Posted in inspiration, tagged encouragement, experience, gratitude, holiday season, human frailty, Mother Teresa quote, perfection, perspective, positive attitudes on December 20, 2022| 4 Comments »
“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”
― Mother Teresa
The holidays magnify expectations. Suddenly, I think I need to fall into perfect alignment with the world. A perfect world. However, perfection doesn’t exist anywhere except in the dictionary. Pause. Breathe. Ask for help. Or give it. Christmas tree lights are artificial. Human light isn’t.
Posted in inspiration, tagged childhood innocence, Christmas, Dr. Seuss quote, generosity, gratitude, inspiration, memories, perspective, positive attitudes, wisdom, world peace on December 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »
A person’s a person, no matter how small. Dr. Seuss
My son Greg is four years old in this memory. Not every word is accurate. The spirit of the tale remains true.
“Mommy, will you write a letter to Santa for me?”
“Why sure.” I grab a notepad. My young son begins his list before I can grab a pen from the drawer.
“Five hundred trucks, puzzles, books—the fun kind that make everybody laugh, and let’s see…”
“Wait a minute. Start again. Five hundred?”
“Right. This list is for the poor kids.”
I complete the letter, see what I have in my pantry to give, and then pray that my son’s request becomes real someday.
Posted in inspiration, tagged acceptance, age, Cindy Joseph quote, encouragement, gratitude, inspiration, nature, positive attitudes on November 28, 2022| 3 Comments »
Good morning, mirror. I can count on you to be truthful. This day may be young, but my face shouts geriatric. Reflections don’t need to speak to shout reality. You can be powerful. I watch and let what I see connect with my brain and heart so soon after Thanksgiving. Life is a precious gift. I think about gains and losses. People. Things.
One glance outside shows me trees with rough bark. When birds and animals visit a growing oak or maple, they don’t change the tree’s mind about what the species is, or why it doesn’t have leaves this time of year. I wonder, was my last storm worth fighting? Or would it have been better to wait it out? Wisdom discerns when to act and when to remain silent. Whatever I do, may I choose to do it, to be it, to act with as full a vision as possible. May I lose this notion that I need to be perfect to be okay.
Good morning, mirror. Good morning, fresh-day me. One more opportunity to make a difference.
Posted in inspiration, tagged Antony Starr quote, childhood innocence, choice, family relationships, inspiration, perspective on November 20, 2022| 1 Comment »
Families are the deepest, most screwed up relationships that we have. Antony Starr THE DOLL HOUSE Her pink shirt stained with chocolate birthday cake, the little girl moves miniature figures through her new doll house. The adults talk. Their voices rise and fall with grunts and whines. That child’s daddy needs a new attitude. Ray should knock off the bourbon before his liver turns into a sponge like the one in Nita’s filthy sink. What’s the point of a 25-cent coupon on four cans of tuna? High-priced gas in a rusty Chevy is like pouring diamonds into a broken goddamn gumball ring. The little girl pauses, interrupted by dull laughter, a cynic’s applause, as she prepares her doll family for a special trip under the stairway, where purple sand and white sea waits, with a sky where the only clouds permitted are made of ice cream and marshmallows, and no one over the age of six may enter.
Posted in inspiration, tagged CO2 detectors, everyday miracles, gratitude, Lillian Gish quote, natural gas leak on November 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“The older I get, the more I believe in what I can’t explain or understand, even more than the things that are explainable and understandable.”
― Lillian Gish
Our carbon monoxide detector squeals at 9PM. My husband and I discover no apparent problem. However, the detector isn’t programmed to cry without reason. We need the help of our utility company. Now.
Within an hour five red caution tags cover worn valves. We don’t have gas to cook, can’t take a warm shower, and rely on the outside mid-fifties temperature for heat. An inconvenience. I realize how much I have taken for granted. Gas has a unique perfume for a good reason.
The next day my son and a trusted friend from our church community tell us there was something bizarre about this situation. Our simple carbon monoxide detector is not designed to detect natural gas leaks. How did it take on an administrative role when it had entry-level training?
The details don’t matter. The unexplained miracle does.
Posted in inspiration, tagged apathy, choice, depression, determination, experience, Mahatma Gandhi quote, peace, peace and justice, perspective, war on October 9, 2022| 1 Comment »
An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind. ― Mahatma Gandhi Men willing to break their own arms rather than race into fire and death, war games played without winners. The news spreads in endless loops on screens with color but no dimension while some watchers gasp, yet others pass a bowl of snacks, grateful the pain strikes in another language, continent, time zone. Human beings willing to reach beyond a huff or pant. One country touching another. One person letting peace stretch beyond a closed room. We will not let war cage the world with hate. Or apathy. Or depression. It will take time, but, let us discover peace. Together.
Posted in inspiration, Uncategorized, tagged choice, encouragement, inspiration, Jess C. Scott quote, perspective, positive attitudes, respect for all on October 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“When someone loves you, the way they talk about you is different. You feel safe and comfortable.” ― Jess C. Scott, The Intern Future Life Dancer Two little girls dance on an empty open stage. They twirl exploring dizziness and laugh as song rhythms repeat. A man comes and pulls the older child away while the smaller one continues to explore her own feet, to pat her toes in syncopated rhythms on the wooden floor as if she notices her shoes and their sounds for the first time. My brow lowers as the scene continues and I wonder if I am making judgments based on fact. To bless all possibilities I slip by the father and his two small girls. “You have beautiful children,” I say, then grin at the older child. My words are for her. illustration made from public domain image
Posted in inspiration, tagged appreciation, choice, experience, gratitude, inspiration, perspective, positive attitudes, Zadie Smith quote on September 5, 2022| 3 Comments »
"Rarely does one see a squirrel tremble."
Zadie Smith.
The air in Canada carries peace—until a black
squirrel attack begins.
“Watch out!” a fellow traveler calls as an
acorn whizzes past me from the roof
of the motel.
Squashed acorns appear all over
the parking lot.
The squirrel appears and searches through
the pieces. Humans aren’t a target now.
It’s buffet time.
All I know for certain is that I am not
invited. The woman who saw the critter's
prank,smiles.
She and I talk. We feast on the moment,
the serendipity of meeting others.
illustration made from cut paper and colored pencil
Posted in inspiration, tagged family ties, healing, Jodi Picoult quote, parent relationships, reconciliation, the importance of mother/child bonding on August 27, 2022| 1 Comment »
“(24/7) once you sign on to be a mother, that's the only shift they offer.” ― Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper BIRTH AND GROWTH, A POEM Swollen, toxic, ignorant of motherhood, you lie in your post-world-war hospital bed, and wonder if you’ve heard lies. How can a newborn, untouched by her life source, be fine? You see, hear, touch, smell nothing but bleached sheets and ward antiseptic. The baby develops away from you in a nursery. You return home without her, cord leaked into your womb, severed. Later, at home, baby grows fed on evaporated milk and rules made of rules. Each should-be is sacred. The child reaches for you, to break the barrier, but not until long after she delivers your grandson. By then you have embraced age. It has taken you away. Your great-granddaughter finds your photo in an old album. “That’s my mother,” your daughter says. “You would have loved her.” The chasm finally closes. For no good reason at all.
illustration made from public domain photo and colored chalk
Posted in humor, inspiration, tagged acceptance, imperfection, keeping my mouth shut, poem, Roy T. Bennett quote, the human mind, thoughts on August 20, 2022| 1 Comment »
“Guard well your thoughts when alone and your words when accompanied.” ― Roy T. Bennett Thoughts, Cracked and Imperfect small thoughts wander through small minds the way grains of sand move inside a plastic water bucket EXAGGERATED THOUGHTS CHARGE THROUGH INFLATED MINDS WITH THE CLAMOR OF BLINDED DRIVERS SPEEDING THROUGH ORANGE BARRELS DisJointed tHoughtS haZZard tHrough ScaTTered miNds LiKE a hUndrEd lOsinG lottery TicKets FloatinG in a fLoodeD STreaM. Clear thoughts carry possibilities, confined by human limitations. small, EXAGGERATED, and DisJointed fraGmentS impoSe upoN clariTy. May I keep my mouth shut until clarity wins.
terrypetersen 