JOY IS EASY TO CARRY

The moment you realize how easy joy is to carry…

How she’s as light as a touch, a smile…a song…

You also realize wherever you choose to go…

Joy can easily tag along.

 

JOY IS EASY TO CARRY

 

The moment you realize how easy joy is to carry…

How she’s as light as a touch, a smile…a song…

You also realize wherever you choose to go…

Joy can easily tag along.

JOY

 

Life is short and oftentimes shaped by circumstances out of our control…

Which means savoring the joy and sweetness of every moment

should be our constant goal.

And though I am still heartbroken at where I think our country…our world is headed

at the things some people are so callously attempting to destroy…

when it comes to my life and the people I love…I’m determined to find joy.

 

It’s in my morning walk…when I stop to greet the stars.

When I say hello to the moon, to Orion…to Jupiter and Mars.

It’s listening to the owls as I watch the clouds drift across the sky

It’s watching the rabbits stop and nod…a subtle acknowledgment as I walk by.

It’s taking a second walk with Deborah…in the waxing light of day.

Saying hello and stopping to talk to people we meet along the way.

It’s holding hands, a smile, a hug, a gentle kiss…a touch.

It’s so many of the little things I’ve come to love so much.

It’s any moment with my family…any time with them I spend.

It’s receiving popcorn from our son…or warm cookies from a friend.

It’s sitting down with a good book…or a slow walk along the shore…

It’s going to sleep and waking up next to someone I adore.

I am not naive…

I know despite my prayers…hatred, war and evil in this world remain….

and I know finding joy may not heal my broken heart…

But…

it does help to ease the pain.

OCTOPUS HUG

 

Some days I wish I had eight arms

that I could wrap around you…

those days when two arms don’t seem to be enough

when only an octopus hug will do

THE POWER OF SILENCE

If you ever want to understand what power there is in silence

a power you can almost see….

take a walk on a foggy morning

and feel how strong the silence can be.

ONE FOGGY ALMOST CHRISTMAS DAY

 

 On a walk a few days before Christmas…

I was greeted by a morning fog so thick…

to my face and hands and clothing…

that heavy fog did stick.

A blanket so dense when I looked ahead…

the fog obstructed my view…

The kind of fog you don’t walk in…

you find yourself walking through. 

This fog blocked the moon and the stars 

and frustrated the morning breeze

everything around was wet…

i could hear fog dripping off the trees.

As I turned the corner down town 

on this cozy foggy night

I was greeted there on Main Street 

by a host of Christmas lights.

I stopped to enjoy the moment 

as the multi-colored lights blended with the foggy grey.

I stopped because the moment

took my breath away.

I walked the rest of the way in silence…

a fitting epilogue…

to the morning I was blessed 

to be surrounded 

by the beauty of the fog.

ELEANOR H. PORTER

 Today’s blessing is inspired by Eleanor H. Porter

A novelist I find enlightening and wise

And every now and then I like to stop and wish

we all would see the world through Mrs. Porter’s eyes.

It’s not that when we seek out the good in the world

to all the bad we are blind…

It’s just…when we’re hunting for the good things

we sort of forget the other kind.

POLLYANNA CHRISTMAS WISHES

 

Some people say I’m a dreamer…an idealist…a Pollyanna

some people, I imagine, just like you. 

They say I have unrealistic hopes and dreams and wishes…

that my wishes will never come true!

I know there are certain aspects of life we cannot wish away

that are the cause of heartache and pain.

people we love getting older…dying…

Tornadoes, earthquakes, floods and hurricanes.

But there are other parts of life…of living…

of who we are every day

that the Pollyanna in me believes can be wished away.

The wishes I make come from deep inside my heart, my mind…and my soul…

The wishes I make deal with the parts of our lives I know we can control.

It’s funny how the older I get…I make these wishes more and more

I wish there was no hatred in the world…no hunger…no prejudice…no war.

I wish all the people in the world were kinder…more understanding

more accepting of everyone

I wish no on ever again had to die from bombs…or from the bullets of a gun.

And another wish I’ll add to this little Christmas sonnet…

I wish we took better care of the Earth and all the creatures on it.

Yes, some who hear my wishes say I am an idealist…a dreamer…a Pollyanna

and of course I know it’s true

So my final wish is that the rest of the world was filled with Pollyannas too.

SNOWVFLAKE MEMORIES

 

May memories of Christmas past 

fall like snowflakes this Christmas Day…

There to make you smile for a moment 

before they fade away

THIS YEAR'S CHRISTMAS TREE

 

For 36 years it’s been a Christmas tradition for Deborah and me

that the only gift we give each other is a Christmas tree.

As we decorate our tree with memories it never fails to give our hearts a lift…

The Christmas tree we buy and decorate each year is the perfect Christmas gift.

This year we bought a little smaller tree…Oh…it’s still the perfect gift

but the older we get we find the bigger trees gets a little harder to lift.

Once we brought her in, and placed her in the bucket on the floor

we found this year’s tree could not hold as many memories as other trees before.

And for some reason this years tree…although still beautiful and bright 

from the moment we started decorating her was losing needles left and right.

But there she stands in the corner…just like ever other Christmas tree

holding up our memories as bright and proud as she can be

The other day I realized this year’s Christmas tree is a lot like me…

Like her I seem to be a little shorter than the me I used to be.

Like her I don’t hold as many memories…

my mind has lost some of my earlier scenes…

And I’ve been losing needles since I was in my teens.

Which is why I have to smile every time I see this year’s tree…

in the corner…standing there….

because I know with this tree…this Christmas…there’s so much that we share.

I know I say this every year…by now you must think I’m going mad…

but I believe this year’s Christmas tree…is the best tree we’ve ever had.

ADD ONE WISH

 Christmas and the holiday season is a time to look back

and…while at our life and our memories we gaze…

to relish our family…our peace, our love, our happiness…

to be astonished and amazed.

As we look out on the faces of children and adults

and hear holiday music in the air…

we like to think in our little world…at least for this moment

there is peace, and love and laughter everywhere.

But in our quiet moments

as we turn our gaze outward…we see other people in the world who….

when it comes to peace and joy within their lives

we know…this isn’t true.

People who when they look back on their year

realize for them…life was anything but fair…

People who endured great heartache, 

calamity, misfortune and despair.

People who realize they are not as happy as they once were before.

people suffering from hunger, ridicule, abuse, prejudice…

or the devastation and confusion of war.

 

So to all of us who are not suffering this holiday season

I hope it’s not too late…

to add this wish before you open your presents…

before fill up your holiday plate:

To all those in our country and across the world

living in poverty, desperation or fear…

We hope next year your holiday will be as happy

as our holiday is this year.

HAPPINESS AND BABY ELEPHANTS

 

May the entire world be blessed to live most of their life

free of heartache, suffering and pain….

and experience moments filled with as much joy and happiness

as baby elephants playing in the rain.