THE CONTAGEOUS SMILE

 

One of the wonders of a smile…

which through the ages this has proven to be true…

is how whenever you make another person smile

you find that you are smiling too.

I RESOLVE

I know it’s tradition to make resolutions at the beginning of each year

that has always been the way…

but I have a list of resolutions I try to keep to every day:

I resolve to tread a little softer, 

to tiptoe and walk barefoot on the Earth

to remind myself everything that’s been created…

has beauty…value and worth.

I resolve to walk a little slower…

no matter how fast time moves around me

to find the joy and beauty and the wonder in everything around me. 

I resolve to watch a few more sunsets, listen to more waterfalls…

watch a few more rivers flow

and to be a little kinder to those I do not know.

I resolve to be a little quieter…to while more time away

to listen to the birds, the trees, the wind…

and to what other people have to say.

I resolve to sing

to dance

to smile

to laugh 

to love a little more

Because I believe this is what we’re all created for.

I may not always keep each resolution

which is something all people who make a resolution fear…

but I only have to wait one day to fix this…not an entire year.

Making daily resolutions gives my heart each day a chance to soar…

and if I’m lucky helps to make me a better person than I was the day before.

Being a better person than I was the day before…

this daily resolution is the best…

because, when I stop to think about it…

It is the resolution…that generates the rest.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

 

As we step into a new year…stepping out of the year just passed…

this wish goes out to every person in the world:

May this new year…be a little better than the last.

Our hearts go out to everyone still suffering from a natural disaster…

a tornado, a flood, a hurricane…earthquake…

but this poem is dedicated to those suffering from unnatural disasters

the kind only human hate can make.

To those affected by our hate and it’s offshoots…abuse and prejudice and war…

I hope your life this year is a little better than it was the year before.

You see the people who sow the seeds of hate…

that grow into fears and prejudices and wars…

know that hatred needs a face…and unfortunately…

they have chosen yours…..

 

In spite of this may you step proudly into the new year…

knowing from the moment each day starts…

you don’t need to change a thing about you…

what needs changing is the hate in other’s hearts.

And for those of us not directly affected by this evil…

no longer can we wait…

for it’s not enough to ignore it…we must eradicate the hate

I do believe love can overcome hate…

I believe it is the only thing that can…

So in the future we’ll only have to deal with natural disasters….

not those heartaches caused by man.

This road is not an easy one…but what if this year we let it be known…

despite the obstacles ahead…more seeds of love are being sown…

So with each succeeding New Year’s Day…

more and more people will look back at the year just past…

and say proudly and with confidence 

this year was…a little better than the last

NEW YEAR BLESSING

 

Today’s blessing goes out to everyone…everywhere

every man, 

every woman, 

every girl, 

every boy…

may this new year bring peace to our world…

and to you… 

love

happiness,

compassion 

and joy.

LOVE

 

Today I’m thankful for my ability to love…

and when someone else’s love I’ve earned

for the feeling in my heart…

when my love is returned.

COUNTING BLESSINGS

 

The wonderful thing about counting your blessing…

if you start counting from the top…

you’ll find you have so many blessings…

you won’t have time to stop.

GRATITUDE DOMINOES

 

To begin this new year…a year of uncertainty…

a year, like every year, where I don’t know what’s in store…

I’ve decided to begin each day by writing down 

something I am grateful for.

I have found while dancing through life’s beautiful

but sometimes intricate and difficult ballet

remembering at least one thing I am grateful for

is a great way to start each day.

I find this works like dominoes because when I touch on something I am grateful for…

be it large or small

It leans against another memory and then…more memories fall.

And as the dominoes ease into each other

and more thoughts or memories are viewed…

before I know it I find myself…awash in gratitude.

What makes this morning practice special…what makes it truly great 

is knowing tomorrow when I wake up…another row of dominoes await.

So that’s my plan from here on out…before I write a single poem

before rhyming words I attempt to interlace

I shall take a moment to write down one thing that puts a smile on my face. 

I have do doubt every now and then I’ll repeat myself 

but do not let my repeated words be misconstrued…

that’s just the way it works with dominoes of gratitude.

And so I begin this new year with the first domino I see…

It’s the one that’s always first in line…

I’m thankful for my family.