We are all feeling helpless right now in varying degrees, and that condition leaves us fear-filled.  Though illness may attack us physically, the mental toll that it takes can infect us and be equally devastating, robbing us of true quality of life;  We are too ready to give ourselves short shrift, not realizing and recognizing the incredible strengths and gifts that lie within each of us; They are ours to direct in healing ways, and when shared selflessly and generously, our simple positive actions and sacrifices combined can grow into a powerful force indeed!    When the waves of anxiety buffet our little boats, then let's take courage as we head into the wind, with our prayers manning the oars, hope as our sail, and the love of family of friends as our companions, helping to pull us onwards towards the light that will surely shine again.

The Light Will Shine Again

The clouds will part

And the sun will shine,

We'll lift our voices

In song sublime,

A healing breeze

Will dry our tears,

A loving God

Will calm our fears,

And we'll come out stronger

On the other side;

We'll gift each other

With grateful smiles

For the parts we played

To ease the trials

Of friends and  neighbours,

Those in need,

Each sacrifice

A precious seed;

And we'll come out kinder

On the other side;

We will dance once more,

Hold each other tight,

And we'll  walk once more

Our steps in light,

The earth will sigh

And begin to heal

As we give our thanks

With grateful zeal;

And we'll come out wiser

On the other side.

Finding The Light

Finding The Light

This January has certainly lived up to its reputation of being the gloomiest month of the year, and that gloom is reflected in the faces and posture of so many of us.  It is very hard to pull out our own personal light, that sunshine that is so badly needed in these days of dark forecasts, seemingly everywhere.

  Perhaps we need to look for sources of 'lightness' that may not be as obvious as the sun;  Laughter is one light that is very powerful, although it may take awhile to find the light switch, the titter toggle, the humour handle!   It is  always there, in the ordinary things around us.  We are most likely to find it if we  search  first  within ourselves;  in our own activities, habits, pet peeves, vanity, material possessions;  Comedians get the most laughs when they point out our foibles and fears, and their own,  for it is then that we breathe a relieved sigh, acknowledging  that we are all in the same boat, and that we all take ourselves way too seriously.

 While searching for the laughter switch, we can prime our light with a multitude of smiles; perhaps the brightest light source is to be found in the eyes of those we share our smiles with.   In the end, we are all unique yet the same underneath, human,  and it is very healing to laugh at ourselves.   On our lives' journey, let us check within and make sure we're trimming our  light so that it will shine out for those who are having trouble finding the lighthouse:

The Goal Is The Journey

I searched for a lighthouse,

A home for a light

That would shine out for others,

A guide through the night;

Through the darkness that grips us

When we lose our way,

When we feel we're alone,

When our faith's gone away,

And we ponder and wonder,

Is that all there is?

My own bit of light

That I tended each day,

 I hoped would grow larger

Would light others' way,

But the small gifts I shared,

Seem so little and poor;

In the time I was given,

I wish I'd shone more,

And I hope and I trust

That that's not all there is;

Drawing nearer the lighthouse,

When that beam is in sight,

We reach our hand out

To the source of the light,

And there we find grace,

In all of its glory,

A path through the doubt,

To a wondrous new story;

The goal is the journey,

And we'll be alright,

If we trust in that lighthouse,

Where love beams its light.

Don't Worry - Be Happy This New Year!

.   "Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."    Thank you for your wise words, Mother Theresa.

This year is starting off with an air of impending doom on so many fronts, with the heaviest clouds darkening  the environment and world peace.   Some Happy New Year- right?  It is a difficult task lifting those heavy blankets and checking on the beauty that is still there, huddling underneath.  But it is there in so many forms.   Every day we are given the opportunity to contribute more beauty, more positives, more smiles to life's balance sheet.   Let us light up the darkness with a barrage of  kind acts, big and small - I know that so many of you already are.  I do not pretend to understand all of the complicated causes of depression; what I do know personally is that each time I decide to make a plan to help another, to turn my focus on another,  my happiness ratchets up many notches.  Therefore, my New Year's resolution will be to increase my awareness of others' needs, and to step out of my self-absorption more often.  I will invest in moments of prayerful silence and step often  into my "Happy Place" to restore my spirit and my kindness quotient;

My Happy Place - A Meditation

There is great peace in solitude,  

While walking in a peaceful wood,

But walking through a stressful day,

With problems blocking every way,

I need to find a happy place,

A memory room,  a welcome space,

A glistening, calming ocean shore,

An oasis deep within my core.

Breathing deeply, in I walk,

Letting go of time and talk;

At times it's hard to struggle through,

When answers are obscured from view;

Yet, in that silence, I'm aware

That someone's always waiting there,

A grandma's hug,

 A friendly tug

From one who says, with humble grace,

"Welcome to

Your happy place."

The Presence Of Love

From "The Shack" - 'He is especially fond of you'.

We don't choose the gifts that we have been given,

Any more than we want those we love to choose the gifts we give them,  We hope that we know that person well enough to choose something that they will appreciate.

It is up to us to choose to say thank you for those gifts,

And we do that as we hope our loved ones will do:

by welcoming them with joy, opening them up excitedly, and finding out how to use them; Then, with a huge smile,  in  sharing them with others.

And that's what our Father rejoices in;  Don't rain on God's parade!

When life presses down hard,

When your spirit's been scarred,

And you're left feeling scared and alone ,

Just leave it all there,

Leave that weight to His care,

For He's only one teardrop away;

There's a hand on your shoulder,

A kiss on your forehead;

You are held in the grip of His love;

He raises you up,

And enfolds you so dearly,

Touches your heart,

And lets you know clearly

That you are totally precious today.

There's a tiny child in each of us,

Feeling lost and incomplete,

Though our original hearts  are still intact,

Irreplaceable pulses  in God's heartbeat,

We still keep trying way too hard

To be all that we can be,

Not realizing that we already are;

And that God is especially fond of us!

Guardian Of The Light

Guardian of the Light

You can hope, and dream

Of what might have been,

Or reach for a lofty goal,

But you can't miss something

That you've never seen,

That has never held you, touched your soul;

Every life begins in light,

A unique and brilliant flame,

Yet, we long for reassurance

From the Source from whence we came,

We know that there is something more

Than what our senses tell,

And we search the world around us

For the pearl within the shell;

We spend our lives in longing

For that pure and perfect light,

For Its peace that once enfolded us,

A voice just out of sight,

That spoke our names in love, held our souls.

As time passes by, and our light outgrows us,

Our journey takes us backwards,

And at the same time forwards,

Towards where love and light will come full circle,

Pulling us into itself, enfolding us once more.

Let your soul remember and revisit that light;

Your very own unique source of loving kindness;

You are its guardian,

You alone have the power to share your light with others,

Your efforts and your choice alone

Will determine how far down the path your light will shine.

My soul is restless until it rests in You.  -  St. Augustine

From My Nothingness

Every moment of our lives has potential, whether we realize it or not; We each contain our own candle, our own given light.  Alone it may be very small, but added to the light from others' candles it becomes part of an exquisite prism; Without our candle, that prism loses wonderful points of colour.  All that is asked of us is to give, with love and sincerity each day, whatever is in us to give - our light will find its path. 

From My 'Nothingness'

I sat on the stoop beside Leonard Cohen,

And no words came;  I wrote, "I got nothing."

Leonard winked at me and said, "Excellent!"

"Now you are ready to write;

Give away the wisdom in your nothingness."

Wisdom in my nothingness?

Not feeling any wisdom right now,

Only a helplessness, a powerlessness,

And a lot of other 'lessnesses';

No brilliant, flashing inspirations,

Only a deep, silent desire breathing through me.

Where would my desire's breath go if I loosed it,

If I gave my hands into its hands,

If I let it do the writing?

Inspiration is a wonder-filled, out-of-body experience;

I have nothing - yet in that moment, I receive everything,

Everything that I truly need;

As my soul beckons it,

It picks up my hands,

Hands that simply hold the pen,

And it writes, without presumption;

Presumption comes from our human hearts' fears and desires;

The Spirit has no such presumptions,

But has faith in us,

Knows and Loves us for who we are,

Speaks encouragement to us from its larger heart.

When Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground,

What did He write?

He wrote not on paper,

But into the earth

He imprinted His heart's breath,

His inspiration,

And with His great love,

He fills our littleness, our nothingness.

"Hineni! Hineni!  Here I am Lord"

A Coat Of Many Colours  

               

The world's population is growing by immense proportions, and it is easy to fall into a negative frame of mind as we wonder how we can ever handle the  stewardship of this home of ours, called Earth.  We can either look at this growth  with fear, focusing on man's negative effect on the planet,  or we can look at it in hope as we recognize the unique beauty and potential in each life. 

The homeless person on the street may not live up to our perceived notion of what a contributing member of society should be; his language and appearance may offend, but as we all know, appearances can be deceiving;  We may never be able to see the many beautiful coloured threads that have come unravelled in that person's life, but the gift of a smile and a kind word may provide the first stitch that will start his or her coat to mending;

Though God's creation is vast, each of us is a priceless thread in His great tapestry, and though blue is my favourite colour, if God used only blue threads, what a boring canvass that would be.

 If we let fear of losing what we perceive to be ours by divine or earned  right take precedence, and try to block all others from our door, it is like trying to keep the sky from changing colour;  we would be the losers in the end;

Past The Blue

It's my blue sky,

So pure and blue,

There's nothing else

That shines so true,

I hope it lasts forever!

A bit of red

Is creeping in,

Changing blue

To violet  hue;

But never mind,

I like it fine,

It really looks quite clever;

Some yellow hues

Have joined the red,

And turned to

Brilliant gold instead;

I didn't think I'd like it but

It really is outstanding!

And when it touches

My blue sky,

A green so bright

Lights up the sky

And makes a scene enchanting;

That sky that I

Perceived as blue,

Was so much more

Than my small view,

Its beauty has a depth so vast,

A sea forever changing;

Every life contributes

A thread of priceless hue,

Unraveled lives we chance may meet,

Without them we are not complete;

Each time we add them to our blue,

God says, "Yes, that's brilliant!"

Inspiration, Respiration, Whatever - Just Breathe!

In today's world of increasing tensions, we have forgotten how to breathe - to breathe deeply of life's beauty, and to truly comprehend what that beauty means.   We are constantly shallow breathing, gulping at the problems and troubles that surround us, until our poor lungs give up waiting for the healthy air they need in order to open up, and we lose consciousness or awareness.

There is beauty to inhale everywhere we look, if we are focused on seeing it; those beautiful coloured leaves flying through the air, a little bird sitting on a branch singing with all its might;  I am looking down now at the crocheted throw on my lap - each stitch the work of our niece's loving hands;  I let myself breathe in the sound of her infectious laugh.  The act of sorting out the negatives to leave room for those pieces of positive is an essential breathing exercise.   I am even deep breathing the sight of that squirrel who is now running off with our last tomato!

Each season brings its own unique gifts, as do we all; Note to self:  breath in all of their beauty before they move on - at least that's the advice a little violet gave me:

Miss Violet's Wisdom

One bright Spring day,  while gardening,

Amidst my flowering throng,

Pulling weeds,

Planting seeds,

I sang a cheery song;

A bumble bee said, "Pardon Me,

You're picking from my row!   

Move on, move on,

Just get along,

And don't forget your hoe!"

A tiny violet touched my hand,

And said, "For goodness sake!

That bee was rude,

 Such attitude -

He always wants to take;

I love your song,

 I'll nod along;

Why not put down the rake?"

And since the sun was very hot,

I sat down for a break;

"Why all the fuss?", Miss Violet said,

"And why your worried brow?

Don't you see the beauty

That's all around you now?

And, don't you know how lovely

Are the smiles you strew about,

Those cheerful flowers from deep inside,

Are the prettiest, no doubt.

When you think your garden's messy,

That your efforts are in vain,

Remember why you planted it,

What you hoped to gain,

You're a part of life's great chorus,

So smile, and sing again!"

Happy Mothers' Day - Why Worry?

Mothers' Day is coming up on Sunday, and there are wonderful tributes flowing from all sorts of media - mothers are the inspiration behind some of the most beautiful songs and poems.

 I decided to address one of the down-to-earth feelings that we all share as members of this human race, and one that mothers are particularly susceptible to - worrying!  

Sometimes, when we can't seem to get a handle on our problems or get past the bad feelings that pull us down, it can be helpful to write it all out - perhaps in the form of a poem?   And, perhaps in the process, we can have a good hearty laugh at what's bothering us - after all, it can't write back, and I'm not letting it touch my keyboard!

Why Worry?

"Worry, my old friend,

Where've you been?

Where've you been?

It's been minutes since

I've seen your sorry face!

Worry, where'd you go?

For it seems

I've missed you so,

That I couldn't cope

With happy thoughts

That tried to take your place!"

So, worry came back, knocking

At my door,

At my door,

Just when I thought

I simply couldn't

Worry anymore,

"I can see that you've

Been working out,

How wonderful!

How wonderful!

I almost fell asleep

In pleasant dreams,

But, I was worried

That a whole night's sleep

Without you,

Yes, without you,

Would leave my life a bore,

Livened only by my snore!"

Homeless Minstrels

“I like to inspire people who are still struggling like I was,” said Arcand, seated at a piano in Ambrose Place, “from being on the street, sleeping outside, going to shelters. Because I love people. I play for people."

These are the words of an Edmonton homeless man, Ryan Arcand, whose spontaneous piano performance was posted on the internet where it went viral;  He died in March.   He had been living in a supportive housing complex for a few months while struggling with a developmental disability, trauma, and mental illness which threw him into the downward spiral of addictions.  Piano was his one positive coping tool, and he was happy that his talent got acknowledged - a rare thing for people who are marginalized.            exerpted from Global News report, March 7, 2018

Homelessness is about more than not having a roof over our heads; mental health issues leave many feeling truly lost and homeless.  It is difficult to know how to respond to these issues effectively; where and how to help.  As human beings, we all , from time to time, jump to quick conclusions about others; We can be very  quick to judge our fellow man without knowing all of the facts.  I wrote the following piece in hopes of bringing the issue into the limelight and possibly generating some positive action.   

Inspired by his selflessness and humble brilliance, I wrote this piece,

 for Ryan:

An enigma stood,

Guitar in hand,

A  homeless minstrel on the street;

With  music playing in his head,

Words and chords came pouring out;

They formed without his knowing

Where the song was going,

What his final note would be,

Who would meet his eyes and see

The dream that he was sowing;

At home within his song he dwelt,

And welcomed in whoever came;

His door was never locked or barred;

Though rains came down and times were hard;

Lost in his own reverie,

He played his spirituality,

Free from ego, free from shame;

We met his eyes and urged him on,

And, listening to his gift of song,

Marvelled at his spirit free,

Winced at his humility;

Touched by tinges of remorse,

That pulled our hearts with gentle force, 

We checked our judgement at his door,

And  gaily clapped along;

A song is given each of us,

Placed into our care;

We cannot fully comprehend

The power of each note that we send

Into a world that needs to see

That we are all one family,

That each voice adds its colour to

One symphony we share..

A bag of Le Geyt Premium Bird Seed  -

 A banquet in my hand; Formulated by Elizabeth Le Geyt in 2012 in celebration of her 40 years of writing her bird column in the Ottawa Citizen, It was a fitting take-away gift handed out at her memorial service last week.  Elizabeth was an amazing lady, who embodied passion and wisdom in an active love for the environment.  Over her generous lifetime of 103 years, she shared these seeds eagerly, with her children and grandchildren, her  readers and fellow bird enthusiasts, and with her neighbours;

I knew Elizabeth originally as our next-door neighbour and friend on Martin Lane.  I loved her voice, her musical British accent - it brought every conversation to a more intense level of attention.  In those early years, I also learned to admire her in other ways; I recognized that her sophisticated British accent encased a brave and generous individual, a mother like my own,  and that her heart was subject to the same emotional ups and downs, as she raised her family of five boys.

Her love of nature in all its forms (except perhaps for bird-chasing cats!) was infectious, and we learned so much just being around her on walks down Kelly lane or playing about in their yard.  She was also an avid reader, encouraging us children to read as well - She generously shared her library of children's adventure books  with our family of seven children, who didn't have money for books in those days. 

Fast forward to 2014, and she and her son Michael co-authored a book themselves , "Bird Lady -  a lifelong love affair with birds".  The book title says it all - her life really was an inspiring love story, an adventure - one that she is, I'm sure, continuing to experience.   

A planter passed this way one day,

And scattered seeds about,

The birds flew in with shouts of glee,

To check the banquet out.

Some they ate, and some they dropped,

Upon the welcoming earth;

Plants grew up, their seeds  formed well,

Eager for rebirth.

Those tiny birds can tell us much;

To share,  for who knows when,

The planter will return,

To gather seeds to spread again.

A Pause In Nature

I love the Fall season, when Mother Nature takes a deep breath, a pause, and calls, "Break Time!"  Then she gathers up all of the stresses of the rest of the year and lets them all go in one glorious coloured exhalation.  

 Those stresses may have been in the form of uplifting growth experiences, or the weighty regrets of our individual unique gifts that have been left un-added to life's beauty;  Add in the fears created by world events and it's no wonder that our posture becomes less than erect and our gait slower .  Then along comes Nature with her reminder to be patient with ourselves,  that the year is maturing, and so are we, as day by day we release our own amazing colours into the world, both in our speech and in our actions.

  In this season of thanksgiving, as  Autumn colours swirl around us, Let's take her lead, and exhale - just let it all go;  A humble, quiet walk can be just what the doctor ordered:

A Humble Walk, A Silent Talk

I contemplated God's beauty

As I walked in the woods;

I breathed in His peace,

And it did my heart good.

In this green sanctuary,

In soft, quiet mood,

I lowered my head,

And it did my heart good.

How many have passed here,

And paused where I stood?

I greeted their presence,

And it did my heart good.

My spirit watched humbly

As leaves gently fell,

And covered my footsteps

'Till no one could tell

That one Fall afternoon

I had come to these woods,

I had partaken peace;

It had done my heart good.

I smiled at someone today - I smiled that smile forever.

We are never really ready to say goodbye to our loved ones -

 How do we cope with the shock that sets in when someone we care deeply about dies too early or unexpectedly?

  We go to our cupboard and pull out the warmest coat that we can find; sewn with love by a wonderful supporting group of family and friends.  That garment may be frayed at the neck and arms from being worn so often, and it may be missing a few strands of our favourite colours; but the Creator looks on it and repairs it each time a thread breaks.

  His repair kit includes our  every smile and kind gesture.   If you want to know what eternity is, look no further than your smile; The kindness in your eyes and the breadth of your smile is the most precious gift we can offer; Once it is given, it doesn't just go away, it is an irreplaceable stitch that is woven into the fabric of that coat - for eternity.

 Those who go to the cupboard can be sure of finding it there - waiting to do what only a familiar, favourite coat can do - warm our souls, wrap us in its arms tightly, and remind us that our loved one's smiles and kindnesses are part of its fabric forever.

When my heart is numb,

My mind a blur,

And I've pushed away the memories  there,

I reach into my trembling heart,

And feel a warmth come over me,

For I find that smile still shining clear.

Within that smile,

 I see those eyes,

And I hear a voice that calls to me,

"All the love I've given you

Is yours for all eternity."