LOVE PROTECTS

 

I am grateful for the words of Jeanne Moreau

who one might consider a sage:

Age does not protect you from love…she wrote

But love

to some extent

protects you from old age

CENTER STAGE

 

They fell in love when they were young

and at that time their love took center stage

even as they lyrics changed throughout the years

adding jobs and friends…

as the two of them slowly aged. 

Then one day their children took center stage

and soon they found…

their love…still strong

could now be spread around.

 

Then the children grew and the house seemed empty

until their grand children took center stage…

and they found their love for each other and family 

remained strong

as they both reached middle age.

Now, much older…with a great-granddaughter

Added to a family that commands the center stage…

they have settled down together

and are enjoying the glory of old age.

DAILY GRATITUDE THOW WHO HELPED MOLD ME.

 

I am grateful for the person I’ve become

and are evolving into every day

and grateful to all those people 

who have helped

mold me along the way.

ONE BIG FAMILY

 

NELLA’S BLESSING

I wish every person in the world would understand

would somehow come to see

how every person in the world

is part of one large extended family…

That we can make this world a better place

with less violence, less prejudice, less mayhem

If whatever troubles people are facing…

we help each other through them.

TO ALL THE VINCENTS OUT THERE

TO ALL THE VINCENTS OUR THERE

There are two advantages to rising early

First:  The silence of the morning is a wonderful time of day to write…

and second:  Since Vincent Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists

I so enjoy a starry night.

This morning as I lingered under the starry night stretching out before me 

Don McLean’s song Vincent came on…It was synchronicity.

The song, of course is about Van Gogh.  

and the demons in life he could not defeat of hide…

that led to a life of emotional pain and his eventual suicide.

The saddest words in this song for me are::

And when no hope was left in sight

On that starry, starry night

You took your life as lovers often do

But I could have told you, Vincent

This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.

Sitting under the stars with these lyrics in my head I was thinking about Vincent…

all his troubles…all his strife…

and I imagine there are many of us who’ve had a Vincent in our life.

A troubled soul who comes to mind…on a starry, starry night

who we couldn’t helped find a way out of their darkness…

and introduced them to the light.

How we wish they would have heard us…before their life was through

when we tried to tell them this world IS meant for someone as beautiful as you. 

If there is anyone contemplating suicide this day….as you begin it

please know there are a lot of people who love you

who want you to know…

this world IS so much more beautiful…

with all you Vincents in it.

http://dailyrhyme-jim.blogspot.com/

 

DAILY GRATITUDE APRICITY

 

Spending December and January in the mountains

where we have found the cold can oftentimes stun…

we are extremely grateful for apricity:

the warmth of the winter sun.

OUR FOOTPRINTS

 

May we be blessed 

when the sun finally sets on our life

be it in the summer, Fall winter or spring

that the footprints we leave behind

will show we walked with kindness

toward the Earth

and every living thing.

SUNRISES

 

As we watched the sun slowly rise this morning

gradually illuminating the mountains in the distance, 

our mountain…

and the valley in between…

we began to wonder in our 73 years…how many sunrises have we seen?

How many early mornings…how many different places

how many times have we been together

to watch the sun illuminate our faces?

We’ve seen the sun rise over rivers, over lakes, oceans and seas

We’ve seen her fight her way through a thick, dense fog 

to shed her light upon the trees

We’ve seen her reflect off the bison in Yellowstone,

as she helped them welcome in a new day.

We’ve seen her highlight hummingbirds…hovering at our feeder

alligators in the swamp and dolphins in the bay.

We’ve seen her change the color of a waterfall. 

We’ve seen her bring out the blueness of the crow.

We’ve seen her change the color of the clouds.

We’ve seen the moment she greets the snow.

We have witnessed first-hand 

the sun’s enormous generosity and power…

how she shines on everything and everyone 

every human, every animal every flower…

We imagine we’ve seen quite a few sunrises…

but since neither of us have kept count

We’ll never know when it comes to sunrises

what is the exact amount…

But we do know every sunrise we see…is like a gift

given freely to every creature, every plant, every woman…every man

and we intend to do our best…to enjoy that gift each morning

and see as many sunrises we can.

TINY VOICES

 

It is important to remember…..

when we feel like a bird lost in the wilderness….

that our one voice is too soft and tiny…

that it won’t reach very far…

when we put our soft and tiny voices together…

how loud and far-reaching our voicer are.

THE LAST SNOWFLAKE

 

As I was descending the steps this morning the wind began to blow

and I was blessed to be outside the moment it began to snow.

When I turned the outside light on…with the sky still painted black

I witnessed the first snowflake of this flurry…the leader of the pack.

He seemed to be in a hurry…once he dove out of his cloud…

determined to say ahead of the other snowflakes in the crowd.

He was quickly followed…all without making a sound

by a host of other snowflakes falling to the ground…

And I stood there smiling…trying to greet each snowflake cheerfully

until there were too many snowflakes falling to thank each one individually.

Soon there I was in the midst of snowflakes falling all around…

and I watched how they melted into one another and blanketed the ground. 

And just about the time…my excitement I couldn’t contain

as quickly as the snowfall started…it began to wane.

But I kept watching the sky…looking up and all around..

determined to greet that last snowflake before it hit the ground.

It felt like I was watching a race…as the snowfall began to decline…

and waiting for that last snowflake to cross the finish line.

I greeted him when he did…and as that last snowflake was dispersed

I thought how that final falling snowflake…was as beautiful as the first.

And I remember thinking the moment that he passed 

How blessed I was to have witnessed this snowfall…

from the first flake to the last.

DAILY GRATITUDE ANTHOPHILE

 

I am grateful for the way a single flower 

has the ability to make make me smile…

And grateful I will always find joy 

In being called an anthophile.

CHILDREN ARE LIKE FLOWERS

 

May we be blessed to understand how our children are like flowers

and if they always have our love around them…

they will tend to bloom and blossom…

no matter how many weeds surround them.

TENDING TO OUR CHILDREN

 

 Approximately 15,000 babies are born every hour

15,000 babies who, with our help, begin to find their way.

In Earth’s garden of humanity…

that’s around 370,000 new flowers blooming every day.

And it’s up to us…the adults…in their lives to take the lead.

because having once been tiny flower ourselves…we know exactly what they need.

Having been one of those 15,000 babies we have come to know

they will need food, clean water, shelter and a healthy place to grow.

They will need our love…our unconditional love…our acceptance and our warmth for sure.

They will need a safe and stable place to live…feeling protected and secure.

They will need adults (grown flowers) who will take care of them…

who will be there’re when they cry and when they bleed

Who will sing and dance and play with them…and give them the quality time they need.

They are looking not only to us but to all the flowers that surround them,

to believe in them…to foster in them a desire to learn…and question the world around them. 

They are looking at us older flowers…to help make their lives complete,

to show them the correct way to treat the diversity of flowers in the world whom they will meet.

They will need our praise and appreciation…to help them grow up healthy, kind and strong, 

to understand they have a place in this world…to know that they belong. 

But in a world where human beings destroy each other 

with hate-filled bullets and bombs

Where our government kills its own citizens…

and steals children from their dads and moms.

We are not protecting our children…

not providing them a loving and healthy place to grow.

We have forgotten when we were budding flowers what we all came to know.

And blinded by our prejudices…we are not providing them exactly what they need…

We have forgotten to show them everyone is a flower…

when we treat some of them like weeds.