Artful dodging through
sound bites and camera flashes ~ just a little chaos in the moment that makes me forget
what I believe,
where I am and
who I want to be.
When I blink my eyes
or plug my ears,
I feel the ground
beneath my feet and am glad.
“If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance,
as the old bumper sticker has it,
dazzle them with bullshit.”
~ Sam Leith, Words like Loaded Pistols
 |
| Revelstoke, B.C. August 2017 |
Reasoning has little to do
with pizza, cheese bubbling
beneath the rounds of pepperoni.
It was my supper tonight,
crisp and delicious from my oven.
Reasoning had little to do
with the foaming soap suds
that filled my washing machine
while the spin and turn of the drum
did its job for clean sheets tonight.
Reasoning, not rhetoric, takes me
into my own thoughts, my own ideas.
Thoughts of kindness and honesty.
Ideas born and grown from the myriad
of lessons from my growing up and living.
Reasoning has little to do
with friends that give us a lift
with laughter and visiting about
hairbands or the colour of the sky
at sunset before stars sparkle above.
Reasoning has little to do
with the noise of the world.
Balance between our homes and
the noise of the world can show us
the reasons to be at peace with it all.
“I don’t have to understand the reasons for
the colours of a rainbow to appreciate it beauty.”
~ Wayne Gerard Trotman,
Author of children’s literature, multi-genre
Giving in..
To the pressures of life
To the changes in each work world
To the sudden flatness of retirement
To the wild chaos of global stresses
Gratitude tells us:
We are more resilient than that
We are curious about any change
We are determined to create meaning
We are able to centre our own lives.
“Fear wants you to stay scared, Bunny.
But you don’t have to give in.
You don’t have to let it control you.”
~ Rebekah Crane, The Upside of Falling Down
 |
| Photo taken from a car window |
Giving in…..
Reasoning has…..
Artful dodging…..
Thin ice seems…..
Ideals render us….
Trust in…..
Uniquely shaped……
Designed for……
Elegance of …….
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”
~ Cicero
Searching in the dark
for edges of light,
my memory reached out
to touch the wisdom
of my ancestors
while my heart adjusted
to shadow, to edges of light
and I knew that I was safe.
“The spirits of the dead may be invoked for the good of the living.”
~ Shinto saying
We are all tired
tired of the day
the season
the night
tired of the work
that builds our lives
and yet we continue
to be grateful,
to laugh
to love
to create families and homes.
Perhaps our energy feels low
because the life we live
is filled with so much more than
the one that we promised ourselves
when we were children.
Can we not rest easy within this abundance?
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
~ E.E. Cummings
Birthday parties are fun
But birthdays are special
‘How old are you?”
A frivolous question
when a family celebrates the
presence of a precious child
in their parenting world.
Glossy, colourful bags full of
toys and clothes, games and puzzles
set the stage for creative play, learning and growth.
“There is still no cure for the common birthday.”
~ John Glenn, astronaut, author
(1921 - 2016)
