? Same process, of course. And WHEW anyway.
When I heard this song for the first time more than thirty years ago, I was just getting into U2’s music. It hadn’t really spoken to me up until that time (mid-80’s) — I’d been more rooted in heavy metal, heavier rock music.
And then this one came along. I was hooked pretty quick. The simple riff and especially the words, they grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. The lyrics are modified slightly, but pretty well directly from Psalm 40. My faith had been well established around this same time, as I struggled through adolescence.
To this day, this very minute, this song bouyes me, lifts me up, urges me to persevere, and find strength in faith.
Yes sir, it sure does. This is…
“40”
I waited patiently for the Lord He inclined and heard my cry He brought me up out of the pit Out of the miry clay
I will sing, sing a new song I will sing, sing a new song
How long to sing this song How long to sing this song How long…how long…how long… How long…to sing this song
He set my feet upon a rock And made my footsteps firm Many will see Many will see and fear
I will sing, sing a new song I will sing, sing a new song I will sing, sing a new song I will sing, sing a new song
How long to sing this song How long to sing this song How long…how long…how long… How long…to sing this song
Writer(s): Clayton Adam, Mullen Laurence, Evans David, Hewson Paul David
Seems like I see more and more people brushing their teeth at work. Might be mid-morning, might be after lunch, but oral hygene awareness and action is on the rise.
Good Habit for sure, brushing your teeth frequently, even at work. We only get one set of adult teeth, and it pays both practically and comfort-wise to take good care of them.
Thing is, there’s always an excuse as to why NOT to do it. But that excuse is weak. It doesn’t take very long to make this particular habit a regular thing, a…HABIT.
I fall short on this front; I’m a traditional, twice-a-day brusher. And I don’t floss very often. Flossing is also well-worth the less-than-minute it takes to keep your teeth in a further state of good health.
Pick a Good Habit or two to work on this year. It’s early in a new year. It’s a new decade. And regardless of the When, the more important thing is the DO. Everyday.
