GOOD NEWS

With so much bad news all around us..in our country…in our neighborhood…

We sometimes have a tendency to overlook the good.

Yesterday a woman came into the store and bought two books…

There was a gleam in her eyes when she told me one book was for her

the other…for her husband…a surprise.

But since here husband was in the store she didn’t want her intentions known

“Could you hide it under the counter?” She asked. “I’ll can pick it up when I’m alone.”

“I’m here to buy my daughter a book.” A man said.

She told me to go to the counter and see the man behind it

She knows I’m not good at locating things.

She said you’d help me find it.”

He described the book…I took him to the section

but he didn’t need me…I must add…

The book was open on the shelf

with a note reading, ‘It’s this one Dad’.

“That’s just like my daughter." he said

“Not only to leave it in plain view 

but to make sure I would find it…she even left a clue”

Sometimes we need to look for good news…

in a world where we’re barely treading water…

Like the love of a wife for her husband…

or a father for his daughter…

They say bad luck comes in threes…perhaps good news comes in twos…

For two times in a row I witnessed love…and I consider that good news

Good news in the smile of a wife’s dilemma

and how she found a way around it…

Good news in how a daughter hid a book

and the face of the dad who found it

And isn’t that the wonder of good news?

How easy it is to spot.

How it doesn’t have to overpower you…

in fact most times it does not…

harmony

On his 50th anniversary they were asked this question:

What has made your marriage so enjoyable and strong

In this day and age…when many marriages fall apart…

How is it you’ve stayed together for so long?

They paused for but a moment 

then the same thought entered their heads.

“I believe what has kept us together so long

has to do with dreams” he said.

“I had a dream about where my life would go

and what I was going to do

and I’m sure before I knew her

my wife had her dream too.”

“But the secret to our marriage”, she continued

“something we both long ago realized

was not only that our two dreams came together

but how they harmonized.”

A SPECIFIC KIND OF LONELINESS

There is a specific kind of loneliness when you lose someone you love

It is difficult to explain…

For some it’s like a hole in their heart…

For others…a permanent stain.

It’s specific for each person

We have our own joys…our own agonies

housed within our hearts…in specific memories

We spend our years making these memories…from every January to December….

after a person dies we spend the rest of our years

trying to remember….

We easily remember the big moments…momentous laugher…meaningful tears

But we find as our mind searches through its memories

It’s the little things we hold dear.

It’s a smile shared from across a room

It’s walks together in the sand

It’s seeing the sparkle in their eyes

It’s quietly holding hands.

It’s a hug for no reason whatsoever…just to show how much we care

It’s a kiss on the back of the neck…It’s those quiet moments that we shared…

When that specific loneliness enters our life…we have no choice but to face it…

But if we’re lucky for every moment of loneliness

we have a memory to replace it…

And when we stop and think it through…when into our memories we dig…

We wonder at what point in life…all our little things became so big? 

And though we know nothing will ever take away the ache

it is possible for the pain to be appeased

by filling up our specific loneliness

with specific memories…

ALL THE OTHERS

After listening to his final lesson 

the wise one was approached by a young woman and young man…

“We have a question.” they asked softly. 

He nodded, 

“I will answer it if I can.”

“We’ve listened to all your teachings.” They said

“We’ve taken them to heart.

You’ve taught us about beauty 

about friendship, love and art.” 

“You’ve taught us about acceptance and compassion

about how to have an open mind.

You’ve taught us about peace, 

about wisdom.

You’ve taught us to be kind.”

“We’ve listened and we’ve learned.” they said

“We’ve held on to your every breath.

Yet of all the subjects you have taught…

Yet you never speak of death?”

Their teacher looked at them and smiled, 

touched their shoulders 

then began to speak…

“Death eventually finds us.” he said…

“All the others…

we must seek.”

VOLTAIRE MIGHT SAY BEWARE

Voltaire lived in the early 1700’s…he was born in Paris, France….

His words still have meaning today…if we’d give them half a chance.

If we had the opportunity…to talk to the famous Voltaire

I imagine the first word out of his mouth…would be a word of warning…

Beware

Beware of your world leaders he might say…

they are not all compassionate and wise…

‘If you want to know who controls you…

look to those you’re not allowed to criticize’.

Beware of those who say how wise they are…

for there is usually insecurity behind it…

‘Cherish those who seek the truth,’ he’d say, 

‘but beware of those who find it.’

Beware of all the nonsense being spoken…

all the madness being tweeted.

‘Stupidity can appear as wisdom,’ he’d warn, 

‘the more often it’s repeated’.

He might say beware of those who are filled with arrogance 

with self-worship and pomposity

For ‘Those who can make you believe absurdities 

can make you commit atrocities’.

If he saw how easy it is for us to kill each other’s spouses, 

their daughters and their sons…

‘Beware of fools with power,’ he’d instruct, 

‘beware of fools with guns’.

If he looked at the way we treat those in need, he’d say

Beware! We need to change our point of view…

‘For everyone is guilty 

of all the good they do not do.’

Yes, I wonder if Voltaire was still here…

if he was around today

would we conveniently dismiss his words…

or listen to what he had to say?

NOW THAT I AM OLDER

Now that I am older…I love visiting the child I used to be

who would ride his bike out in the rain…or climb the highest tree…

Who believed in Santa Claus, saw faces in the clouds…

and never wondered why...

when he looked up on a moonless night...he saw starfish in the sky.

Who never cared about how he looked, or how much money his parents made

Who thought peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek were the best games ever played

Who could sit among the flowers watching the butterflies and bees…

Whose eyes were surprised more often…who was more innocent and free.

Now that I am older…I often stop to wonder…sometimes I fantasize

What the world would be like if we all grew up but kept our child’s eyes…

Would we be unable to see differences in our color, sex or name?

Would we smile and talk to everyone as if we’re all the same?

Would we welcome every visitor who enters through our door?

Would our world be one of peace and love?

Would we not think of war?

I have no proof things would be different…

but now that I’m older, as I say, I like to fantasize…

what our world would be like today

if we still saw it through our child’s eyes.

A HUNDRED YEARS OF TEARS

A young Native American boy was interested in his heritage

like many of us he wanted to know where he haled from

for he knew who he was and who he is…determines who he’ll become.

His father took him to an old cemetery…without any fanfare…without any frills

It was an unmarked private resting place…high up in the hills.

They sat silently for a moment…to allow old memories to amass

and so the spirits of their ancestors could join them in the grass…

He wanted his son to see for himself…he wanted him to understand

where so many of his ancestors were killed…by settlers who wanted their land.

He said this grass where we are sitting on…has grown here all these years…

nurtured by the sunlight…and a hundred years of tears…

But he also wanted his son to know…to make him understand

how his ancestors loved the beauty of the air…the trees, the sky…the land…

How they would talk to the animals…how they could walk without making a sound…

how the ground where they were sitting…is considered sacred ground…

“This cemetery is a reminder," he said, “of how nothing on Earth will last.

A place to look to the future with joy…while we grieve the sufferings of the past."

As his father retold old stories…his son felt connected…he felt proud

and on that hill-top cemetery…he made a solemn vow…

to carry on his culture…his traditions

to remember his history…

to ride on the back of his ancestors and be the best person he could be….

And he still remembers that day in the cemetery

listening to stories of hope and love and fear….

Sitting with eyes focused on the future

In grass softened by a hundred years of tears..

GRANDMA'S COAT

It’s old and a little tattered…the coat her grandma wore.

It doesn’t fit her all that good…it’s not in style anymore

It’s always by our front door…on the rack…just hanging there

She puts it on every now and then when she feels a chill is in the air.

I used to bring home new ones…I don’t do that anymore…

because she prefers to wear that old coat…the one her grandma wore.

Her grandma raised her after her parents died

It was in her grandma’s care she grew

She was too young to remember…

Grandma is the only mom she ever knew.

When she was sad or lonely or things weren’t going right

She would sit upon her grandma’s lap and grandma’s arms would hug her tight.

Through all the ills of growing up…through all the heartaches and thunderstorms

It was there in her grandma’s arms where she felt safe and warm.

When her Grandma passed away she left her this old coat

and there, on the inside pocket, she left a little note.

‘How many times over the years have I hugged you’…it read

‘I’ll never know the exact amount

because when it comes to hugging you

I long ago lost count.’

‘We all must die eventually for that is the circle of life.

This means I won’t be there to hug you

In times of happiness or strife.’

Which is why I’m leaving you my old coat…it’s the only one I’ve ever worn

It’s the one I was wearing when I first held you…the day that you were born.

Put it on when you are happy, when you’re excited or feeling blue

Put it on and know right then…I am hugging you.

Perhaps that’s why when she wears it…she also wears a smile…

and why that old coat her grandma wore…will never go out of style.

WHERE IS GOD?

Sometimes we humans can be so cruel…so unfair…so shadowy and dark…

A little girl is kidnapped, killed, then found discarded in a park.

Children are being murdered…for that matter people of all ages

Families flee into our country and are immediately put in cages.

Children are bought and sold for sex…women are abused

Survivors of these tragedies are left bewildered and confused

After every horror we create…in this country and abroad

we appeal to the heavens and ask the question…Where is God?

I wonder whenever we see one human-made tragedy end only for another to begin

if, instead of looking out for God…we should be looking in.

What if God is in each one of us…in our kindness…in the way we live

in our smile, in our touch…in our ability to give?

In a hug, a touch…a kind gesture…in every compliment we pay

in every act of compassion…in every thank you that we say?

If God is but a feeling in our heart in our mind and and in our soul…

then shouldn’t we be trying to discover her…shouldn’t that be our goal?

What if this is our mission in life…what if this is what life is all about

to discover the God in each of us…and invite her to come out?

If we realize that the God we look for is with us all along

then perhaps we’d stop asking where she is…

when we’ve done something wrong…

WHAT LOVE IS

A daughter came to her mother, “Mommy what is love?” she quizzed.

Her mother knew it was difficult to describe just what love is.

“I’m not sure I can answer for everyone.” She said, 

as her daughter climbed upon her knee

“But I will tell you as best I can…what love has meant to me”.

“It’s something that you feel…it’s not something you can see.

It’s when my heart is loved by you and your heart is loved by me.”

“For when two hearts love each other…happiness fills the air

and you notice when you look around…how beauty is everywhere.”

“It’s how you never suffer heartache or deal with your troubles on your own

because when two hearts love each other you never are alone.”

“I guess when you love someone”, and here she couldn’t help but grin… 

“You don’t know where your heart ends and where their heart begins.”

Then the mother looked at her daughter…having answered her little quiz

“Which makes me want to ask,” she said… “what do you think love is?”

Her daughter turned to face her mother…still seated on her knee…

“I guess when I think about it…

Love is you and Daddy…

and You and Daddy…and me.” 

“Yes!.” Her mom smiled as she gave her daughter a hug…

“Yes!” She said, as she softly whispered her name.

For she knew although their definitions may be different

their meanings were the same…

And they shared a quiet moment together…

both having aced their little quiz

each of them secure in the knowledge…

of exactly what love is.

STRIKE FOR CLIMATE DAY

The Earth now lay in ruins 

only one survivor remained

With his final message…

he wanted to explain….

I was part of a race of humans he wrote…

who didn’t know how to behave…

Who didn’t understand what would happen

Who took more than we gave…

The things we did to this planet

amounted to nothing more than theft.

we took 

and we took 

and we took

and now there’s nothing left…

I thought like many others…

I could abuse, destroy and deprave her

I, too, ignored the warning signs…

I thought someone else would save her.

We destroyed the air we breathe

our rivers our forests and our lakes….

Perhaps the next people who come along

can learn from our mistakes…

How sad…for we all knew the answers

but never really tried…

Then the man put down his pen

and took one more breath…

before he died.

DON'T YOU KNOW

“I wish I could have taken you more places.” he said

as into her eyes he stared…

“Don’t you know it never mattered where I was.” she said,

"as long as you were there.”

I LOVE THAT WE HAVE MEMORIES

I love that we have memories

Even though as the years pass we may begin to doubt them

I cannot imagine…I cannot fathom…

what life would be without them.

On the river of life…when times are difficult…

or when we float along with ease

wherever the current takes us…

we keep adding memories.

And if life is like a river always moving ever forward without a break

I like to think of memories as a calm and peaceful lake…

A lake that no matter how many memories we add will never over fill

A quiet, tranquil place where time itself stands still.

Where we can choose to pause a while…

on the edge where the water meets the land

to get our feet wet for a moment and scoop a memory in our hands…

Or if we want…if we have the inclination…to wade up to our knees

or dive headfirst under the water and be awash in memories.

I love to swim the entire lake…it’s waters cool and clear

because I never know what memories will suddenly appear…

I don’t mind that the good and bad memories have mixed together along the way

because they have intermingled to make me who I am today.

I find I like to talk to my memories…to thank them when they were bright…

and even though the time has passed…to warn them…in hindsight…

Oh, I know that moment’s gone and I can never change that memory

which makes me wonder:
if I am talking to my memory…or is my memory talking to me?

Yes, I love that I have memories

Even though as the years pass I may begin to doubt them

for I cannot imagine…

I cannot fathom…

what my life would be without them.

TALLER THAN NANA

We have four grandchildren in our life and we love they came our way.

We remember when each was born…as if it was yesterday.

When they were merely babies we held them in our arms

and through the years we’ve been enchanted and captivated by their charms.

It’s fun to look back wistfully to a time when they were smaller

because over the years…we’re not sure when…they’ve all grown so much taller!

We use to kid with them when they were younger…oh how the kids would fuss

When we’d put our hands on their heads and say…

“You’ll never be taller than us!”

Well…the first grandchild grew taller than Nana years ago, 

followed by the second 

then the third…

and Nana smiled as each one overtook her…without saying a word.

But the other day, reminding us how time often passes in a blur,

Nana noticed our youngest granddaughter is now looking down on her.

Nana, who once carried all our grandchildren easily across the floor

in the blink of an eye, or so it seems, is shorter than all four.

(I probably would be more sympathetic to Nana…to this growing reality

If I didn’t realize that all too soon…they’ll also be taller than me!) 

Of course we know that’s the way it goes…the way the years are supposed to pass

still in our wildest dreams we never expected…the years would pass so fast….

But as I see Nana and our grandchildren now standing side by side

I have to smile when I think how much we’ve enjoyed the ride….

So the fact they are taller than Nana…

is not something we bemoan

because we have enjoyed every minute 

of every hour 

of every inch 

that they have grown….

PAUSING IN THE FOREST

He often pauses in the forest…

gets down on his knees as if he’s praying

to gossip with the wind

and listen to what the trees are saying.

NOT TODAY

He was the great procrastinator

He had a knack…a way

of putting off until tomorrow

what he should have done today…

His life was filled with ‘not todays’

Many responsibilities he would shun

When he looked at a task, “Not today!” he would say 

and many things he left undone

As he was about to die 

his family sat by his bed to pray

they asked if he was ready 

he smiled… “Not today”.

“There’s still so much I want to see.” he said

“So much I want do.  

tomorrow I’ll be ready instead

perhaps…when the day is new”.

“Not today.” he said with a sigh

“there’re still a few lessons I’d like to instill.”

“Not today.” he repeated …  “and here is why…

they’re still a few promises I’ve yet to fill.”

But death is unsympathetic.

We don’t get to choose the day

“Not today.” he whispered the last time closed his eyes

and silently drifted away.

ONE ROSE

(If we only saw a field of flowers stretching out in a hundred rows

We may never truly appreciate the beauty of one rose.)

When I look at the life Deborah and I have had…

to this fact I must attest

With 3 children and 4 grandchildren…

we have both been blessed.

We have been extremely lucky as we’ve watched them grow

to realize how together they set our world aglow.

But we also love to take a moment…on this we both agree

to stop what we are doing…

and think of each one separately.

(If a crowded forest is the only view our eyes will ever see

we may never know the beauty of that solitary tree.)

So periodically we take a moment to look at each child individually

to savor the beauty that is growing on our own family tree.

(If only in the harmony of a choir we rejoice

we may never know the beauty of that one distinctive voice.)

We think back to a time long ago when they were babies…

when they sucked their thumb

and then we look today at the person they’ve become.

We find when we take the time to look at each one individually

we are pleasantly surprised…at what we hear and see.

It seems remembering each child independently 

gives us a moment to rejoice

and listen to the beauty we hear in a single voice.

When we take the time to remember each child individually

is when we discover the beauty and the wonder of that single tree….

Yes, looking at a single child…through their triumphs and their woes

is when we truly appreciate…the beauty of one rose.