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Saturday, September 15, 2012

The Final Touch


It’s been a wonderful couple of days ~
Home-work that pleases
Cooking and cleaning, 
baking and laundry
Lots of writing, gardening,
touching base with friends and family from home and afar
But the final touch?
This evening's dinner with friends.

“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg
even though [s]he knows that you are slightly cracked.”
~ Bernard Meltzer
(The added [s] is the blog author’s)

Friday, September 14, 2012

Gut Feelings Ignored


Warning lights turned off
when we learn to ignore
flickers and flashes 
almost too faint to feel
almost too dim to see,
but electricity still 
flows and sparks
without warning.

Not severely destructive,
at least not noticeably so,
it burns through the air like
a cut of fork lightning.
leaving in it’s wake 
a vague, unsettled feeling that
something is amiss.
An aura of char and burning.

“A trembling in the bones may carry a more convincing 
testimony than the dry documented deductions of the brain.”
~ Llewelyn Powers

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Thoughtlessly tossed, ......

     Thoughtlessly tossed......

..the bag was crumpled and old.  
In the light of day, small pieces of brightness,
winked through layers of dust, small relief in an otherwise bleak visage.

Any flecks of brightness, 
if examined closely, 
were spots of original color
not yet weathered away.
The bag buried in the land's debris for years, 
caught in barbed wire;
held up and surrounded by tumbleweeds and grass.  

What had it held?  Hamburger and fries?  
The bag, once full of good taste and smell, 
had been crumpled up and flung
from the window of a passing car.  

The wide highway, swept clean by the prairie wind
had sent the little bag to rest in the weeds,  
lonely and stuck.

Almost, and as if on purpose, the little bag seemed 
positioned out of the way of the elements.  
Sometimes a bird would perch on the wire close to it 
but birds and any other wild life had long since stopped 
checking the bag for scraps of food.
It was dry and lifeless except for 
bugs and critters using the bag for home and shelter.
Would a big wind tear the bag from it’s corner, 
sweeping the barbed wire clean?
Or would the bag disintegrate and become part of the land?

“It’s just not acceptable anymore to litter, just like it’s not 
acceptable anymore to dump anything into rivers or streams.”
~ Tracy Bowen

Edited November 22, 2023

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Leadership Review

Where does leadership begin?

Who demonstrates leadership?

To learn the things 
a leader should do, 
there are
books
courses
classes
seminars
workshops
degrees

There may be a 
designated
elected
appointed leader within 
    family
    community group
    workplace
    service organization

however, it is at the grassroots 
of these groups of humanity that 
leadership is demonstrated.

Leadership has
humility
ethics
morality and
a core belief in oneself and 
ones personal values.

Leadership lives
outside of an office with 
no title
no name 
no credentials

Learning about being a leader begins in 
the roots of childhood, and 
anywhere along the journey we each travel.
The life we lead will show a direction for someone........

“A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision
comes from passion, not position.”
~ John Maxwell

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Summer's Ending is Sweet

Summer is fading away quietly.

Brilliant sun graced blue, blue sky today
Mere glimpses of the clear sky scattered through the beautiful windows at work.

Afternoon air, an interesting mix of
warm sunshine and almost crispy cold,
whispered in my ear to remind me that there are, at home, 
green gold pears fallen on cushioning soft earth
broad leafed squash plants hiding golden flowers and softball sized squash
tender young scarlett runner beans climbing, sharing deep orange flower buds 
a few struggling young green peas hesitantly reaching their green tendrils

You might wonder about my young plants and new scarlet runners - 
I only planted in mid July - the earliest I had the ground ready - 
just because I wanted to have my own garden fresh
tomatoes
beans
peas (don’t think I’ll get any)
squash
potatoes (I’m eating one as I write this)

Will the crisp-cold fall season enter quietly one night and freeze my ill timed plantings?
No matter - I only wanted the joy of my own food garden.
A fresh sweet pear with breakfast.
Tentative promise of fresh and home-canned tomatoes (my single plant is four feet high and loaded with flowers!)
A chance to eat beans - and peas - right off of the vine?
I really don’t need much in this world and much of it is right here in my own backyard.

“There shall always be summer in the grateful heart.”
~ Celia Thaxter

Monday, September 10, 2012

Suicide Prevention


Thinking about suicide prevention today, I am pretty sure I could not have prevented my mother’s suicide -
nor the suicide of two other relations,
nor the suicide of friends.

All three occurred several decades ago now, each far apart from the other.
Much younger then, in my twenties and then in my thirties,
I had been active in my nursing career for several years.
Clinically I had heard the word 'suicide'.
In those years there were few assessment tools 
for those of us in the health care professions.

As a nurse, I have only cared for those with
suicidal ideation
suicidal gestures
suicide plans

As a daughter and family member
the only tools I had as a young mom were in
my sewing kit
the kitchen drawer
the closet with the mops and vacuum cleaner:
not real effective suicide prevention tools.

I hear talk about
emotional pain
distorted thinking
(those are the polite ways of talking about ‘it’)

But does anyone really, really
understand what
emotional pain or
distorted thinking
is or feels like for someone that is suicidal?
What it’s like inside of those feelings?
Can anyone really, really know from the outside?

So my suicide prevention strategy is this - 
to start with myself.
To honour those who have gone before
not for their deaths or the manner of their deaths
but for the good and decent thoughts, deeds and lessons of their lives.
Whether it be one small thing - or a myriad of things-
character and colour
humor and kindness
smiles and laughter
and best of all the hugs.

I have also committed to live my own life in 
safety and health 
to those that are here and now - 
my families, friends and colleagues.

I share my story with those on the edge between life and death.
Not the details of the deaths 
but the rippled and rippling effects
of the suicide:
Each loved one will be forever missed.

Because you are 
child, mother, father, brother, 
sister, aunt, uncle, friend - 
that loved one - 
oh, I know that you don’t believe me, but your light will be missed.
I also know that your energy for living is all but gone,
but it can be rebuilt - 
extend your hand, 
accept a hand, 
stay with us please.

“Suicide is not a blot on anyone’s name; it is a tragedy.”
~ Kay Redfield Jamison, 
Night Falls Fast:  Understanding Suicide

Sunday, September 9, 2012

I Believe


I believe.
No specific form or dogma
does my belief take, but
I can tell you that:

I believe in 
sunshine, blue sky and cloudy days
birds on the wing or perched on high on a branch. 
squirrels gathering nuts
dogs, cats and horses.....
animals of every kind.

I believe in the roots of 
grass, plants and trees
friends and family
entwined and reaching below the soil. 

I believe in a vast connection between all things 
in waters and rocks of this great Earth, 
the stars in the sky, the sun and the moon
all pieces and parts of the Universe.  

in awe of everything around me 
is humbling ~ I am a part of it all.

I believe in 
humankind’s innate ability to heal 
deep wounds that cripple and scar
small scratches that annoy. 

I believe
there is no greater power 
than healing when the connection is made
with self and Universe.

I also believe that, 
in our constant seeking 
for new toys and technology,
we may look too far outside of ourselves 
and bypass the inner joy of healing.  

I believe in
a babies cry and
the final farewell with
all the sharing of joys and sorrows in between.

We race the races and 
dance the dances to each other's tunes when really
our dance is our own to choreograph 
be it a slow and graceful waltz or 
a jumping, jiving jitterbug.  

In this world, 
in this day and time, 
I believe that 
we must dance our own dance and 
race our own race 
with brightly coloured balloons in hand.  

Bring your own music and 
dance your own dance,
the party is on......

“Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.”
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe