May we all take time today
and for a moment
a little while
sit back,
relax…
and remember with a smile…
all the tastes,
the smells,
the sights
the sounds
all the memories we’ve acquired…
While sitting with our family and friends
around the flames of a campfire.
May we all take time today
and for a moment
a little while
sit back,
relax…
and remember with a smile…
all the tastes,
the smells,
the sights
the sounds
all the memories we’ve acquired…
While sitting with our family and friends
around the flames of a campfire.
The temperature hit 94 degrees in Florida yesterday
which, in itself, is an alarming stat…
but the 90% humidity made it feel quite a bit hotter than that.
So why, in the midst of this Florida heat did we invite the family next door
to sit with us around a campfire so we could eat s’mores?
Because…not only was it a time to enjoy our neighbors
under the shade of our old oak tree…
but we needed that campfire to experiment with a new s’mores recipe.
Although toasting marshmallows, placing them hot on a Hershey bar
between two graham crackers is still a lot of fun
Deborah found a way to combine all three steps…into one.
To any skeptic out there…let me tell you what I mean…
She made Rice Krispie treats ahead of time…with a layer of chocolate in between.
It was a wonderful idea…although Deborah is not one for boasting…
A Rice Krispie treat S’more…once made all that’s left is for the toasting.
And toasting it was easy…to our mutual surprise
we only had to wait for the sugar on the outside to begin to caramelize.
Did it work? Could it be that this s’more…the old s’more replaces?
The proof was the marshmallow sticking to our hands…
and the chocolate on our faces.
We all applauded Deborah’s creativity…on her s’more ambitiousness…
because the new s’more she created was pure deliciousness.
And we all decided as we kept eating her S’more Rice Krispie treats…
It was worth a few minutes around the campfire in the steamy Florida heat.
For today’s blessing I turn once again to Maya Angelou
whose words speak to people of all faiths and religions…
from Judaism to Islam to Christianity
May we be blessed not to die
without having done something wonderful for humanity.’
We first saw Cooper on our morning walk…and had the chance to meet
when, with tail wagging, he ran up to us as we walked along the street.
We imagine he ventured from his yard…deciding instead his neighborhood to roam…
then got lost and was trying unsuccessfully to find his way back home.
Luckily he had his dog tag on when up to us he came…
It’s how we knew immediately that Cooper was his name.
His address and phone number were also there…yes his dog tag had it all…
So…while I happily petted Cooper…Deborah made the call.
After drinking a bowl of water at our house Cooper finally made it home…
I wonder if he’ll be so quick tomorrow…his neighborhood to roam?
As I watched Cooper and his owner reunited…thank us
then walk off together as happily…
I thought isn’t what just happened the very definition of humanity?
To come to the aid of those in need…to be like their umbrella in the rain…
To help in anyway we can…to give food and drink and shelter…
to try and ease their pain?
Which makes me wonder what has changed about the world out there in front of me
what has happened to the human race…to our humanity?
I’m not saying humanity is dead…it’s not…I think we’re all agreed
there are many people who care about others…who will help anyone in need..
But humanity has been injured…wounded…which makes it bittersweet.
What if the answer lies with Cooper…a dog we met out on the street
Wouldn’t humanity be enhanced…if everyone across every land
had a hand in helping anyone who needs a helping hand?
I imagine we’d cherish human life a little more
If everyone treated everyone they see…
the way we treated Cooper
and I imagine…Cooper would agree.
May we all be blessed to understand the duality of love
as, each day, time continues its flow….
How that same love that makes life
so wonderful
so beautiful
so easy…
Also…
makes it so hard to let go.
I wonder a lot about love…in all her forms and shapes and sizes…
how something so universal can be filled with so many mysteries and surprises.
How can something that feels so beautiful be as invisible as the wind?
How is it that only when she brushes up against our heart
do we know where she has been?
I wonder how many kinds of love are out there.
I wonder how love came to be.
Is there a limit to her varieties or are they like waves on an endless sea?
Is there a kind of love that lasts forever
a love so strong we can see it in ones eyes?
Are there some loves built to weather any storm?
Some loves that never die?
I wonder is love floating around always waiting for the right two people to come along?
Does love ever make a mistake…is it possible for love to get it wrong?
Is there some love that has an expiration date as it sits upon a shelf within our heart?
A love that’s fades away as two people drift apart?
As confusing as love can be…it seems to get simpler the older I grow
and I accept the fact when it comes to love…there is so much I don’t know.
For I have learned love is fragile…that she must to be nurtured every day
If not, then like a rainbow stretching across a clear blue sky,
she will slowly fade away.
And I’ve learned love is like a precious stone…
that it’s impossible to own her…
and whether we hold onto her forever…
or only for a moment
how lucky we are to have known her.
Today’s blessing comes from the author L. R. Knost
who, with the wisdom and knowledge she brings
reminds us as human beings and parents
of two very important things:
She teaches us that it is not our job
to make our children tough enough to face
a world that is heartless and cruel
(Certainly this should be taught every day in every school)
It’s our job to raise children who will make their world
a little less heartless and cruel.
And she reminds us wherever children are murdered
whether in Israel,
Palestine,
Armenia,
Syria
Ukraine,
America
or Algiers…
every father screams the same screams
and every mother cries the same tears.
All my life I’ve been blessed to be in the unique position of watching children play.
From when I was a recreation aide in high school, to being a parent
then a teacher and now, in the bookstore, old and grey.
When children play together…it matters not what entertainment they might choose
whether it be their imagination or a particular sport or game…
What I’ve observed throughout the years is how most children play the same.
They laugh, they share, they jump, they run…without a care for the colors of each face
They sing, they dance, they hold hands with one another…
unaware or unaffected of politics, religion or race.
Within this same timeframe…high school, parenthood, being teacher
and now, in the bookstore, old and grey
I’ve watched how some of those same children, now adults,
have forgotten how they use to play.
Forgotten how to laugh and share…and jump and run
without a care for the colors of each face…
Forgotten how to sing and dance and hold hands with one another
unaware or unaffected of politics, religion or race.
And as I watch adults across the world
forgetting or ignoring their childhood lessons more and more every day
I pray for the day they will remember…the way they use to play.
I pray these adults will look out on the world…a world they helped to create
a world filled with suffering, havoc and woe
then look in the mirror and ask themselves…where did that child go?
And decide then and there the best way to fix a world that is so far out of whack…
would be start with the person they’re looking at…
and bring the child back.
