DAILY GRATITUDE THOSE WHO BRING THE SUNSHINE

 

I am grateful for those who have the ability

without preparation, coaching or training

to bring the sunshine with them…

even…when it’s raining.

TAKE OUR CUE FROM THE SUN

 

May we be blessed…

To take our cue each morning from the sun

and greet each day with gentleness and grace…

then go out and have some fun

THE MYTH OF THE SUNRISE

 

From the moment we could think…and looked out on the Earth and stars

we have searched for answers from the universe…as to who…and why…we are.

Before we knew some of the answers…before we were better informed…

we created stories in our minds…that’s how myths were formed.

The other morning walking along the beach…as often is our plan 

I noticed there along the shore…a solitary fisherman.

With only a rod and reel…no kind of bait with him…not one…

It looked to me like this lonely fisherman

was trying to catch the sun.

I watched him cast his line and saw him hook the sun… 

I couldn’t believe my eyes!

because as he reeled in his line…the sun began to rise.

Everything I thought I knew about the sun…

was changing right before my eyes…

because the more he reeled in his line…

the higher the sun would rise.

When the sun was up and rising on its own…

having broken through the dawn

I looked along the shoreline…and the fisherman…was gone.

Had I just watched a normal sunrise…or perhaps…instead

was all this just a myth…created in my head.

In a world where science has many answers…

as to the world we’re dealing with…

I like to think there’s still some room…

for a little imagination…a little myth.

And perhaps when it comes to reality and myth…

a little compromising…

Because I like the ida….of a lonely fisherman

whose job every morning…

is to make sure the sun is rising.

BEAUTY

May we one day come to truly understand and find

the beauty in everyone created…

and may we further understand what creates that beauty

is how we’re all related.

And the only way this beauty…

can ever be perfected…

is when we come to understand

how by this beauty…we are all connected.

THAT HAT

When I saw it in the store a few years ago…“What a cool hat!” I thought…

and since it was the only one in the store…I bought it on the spot.

I loved the colors when I purchased it…but could never have imagined that…

I’d get so many wonderful reactions every time I wear my hat.

Usually it makes people smile…it might cause them to stop and chat…

and I’ve long ago lost count of all those who say…”I love your hat”.

 

Occasionally when I’m wearing my rainbow colored hat upon my head…

It will remind people, usually older people, of the Grateful Dead.

The other day in a store…I was standing by this old man…

certainly older than me…

when I noticed out of the corner of my eye…he was staring at me.

Of course it was my hat not me that he was looking at….

and when I smiled at him he said…:

“Your hat reminds me of a time when I was younger

and me and a friend went up and down the east coast following the Grateful Dead.”

He said they made what little money they needed to live on every day

by selling Dead Head ’T’ shirts…every stop along the way.

A smile lit up his face…and as he walked out the store’s front door

and In that moment he looked a little younger than he had a moment before.

There is a little magic in this hat…when bought it I did not see…

And if that magic makes people smile or remember…it’s good enough for me.

In this world that has turned angrier…I am so delighted that

so many can find a little happiness in my rainbow tie-dyed hat.

DAILY GRATITUDE MAGIC

 

I am grateful for this lesson I learned as a child…

when I was out in the world…exploring it…

how magic is so easy to fine…

when you’re out there looking for it.

WE ARE ALL MAGICIANS

 

May we be blessed to understand…

We are all magicians…

We all have the ability make another person smile…

We all have within us

 the power to make them feel worthwhile.

A LITTLE MAGIC

 

There is an adage…a belief…I’ve heard some people say…

how every day may not be magical…but there is magic in every day.

And wondering if the people who use this aphorism really do know best

Here in North Carolina…we put this adage to the test.

We spent a day in Asheville…and before the day came to and end

we had the opportunity to meet with or talk to some of our family members and friends.

We had lunch with our great-granddaughter and her parents.

A great lunch where we couldn’t finish every bite 

Then sat in the grass at the Biltmore Estate

and watched it light up at night.

We spent the night in a hotel…and soon after we closed our eyelids

our dreams were filled with the magic of everything we did.

Looking back without pretension…I would have to say…

with all the magic we experienced…It was a truly magical day.

But…we’ve also been blessed in our life…for we’ve developed a flair..

of finding little bits of magic everyday and everywhere.

In waking up together, enjoying flowers, sharing a walk

where sometimes we are silent…and other times…we talk.

Listening to the birds…smelling grass that’s newly mowed

eating lunch out on the porch…sharing ice cream…Rocky Road.

Which means when it comes to that old adage…

I have a different way to spin it…

Because I think any day can be thought of as magical…

if it has a whiff of magic in it.

DAILY GRATITUDE STRANGERS

 

May we all be grateful…

all those time we thought we were lost

for all the beauty that was revealed to us

by the strangers we’ve met

on the different paths we’ve crossed

ENJOY THE VIEW

 

Whatever path you choose in life

no matter where you go…no matter what you do…

don’t forget to stop every now and then

and appreciate the view

ENJOY THE VIEW

 

Whatever path you choose in life

no matter where you go…no matter what you do…

don’t forget to stop every now and then

and appreciate the view

IRONY

 

I find it quite ironic that as I sit here in the mountains listening to the birds

How they only sing in melodies…they never sing in words.

Yet if I try to explain my feelings when I hear the singing of the birds…

All I have at my disposal…is the spoken or written words.

Which makes me wonder why I even try sometimes…because often I’ve conceded

to capture the beauty that surrounds me…no words are ever needed.

Beauty is personal…when we look upon something beautiful

there are subtle differences between the beauty we both see..

and I wonder if that’s exactly the way our creators meant for it to be.

 

The beauty nature creates for us…like the singing of the birds…

is meant to be felt individually within our hearts…

It was never meant for words.

Sunsets, flowers, trees, lakes, rivers, rainbows 

clouds, summer rain, snowflakes…a distant thunder

Are meant to stir emotions in us

are meant to make us wonder.

We know how we feel when we experience love in any of it’s forms…

the sounds of a baby’s laughter

A kiss, a touch, a smile…a look

And how these feelings linger ever after…

Moments when the family’s all together…if only for a little while

is like watching the sun rise in the morning…it’s meant to make you smile.

There are so many moments in life that are beautiful in and of themselves…

moments that happen every day…

where the beauty of that moment is all we need…

where words only get in the way.

So many moments meant to be experienced…in silence…individually

and the fact that I’m using words to describe these moments…

Well…therein likes your irony.