Kindness is essential in the healing of our world.

The Quality of Kindness

 

The quality of mercy is not strained.

It droppeth as the gentle rain from Heaven

Upon the place beneath.

It is twice blest:

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

                        ..... William Shakespeare

 

The quality of kindness

Is the most precious of our treasures;

The humblest, yet most courageous;

From eye to eye it beckons—

Look long and deeply into mine,

We are one, you and I,

In our pain and in our joy;

In my yearning to find hope,

Am I misunderstood?

Have I misunderstood you?

We are all brought to tears,

By the touch of a kind word or act,

That drops like healing rain

Upon the wounds that we carry;

Let us hope that our eyes

Fully opened,

Will look deeply into the beauty,

In the eyes of our brothers,

And encourage

The quality of kindness that waits there.

 

A memory gives us a chance to time travel!  How do you make a memory—a happening that touches the soul and stays?  We all have hurtful images from the past that can hang on and hold our hearts captive, robbing us of our potential to create joy, but warm memories, the best ones, happen when we are taken by surprise; they are able to stir a huge heartfelt laugh, or maybe a tear.  Memories grow stronger and more precious when they are shared—let's get busy and start building that time machine, with the cogs of our honest, humble foibles and in the beautiful gifts that lie within each of us.

                                                Love forgave, kindness smiled, and hope grew a precious memory.

 

The Gift

 

There are gifts that we give

To the ones that we love

That leave rare and indelible marks;

Little glimpses of something

That words can't explain,

Scripted in thoughts

That weave their refrain,

Playing time and again in our hearts;

 

There are moments we touch,

Without touching at all,

When we meet in our memory room;

When a smile meets a smile,

There is healing that happens;

We're reminded that hope

Lies within every challenge,

Within every gift still to come;

 

There are beautiful treasures

To gather and share,

Memories to make every day;

As we clear a place for them,

Let their roots grow,

Their buds are just waiting

For someone to say,

"Can your happy memories come out and play?"

 

 

Be Kind

I rose from sleep,

And there it came,

To stop my breath

To squelch my flame,

"You are unworthy,

Yours the blame,

You cannot hope

To win life's game"

But, deep inside,

I heard the words,

Encouraging,

"Be kind, Be kind"

 

How hard it is

To seek and find    

The path that leads

To peace of mind;

To heed the voice

That climbs the slope,

Carrying the seeds of hope,

To light our path,

 to conquer doubt,

The way is clear,

Its voice rings out,

"Be kind, be kind",

 

Pride will entice,

And ego take,

Crushing spirits

In their wake;

Their heavy shoes

Will weigh us down,

Direct our gaze

Inward and down;

Love stops cold

That toxic wheel; 

Walk together

And we'll heal,

Arm in arm,

In kindness, building hope;

 

Be humble in our giving,

Humble in receiving,

Take pride in our gratitude,

Take pride in each kindness,

Take pride in every act of respect,

Take pride in acknowledging

That we are all children of the same family,

Sharing the playground together.

 

 

    A Song Of Hope

 

Whenever sadness settles in,

nettles in,

meddles in,

The song that I am coaxing

From the recess of my heart,

I give my smile a hefty spin,

A swing, a lift, and then, a grin

Breaks out and like a little bird

Soars into the sunlight, to where its song will start;

 

It tells me there is light out there,

Joy out there,   

Hope out there,

Out past the melancholy -

The lazy spirit's haunt,

I'll free my feet and drop those shoes,

The past is past, the future new,

I still have things to say and do;

Life is so much more;

 

Every moment's promise is

A chance for us,

To build and thus,

To add to God's creation,

The gifts we have to share;

Let our words express our very best,

Thoughtful works of art;

An instrument as yet unstrung,

A song of hope as yet unsung,

Waits to add its colour

To the canvass of the heart.

Isolation Blues!

Isolation Blues!

These days, we're all singing the Isolation blues in our own unique ways; some of us are feeling very out of tune and trying hard to reach those positive high notes;  For some of us, we are finding the verses getting annoyingly repetitious!

Please forgive the musical irony - It comes after listening to the many wonderful concerts, at so many levels that are being generously offered by musicians, artists and athletes, both locally and around the world to raise money to help our fellow countrymen during this time of crisis.

All of us want to contribute whatever talents we have, to express our love and thanks to all of the front line workers putting themselves at risk every day, and to help the less fortunate.   Giving back in whatever way we can,  particularly the act of sacrificing closeness with our family and friends, makes us all part of this wonderful 'Team Canada'.   

As I was breathing deeply, and letting go of the stress for awhile, I wrote a simple little poem that expresses a desire for peaceful happy times.  It also encompasses gratitude for the silver lining in all of this down time - a chance to really look and listen to each other, to our children and grandchildren, and to appreciate the really important elements of life.

What if?

What if there was no war to fear,

No hurtful words

To wound the ear,

No vain attempt

To have it all,

No selfish smirks

When others fall;

What if we gathered smiles and flowers,

If loving acts

Were our super powers;

If we rose each day

In gratitude,

Spreading smiles

In happy mood;

If we, like children, saw the world,

One tiny wonder

At a time,

With curiosity

Unfurled,

Each challenge,

But a tree to climb;

What if we saw our work as play,

And laughed,

As little children do;

While giving love

In simple ways,

Needing just to hear,

 "Me too!"

Then, let us lay our troubles down,

And take some time,

Be still awhile,

Take our cue

From little ones,

Paint rainbows,

And share a smile!

One More Cup Of Tea

On a cold and blustery day, such as today, when the Winter Blahs are beating at my door, thoughts of warmth in its many forms can be the perfect answer to that annoying knocking;   As I mature in age and, hopefully, in wisdom, I still find it satisfying to occasionally reach back into my childhood days, bring out that rebellious, often-used retort, and say to time,

"You're not the boss of me!"   I figure I still have one more cup of tea;

One More Cup Of Tea

I may have lost a little steam,

A little of my zing,

But there's still a cup inside of me,

One delicious cup of tea,

That might be just the thing

For someone who has dropped their cup,

Whose pot of hope has all dried up,

Can't make their kettle sing.

I still have hopeful little drops,

Some smiles I've kept to share,

There's laughter waiting to pop up,

To add some bubbles to their cup,

Some warm and pleasant fare;

Some bits of sunshine,

Sips of Spring

That I've infused with care;

For tiny cups of kindness are

The humblest of guests;

They don't intrude on solitude,

They're sensitive and never rude,

They understand that listening

Is the sweetener that is best;

A cup of hope, so sweet and fine's

The best of partners anytime,

Perhaps the perfect Valentine!

A Mother's Reflection:

My newborn slept against my breast,

And I whispered, "How beautiful."

I held him out to the world,

And it echoed, "How beautiful."

I sent him into the world,

And the world touched him

And I felt pride, and I felt fear.

He came home wounded,

And I held him against my breast,

And I whispered,  "How unfair."

Then I sent him out again,

Armed with tools that I hoped would help:

Love, faith, patience, tolerance, kindness, listening skills,

And I said to him, "Be my peacemaker."

He came back home confused and wounded,

And I said to him, "Don't despair, you are growing, and I am so proud of you,

This pain will be part of your strengthening."

And he went back into the world,

Bruised, but determined and hopeful.

Then he laughed,

And the heart of the world skipped a beat,

For he had touched the world, and it had responded,

He became aware of a unique something within that he possessed,

That was his to build, develop, and share.

He wondered aloud, "Who am I?"

And a voice answered;

He knew that voice,

It whispered, "How beautiful."

And again,

"You are mine, you are more precious

Than you can possibly imagine."

And this mother echoed in gratitude,

"How beautiful!"

Me And My Ski Poles!

Me And My Ski Poles!

Walking with ski poles ?  No way - I'm not going to have people looking at me like I'm weird!

But, here I am, a convert.    After being introduced to the concept by the good folks at Walker House (and my husband) I checked it out on the net -  According to write-ups about it, 'The logic is simple:  Normal walking utilizes muscles in the lower half of the body while pole walking is a whole-body activity that uses muscles in the back, arms, shoulders and neck.'   After reading about all of its other benefits,  I invested in a pair of brand new shiny ski poles and headed down to the waterfront  the next day to join up with the 'Chicks With Sticks' group.   With a little guidance in adjusting the height of the sticks and some advice on how to use them properly, I was off!   Now, I try to get out on my own as many days as possible for a 'ski' down the highways and bi-ways of Prescott.   On one of my walks, I was feeling just a little self-conscious as I veered to the left to pass a middle-aged man out walking his dog:

   "Doing a bit of urban poling, eh?"   he remarked.   Urban poling?   Why.... yes!  That's exactly what I was doing - not just out walking with a pair of ski poles;  I suddenly felt very trendy, indeed!  

     I must remember that phrase for a time in the future when my trendy ski poles get replaced by a  very necessary cane(s).   Getting feeble?  Not I - I'll simply be out urban poling!

As for the psychological and spiritual benefits:

I'm off

With my poles

For a walk

And a think;

With a bottle

Of water

For these lips

To drink,

I'll gather new thoughts

For this old brain

To link

To the people I pass

And the wonders

That wink

At my deep contemplation;

I'll treasure each link

In the chain of my think,

I'll sweat with the small stuff

And feel my cares

Shrink!