I’ve been somewhat contemplative these past couple of days.  Went to a funeral for a friend’s father on Sunday not long after hearing the news of Kobe Bryant and later his daughter, as well as the other 7 people that lost their lives in the horrible crash.  I can’t begin to imagine what the families are going through.  One family lost mother, father and daughter and it sounds like there are other children that are now left without parents.  Not sure how you go on after something like that.

As I sat at the funeral, I looked around and listened to the minister and the eulogies and thought about the impermanence of life.  There is a traditional passage that is read at many Buddhist funerals called “The Letter on the White Ashes.”  One line states “Thus our bodies may be radiant with health in the morning, but by evening they may be white ashes.”  I have heard this passage many times over the years, but on this day, it hit me much more profoundly than ever before.  Probably because, Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the other seven people on that helicopter were likely all in good health when they started that journey but in the blink of an eye, their lives were over.

I thought of many things in my life, especially these past 4-5 years.  I had some health issues that required some significant surgeries and to a certain extent may have been life threatening.  I thought of my father and brother-in-law who both passed a little more than 2 years ago and while neither were radiant with health at the time, it is somewhat surreal to think that you are alive one moment and gone the next.

I’m not sure what this all means and I guess dealing with the loss of loved ones, friends, acquaintances and even those we may have never met but have admired from afar, is something we all have to figure out for ourselves.

All I can say is hold those you love close and never let an opportunity to express your feelings to them pass you by for by evening, there may only be “White Ashes.”  Live your life so that when your time comes, you can look in the mirror and know that you did all you could to improve the lives of those you love.

Welcome to my new blog.  I have started this blog as a creative outlet for myself and for anyone who would be interested in my views on various topics.  Here you will find my views on things ranging from politics to business, education, sports, pets and anything else that catches my attention. (Squirrel)

I have named this blog Musings From My Massage Chair as my massage chair is one of my favorite places to relax and think about the events of the day or any other topic that comes to my mind as I take a few minutes to regenerate. I expect that many of my posts will be written here.

In general, I have tried to stay away from controversial subjects on social media sites like Facebook, as I was not interested in getting into unrelenting arguments from people who may not agree with me.  This is not to say that I don’t welcome differing opinions and civilized discussion but I do hold strong opinions in some areas and will not apologize for my opinions.  I believe that civilized conversation is the only way for the world to work through many of the problems that we face today.  However, I also believe that some things are just plain wrong and I will state my mind on these subjects and will not hold back. (Thus, if you are a supporter of our current President and his policies and administration, you may just want to leave now, as I will speak my mind on this topic and will not engage in arguments in this area as I believe you are just wrong and from what I have experienced, your mind will not be changed and neither will mine so let’s just disagree and you can go your own way)

All that being said, I hope you enjoy what you find here and perhaps my views will inspire or educate you or maybe bring a smile to your face or a laugh to your day.

So, if you are interested, please subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.