Skip to main content

Dawn's Embrace

In this episode - Dawn’s Embrace . . .

 

In the quiet hours before dawn breaks,
The darkness whispers, and my spirit wakes.

For in my hands, tomorrow lies—
A chance to reach,
to strive, to rise.

With steady focus, I find my way,

Turning each task into light for the day.

Not every path is smooth or clear,
Yet I push forward, shedding fear.

Life may bring disappointments, it's true.
My dreams are mine, and I'll see them through.
My attitude is my own to steer,
and No One else shapes the hope I hold dear.

So I start each morning with a heart alight,
Embracing dawn’s gentle, hopeful sight.
For love, for dreams, I’ll build and grow,
Sharing this warmth with all I know.

In each sunrise, I find the key—
The dawn of hope that lives in me.

 . . . Welcome to this week's episode of On The Fly. The previous poem was written the day after the election results. Yes, we’ve made it through another presidential election cycle.

Everyone at work was gloomy, angry, frustrated, and could not understand the logic. You may or may not be excited about the result or what's predicted to come. I heard comments like, “We’re in for DARK times.” Admittedly, this was my first year deeply involved in the frantic play of politics. I discovered that the media coverage fueled unrealistic predictions, rhetoric, name-calling, and built-up hate. Bombarded into your phone, social media, TV, radio, and the people around you continued to fuel the fire.

I had to step back and remind myself it's not healthy or productive to get so emotionally involved. Why not? Because as I’ve written about in many of my blog posts as a reminder, “You get what you look for.”

This week, I revisited the archives and listened to my self-affirmations, reminding myself that our choices shape our lives. 

Remember, “You will become what you think about.” My friends, the thoughts you nurture are your responsibility. It might be challenging to grasp this concept now, but it remains a universal truth: “We become what we think about.” 

Therefore, I’m taking a break from the news, dedicating time to my guitar, diving into uplifting literature, enjoying dinner with my beloved wife, and simply allowing myself to live without the distractions and pressures from outside forces that often overwhelm us and bring us down.

As Dr. Schuller once said, ”Today’s accomplishments were yesterday's impossibilities.”


So, my friends, let's take a deep breath. Let's choose peace and joy and focus on the good. Let's choose to be the change we wish to see. Remember, every day is a new beginning. Every sunrise offers a chance to start fresh. Let's fill our minds with positivity, kindness, and hope. Let's inspire others to do the same.


Three simple action steps will have a powerful impact:

Let's use this time to recharge, refocus, and emerge stronger than ever. Together, we can create a brighter future.

The power to change the world starts within you.

I’m Patrick Ball; thanks so much for listening; see you in the next episode.

Comments

Don Hanley said…
Patrick - this is one of the best published articles I've read to help us strugglers who wish to 'loyal' opposition people. And the beginning poem is superb and puts you in the catag0ry of OUTSTANDING POET AND AUTHOR!!! your friend Don Hanley

Most Popular of All Time

The Language of Home: Building a Sanctuary

This episode is  for anyone trying to find their footing in a new place—whether it’s a new city, a new job, or a new country. The light in Florence, Italy, has a way of making everything feel like a Renaissance painting—the golden hue on the stone, the steady rhythm of the Arno River, and the feeling that you are walking through a history much larger than yourself. I was there to give a presentation to a class of Gemology students. I was prepared to discuss color grading and refractive indices, but not to be outed as a language tutor . Feeling very much like a guest in a storied land, a hand shot up enthusiastically. "You’re the guy on the podcasts," the young woman said, her eyes bright with recognition. "You’re the one teaching us English." I laughed nervously. If you know my flat Midwestern accent, you know the irony here. I am hardly an Oxford professor. But later, as I wandered the cobblestone streets beneath the shadow of the Duomo, the humor faded into a powe...

Practiced Hands: The 50-Year Warranty

What Doc Burch Taught Me About Staying Active. We talk a lot about "life hacks" these days, but most of them don’t have a very long shelf life. Usually, they’re forgotten by the next app update. But back in 1972, I received a piece of advice that came with a 50-year warranty. It’s the reason I’m still on my bike today, still chasing a golf ball around Carlsbad, and still—mostly—in one piece. The Kick That Changed Everything It started with a literal kick in the pants. A kid at school in Cuba, Illinois, was joking around and caught me just right. By the next morning, my lower back was screaming. My mom didn’t reach for the Tylenol; she reached for her car keys. "Let’s go see Doc Burch," she said. "He’ll fix you right up." Harry E. Burch, D.C., was a fixture in Lewistown. He’d graduated from Palmer College in ’59 and had been our family’s go-to for years. He was a man of practiced hands and steady eyes. After a quick exam and an X-ray, the mood in the room s...

Chasing 70

In this episode,  Chasing 70: A Respectful Negotiation with Gravity They say golf is a game of misses. If that’s true, my first round of the year at Rancho Carlsbad was a masterclass in missing efficiently . After a four-month hiatus—during which my golf clubs quietly evolved into a self-sustaining garage ecosystem—Lori and I returned to our local par-three proving ground. Rancho Carlsbad is a par-54, just 1,983 yards long. That sounds forgiving until it exposes every weakness you’ve been politely ignoring during the off-season. I finished with a 78. In most contexts, 78 is respectable. On a par-54, it means I spent a fair amount of time “getting my steps in.” But here’s the real motivation: I turn 70 this August. As a core principle of my Great Un-Working Lifestyle, I’m putting it in writing: I want to shoot my age by my birthday. The Bald-Headed Man Course Around here, we have a nickname for Rancho Carlsbad. We call it the Bald-Headed Man Course. First, because there are no woods...

Who Was Dr. Seuss

In this episode, Who Was Dr. Seuss . . . I'm curious, have you ever wondered where the name Dr. Seuss came from? Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904. Today we celebrate his 118th birthday! After reading The Cat in the Hat for the first time in a previous podcast episode ( Tribute to Dr. Seuss ), we decided to try our hand at his literary style. I'm here to say it wasn't easy. Why Dr. Seuss? Well, remember that children's book series (The Who Was Series) we introduced you to? During a recent visit to Barnes and Noble, I picked up Who Was Dr. Seuss by Janet B. Pascal. After reading that book, I was compelled to order Oh, the Places You'll Go! What a marvelous book. I'll admit I've become captivated with these books; why? If you look carefully, the attention to character detail is outstanding. The facial expressions, the use of colors, the carefully crafted words created to rhyme, and the scope of the implied meaning w...