THANKFUL FOR THE EAGLE

 

Today I’m thankful for the eagle

who as he or she gracefully takes flight

Reminds us to fly high and keep our goals in sight

And speaking for myself…

I am constantly enthralled…

how the eagle keeps reminding me

It is beautiful to be bald.

EVOLUTION OF A BIRDWATCHER

 

BIRD WATCHERS! 

I’m sure you’ve sen them out in nature…with their binoculars glued to their eyes….

pointing…waving…jumping up and down as if they’re constantly surprised!

They often dress alike…they flock together…filled with a shared one-love…

For years I found them easy to spot…and easy to make fun of. 

Over the years, however, I’ve seen a subtle change in my outlook and attitude…

Now, whenever I see a bird in nature…I’m filled with gratitude.

I discovered the more I walked in nature…where birds are all around

I began to recognize some of them…from their sight and from their sound.

I’ve even gone as far as to buy myself a bird-watcher book…

and a good pair of binoculars…you know…to get a closer look.

The other morning on Honeymoon Island gazing through my binoculars 

at another island…out of reach

I screamed to Deborah, who was next to me…”There’s an eagle on that beach!”

Did I mention Deborah also into this birdwatching life has grown…

She didn’t need to borrow mine…she has binoculars of her own.

We were mesmerized by that eagle who stood there without a flutter or a fuss…

Who did not need binoculars to see the two of us.

When he noticed people on his beach as the sun lit up the day

I’m pretty sure he nodded to us…before he gracefully flew away.

That was the highlight but not the extent of our birdwatching…as many other birds flew our way.

In fact we recognized by sight or sound…20 other birds that day.

Red-winged blackbirds, pelicans, laughing gulls…egrets, plovers

and a host of other birds before our walk was over.

 

As I was writing down the names of all the birds we saw…for a moment I became numb

because I realized, in that moment, what I have become.

Those birdwatchers who when I was younger I would ridicule and condemn…

I realized that morning…I am one of them.

A proud birdwatcher who often finds himself awestruck…without words

whenever I get to walk in nature…or share a sunrise with the birds.

ONE WAY TO LIVE FOREVER

 

This blessing is a question

Just a thought I'm throwing out….

It is actually less a blessing

than something to think about…

Although it is inevitable…

for death we cannot defy…

If we remain in the hearts of those we leave behind

do we ever really die?

REVISITING THE CEMETERY IN THE HEART

 

When a friend of ours dies…who in our life has played a part

it is with the deepest sorrow we add thier tombstone to the cemetery in our heart.

Why her? Why him? Why now? We asked ourselves as we desperately try to cope

for a while we are thrown off balance…our life is out of focus…we lose our hope.

There is no right or wrong way to confront death…despite what the experts say

we’ll struggle through our sorrow…our grief…and all the while we will pray

for strength and courage and guidance as we solemnly whisper their name 

knowing the life we knew up to this point…will never be the same.

It’s as if death has infected our bodies in an instant…overnight…

and our world…once awash in color…has turned to black and white.

At first their memories are fresh…and our sorrow may paralyze…

but then while cloaked in sadness…we begin to realize

they would not want us to remain sad forevermore…

and we try to go on living…the way we lived before.

Slowly with the help of our family and our friends…the healing process begins

and over time, with their help, the color seeps back in.

And we find a place for those we lost in our memories 

next to the memories of others who in our life played a part 

where we can visit them as often as we like…in the cemetery in our heart.

It’s a quiet, solemn place that has no complement…no parallel

the final resting place where our memories go to dwell.

Where we can walk among them any hour…any minute of any day.

Where the ones we’ve lost forever…are never far away.

We never know when our grief will end and when the healing process will start

But we can take some solace knowing their memories 

will always have a quiet place to rest

in the cemetery in our heart.

THANKFUL FOR THE INNOCENCE OF CHILDREN

 

Today I’m once again thankful for children…

And how with innocence and purity they’ve been kissed

giving them the ability to see and feel things 

we adults oftentimes have missed.

Which is why we need to make an effort

as within us more and more years and information are compiled

to try to find that innocence and purity in ourselves…

and if we can’t…

to rediscover it in a child.

DON'T FORGET THE SEEDS

A favorite memory of her grandma began before she could even say a word…

In her Grandma’s backyard, sitting on her lap…tossing seeds out for the birds.

It’s where her love for her grandma and birds began…where her imagination first stirred.

It’s where (I imagine you can guess what it was) she uttered her first word.

She remembers Grandma saying, “We only feed them seeds…we never feed birds bread.”

It’s where she learned her colors…blue, black, yellow, green and red.

It’s where she learned to count…it’s a memory that lingers….

how some days there were more birds in Grandma’s yard…than she had toes and fingers.

She remembers Grandma saying, “I live in this big house on my own…

and when you’re not here…with all these birds…I never feel alone.”

Her mom was worried about her on the day of her grandma’s funeral… 

she hadn’t said two words.

Until, at the cemetery, she pulled a bag of seeds out of her pocket saying,

“This is for the birds.”

“What do you mean?” Her mother asked as handfuls of seeds were thrown.

“It’s to remind the birds that Grandma’s here…so she’ll never be alone.”

Now, whenever she visits her grandma’s grave…she kneels down…

she whispers a few words…

then she plants some flowers for her grandma…

and spreads some seeds out for the birds.

 

THANKFUL FOR SHOOTING STARS

 

Today I’m thankful for shooting stars…who prove quite effective

on helping us in life…keep a healthy and optimistic perspective…

For shooting stars all know…once from the sky the heavens free them….

only those of us looking up…will ever get to see them.