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”

OPPORTUNITIES TO LOVE

 

May we be blessed whether sparked within our own heart…

or influenced from the Gods above…

Instead of seeing the differences between us 

as an opportunity to hate…

we see them 

as an opportunity to love.

SO MUCH LOVE TO GO AROUND

 

I am tired of concentrating on hate…it’s so malignant, painful and distressing

on top of that it’s offensive…draining and depressing.

So today I’ll take a moment and from that topic I’ll be shifting…

to concentrate on love…it’s much more comforting 

much more joyful and uplifting.

Think of all the different kinds of love there are in life

that emanate from our one heart

a variety of love…with each one playing a different part.

Remember the moment you first fell in love.

how your insides seemed to rearrange…

and how from that one moment…you were forever changed.

Think of all the people who make you light up when you see…

your partner, your children, your friends, your pets…your family.

Think of all the the foods you love… 

Just thinking about them can make you beam…

Chocolate, bananas, cookies…pizza and ice cream.

Think of all the wonders of nature you love…

Rainbows, sunrises, sunsets, butterflies and bees

the ocean, flowers, ladybugs, dolphins, clouds and trees.

Think about your favorite color, hobby, favorite cereal…

your favorite art…

your favorite TV show or movie, favorite car

a song you know by heart….

This is just the tip of the love’s iceberg

What if…out there in the world are many, many more…

What if there are as many kinds of love 

as there are grains of sand along the shore?

Then…when we concentrate on love…

when love in our hearts abounds…

We are ready to discover…

all those other loves in life…still waiting to be found.

DAILY GRATITUDE ORDINARY LIFE

 

I am grateful for all the friends I have…

for my family and my wife…

and grateful to be living

one gorgeous ordinary life.

CHOOSING WHAT TO WEAR

 

Today when you’re picking out your clothes…

When deciding the who you want the world to see…

May you clothe yourself in love…

in kindness and generosity.

KINDNESS TREES

 

Now, more than ever when we see the direction our world is going…

Love, generosity and kindness are the seeds we should be sowing.

Planting these seeds…so our children….all children…will come to know

how their love, kindness and generosity is what makes their seedling grow.

And once their tree peeks through the soil…they will joyously see

how every act of love, kindness and generosity…adds a new leaf to their tree.

They will see, when it comes to making their tree grow, what is paramount…

Is how their love, kindness and generosity…can be provided in small amounts.

As they watch new leaves form on their tree…they will come to understand.

the power in every kindness, every act of love, every time they lending a helping hand

Every time they hold a door, pat someone on the back…

allow someone to go ahead of them…even if they’ve been waiting for a while.

Every time they listen, leave a note, give a hug, a compliment…a smile. 

How quickly all children will discover…from the tiniest of seeds…

Small amounts of love, kindness and generosity…

is all their tree of kindness needs.

They will see what nature intended…

that as they add more and more leaves to their tree

How love, kindness and generosity form a self fulfilling prophecy…

because as they watch their kindness tree grow…all children will come to learn

with every act of love, kindness and generosity…they give…

an act of love, generosity and kindness is returned.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful…if we planted these seeds…

in all the lands across the seven seas…

Who knows?

The world might just change direction…if we grew more kindness trees