Naughty and Nice - Another Tiny Story

Naughty and Nice were twins that lived across the road from Cheer and Charm. They were giggly girls with long blond curls. Naughty really liked Charm, and Nice really liked Cheer. The four children got into mischief on the playground, as long as there were no parents around. But if they were caught, Charm and Nice managed the situation - ‘we were just trying to help the poor little boy (or girl) with the toy and she (or he) wanted to share his ice cream with us.’  They didn’t always get away with it, especially if the child in question was crying. Naughty and Cheer loved the excitement of their ‘adventures’. Nice and Charm loved it too, but when the excitement got too scary they convinced the other two to behave themselves. They would be the ones who were always looking for the lost kitten, or baby bird that had fallen from a nest. It was easy to convince the two trouble makers to help them save the foundlings. Nice and Naughty knew that their mom knew all the same stuff about telephone numbers that the other mom knew for lost animals. The five year olds all went home with skinned knees, muddy feet, sunburned faces and any treasures they had found. 

“I believe in kindness and also mischief.”

~ Mary Oliver

Unless ~ 2

Experience of a ride 

on the winds of change ~

little changes right away 

unless 

it is a dip into fear or 

an explosion of anger, 

the highs of excitement. 

Unbalanced 

by these private winds, 

I set my own danger zone 

unless 

I feel the ground beneath my feet, 

slow my pace, 

breathe deeply of the star studded sky

and decide how my moment will be.

“To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.”

~ Confucius

Heart to Heart

Magnetism doesn’t get 

to hold one heart 

to another forever. 

There will be tears 

that fall, corroding 

the bare surface of love;

the scorching heat 

of anger weakens 

the bond one to another, 

only in the icy cold of need, 

clinging to each other,

the bond will be strengthened

Magnetism, in that first blush of excitement 

needs belief, shelter and kindness 

for that first blush to bloom.

“I believe there is a subtle magnetism in Nature which, 

if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.”

~ Henry David Thoreau

A Grand Scheme!

Enthused about 2026 ~

the new year rolls ahead. 

Politics and all the 

frightening potential of it ~

pushed aside in the day to day!

What I want to learn; 

how I want my life to be 

in this wintery world is exciting. 

Music, languages, 

more books to read, 

development of writing projects, 

advancing into a community of writers

adding another fitness regimen so 

the menu I have spread before me 

can be tasted, sampled and enjoyed. 

My potential:

To learn

  To grow

    To have fun! 

  “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.    

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Like Fireflies

Thought-provoking sparks 

of brilliance, like fireflies, 

wink out in the ordinary 

 

 getting ready for work, 

    

   for an outing, 

      

     washing the dishes

        

        shopping for groceries

These brilliant sparks

      become fragments

        puffs of cloud 

           devoid of time, pen and paper

  floating away on the winds of

    responsibility or distraction 

Will they return?

   Maybe ~ and maybe not

Or like fire flies, 

   when lights are low

 

when it is time for sleep

   new ones will come.”

“I’ve reached the moment where the movement of my thought 

interests me more than the thought itself.

~ Pablo Picasso

Silent Plea

 

Intention speaks 

    

    from the soul. 

The word spoken aloud 

gives it more weight, 

        

    a reminder ~ 

a breath from the soul. 

No demand

   No insistence 

To reach out

   To grasp intention 

       To work with its weight 

brings the silent plea to life.

“Intention is the core of all conscious life. 

Conscious intention colours and moves everything.”

~ Hsing Yun, Buddhist priest

(1927 - 2023)

Cheer and Charm ~ A Tiny Story

Cheer and Charm were twins. Two little guys with shiny brown curls and big twinkling brown eyes. When Cheer was caught taking cookies from the cookie jar, Charm would just smooth the way with their mom and they both got more cookies. Both of them had smiles that melted the grumpiest of people. You know, those people who’s hearts are stuffed in their back pockets. Cheer and Charm were quite a team, getting away with all the mischief that five year olds could think of. But when it came to a bird with a broken wing, a cat all scruffed up from living outside too long, anyone in need of a five year old’s hug they turned all their sweetness on them. They could find homes or shelter for any of them, by bringing them home to their mom. “She always knows what to do. You know, the phone numbers for helping.” So inside a smile and a laugh, might be someone with a soft squishy heart that dials down their excitement to help.

“You will discover that you have two hands, One is for 

helping yourself and the other is for helping others.”

~ Audrey Hepburn