DAILY GRATITUDE WATERFALLS

 

May you be blessed every now

to listen to nature’s call…

and follow the music of a stream

until you discover a waterfall….

to sit there for a while

and forget about everything….

as the only sound you hear

is how the flowing water sings.

WATERFALLS

 

May you be blessed every now

to listen to nature’s call…

and follow the music of a stream

until you discover a waterfall….

to sit there for a while

and forget about everything….

as the only sound you hear

is how the flowing water sings.

TAKE A HIKE

 

There were times when I was young…when I got on my parent’s nerves…

when I did things they did not like…

when they wanted me out of their hair they might tell me, “Go take a hike”

Of course that meant to stop bugging them…to let them be…to go away…

to read a book, watch TV or go outside and play.

Now that I am older (perhaps a little wiser) and not so child-like

I find a different meaning in the words…”Go take a hike.”

The other day Deborah and I took a hike…as hiking goes it was small scale

in the Pisgah Nations Forest along the Moore Cove Waterfall trail.

It’s only a mile and a half hike from the trail head to the waterfall and back.

which means we only took our walking sticks and water…no need for a back pack.

On a hike up a mountainside…ending at the Moore Cove waterfall…

we walked among trees so tall and mushrooms and ferns so small.

Up stairs, atop boardwalks and on paths carved out over the years

this hike in the woods offered treats for our eyes, our noses, our ears.

We like to take our time on hikes…to enjoy the things if we walked fast we might miss

and since we’ve taken this hike before…to stop and reminisce.

 

As we slowly and gently climbed the stairs…and maneuvered over fallen logs…

we met other hikers…individuals and families with their children an their dogs.

It’s funny how we noticed …in fact we found this striking…

how the people we met along the way were in various stages of hiking.

The children all ran ahead…not bothering to look around at all…

their goal was not to hike but to get to the waterfall.

Their parents walked a little slower with their main goal

to make sure their children were safe all the way to the waterfall

And then there was Deborah and I…with no one to watch and so much to see

we were the slowest hikers of them all.

The waterfall was magnificent…cascading high above and sheltered from the sun

but for us the journey to reach that waterfall was filled with just as much fun.

I’m glad we’re older now…able to slow down when we walk and find so many things we like

We’ve changed a lot since those days our parents use to tell us…Hey kids, Go take a hike.

DAILY GRATITUDE BEING HUMAN

 I am grateful knowing we are all human beings…

When it comes to our DNA 

It’s the way our creators tried to format it

I just wish when it comes to being human

we were all a little better at it.

BEING HUMAN

 

I wish we were blessed to realize we are ALL human beings

everyone on this planet is related to one another…

because we are human beings in name only

when we choose to ignore the suffering 

of any of our sisters or our brothers.

DIFFERENT THINGS TO UNDERSTAND

 

She was born a girl but inner heart she knows she is a boy 

and thus spends much of her young life life straddling the edge of joy. 

And it’s no different for him…in the same way his life unfurls…

as he was born a boy but in his heart he knows he is a girl.

I see them holding hands or kissing…I see them time and time again 

women who love other women…men who love other men

He likes dressing as a woman…even though he is a man…

When I first saw these people I used to stop and stare…

I tried my best to understand…

How is this even possible?  How did this come to be?

and what life must be like…for those so obviously different than me.

But the more I shared my world with them and they share their world with me…

I realized we are all just branches on the same human family tree

And though I’ll never truly understand what being on their branch is like…

I have come to understand despite our differences,…we are so much more alike.

I reached a place a beautiful place…where I no longer need to stare

as I concentrate on the things we have in common…the things that we all share.

And as my view of the world and the people in it it keeps evolving…keeps expanding….

I realized all that anybody wants in life…is acceptance, love…and understanding…

Which makes me wonder….

What if the things that make us different…

instead of being feared, condemned or banned…

What if the things that make us different…

are just different things to understand?

WHAT NATURE IS TRYING TO TEACH US

 

When you look at a field of sunflowers…even though they all share the same name

you quickly notice how no two sunflowers are the same.

How each sunflower has their own unique beauty…their own allure…their own appeal

How each sunflower’s beauty enhances the beauty of the field.

Sunflowers, raindrops, trees, leaves….are are all doing their best to reach us….

I wonder if we humans will ever learn…what nature is trying to teach us.