Turn, Turn, Turn

Me with my Agee Crew They turn my dark days into light.

A time to love, and a time to hate. (Ecclesiastes 3:8)

In my mind today, I'm mulling over my readings. I was excited to read Ecclesiastes today. I hear the song "Turn, Turn, Turn" and smile. These verses are so poetic. I love anything linguistic: words, rhymes, puns, or sentence structure. It makes my brain hum. I drive my family crazy with my nonsensical outbursts as I turn everything into a show tunes sing-a-long.

Hate is such a strong word. As I've grown, I've mellowed. I don't have the heart to hate anymore. People that is. I truly see and know we are all part of something big and are created for good. Each life has a purpose.

I admit it. There are things I hate. I hate when I find out former students have died too soon. I hate cancer, ALS/MND, Alzheimer's, mental illnesses, strokes, and freak, fatal accidents. I hate addictions. I hate parental neglect. I hate prejudice. I hate that some people feel unloved. I hate that we value things over human life. I hate that we are so easy to judge and resent others. I hate that my hands are too weak to Blog like I used to Blog. I hate that my body is betraying me. I hate being sick. It's true. There is a time to hate.

One of the last books we read at our local bookclub, "Turn the Page," was The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. One of the characters in the novel was hated by the village because of his German heritage. The village had lost many sons at the hands of the Germans during WWI. He was a simple young man, a baker. Amid the slurs and taunting, he smiled. His wife asked him, "How can you forgive and be so happy?" He told her, "I can forgive and forget... it is so much less exhausting. You only have to forgive once. To resent, you have to do it all day, every day. You have to keep remembering all the bad things." When this quote was used to end our discussion all of us had an "aha" moment. So there are also times to forgive and forget. I think this is so hard for us as humans. We cling to our anger and resentment like it's a gem. Don't. Life is too short; it's but a breath on the timeline of time. Make your breath a refreshing one. One that breathes life into everyone on your life path. Let it fill the air with sounds of love and affirmations. Let it sing praise. "Turn, Turn, Turn" your hate into love.
Sarah Anderson Alley
Sal the Things I Hate Gal

Quotes of the Day:

Right and wrong can be like bloody snakes: so tangled that you can't tell which is which until you've shot them both, and then it's too late.
M. L. Stedman - The Light Between Oceans

To have any kind of a future you’ve got to give up hope of ever changing your past
M. L. Stedman - The Light Between Oceans

We always have a choice. All of us
M. L. Stedman - The Light Between Oceans