Just One More Bite

Tasty treats tempt us 

to snack; 

to nibble a nut; 

to sneak an extra treat,

to take just one more bite, 

to bake a cake…or cookies, 

to lick icing from our fingers, 

to eat ice cream right out of the container

(Of course, will power always prevails!)

“I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.”

~ Mae West, actress

(1898 - 1980)

Survival Challenge

‘Nature always sides with the hidden flaw’

Ah, Murphy ~ another challenge laid before man ~ to play hide and seek with Mother Nature.

If we ignore any of the flaws of this world, she will not bend to our will but we to hers.

“For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; 

in this century he is beginning to realize that, 

in order to survive, he must protect it.

~Jacques-Yves Cousteau

No Memos

Ongoing changes shape our world

never stopping to see if we have

   caught up to the last change

     caught our breath or

       caught the wind in our sails

Ongoing changes are like the wind

Coming from any direction when

  we least expect it

    to roar thru' well planned lives

      or vanishing, leaving us  breathless.

Ongoing changes are challenges

~ challenges that we will meet

 with aplomb or with fear

   gathering our wits and our faith

     with the will to survive and live.

“The only way to make sense out of change is to 

plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”

~ Alan Wilson Watts

Slips, Slumps and Standing Up

Slipping into Month #5 of Retirement:

Wondering ~

were all those years a dream?

where did my passion go?

was it all for naught?

Until 

I see memorabilia

spend few moments with colleagues

opine about addictions issues

listen to interviews about health care ~

every day securing my place between then and now.

Until 

A slump slides in wearing slippers

shifting the ground beneath my feet.

‘I don’t know how to engage with people out here!’

Gathering 

my strength of will and my pen

with determination and alacrity,

my sense of purpose, 

hopeful vision and wonder, 

begins to blossom once more.

“It’s exciting not knowing what tomorrow, 

or the next month, or the next year holds.”

~ Lucy Boynton, actress

Cracks in the Sidewalk

Cracks in the sidewalk threaten 

to suck people into an abyss

to be

buried beneath concrete bureaucracy

unless

by chance

the will to survive

the hands up from the abyss

meet in one place

atop the cracks in the sidewalk.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

~ Helen Keller

All the Must's and Have To's

All of the must’s and have to’s of old messages swirl around ~ pushing determination and will

aside, chasing dreams and beliefs into dark corners,
sneaking back into their own 
shadows raising the dim of belief and dreams.

As the fog lifts
Perception of today’s reality clears once more.

“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.”

~ Aristotle Onassis

Just Before 'X'

Voting: 

a privilege, 

a right, 

a responsibility…

and yet

political trust and political will
is a balance that shifts and sways
opinions left, right and center
asking to be believed, to be trusted….
debating the merits of their beliefs
while detailing their opponents’ poverty of realism

who is the best citizen incumbent for the job?
how is one to know?
and when?

Just before ‘x’ marks the box?

“Do the unexpected. Take 20 minutes out of your day, 

do what young people all over the world are dying to do: vote.”

~ Rick Mercer