Thursday, February 25, 2010

Wild turkey, a story and frost



"This too shall pass."

Happy or sad, good or bad, no matter what, eventually everything changes, again and again.  I'm not going to apologize for my whiny post last night but I am happy to report that the sun is shining this morning!  The sky is only partly cloudy!  I got some sleep and am ready for a new day.

Curious, I looked up the phrase "This too shall pass" because it gets me through a lot.  I'll share something from Wikipedia about it.  Hope you enjoy it.

One day Solomon decided to humble Benaiah Ben Yehoyada, his most trusted minister. He said to him, "Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkot which gives you six months to find it." "If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty," replied Benaiah, "I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?" "It has magic powers," answered the king. "If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy." Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a little taste of humility. Spring passed and then summer, and still Benaiah had no idea where he could find the ring. On the night before Sukkot, he decided to take a walk in one of the poorest quarters of Jerusalem. He passed by a merchant who had begun to set out the day's wares on a shabby carpet. "Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that makes the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?" asked Benaiah. He watched the grandfather take a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it. When Benaiah read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile. That night the entire city welcomed in the holiday of Sukkot with great festivity. "Well, my friend," said Solomon, "have you found what I sent you after?" All the ministers laughed and Solomon himself smiled. To everyone's surprise, Benaiah held up a small gold ring and declared, "Here it is, your majesty!" As soon as Solomon read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The jeweler had written three Hebrew letters on the gold band: gimelzayinyud, which began the words "Gam zeh ya'avor" -- "This too shall pass." At that moment Solomon realized that all his wisdom and fabulous wealth and tremendous power were but fleeting things, for one day he would be nothing but dust.


Happy Skywatching! 




And, finally, the picture I tried to post last night of hoar frost and blue sky.

16 comments:

Sylvia K said...

What a gorgeous capture it is!! The rich blue of the sky is the perfect backdrop -- so much so that even though I know how tired you are of winter by now -- you've captured the incredible beauty of it anyway! I do hope you have a beautiful weekend! Enjoy!

Sylvia

Pat said...

That is a strikingly beautiful deep blue sky! That will chase the melancholy away in no time.

I really like that phrase, "This too shall pass." It does put things in perspective.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Great picture. I love wild turkeys. It seems that whenever I see one it is a great surprise.

Nice story. For some reason the idea that eventually we will all be dust again, is somehow reassuring.

Gaelyn said...

Great story and pic.

It's alright to snivel. A friend tells me I have three days to PMS (piss, moan and snivel)then move on.

I ask myself, "will it matter tomorrow?"

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Loran, I'm trying to catch up a bit on blogs today. I know how you feel about the weather---but as you know, there's not a darn thing any of us can do about it... I just keep telling myself that there is always some place that is MUCH worse off than I am... AND--as you said, "This too shall pass"..... Yeah!!!

We're having a great time in Arkansas --but the week is passing much too fast.... We've had really nice weather here this week--and that is good since they are getting more snow flurries at home. Gads!

Hugs,
Betsy

Jim said...

Amazing shots against a blue sky.
Sydney - City and Suburbs

Martha Z said...

Two things in two days you have written which remind me of my mother. "This too shall pass" was a favorite saying of hers and she often refered to "the Universe" in the same manner you used it. Then I remembered, she was a Social Worker and so are you. Interesting.

I noticed the addition to your header. He seems happy in the snow.

Barb said...

Brogan on the winter bridge - a wonderful new Header! That hoar frost against the blue sky is lovely, too. I often say "This too shall pass..." Glad I now know the back story!

Laura said...

beautiful blues, wow. I love the Solomon story too. Life is always shifting...moment to moment.

Unknown said...

I oove the phrase 'this too shall pass' it's so hopeful. Lovely shots too.

eileeninmd said...

Beautiful sky photos, lov ethe vulture. I noticed you have a dog now on your header, he/she is a cutie!

Anonymous said...

Love the hoar frost - we call it rine frost here. Frozen clouds. Lovely photos.

Joe Todd said...

Love the blue sky as I look out my window at gray/snow.. Now your DSL running like dialup.. that is serious LOL

Anonymous said...

I love the picture of Brogan and I hope I get to see Hoar Frost in person some day. I had never heard of it until you taught me about it a couple years ago. It is so cool. Hope winter ends soon for you. Wish you were here!

Lisa Wilson said...

Beautiful photos! I think you are entitled to whine sometimes. There's no way I could do your job. Thanks for making a difference in people's lives!

Louise said...

GREAT story! And the blue, blue sky behind the white branches is crisp and breathtaking.