Here's to a Mouse

Tonight is Burns Night, in honour of the 2nd greatest poet in my books, Rabbie Burns, or as some people know him as Robert Burns, the greatest Scottish poet to date. But before I can get to enjoying a whisky in honour of Rabbie, I had to get a sewerage blockage sorted out. Och the joys of living in a modern home without the niceties of having an outside long drop toilet.

Once as Rabbie was working his fields he accidentally overturned a mouse nest which lead to one of my favourite poems, Tae a Mouse. This poem ends off with Rabbie saying how blessed the mouse actually is.

But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane, 

In proving foresight may be vain: 

The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men 

          Gang aft agley, 

An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, 

          For promis’d joy! 

Still, thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me! 

The present only toucheth thee: 

But Och! I backward cast my e’e, 

          On prospects drear! 

An’ forward tho’ I canna see, 

          I guess an’ fear!

In summary, these last 2 verses says, well that's life. Whether you a mouse or a man, your plans, however well made, often get messed up. After all mice are blessed compared to us humans as mice live in the present moment while us humans look to the past with regret and to the future with fear. It is that last lines, But Och! I backward cast my e’e, on prospects drear! An’ forward tho’ I canna see, I guess an’ fear! Yes we keep looking to the past with regret and to the future with fear.

So I poured meself a wee whisky, to drink to Rabbie. So who holds the number 1 spot in my heart dare you ask? Well that my dear goes to Yeats, and my most favourite poem of all, The Stolen Child. And of course following up on Rabbie Burns is Pushkin but tonight it is all Rabbie. Have a blest Burns Night.

Primitive Thanksgiving

There is something primitive about sitting around a fire in each one of us. I can only imagine this deep down warm fuzzy feeling stems from a time when our ancestors sat around a fire pit in a cave under an enormous starry sky for safety and warmth.

So on this cool summer’s evening, a group of friends gathered around a brazier for warmth and to give thanks to the Lord our God for a hard year that was full of ups and downs, but a year that God was in control.

This year has surely flown past, as we once again find ourselves at our year end dinner. For me this year was a hard one and I give thanks that deep down I can lean on the knowledge that God is in control even when my life seems out of control and heading for that crash test wall with dummy me strapped inside. My second thanks is for my son Matthew. It is his birthday today and I thank God that he has turned out to be a wonderful young man.

After our primitive yet very important giving thanks around the fire, we sat down at a well decorated table for our year end meal. Breaking bread with friends and family is a highlight in the year for me, knowing that I belong.