My grandmother told me about the earthquake she survived in 1918. The memory of it was vivid and padlocked in her 90 year old mind at the time. My mother was waiting to be born. She claimed that was why she was so strong. She planted a tree to remind her that one’s roots sustain and remainno matter what.
I dedicate this poem to the people of Puerto Rico. They have been through so much. Butthey are a proud people, a strong bunch and will never give up faith. Thank you to all those who have reached out to help the victims. Que Viva Puerto Rico!!!
Earthquake, be not proud!
when you shake our senses to the ground
we awake and look for what is to be found
the remnants of our dreams
are not as shattered
as you may think
Our oneness knows
the pain of others.
Our island is an emerald so unique
Our pride continues to glow shine.
Shake us all you want.
I dare you!
We are mindful now;
of where and how,
and in the now.
More than ever
We know who cares.
We know the sincere heart of those who share
our pain.
The eternal green of the our mountains,
the glorious and gorgeous azure of the ocean that surround us
As most people here in the Tri-State area, we have seen the presentations and masses pronounced by Pope Francis of the the Holy Seas and many of us have been deeply touched by his message of Love and Peace. This is my poem to honor his visit. I also tried painting his friendly face with all due respect.
Skies of crystal blue prevailed today
As the Pope of Hope
Like Jesus did walked among us
Even for those who were not too close
deep emotions did not fail
to energize and fill all hearts
with glory and hopeful dreams
As he waved to thousands
On what now will be the Holy urban trail
Worshipers screamed,
called out his name,
and cried sweet tears
for this Pope of the People
had washed away their fears.
For many today
Life will not be the same
History records impatiently
The sounds and sights today
Pope Francis of the Holy Sea
Prays for you and me and
For even the non-believer
All he wants is Peace to be a reality.
He asked us all to restore our hope
To resolve our differences with respect
For we must live as one
He asked us all to educate the young.
Future generations
must learn the lessons well;
To build our oneness
and fraternal love,
To restore a Nation of Freedom for all
This is our divine call.
He said to Remember the Golden Rule.
Our faces may be different yes
But our hearts beat all the same
Some filled with passion and compassion
Love can only be our gain.
Thank you Pope Francisco of the Holy Sea
for your humble presence and
your words of inspiration.
With Gratitude and Remembrance
I think we will see clearly now,
And forever more.
No more smog or clouds
to block our vision and sincere affirmations
For deep down in our hearts
We know this to be true
United we stand
and in God We Trust.
Above is a drew on my iPad when I was looking ofr some kind of inspiration. I found the Chines proverb and drew the tree which I call:Tree of Inspiration.
Here are the quotes to fulfill the three quote challenge.
“Joy is an internal process grounded in knowledge of spiritual truth, the ability to trust
the wisdom of the Divine, and faith in the perfect and perfecting process of life.”
– Lyanla Vanzant
“It is better in prayer to have a heart without words and words without a heart.”
-Mahatma Ghandi
“Allow your heart to sing and dance and kick off its shoes when you are lonely or fearful. A Divine feeling of freedom will keep you company instead.”
I would be remiss if I did not offer my condolences to the families of the victims gunned down Wednesday while at a bible study meeting at their church in Charleston, South Carolina. It saddens me deeply that violence strikes again. I dread the questions my oldest grandson will have about this. What do you say to an eight year old who believes that church is a safe haven. For that matter that school is a safe place to be as well.
There are many issues at play with this particular incident. Or are they the same issues that come back to haunt us again and again. When will it stop? I believe that love will prevail. I believe that goodness strikes out evil. We need to take whatever time is necessary and talk to our children about what it is that makes us human. We must help them understand our biology. We all bleed the same. Our hearts (even when not very healthy) will beat to keep us alive. We all need to breathe, eat and sleep. We all want to be loved. We all need to love somebody. And when someone dies, it does not matter what language we speak; or what color our skin is, or what religion or faith we observe, we grieve with a hole left in our hearts and tears filling up our eyes. The love we feel is immense and never leaves us.
It is very simple actually this humanity of ours. We are built in a way that is so complex, interrelated, and interdependent that no one has been able to replicate what we know to be a human being.
The great phenomena is that it is indeed a very simple construct. We all need each other. Our diversity and our sameness is equally phenomenal. Senseless murder and violence hurts us all. One family member said, “Every fiber of my body hurts.” She lost a son who was her hero. Children are not suppose to die before their parents. It is not suppose to be the rule.
Our humanity must take charge and stand up tall and spread the word. We are one. A part of a whole. I am a part of you, of this planet, and you are a part of me. It is as simple as that. Call me a dreamer (I think someone said this once before.) but it is time that we take action. I know that I am not the only one. Love must win! Our humanity must be victorious.
“Peace is not a season; it must be a way of life.”
“I ‘ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah”
Sometimes it is important to rewind to those difficult times in one’s life. A good movie clip may capture our heart for a few moments and remind us to think about the stuff that truly counts. We may find ourselves rewinding to that specific clip because it helps us to cope with or recoup from the stresses in life. I found myself doing just that the other day. I remembered the label on the spine of the old VHS cassettes I had rented from my local Blockbuster store. “Be Kind and Rewind.”
I thought what an interesting philosophy this if we were to apply to our lives. I thought of how often I need to rewind to the famous movie embedded in my heart and brain since I started watching movies. I very often go back to a book and look for the folded pages or highlighted spots that may help me get some insight on how to resolve an issue. But the rewind mechanism can be a beautiful thing. The thought of first being kind and then rewinding signifies a different thought process. It assumes that we are all capable of being kind. How could one be kind to someone who has just made your life impossible or maybe has even hurt you physically? The truth is that it is very difficult to go back and think about the circumstances that may have led to someone being thoughtless, rude, hurtful, selfish or insulting.
I tried this new idea the other day out of sheer desperation to find a way to cope with a situation that was giving me enormous amounts of stress. I ended up rewinding to a movie clip and tried to visualize the moment when Chris Gardner, played by Will Smith in the movie “Pursuit of Happyness” stops to reflect on what he has just said to his son about playing basketball and how his son might be like his dad just an average player. (click on link to watch.) I viewed this clip in my head and coached myself back to a good place. I told myself this person might think they have put me down but they cannot. I will not empower them that way. I will kill them with kindness and I will be compassionate because I know deep in my soul that they need someone to believe in them too. I felt revived, rejuvenated, and in a very peaceful mindset. Then I started listing those other clips that had given me peace, offered my a little more knowledge of life and or made me a tad wiser. Now I have a repertoire of movie clips to draw from when things are not going as well. Because in the end no one is responsible for your “happyness” and no one should try to rob you of your happiness either.