DAILY GRATITUDE THE OCEAN

 

Today I’m grateful for the ocean…

and her ability to set my heart and spirit free…

for many is the time I have found comfort

in the rhythms of the sea.

TIME IN NATURE

 

When your sprit need a little lift…

When you’re feeling sad, isolated or alone

Spend a little time in nature…

She will gladly lend you some of her energy

Until you feel strong enough to use your own.

 

WAVES AND RIPPLES

 We’ve been blessed to stand on the shore of the ocean 

and watch the sun paint the morning sky…

to feel the breeze, watch the clouds and marvel at the early birds flying by.

 

We’ve been blessed to have the time to linger there a while…

Blessed in the silence of the morning to see the planet smile.

We’re often hypnotized by the ocean…and the intimacy with which she behaves…

each wave supporting the next one…creating one endless wave.

How often we follow one wave…as we have a thousand times before…

from as far out as our eyes can see…on its journey to the shore.

This wave is followed by another wave, then another…

in this beautiful ballet they perform

And we marvel how, from an endless amount of ripples an entire ocean forms.

And when the tide changes…when we’re lucky enough to be sitting on the shore

as those ripples head back out to sea…our heart begins to soar.

because nature…the consummate artist, we have come to understand… 

has left, until the next tide rolls in, painted ripples in the sand.

And when we think of all the problems in the world

and how we are but one ripple in this storm…

It helps to be reminded how, when ripples work together

an entire ocean can be formed.

When enough people realize this…when they begin to understand

they will see we have the power, when working together…

to leave our own painted ripples in the sand.

And when our ripples come together…to a paint the shore

even if only for a little while…

we will be blessed in the silence of the evening

to see the planet smile.

DAILY GRATITUDE OUR HOUSE

 

Today I’m grateful for our house…

and how…while watching our children grow 

and through its yard and hallways roam…

somewhere along the way

this house became our home.

OUR HOUSE

 

May we be blessed to understand in our house everywhere we look

every floor, every wall, every room is like a chapter in a treasured book

And even once they’re grown…

If this house was written with love, understanding and compassion

 

There will come a time every now and then…

When…just like that treasured book

our children will open it up…

to revisit it again.

THE STORY OF A HOUSE

 

 I pass a lot of houses in the quiet of the morning as I walk the streets alone.

It gives me time to think about how every house has a story all its own.

And though every story of each house is unique and different…

they’re not as different as they seem.

I imagine the story of each house follows a similar, complementary theme.

Let’s say two newlyweds or two partners are looking for a house…

Let’s say they never bought a house before.

I imagine there’s a feeling they get when they step through the front door.

Perhaps they share a look, perhaps tighten the grip on each other’s hand…then sigh….

as so many dreams of the future play out before their eyes.

They see babies crawling, children drawing crayons figures on the walls.

They hear the sound of those same children laughing…running through the halls.

They see Fairy Tales being read as they tuck their children into bed.

They see a family seated around a table sharing stories as they’re fed.

They see many moments of happiness together while the children are still young.

Christmases, holidays, celebrations…Happy Birthday’s being sung.

They see their children growing up, getting driver’s license, their first date.

They see themselves waiting up anxiously for their children…who are late.

They see their young adults heading off to college or a job…

They imagine all the places they might roam…

They see their bedroom waiting patiently should they return back home.

They see grandchildren crawling, drawing crayon figures on the walls

They see those same grandchildren laughing…running through the halls.

They imagine a time way off in the future…they know not when…or why

once this house has fulfilled her duties…it will be time to say goodbye.

And as they sell to newlyweds or partners they will all pause in the doorway for a while

as together, for a moment they share a loving smile.

Each smile has it’s own meaning…each one differently defined…

as one couple imagines a happy future…and the other…

the happy past they leave behind

DAILY GRATITUDE GOODNESS AND DESMOND TUTU

 

Today I’m grateful for goodness and for Desmond Tutu..

Who, while he was alive, these wise words from his lips unfurled:

Do your little bit of goodness where you are, he said,

It’s those little bits of good put together

that overwhelm the world.

A BEAUTIFUL DAY

 

May we be blessed to understand a beautiful day

is not necessarily a day when everything is perfect…

Sometimes things within a day make us happy

Sometimes they make us sad…

What makes a day a beautiful day is:

when the good things outweigh the bad.

HER PARENTS KNEW EXACTLY WHAT TO SAY

 

When their daughter’s dream was shattered…when she thought her life was through… 

she ran to her parents…crying…saying she didn’t know what to do.

They embraced her and immediately knew exactly what to say…

They will tell her just because one dream has broken

not to throw her other dreams away.

They will tell her sometimes hearts get broken…they’re not made of steel…

but with a little love and time…a broken heart can heal.

They will tell her it’s true…this dream is broken…and as bad as this day seems

she is still a dreamer…and she will dream another dream.

They will tell her they will be there to hold her….whenever a dream comes true…

and if a dream should fail…they’ll be there to hold her too.

They will tell her to let herself be sad…that sometimes life’s not fair…

but know once her heart begins to heal..she’ll find a new dream waiting there..

Yes, these are all things they will tell her…for they know exactly what to say…

but these are words for another time, another moment…another day.

For they know this moment is not meant for words…

and they know exactly why….

They know sometimes all a daughter needs is a hug

and some shoulders on which to cry.

TO BE REMEMBERED

 

May we be blessed to understand

the only way to be remembered as a person 

who is compassionate, loving and kind…

Is to actually be a person

who is compassionate, loving, and kind.

DOMINOES

 

When I was young I loved opening a new box of dominoes from the store

and setting them up in different patterns all across the floor.

After setting up every domino in the box…every domino…one and all…

I’d topple the first one into the second…sit back…and watch all the dominoes fall. 

The older I got the more intricate and spiraling designs I would erect…

just for the opportunity to feel the domino effect.

The domino effect, as everybody knows,

is when one event triggers similar related events…like falling dominoes.

The funny thing about the domino effect…something I wish more of us knew…

is that it doesn’t just work with dominoes…it works with people too.

If one person does something kind for another person…

even someone they don’t know…

that simple act of kindness acts like a domino.

Once that person feels the effects of that kindness…before that feeling is gone…

the domino effect compels them to pass that feeling on.

And on and on one act of kindness topples into another…kindnesses large and small

and one happily never knows with that one act of kindness…how far the dominoes will fall.

In theory that one simple act of kindness…from the moment of its origin…it’s birth…

could trigger a chain reaction of kindness that travels to all corners of the Earth.

When you think about it….imagine what this chain reaction of kindness could do

and while your at it imagine if today…that first domino…is you.

DAILY GRATITUDE DAD JOKES

 

Today I’m grateful for all the Dad Jokes I’ve told throughout the years

(I have this never-ending file)

Grateful that all the moans and groans and head shaking…

is always followed by a smile.

In fact I’m happy to say even after all these years

I’m telling Dad Jokes still…

Because 

although I get a little older every day

my dad jokes never will