The River of Life has no meaning - no good, no bad, no better, no worse, no love, no hate, no fear, no anger, no joy. - Jonathan Lockwood Huie
The River of Life has no meaning - no good, no bad, no better, no worse, no love, no hate, no fear, no anger, no joy. The River of Life has no judgment, no expectation. The River of Life just IS. - Jonathan Lockwood Huie
The River of Life meanders without apparent purpose. To question Life is to invite suffering. To attempt to overpower Life is to tilt at windmills. Life is best enjoyed without resistance. Surrender to the flow of the River of Life, yet do not float down the river like a leaf or a log. While neither attempting to resist time nor to to hurry it, become the rudder and use your energy to correct your course to avoid the whirlpools and undertow.
The River of Life - Jonathan Lockwood Huie
The River of Life flows without emotion. The River surges. The River quiets. The River overflows its banks. The River dries to a trickle. The River swirls and storms. The River becomes calm. The River runs clear. The River runs dark with silt. The River is indifferent to what benefit or what harm is caused by its water. The River is the River, and that is all there is to it.
The River of Life has no judgments. The River flows with no concept of good and bad – right and wrong. The fields and dreams of men may be nourished by the River of Life, or flooded and covered with silt, and the River just flows. Men may catch fish and live on the River of Life, or they may founder in a storm and drown, and the River just flows.
The River of Life is timeless. It is not unchanging, but it is timeless, and it changes in its own time.
The River of Life knows no obstacles. The River can cut through solid rock – in its own time.
The River of Life is not powerful – and it is not weak. The River of Life is not gentle – and it is not strong or rough. The River of Life is not deep or shallow. The River of Life is not nourishing or punishing. The River of Life is simply the River of Life. The River of Life just IS. There is no more to it.
The River of Life has no meaning, no good, no bad, no better, no worse, no love, no hate, no fear, no anger, no joy. The River of Life has no judgment, no expectation. The River of Life just IS.
There is nothing to do. There is nothing to say. There is nothing to think. There is nothing to feel. The River just flows.
The River is the source of all nourishment - the source of all obstacles. The River is the source of all life – the source of all death. The River is the source of all joy – and the source of all sorrow. Yet the River has no joy – and the River has no sorrow. The River is just the River.
One can flow harmoniously with the River – or one can struggle fearfully against the River - and the River just flows. One can accept the River – or one can deny the River – and the River just flows. One can worship the River of Life – or one can curse the River of Life – and the River just flows.
There is nothing to do – and the River flows. There is nothing to say – and the River flows. There is nothing to think – and the River flows. There is nothing to feel – and the River flows. The River flows – and all else is our drama. The River flows – and all else is our invention.
I choose to flow with the River of Life.
The Serenity Prayer is most commonly attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr, although there is some evidence that it existed before he popularized it in the 1930's. This prayer became well known with it's adoption by Alcoholics Anonymous in 1941.
God grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference.
To apply this great wisdom...
1. The past cannot be changed, so what there is to do is to accept what has been with no regrets, no resentments, and no call for vengeance.
2. Remember that there are a million "wrong things" in the world (as well as a billion "right things"), so focus your energies on addressing with courage the few issues closest to your heart, and accept the rest of life with serenity.
3. Never waste your time or energy complaining. Either take positive action, or accept with serenity. This is especially true with regard to politics and money.
"I had the great pleasure of knowing Annette Hanshaw since 1959 when having been captivated beyond hope of release by some of her records the previous year, I decided to meet her if it were at all possible. So I went to New York that June, and met this shy being whose reluctance to delve into her recording achievements has since become well known. Gradually, I persuaded her to discuss her life in show business, which she had put behind her more than two decades before we met and found that here was a source of valuable information and more, much more, here was a delightful companion who, having promised to see me and help me research as much as she could, would not go back on her word.
Over the years we kept in touch by letter, and I kept hoping that various projects to record Annette again would become real. Then, little by little, I sensed that things were not as well with her as they should be. I kept hearing from other sources that she had had several stays in hospital, and the chances of a new Annette LP faded away. I helped David Tarnow of CBC in his tribute to her, broadcast on March 4 and 5, 1984, in a letter to me three weeks later, Annette said she had still not heard it, adding that a famous Canadian artist from Ottawa wanted to paint her portrait.
There followed another long silence, then on Christmas Eve, 1984. Annette called me on the phone. She sounded a little frail, but I could tell she was putting up a fight. "I'm pretty sick," she said. "How I wish it would all go away." On Wednesday, March 13, 1985, her wish was granted, and all of us who love her voice lost something irreplaceable....
The highest compliment to Annette Hanshaw was paid by no less a perfectionist than Tommy Dorsey, who described her as "the musician's singer."
John Hammond once said of her, "I don't think she realizes how good she is." He was right; she led the way and the others followed on, most a long distance behind. None ever overtook her; if any in the future should try, we have Annette's records an infallible yardstick by which others can be measured." Liner notes "Annette Hanshaw Volume 3," by Brian Rust, noted music biographer and historian.
Time to get some reading in, Nite Nite sweety, always with love. Maria xo
