DAILY GRATITUDE THREE THINGS

 

I am grateful for understanding

three important principles

that have allowed me to keep a sense of 

what is important, 

what is fundamental

and what is necessary..

Knowing how life is Precious

Knowing life is fragile

And knowing life is momentary.

ONE PRECIOUS LIFE

 

May we be blessed whatever 

whatever label we employ…

to answer this simple question…

What do you plan to do with your life

That will bring others…and you…it’s joy?

LIFE IS PRECIOUS

 

Anyone who has ever seen baby being born,

has lost a loved one, a child, father, mother

partner, husband or a wife…

knows how amazing…how treasured…how precious is a life.

It’s difficult to actually put into words how precious this life is

from the time we were in utero…

It is more than words can ever express…more than we can ever know. 

With life…there are chances for contentment…

filled with surprises big and small

Without life…it’s obvious…there is no chance at all.

Life is precious because we know

for no particular reason…no particular rhyme

this life we have been gifted…can end at any time. 

Which means this gift of life is to be cherished…savored 

every minute of every day

It is not meant to be wasted…not meant to be thrown away.

It is meant to live in harmony with the lives of all our sisters and our brothers…

It’s never meant to demean, harm, abuse or take that gift from others.

Life is too precious to be restricted, manipulated…or defined

too precious not to be accepting, compassionate, generous and kind.

Too precious to think of only me and mine…instead of yours and ours…

Too precious not to try new things…to reach up to the stars.

Yes, life is a thing of wonder…a thing of beauty and creativity…

so precious we need to make every day

the adventure it is meant to be.

DAILY GRATITUDE CHILDREN

 

I am grateful and privileged to have worked with children most of my life

Children…whose hearts and souls are pure…

which has always made to wonder

If, when facing the troubles in the world today,

our children hold the passkey to the cure.

If need to think about our children before we act…

think about them like we’ve never thought about them before…

think about them before we abuse, before we demean

before we release our hate…before we go to war.

Because…if we think about our children not after…but before…

We may think twice before we abuse, before we demean

before we release our hatred…and before we go to war.

CHILDREN ARE THE KEY

 

 May we be blessed to think more about our children….

and remember before they are grown…

how the one life we have is ephemeral…

meaning our years here…are all on loan…

So while we’re here…we would be wise

to adhere to this enlightened Native Nations philosophy….

How our children are the living messages we send

to a future we will not see…

To think hard and long…on this subject

to make sure our mind is clear….

as to the message we want our children to share with the world

when we’re no longer here

BACK TO A TIME

 

I cannot be sure of this…because I was a baby at the time…

too new to my family…this world…this country……this land…

but I am sure…filled with wide-eyes innocence of childhood

there was so much back then I did not understand.

I could not yet feed myself, sit up, roll over, crawl, walk or talk…

I could not hold things for too long in my hand…

Yes…looking back there was so much about life and living

I didn’t not understand.

Like all babies I would need time to figure most things out…

how to walk and talk…what family means…and what love was all about.

It began when I first recognized my parents’ smiles…

and not too soon after

When I learned about contentment…happiness, 

comfort, joy and laughter.

It wasn’t until years later…that I would come to understand… 

there is also sadness, intolerance, war, hatred, anger and evil 

spread out across the land.

There are times when facing this anger when I wish I could

go back in time to the time when love was all I understood.

Of course that is not possible…but I can hope and pray…

and do my part…to rid this evil and anger from the land

so when new babies enter the world…

love is all they’ll ever need to understand.

DAILY GRATITUDE MY ANCESTORS

 

I am grateful for the best parts of my ancestors 

they have shared with me…

It’s apparent ever time I look into a mirror…

and see them staring back at me.