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Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’

Reaching for Peace or Pieces

Posted in inspiration, positive thinking, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 17, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Men are not moved by things but by the views they take of them. (Epictetus)

A sunburst strikes the windshield of my car and I beg it to stay. Cleanse my thoughts. Highlight the good. Too many people want to believe the earth can’t be affected by poisons tossed into the air. A man who disrespects other people and nations is okay—for anything.

And yet, judgment of any individual is not my right.

The sudden sun-brightness doesn’t stay. It never does. Peace, right now? Maybe not. I discover only smiles of encouragement and the assurance that integrity is always in season. Perfection, not as much. The bottom photos lean. May time help them. Direction isn’t the issue: peace is.

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But I Wanted the Easy Road

Posted in inspiration, positive thinking, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 2, 2020| 2 Comments »

Courage doesn’t happen when you have all the answers. It happens when you are ready to face the questions you have been avoiding your whole life. (Shannon L. Alder)

The summer of 1963. I’m at a journalism workshop in Detroit to prepare for a position on my high school magazine. And I have a date. Other pre-seniors, a group of at least six, give advice about makeup.

“More eyebrow pencil. They look pale. Lost.”

A description of how I felt. Strange. I had a date. With a guy I’d just met. Not the love of my life, but someone who would introduce me to a fancy restaurant and frog legs. Yet my memory of the moment says I wasn’t enough.

Today I look in the mirror and see one red, irritated eye. The itching is a unique form of torture and I am grateful for antibiotic drops. Pink eye is temporary. Human frailties are not.

I have survived adolescence by now. However, what is this thing in me that says rest must be limited? Does laundry really need to be done, now? I need to type even when the letters could be more fog than print. I take a break, a short one. Maybe not-good-enough has morphed through the years. Soothed with action.

The new year begins. May I remain open to change, especially if it doesn’t seem easy. Time to focus on the real. And grow inside both joy and turmoil.

 

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Inside One Model Car’s Destination

Posted in inspiration, positive thinking, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 27, 2019| Leave a Comment »

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. (Mother Teresa)

My grandson’s miniature cars speed across rug or kitchen floor and carry his imagination. I saw those possibilities for less than a few seconds as I waited in line at a local discount store.

As the couple behind me and I chatted, the man making his purchase, a one-dollar toy car, raised his voice. “It’s how much?”

I watched his dark cheeks tighten.

The cashier repeated the price in a barely audible voice.

I pulled out my wallet. Even if I had spoken before reaching into my purse, I would have been too late. I guess he expected the item to be further discounted. My mind-reading skills are rusty.

He ranted about how nobody likes him. Everybody hates him. Why doesn’t the store just call the police?

Nevertheless, he pulled out the dollar and more change than necessary to pay the tax.

I’ve been thinking about this slender, angry man and praying for him ever since. One dollar and a few coins couldn’t have saved him. He needed far more. An earlier justice probably. Love, when he was ready to recognize it.

He walked out. How easy such a simple event could have led to violence.

The cashier in the next lane hugged her fellow worker.

“That poor man isn’t well. You know it wasn’t you,” I added. And she nodded.

Yet, one tiny car travels somewhere. The only gift he could afford? I don’t know. No story is ever complete. May a blessing appear. Somewhere.

Since then Christmas hasn’t come and gone; it has come and begun. The day has nothing to do with a belief system. Presents. Parties. Enough lights to blind traffic. The ability to be peace transcends any religious border. Let it happen. Please.

 

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Thanks Again, Ann

Posted in inspiration, positive thinking, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 1, 2019| 1 Comment »

We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives. (John F. Kennedy)

One dollar. I want to keep this one separate from the others in my wallet. Long enough to celebrate the moment. When I told my friend Ann that my sister-in-law needed serious surgery, she asked me to get a card and sign it for her. Ann is blind. She doesn’t know my family. She gives out of kindness.

Her dollar is a symbol. When I see it, I think of a simple woman’s generosity. Her borderless love. I could resemble a worn scarecrow or discarded carved pumpkin; she wouldn’t care. Our house could have dirty windows with bedsheet drapes. It wouldn’t matter. (Our windows are properly clothed. I can’t make false claims about their condition.)

I made a card for my sister-in-law. I will give it to her, signed with Ann’s full name. Ann can have the dollar back. Of course, I won’t be surprised if I see it again. Marked to be given for someone else. I suspect this is what real-world love is all about.

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After the Funeral—the Next Sunrise

Posted in inspiration, positive thinking, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 27, 2019| 1 Comment »

Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. (William Arthur Ward)

A friend died. Minutes before I leave for my book signing, his wife asks my husband to be one of the pallbearers. Grief and relief take turns in my heart. This man’s suffering has been unbearable to watch much less endure.

Sun replaces yesterday’s rain. Both belong to nature. Necessary to life’s balance.

My simple camera can’t photograph intense sun. It translates bright rays into the red light that shines through closed eyelids. I recognize my limitations and know I am neither imperfection nor success. There are more roads to explore, continued opportunities to give and forgive, moments to live and celebrate.

Thanksgiving, the official national holiday, appears this week. I pray to be more than pumpkin pie and a stack of dishes in the sink. These memories fade into previous years like dreams lost before waking. As I get older, I notice life sends more intense challenges—with incredible blessings attached. I pray to stay longer with the blessings than the pain.

Peace to all.

 

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One Lost Tree, Seeds, and Forgiveness

Posted in inspiration, positive thinking, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 11, 2019| 1 Comment »

Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you’ll understand what little chance you have in steering others. (Jacob M. Braude)

I have no idea how much my husband and I spent trying to save the blue spruce in our front yard. A service came regularly with botanical anti-fungal treatment until the cost of the treatment could have paid for the creation of a national park.

Needles turned brown and fell from branch to branch to ground. Huge gaps appeared as limbs died and were severed. The birds no longer had a place to hide and send out their morning songs.

The tree couldn’t maintain its status anymore. The sapling had been planted for our first son. He is now an adult, married with two daughters. The spruce had become part of our home and its past. Part of our sons’ history.

When asked which house we lived in, the answer came easily. “The one with the tree that is the front yard.”

I can’t control the life of a tree, the decisions of another person, or the whims of Mother Nature. Directing me is difficult enough. What I desire for the whole doesn’t happen by wishing, demanding, or sacrificing more than this old body has.

Hatred. Prejudice. The notion of us versus them. If only I could uproot these creature killers. Tear up the roots. Open eyes to see hearts, not superficial differences.

Peace. Planted one kind seed at a time. Without judgment. I pray that I can say to the angry, No, I don’t believe some people are better than others. But, since you also happen to be human, you are deserving of love. Now.

No, I can’t forgive with ease. Not yet. Still working on it.

Trees don’t reappear from stumps. Nevertheless, fresh planting creates possibilities. May good-will seeds create hope.

 

 

 

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Finding Good Will in an Ordinary Shopping Cart

Posted in inspiration, positive thinking, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 2, 2019| 2 Comments »

We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. (Winston Churchill) 

Paying to borrow a grocery cart. Seems as if it would be an inconvenience. Strange, how many times that locked corral has brought blessings.

A young woman is returning a cart. I offer her my quarter. “Never mind,” she says. “I didn’t pay for this one.”

The coin waits in my pocket as I approach the fresh fruits and vegetable. Another shopper and I help one another find the best organic strawberries. The kindness spirit has begun. No problem letting a man with two items step in front of me in line. This is common at the Aldi’s where I shop.

As I return to the parking lot I give my cart to a lady with a smoker’s cough. She snubs out her cigarette. I attempt to snub out my judgment. Nicotine addiction isn’t unfamiliar to me; I quit years ago.

She smiles. “That’s what I always do. Pass it on.”

“Thanks,” I answer. “Yes, pass it on.”

And a short trip to the store has been more than another errand in an ordinary day.

Sun fills the sky. The brightness won’t stay. However, the blessings born of kindness don’t need an expiration date.

 

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Being Sunshine, No Superlatives Needed

Posted in inspiration, positive thinking, tagged , , , , , , , on October 26, 2019| Leave a Comment »

And the moon said to me, “My darling daughter, you do not have to be whole in order to shine.” (Nichole McElhaney)

A dream. I’m lost in an unidentified city. The car, a nondescript beige, is parked somewhere. Peculiar since the dream didn’t include a sequence where I got out of the vehicle, much less abandoned it.

Via the same skip-the-details transport, I’m back-at-the-ranch or wherever the other conference women are staying. And my companions interrogate me about my problem. They don’t understand how I could lose a car. Mine. Foreign maker. Foreign experience.

While they berate me and my foibles, I’m slicing watermelon. Not sure why. The slices mock bacon. The meat-appearance is unintentional as well. Although, strange, I’m the only person who notices. The primary focus is on a car left in a well-set-up town.

I am grateful to wake into my semi-dark, semi-light, far more predictable, real-life room. The space is small and will never be chosen for a magazine cover. Yet it offers shelter. A home. My husband reaches toward me in his sleep. Neither one of us is perfect. We don’t need to be more than who we are. We do not need to be whole to discover goodness and light. Then share what we find.

Good morning…

Good afternoon…

Good evening.

May the good win in both full sparkle and murky shadow.

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A Salt-of-the-earth Acquaintance, or Two, or Three…

Posted in inspiration, positive thinking, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on October 17, 2019| Leave a Comment »

It’s in those quiet little towns, at the edge of the world, that you will find the salt of the earth people who make you feel right at home. (Aaron Lauritsen, 100 Days Drive: The Great North American Road)

She hands me a five-dollar bill and I can’t think of any reason to refuse. The giver’s name isn’t necessary. She lives among the many who have more health-need expenses than income. “For Jay’s birthday present.”

I’ll think of some way to get the money back to her. In another form maybe. Although I need to admit the cash-concern is my problem, not hers. She gives because she is my friend. The salt-of-the-earth kind of acquaintance. The Matthew 5:13 variety. The kind who is entertained with a cup of coffee and background oldies music. And asks no more. “I’ll be your friend forever,” she says. I believe it.

Later that afternoon I glance around the neighborhood. The gentle couple next door. He cuts our grass and trims the edges. Both husband and wife watch our house when we aren’t home. Another couple, their friendly house on the corner—these two young persons have saved us more than they know.

Our little town. Inside a hostile world. Government crime and greed remain. I continue to work toward a better world for all. Yet, I’m not sure I would have the energy without companions who care on an everyday level. Thanks. May karma, the good kind, embrace you.

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Trick-or-Treat, Ella-style

Posted in inspiration, positive thinking, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 10, 2019| Leave a Comment »

The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them. (Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist.)

Ella and I play trick-or-treat any time of the year. Our version transcends reality. The costume takes over the wearer. A skeleton drinks apple juice and it passes from bone to bone to the front porch.

Today Ella wants me to be permanent trick-or-treater while she adjusts the treat to the visitor.

“Hi,” I say, then complain. “I’m a tree, and yeah, I know the peaceful nature scene. Quiet. The woods. All that. But I have bugs climbing all over me. Squirrels are nuts. They don’t just eat them. And the birds? That early morning song is nice enough, but the pre-dawn time can get on your sap after a while.”

Ella smiles and then takes on a composed expression. “Okay. Here’s a woodpecker.”

I’m immediately out of character. Our girl has a sense of humor. Down syndrome, yes. Up personality? No question about it.

 

photo a combination of pic taken in our backyard and portion of public domain pic

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