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New Year, A View and Some Thoughts From Outer Space

View From Lake Hogan Trail
Stand in awe before your creator and all that you see. Know that there is something bigger. Take comfort in that thought and be satisfied. 
On Christmas Day we watched a movie. It was The Martian with Matt Damon. (Yes, I know I am very late to the party. We just don't watch many movies.) It was very entertaining and oddly enough, very moving in a real spiritual sense. I have included a quote from the film here which really struck me. The quote from the movie is Mark Watney's letter to his parents to be delivered by his commander in the event of his death. In the letter he talks about his job, how he loves it and isn't giving up the fight but just preparing for an outcome. It's the last part though that really got me, the part about him dying for something  greater than himself. He accepts this and seems satisfied with the knowledge of what may happen to him. It was a very moving scene. May we all be so composed and content as our end approaches.

 I should mention now that I am notorious for not quite getting the "required point" of a story, an article, a quote, or someone's narrative. I always miss the main point and turn it into something slightly different. (This was a real challenge for me throughout my school career and continues to be so, obviously. I was constantly being corrected.) The above quote is no exception to this lifetime "rule." I am sure that even though I know what Matt Damon's character wrote, I really took it to mean something else entirely. I am offering my own take on things, as can be read in the opening lines of this post, and yes, I quoted myself! So there!

 His words resonated with me and appeared at just the right time. There is some part of me that always wants to be at peace with my life no matter the circumstances. No matter what my past life has been like and no matter what the future holds, I would like to say that I am satisfied. Believing that there is something outside of myself, beyond my comprehension, would be wonderful. It is a relatively new way of thinking for me so I continue to work on the idea.  I can't fully grasp it though just as I can't fully stand in awe of my creator as I would want to. I'd like to be able to look out at the mountains and lake each morning on my walks and really have that kind of faith; the kind of faith that is peaceful, complete, and sure of itself. The kind of faith that the character in the movie has. (Even though he is a fictional character the idea of his resolution seems true and firm.) And I know that having faith in anything is a lifetime endeavor, one that you never come to the end of. Still.

 So for those of you who love New Year's resolutions, new beginnings, fresh starts, do-overs and all of that sort of stuff, may I suggest the above quotes as places to begin? Whatever your own spin may be, I wholeheartedly encourage it without correction!

 Happy New Year to anyone reading. May it be peaceful and full of satisfaction and awe.
Libby

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