I’ve been trimming a huge overgrown Viburnum hedge for weeks now. I do a little at a time due to my time constraints with family and I also don’t want to freak my neighbors out—it’s their hedge. Of course, I have their permission but it’s a drastic change for the better. We all get a huge panoramic view of the lake now and the hedges are growing back healthier.
One day while my sister was visiting, John said I was like the little old ant moving a viburnum plant. My sister started singing the song High Hopes and she knew most all the words! We all laughed and started singing the song and it was so much fun. They don’t make songs like that anymore!
As the days went by, I started thinking about that song and its message, said so simply but powerful none the less. During the years of struggling with cancer I always had my songs, lyrics, Biblical texts and anything that would drive me forward and upwards. It’s important that we fuel our minds with positive thoughts and images and not let the devil bring us downwards. I always say that it takes just as much energy to frown as it does to smile, so why not smile? Our choices make or break our day and to stay positive and happy helps relieve the stresses of daily living.
Here’s a few lines to the song…
Next time you’re found,
with your chin on the ground
There’s a lot to be learned, so look around
Just what makes that
little old ant
Think he’ll move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant, can’t
Move a rubber tree plant
But he’s got high hopes,
he’s got high hopes
He’s got high apple pie, in the sky hopes
So any time you’re
gettin’ low
‘Stead of lettin’ go
Just remember that ant
Oops, there goes another rubber tree plant
Oops, there goes another rubber tree plant
Oops, there goes another rubber tree plant
(High Hopes is an Oscar-winning song from the 1959 movie “A hole in the head”, starring Frank Sinatra and Edward G Robinson and written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn. There are several YouTube videos for those who would like to hear it.)