Monday, January 1, 2018
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
1/1/2018
Hello, Everyone,
It was 39 degrees this morning on my daily walk, here in Laramie, Wyoming. I could not help but think of a bit of trivia that there are 39 songs in my upcoming book - IT'S A NEW DAY! How about that?
Speaking of that upcoming book, I spent most of yesterday marking up a proof copy my publisher just sent me. If all goes as planned now, I should be done with it by my late father's 111th birthday - Jan. 31st. If not, it should not go much into Feb. But I sure was surprised to find my book will be 470 pages long. I expected it to be more like 350, not 470, but I guess I should have known. The reason it is so long is that I am choosing to print it in larger letters to make it easier to read. That will make the cost of the book more, but I do believe the tradeoff of an easier read for a more expensive book will be worth it.
And speaking of song, as I did earlier, Nancy and I are trying to select several songs from IT'S A NEW DAY! for our upcoming CELEBRATION OF LIFE - Sat, April 28th. We realize that lots of people consider a "Celebration of Life" as a ceremony to memorialize some person who has just died; but why wait until death to "celebrate life"? We think that everyone should be celebrating life long before they pass. So, that is why we are calling our ceremony a CELEBRATION OF LIFE! We hope we can encourage others to do the same. As we do, all should do. Think about it if you will. Alright?
For what it's worth, we hope our ceremony will be full of song - all mine, of course. This morning, I selected 17 songs of the 39 in my upcoming book that I think might fit into a ceremony; and soon, Nancy will review the songs available and pick some number she might like. Then we will match our lists and keep only those that both of us have selected. Out of that list, we will pick 5 to 7 - and then plan our ceremony around those selected songs.
Who will sing them? Maybe just me and maybe Nancy with me - or maybe a singing group like the group we belong to - the MELODEES. None of my songs have been scored with their melodies, however. If they are sung with instrumental accompaniment, I suppose they will have to be scored, but that is no big deal. Nancy could probably do that since she has taught piano all her life. And Mary Jean, our MELODEES director, be aware that you can choose to have the MELODEES sing some of the songs - or I can sing them or a congregation can sing them. It does not matter to me who sings them; but it does matter that we do sing them - simply because the lyrics represent what Nancy and I believe. It might be, however, that Pastor Nathan will find them unsuitable for a ceremony in his Trinity Lutheran Church.
Pastor Nathan, we hope you can "accept" our song lyrics, but we realize those lyrics might be unsuitable for a traditional Christian service. If so, it's OK. We are easy; and we will find another venue, as it were, for our planned celebration. OK? For what it's worth, I will feature one song that Nancy likes below. The notion that all is Sacred is in all of my songs. So if you like one, you will probably like them all. If one is unacceptable, all are probably that way. Alright?
Hey, hope all are looking forward to a wonderful 2018! We are! My New Year's Resolution this year is the same as it has been most of my life - LIVE GRACIOUSLY AND GRATEFULLY every day of the year. That is a resolution we highly recommend!
Be in touch! And again, HAPPY NEW YEAR! And if you can, know you are welcome to our planned CELEBRATION OF LIFE. If you need a place to stay for the event, we will be glad to crowd you in our house - if indeed a crowd shows up. Just let us know if you plan to come so we can arrange for a bunk bed for you if necessary. OK?
Thanks!
Be in touch!
Gently,
Nancy Shaw and Will (Frank, Francis, Sonny, Ferdinand) Bessler
Laramie, Wyoming
willieb@wyoming.com
www.una-bella-vita.com
It's A New Day!
A song (or poem)
by
Francis William Bessler
Written 12/22/2016
Look around and notice what you see -
not what you believed.
It's a new day!
Pay attention to the life that is here
and know that Heaven is not only there.
It's a new way!
The time is now to appreciate
the mystery of life.
There is no better time than now
to embrace what's right.
It's a new day!
Open your heart and eyes
to love the wonder that is you.
It's a new day!
Be aware we're all the same
and in each of us, there is the truth.
It's a new way!
The truth is that
we are all a reflection of The Divine;
and that's exactly why
we should know our lives are fine.
It's a new day!
The world is the same
as it has always been.
There is nothing new -
there has never been any sin.
Our only sin has been
to see life as ill
and then treat ourselves
as part of the deal.
Let's take off the shroud
in which we've been enclosed.
It's a new day!
The Light of God
is in All exposed.
It's a new way!
There is nothing new
under our shining, glorious Sun.
We're all Children of the Light
and knowing that should be our fun.
It's a new day!
FINISH:
Yes, indeed,
let's practice a New Way -
because it is a New Day!
Yes, it is a New Day!