DAILY GRATITUDE VOICES

 

I am grateful for the variety and diversity of voices 

that have guided me in my daily trip across this land…

that included the voices of nature

I’m still working hard to understand…

LIKE CHILDREN

May we be blessed as we grow up

to retain within us some traits of our childhood…

back to a time when everything was innocent and good.

When everything around us was a new discovery 

waiting to be found…

When we chased fireflies, butterflies

and leaves drifting on the winds of autumn…

before they hit the ground.

 

HOLDING A MIRACLE

 

Yesterday Deborah and I held a miracle in our hands….

William…a baby born only a few days before…. 

It’s amazing how one so tiny and new

can make two old hearts soar.

The wonder of the moment was not lost on Deborah…or me

as Baby William was but 4 days old…while we are 73. 

We sat with baby William’s and his dad 

in their front yard…under a tree… 

Deborah cradled him in her arms…

I rested his head upon on my knee.

As we felt the warm embrace of the heavens 

while the sun shining overhead smiled 

we wondered in his four days

what kind of memories William has compiled.

Secretly we wished…this baby in our hands 

will be lucky enough to be

living in a caring accepting, and compassionate world…

where everyone is free…

This was our wish for 4 day old William…

It’s the world we’d love for him to see.

A miracle we continue to hope for…

even at the age of 73.

A miracle we hope not only for William but for all babies…

across all mountains, rivers and lands…

One miracle we wished for yesterday…

while cradling another miracle in our hands.

DAILY GRATITUDE INNER CHILD

 

I am grateful to have people in my life…

who always make me smile…

They’re the ones who understand 

the art to growing up

is to never close the doorway

to their inner child.

CHILD

May we be blessed to remember 

back to when we were 

a little girl…

or a little boy

and throughout our lives continue act

the way that child did:

 

embracing wonder,

embracing creativity

embracing joy

 

OLD MAN ON A SWING

We came across it on our walk… 

a pleasant surprise see…

next to where Freddie (an old friend’s) house once stood…

was a swing hanging from her tree.

We think about Freddie whenever we pass her tree…

you never knew what surprises she had in store…

and we knew that swing hanging from her tree

wasn’t there the day before.

So I sat on the swing…to honor Freddie…

and as I swung beneath her tree….

It’s was as if Freddie’s childlike sprit…

had found it’s way to me.

I remembered my first time swinging as a child… 

with my parents smiling by proud…

telling me if I swing high enough

I could tickle the sky with my toes..

and listen to the laughter of the clouds.

I remember as I got better at swinging…

what satisfaction it would bring…

when I would leave my sitting position

and stand up on the swing.

I remember getting so good 

being able to swing so high

that at the top of the arc I would jump off…

and for a moment…I could fly.

I’m a little too old for tricks now…

but I was still feeling proud…

when I swung so high my toes touched the sky

and I heard the laughter of the clouds.

And as I sat there…swinging back and forth 

higher and higher under her tree…

from somewhere up on the clouds I imagined

Freddie was smiling at me.

 

THE RIGHT PERSON

 

I am grateful for understanding early (thanks to Thomas Hardy)

when it comes to friends, family and ultimately my wife

for knowing who the right people are with whom to share my life.

“At your very best, you still won't be good enough for the wrong person. 

But at your absolute worst, you'll still be worth it to the right person”