When war, politics, prejudice and bigotry are encouraging me to hate
I take a moment to look around…then a love list I create:
I love my wife and my family…how family never ends…
I love that I’m surrounded by a multitude of friends.
I love animals and sunsets…how a sunrise paints the sky…
I love flowers, raindrops, dolphins…I love ladybugs and butterflies.
I love birds and trees and rainbows…
how a dewdrop glistens in the sun.
I love chocolate…I love ice cream…I love watching a river run.
I love the laughter of a baby…
I love kissing under the stars and moon.
I love that we have utensils…I love the knife, the fork…the spoon.
I love the wind…the way she whistles through the trees.
I love how leaves change color in Autumn…I love a summer breeze.
I love snakes and insects like the ants and honeybees.
I love that everybody in the world does not look or act like me.
I find when I take the time to look around and a love list I create…
the more I concentrate on love…the less time I have to hate.
I leave you with that final thought…
you’ll find from this poem I have departed…
but as far as making today’s love list…
well…
I’m just getting started.
NEVER FADE AWAY
It was well over a year since Grandma died
and whenever we visited Grandpa he’d give us quite a scare
because he would talk to Grandma…as if she was standing there.
Sometimes he would close his eyes and, on his face, a smile would crack,
as if he was listening to Grandma…and she was talking back!
At first we weren’t too concerned because we know how lonely Grandpa was
We’ve all felt the pain of loss…We know what sorrow does.
But it had been well over a year now and every time we returned
and watched him talk to Grandma…I admit…we were concerned.
One day we approached Grandpa as he sat in his favorite chair
and told him we we’re worried how he talks to Grandma…even though she isn’t there.
Grandpa smiled and said, “Don’ t worry family! I know your Grandma’s dead…but talking to her helps to keep her voice inside my head.
Talking to her throughout the day and dreaming of what she might say…keeps the memory of her voice alive…so it will never fade away.
Thank you for caring about me but there’s no need to worry.” Grandpa said
“Isn’t that right Grandma…then he closed his eyes and waited before smiling and nodding his head.
And from that day forward we never worried about Grandpa…never again felt sad or blue…because from that day forward we found ourselves talking to Grandma too.
It’s been well over a year now since Grandpa joined Grandma in heaven…and I talk to both of them almost every day…
ensuring the memory of their voices will remain in my head
never to fade away.
I have this exercise I do…it’s an exercise in my mind…
I do it whenever I feel I’m losing may ability to be kind.
I simply look around me from the ground to the sky above
and I begin to list in my life…all the things there are to love.
I love my wife, my children, my grandchildren…
looking at old photographs.
I love watching people holding hands and anytime a baby laughs.
I love the moon, the stars, the clouds, the sun that hover in the sky
I love ice cream, cake and cookies…
I love peach cobbler, and apple pie.
I love animals that fly, run, swim, slither, crawl or hop around
I love animals that are loud…and those that never make a sound.
I love insects…ladybugs and moths…butterflies and bees.
I love all the different flowers and any kind of tree.
I love a hot summer day and a snow white winter freeze
I love the oceans and the mountains…the rivers and the seas.
I love drinking water, root beer and an occasional sweet iced tea.
I love watching cooking shows, British mysteries and reruns on TV.
I love to laugh sometimes so hard I shake from my shoulders to my belly.
I love picnics…eating sandwiches made with peanut butter and jelly.
I never get to finish my list because by this time in my mind…
I’ve already forgotten what it was that made me feel unkind..
Wayne Dyer was famous for this saying…
(notice how his words so cleverly rearrange)
He said:
If you change the way you look at things
the things you look at change…
As we began our camping trip yesterday
Wayne’s words came back to me
as I had a couple chances along the way
to test his philosophy.
We packed up early and were ready to go
The last step…plug the camper in and we’d be gone…
But once the plug had been inserted
The lights would not come one…
And no matter what I did..(which wasn’t much)
the lights would not discharge.
So we headed off to U-Haul
where they fixed them…free of charge.
And we had a nice chat with the man who fixed them…
before he sent us on our way…
and I thought if our lights had all been working
we wouldn’t have met this man today.
We decided not to use our GPS
It was, at first, a wonderful thought…
until Deborah asked if Tallahassee was on our route…
to which I answered- it was not!
But Tallahassee is where Bryan went to school
so we opened our windows to a lovely breeze
and smiled as we drove through the city
reliving old memories….
Sure we could have arrived at the campground earlier
If our day hadn’t taken these twists…
But…as Wayne Dyer might have said to me….
think of all we would have missed.
In the wake of another senseless tragedy,
all to commonplace today,
It’s hard to know what one should do
or find the right words to say.
I do know when sadness overtakes us
it’s easy to lose sight
how we spend half our life in the light of day
and half in the dark of night.
When we are steeped in sadness,
when we think darkness will forever stay
the moon and stars provide us hope
and help to light our way.
And don’t ignore the evening primrose
or the jasmine shining bright
or the moonflower or the water lilies…
which only bloom at night.
Reminders that even in our darkest moments
seeds of hope and love can be sown.
Reminders that even when surrounded by sadness
you…are not alone
I hope anyone who is sad today
will try hard not to lose sight…
will remember all the people who love you…
and how daylight follows night.