DAILY GRATITUDE

 

I’m grateful when I’ve been kind to another person…

when in that moment we felt connected…

How often that one act of kindness

MEANING

 

In a world where more and more humans

to other humans are abusive and demeaning

I wish more and more people were blessed to understand

It is doing something kind for others

that gives our life it’s meaning.

LIKE DEBORAH'D DAD

 

As the temperature drops and the ground is covered in a blanket of snow 

the animals who frequent our woods looking for food know exactly where to go.

Their a diverse groups of birds who come to our feeders…

where we do our best to supplement their basis needs

by keeping our feeders filled with a variety of their favorite seeds.

And the birds too big for our feeders…we find them gathered round…

enjoying breakfast, lunch or dinner from the seeds we sprinkle on the ground.

The deer who occasionally wander through our yard…usually in the early morn…

are happy when they discover we’ve left them a smattering of corn.

We feed the animals…when the weather is good 

and especially when the winter weather turns bad…

and when I see the gratitude on their faces…I think about Deborah’s dad.

Her dad was a master gardener…there wasn’t anything about plants he didn’t know.

Consequently, when it came to gardening, there wasn’t anything he couldn’t grow. 

Watching him in his garden…was a magical sight to see…

and though my thumb will never be as green an his…

I remember one piece of wisdom he passed along to me.

He was a gentle, quiet man…but I’ll always remember these words…

“When you plant a garden,” he told me, 

“alway plant a little extra for the rabbits and the birds.”

That one sentence encapsulated the type of man he was…

His tender heart…to the world everyday he’d bring…

He was kind, generous, loving, accepting and giving to everyone and everything.

So when we feed the deer and the birds in winter…in the weather good or bad

we’re not just feeding the animals…we’re paying tribute to Deborah’s dad.

And when I think of the state of the world…and sometimes feel dejected, hopeless and sad

I wish those leaders who are causing this sorrow…

were a a lot more like Deborah’s dad. 

DAILY GRATITUDE

 

I am lucky to have made and continue to make

wonderful memories that when they conclude…

find their way from my mind into my heart

where they transform into gratitude.

ON THE SHOULDERS OF A CHILD

 

As we adults in charge make the world…more violent, 

more prejudice, 

more fearful, frightening and wild

may we be blessed to someday understand….

the weight of all the hardships we’re creating

are not meant to be placed on the shoulders of a child.

WHERE DO ANIMALS GO WHEN THEY'RE COLD

 

A conversation between a daughter and her mother 

I was lucky to hear unfold…

It started out quite innocently when the daughter asked:

“Mommy, where do animals go when they’re cold?” 

“Mother Nature is very wise,” her mom said,

“and knowing it would get cold outside…

she created animals a variety of ways for them to keep warm…

and many places for them to hide.”

As I listened to her mom’s explanation…

and saw the wonderment in her daughter’s expression

I found myself concentrating less on Mom’s answer…

and much more on her daughter’s question 

I was amazed at how much compassion

and caring there was to behold…

at all the innocence infused into her question…

Where do animals go when they’re cold?

It shows a purity of heart and soul and mind…

an innocence sublime…

an innocence so endearing…whose only enemy is time.

I started thinking of the problems the world is facing

a mess we adults, not our children, have made…

and how I wish we all retained the innocence this little girl displayed.

I found myself longing for those days when our daydreams were free of pain…

when all we needed to be consoled…

was the answer to the question…

Where do animals go when they’re cold?

And I walked away wondering when do we lose our innocence

Does anyone know?…I truly doubt it…

but I imagine it is one of our saddest days of our life

when we stop to think about it.

DAILY GRATITUDE BEING A DREAMER

 

I am grateful for being a dreamer…

I dream of a world filled with peace, acceptance and love

I dream for hatred, prejudice and wars to be forever gone…

and I’m grateful for the stars and the moon

for creating the wonders I have always dreamed on.