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

OUR CHILDREN'S WINGS

 

May we be blessed to nurture our children’s wings

So when they don’t need our constant guidance anymore

Not only will they be ready to fly…

they’ll be ready to soar.

HOW COULD YESTERDAY HAVE BEEN SO LONG AGO

 

Whenever we visit with our children or grandchildren two distinct emotions flow over me.

As I marvel at who they’ve become my mind drifts back to a time when they were three.

A time when life was a little more innocent, less troubled, more carefree.

A time when they were small enough to sit upon my knee.

Whenever we get together and moments of the present mix with moments of the past

I wonder where the years have flown…and how time has moved so fast.

Even though I’ve been lucky to be here to watch my children and grandchildren grow

Every time we get together I wonder…how can yesterday have been so long ago?  

Wasn’t it only yesterday they were crawling…

when they took their first steps toward me?

Wasn’t it only yesterday they were sitting upon my knee?

We begin this journey through life together…

and along the way a host of memories we collect.

Old memories that mix with new memories 

every time our now separate journeys intersect.

Of course that’s the way it is supposed to be…

time moves on…and children grow

As parents we’re meant to enjoy the memories we make today

As well as those made long ago.

It’s a precious gift time gives us…that lasts through our eternity…

A chance to visit our children and grandchildren as they grow 

At the same time time we visit a time when the sat upon our knee.

DAILY GRATITUDE SHOULDERS

 

Today I’m grateful for shoulders…

I have been blessed to have stood on my ancestors shoulders…

Blessed the way our lives have intertwined….

And I hope someday my children and grandchildren will feel blessed

to have stood on top of mine.

STRONG SHOULDERS

 We will all have certain burdens in our life…

a life that will be long and diverse enough to vary them…

May we be blessed that whatever burdens life throws at us…

we have shoulders strong enough to carry them

SHOULDERS

 

When I think about the way I was created…every part of my body is enchanted…

from those parts I rely on every day…to those I take for granted.

Take my shoulders for instance..there was a time when I was young

and I looked in the mirror…at my shoulders I would scoff.

thinking their only use in life is to keep my arms and head from falling off.

It wasn’t until years later…when I became a Dad

I began to fully realize the importance my shoulders had.

Yes, once I had children it didn’t take me very long 

to realize why my shoulders were there…and why they needed to be strong. 

When my children were small and innocent…when life was so brand new

they would ride upon my shoulders to get a better view.

When they were ready to be on their own…as their life unfurled….

I was glad I had shoulders for them to stand on 

as they stepped into the world.

One important thing my children taught me…that helped me as a parent gel…

is that my shoulders not only needed to be strong…but needed to be soft as well.

Strong so they can lean on them whenever they’re filled with dread

and soft when they need comfort and a place to lay their head.

As long as I am living I hope my children (and grandchildren) will be aware 

when and if they ever need them…my shoulders will be there.

These days when I think about my shoulders I no longer scoff…

I no longer think their only purpose in life 

is to keep my arms and head from falling off.

No, these days when I look in the mirror…I am instantly elated…

because I now know exactly whey my shoulders were created.

DAILY GRATITUDE HEROES

 

Today I’m grateful for a better understanding of what a hero is:

for 72 years life has been my teacher

And she has taught me a hero 

is anyone determined to make this world a better place

for every living creature.

HEREOS ACROSS OUR PATH

 May we all be blessed to have heroes cross our paths

Those who help to make us who we are, 

who set our spirits free 

and thus…

We hope they all know who they are 

and 

how much their heroism meant to us.

HEROES AND MONSTERS

 

When we were young there were heroes and there were monsters

and in our innocent and limited childhood view…

from Fairy Tales and with our parents help

it was easy to tell the difference between the two.

In the evening when we woke from a nightmare and our hearts were filled with dread….

our heroes were our parents who vanquished the monsters beneath our bed. 

In our Fairy Tales it was easy to tell the good people from the bad.

They were strong honorable men and woman…just like Mom and Dad

But it becomes more difficult as we grow…the more our wings are spread…

when the monsters aren’t just the ones who sleep beneath our bed.

Some monsters were easy to spot…they didn’t try to hide themselves away.

They wore swastika’s on their clothing like the Nazi’s or white sheets like the KKK. 

But it became more difficult to tell the heroes from the monsters…

when their swastikas they shed

when they wore tailored suits to work instead of hoods upon their heads. .

What makes monsters different today is that they could be anyone we see….

At first glance there’s no way to tell difference between them and you and me.

They can be our neighbor…or someone we once thought of as a friend…

and we will never comprehend or fathom the horrors they intend.

Today the only way to distinguish one monster from the rest

Is to follow their path of evil, their destructiveness…their unrest.

Now, when we search for a happy ending…dream of a better day…

it’s up to us to become the heroes and every evil monster to slay.

To work for the day with the other heroes help these monsters will no longer exist…

the day when we are blessed to have no more monsters in our midst.

The day when we live in a world where we don’t cause our children any dread

the day when the only monsters they need to worry about…

are the ones beneath their bed.