National Day of Hope

National Day of Hope

Hope is an inescapable driving force

It helps create a dream

It teaches us answers to questions

Lifts our self esteem

So I ask you today to give another a reason

to wake up…to dream…to live

Often blessings are not found in what we receive

But indeed that in which we give

Hope can spring eternal

Permission to dare to move forward

Remind us of the possibilities

That we can all move toward

Give our children a reason to arise

To hold their heads up high

Give them strength to face the unknown

Their hearts aiming for the sky

For when we place effort

In the lives of little minds

Our blessings would double

Mere words could not define

When we start giving permission

To think outside of self

We gain the prize possession

Of our spiritual wealth

Give a gift today…one you always had

Dangling on a divine rope

Love a child and do it often

On our National Day of Hope

A Dream is A Wish Your Heart Makes

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

A dream is a wish your heart makes
Because the heart doesn’t yet know
Of the people and obstacles
Which don’t allow hope to grow

So during our slumber at night
While the whole world is at rest
Our hopes and dreams imagine
Putting our limits to the test

Some dream of larger houses
Some people dream of fame
Some dream of a different life
Never to feel pain again

In our dreams we can attain
Goals we have never met
We can even create our
Ideal panoramic sunset

The heart idyllic has no bars
Therefore doesn’t understand no
But only the “where’s” and “when’s”
No one saying I told you so

On days where we ponder wondering
What allows our hearts dare trod
Wonder no more…for encased
In your heart…that is God

He allows us to dream in living color
He gives us the tools for our success
It is only our fear of failure
Allowing us to forget we are blessed

When we allow our souls to be touched
By anything but the love of Him
It is only then that our dreams
Become battles that we can’t win

A dream is a wish our hearts make
God always allows it to be
Hope for the things we want
As God is our deepest need

Dare dream the outlandish
Become something as large as a king
Or something simple as a flower blooming
And the smile that can bring

For a dream knows no restriction
God is its Heavenly guard
For the hope for our future is as simple
As a wish made from your heart

I Have a Dream Too

I Have a Dream Too

 

I also have a dream

That one day you will look at me

And accept me for whom and what I am

And not who you need me to be

 

I dream of a time when

I will be good enough too

And the world will see us as equals

I will be seen as good as you

 

The color of my skin

And the texture of my hair

My home land of origin

And the clothes I choose to wear

 

Will not determine my value

In your eyes

And you will not predetermine

Or start to surmise

 

The value of my character

The intention of my soul

Because they cannot be determined

By what you have been told

 

I dream also of a day when

A boy and a girl alike

Can play together joyously

No matter how dark no matter how light

 

There will be no fear of racism

Or profiling of those unlike us

Because we all would have realized

It is wrong and unjust

 

I pray that the deaths of Dr. King

And those like

Him will not be in vain…and

We can all unite

 

As brothers and sisters under God

Joined with one common deed

To love and embrace one another

And somehow we can find peace

 

So this is the reminder

That I am sending to you

I also have hope and faith in God

And I have a dream too

 

 

 

Look At The Bright Side

Look At The Bright Side

 

Today is National “Look on the Bright Side Day”. Where some people might find that to be a ridiculous event, I must say that I can understand the sentiment behind it…especially this time of year. This time of year is the largest season for suicides and murder…so I think it is extremely appropriate to celebrate the reasons to hold on to life and all the gifts that we receive in living it.

  Life can sometimes spiral out of control. We can feel as if we are lost or even as if we nay not want to be found. We may feel alone or isolated…wondering who would even notice if we just dropped off the face if the earth. These sentiments are what make this event pertinent. We are all important, our lives are essential in some plan that God has for us. Just like when we speak of the importance of animals and the chain or circle of life…we, too, are critical parts of the grander scheme of things. Something as minor as a smile to a stranger…may change the course or energy of a day. A kind word or gesture could turn war time into a moment of peace.

  What is the bright side of a life which appears to have no particu7lar meaning? Well, we woke up today. We lifted our heads…and because we were willed to do so…the work God has lain out for us has begun. The bright side is the fact that today…unlike some…you received the gift of another moment…another opportunity to do the work of our Creator. Today we can hold our heads up and move forward. We get to choose whether we live or simply exist; while keeping in mind that we are the example that others are turning to. People don’t want us to tell them what to do…but they are open to observing those thoughts in action. We are responsible for all of our deeds…large and small…good and bad. We can impress or depress people…we have the luxury of choosing the path we walk.

  Look on the bright side…today is a new day…and the way we view it may help or hinder someone else. Things happen in life, some of these things may seem like they have broken us…left us in pieces. I think we have all felt this way…one time or another. But the actual truth is…we were not broken, shattered, crushed, or defeated. We were simply temporarily impaired…stunned…surprised…startled and dismayed. And here we are…not only present and accounted for but looking on the bright side of life. We have simply evolved into another part of who we were intended to be. We may feel sad at times due to a change or loss in our lives; and while I am not trying to take away from that very real feeling…I am going to tell you that hope always exists.

  You get to decide the energy that you will emit on others…just as I do. And yes, we will sometimes falter. It is okay to stumble on the building blocks of life…as long as we understand that they are just blocks…and not giant walls with no means of escape. You have to remember to pick yourself up and press on…eyes are watching you. If you have hope…someone else will be able to feed off of it…and they will be able to give hope to others, as well. Use the foundation that we were created with…love…peace….understanding and kindness; these are the elements of success and hope.

  Life is a gift. It regenerates, rejuvenates and revitalizes our souls. It is okay to have rough days…but understand that…better days will follow. No one expects perfection, but we do expect, desire, and need your word that you will constantly strive for more.

  Our lives contribute to the ever populating circle of love…and the bright side of that concept is that love always comes back ten fold. Love is more like the boomerang of God…no matter where you toss it…God will make sure it finds you again. Contribute to the lives of others…remember they too are looking for a bright side…be that for them. Other people have the same insecurities, anxieties, and hesitations that you may have…lend them your shoulder and in doing so…open your heart.

  The possibilities of life are endless…unless we stop trying. Do not be your own road block…expect the impossible…because with the divine love of our Creator…all things are attainable. There is no goal or idea which is too much for our Creator…we simply need to ask and be prepared to receive it. Look at the bright side…no matter how dire a situation seems…this too shall pass…and the lesson in the struggle may feed the hopes and aspirations of others.

Like a Phoenix…

  I love the story of the Phoenix which rises from the ashes. In this story the beautiful, brilliant bird lives for about 100 years. In the part of its life it nests…in sticks and twigs…which slowly burn; until finally the entire nest is in flames around the bird. And just when you are certain that you know all that there is to tell…a baby Phoenix rises from the flames. This story is very personal to me…because I believe that through true adversity and against unthinkable odds…great things can happen.

  In my interpretation of this story…the fire is symbolic of life and its many obstacles. And like in the story of the Phoenix…just when you feel like the fire has become hotter than you can handle…it is then when we emerge our strongest.

  We have all faced situations that have tried our faith in ourselves or God. Life has a way of making us second guess decisions that we have made. We have faced the death of loved ones…where we may feel that the people who have meant more than anything else in our lives…were stripped from us. We may blame God, or whatever circumstances that led to the unexpected departure. I blamed myself when my sister passed away. I was stuck in regret…and I had a hard time forgiving myself. I couldn’t forgive the fact that I was only human. It took a while, and is still a work in progress, for me to realize that it simply was her time to go home. I most definitely felt that my wings were caught in a blazing fire that day. What I discovered that day though, was not that she left me. The hardest part was the realization that I had to be strong enough to continue on…and I was angry that I had to do it. My flames were my grief…and I burned for what seemed like a very long time. I only began rising from the ashes when I learned that I could forever keep our relationship alive on paper.

  There are people everyday who are plagued with terrible heart wrenching illnesses. There are some who are in emotional or physical pain every second that they are awake and sometimes even when they sleep. There are people can not walk, see, hear, or breathe without assistance. And this can be the flame to their Phoenix; burning brightly. However there those of us who believe that there are some fires that, like the mythical Phoenix, we are supposed to feel. I don’t necessarily think that we are martyrs or anything more special than anyone else…but perhaps the pain of our personal fires can ease the emotional pain of another.

  There are some struggles that make us stronger. Some people have struggled and the world never knew. We often do not see the gift, until their time has passed or the experience has become more enjoyable.

  So,in my rising from the ashes…I wanted to take a moment to point out some poignant beautiful survivors of the fire:

1. Never allowing his learning disability to hold him back…he was fired as a newspapers editor for lacking imagination and good ideas. WALT DISNEY…didn’t even let bankruptcy keep him down.

2. Getting a late start in life this young man did not learn to speak until he was 4 and didn’t read until he was 7. He was considered developmentally handicapped by his teachers and his own parents…luckily the Phoenix…that he is didn’t deter…ALBERT EINSTEIN.

3. One of the best known philosophers of the Classical era…SOCRATES was called an “immoral corrupter of youth” and was sentenced to death.

4. This great artist only sold 1 painting…to a good friend…but followed his passion…and created 800 more. His friend paid a fraction of what the art VINCENT VAN GOGH’s paintings g for now.

5. This renowned poet wrote over 1800 poems…although only 12 of EMILY DICKINSON’s poems were published in her lifetime.

6. His first book was rejected 30 times. In disgust he through t in the trash…thankfully “Carrie” and STEPHEN KING rose from the ashes as well.

7. Divorced, penniless, and driven…this single mom went from being a welfare recipient to one of the world’s richest women in a 5 year period…so the story of “Harry Potter” and J.K. ROWLINGS was born.

  We all have our fires to burn and rise from. Babe Ruth,  who was made famous by hitting 714 home runs during his baseball career…also struck out 1330 times. When he was asked about his record he earnestly stated, “Every strike brings me closer to my next home run”.

  In closing…please keep hope alive…it lives within us all. We need only understand that even when things seem their lowest…the best is yet to come.

~~ From my heart to yours

Time

TIME

 

 Time…something we spend our whole entire lives talking about, wasting, spending, and running from…until essentially we have run out of it.

 We spend so many moments worrying about things that will never amount to anything. We worry about our physical appearance, our popularity, who has more (or less) than we do, we concern ourselves with who was right (or wrong) to justify why we should ignore ( or avoid) people…that we truly love and care about and in the mean time…the sands in the hour glass of our lives empties out.

 When our time on this Earth is through…what happens? Do we just fade off into nothingness? Do we levitate into the higher plane within our faith? Will we feel heat and scorching fire until we are turned to ash and the whole process starts over and over again? How did we spend our time here? Were we doing what our Creator had intended for us? Or did we waste time on trivial emotions, that road blocked us from our true higher purpose?

 Did anger, frustration, anxiety, and pride keep us from spending our time more wisely? We, after all, we cannot know how much time we have to live, in this life, as we know it. And yet, daily, we waste time and energy…by not spreading love and peace to everyone we come into contact with. Are we not thankful, when we are allowed to open our eyes and take a deep breath of each new day? And what does one do with themselves …when they wasted time not saying I love you to those we hold dearest…and their sand has run out? How do we reconcile that within ourselves? Those faithful will freely say, God is around us…like Angels…and spirits of those who have passed on; so it can be said that we can always say those things. But wouldn’t life have been so much simpler had we just said what was on our heart…and ignored all the negativity that kept us closed off? Wouldn’t it be reassuring to know that we didn’t waste a moment in anger…and told the people we love…how important they are and would always be to us? What if your one kind statement would have eased the pain of another person? Wouldn’t then it have been worth biting our tongues?

 Can’t we see that love and peace can be passed on like an electrical current? Silently we can create a wave of love, understanding, respect, and joy that will result in inner peace. It only takes a minute to pick up a phone, or write a letter…these gestures can be monumental in re-establishing lines of communication with other beings…who, like us, just want to be loved. Can we afford to be nonchalant with our time? If we spent more time being focused on our true task, at hand, there would never be any room for regret.

 There are so many places that could use our time…and by doing so we could embrace each other, as Our Creator had intended. And for those who think they don’t know what they could do, it’s usually no further than your city. How many times have you sat around your home with “nothing to do”? Do you know how many volunteers it takes to run a soup kitchen? Or how many volunteers it would take to help with a shelter for battered and abused women and children? Have you ever taken the time to just listen to an elderly person while they sit on a park bench? Why do we not realize that in order to get to be elderly…we had to do something right? The elderly may have knowledge that can not be obtained in your public library. And it only takes a moment of your “time” to reap the rewards, of someone else’s history.

 We do not have a moment to waste…time waits for no one. Remember that the only thing worse than your sand running out without you finishing your job, while on Earth…is to let some one else’s sand run out before you allow them to touch your troubled heart.

The Long and Winding Road

The Long and Winding Road

 

  Growing up I often heard the expression…not to choose is to choose. The meaning of which became much more clear as I aged and matured.

  How often had I heard some one say that they were angered or frustrated with a situation and yet did nothing? Often we decide to sit the fence about issues…so to speak. We may feel a certain way about something, yet we take no stand. It is unfortunate that we don’t understand…when we fail to take a stand…we already did.

  We may say that we are against slavery…yet if we do nothing to stop the enslavement…we are silently approving the action. True, it may not be easy to stand up against those who are seemingly in the majority…but what are we REALLY saying…by saying nothing…by taking no stand?

  We are saying…it is okay. We are lending our support to those that we may very well be opposed to. We may say that we do not support the destruction of our planet…but unless we are willing to stand up for the world around us…our well wishes…will always fall upon deaf ears.

  It takes bravery to speak openly against those that oppress us…and often those people are targeted as troublemakers. I almost laugh at those statements…because I personally know one of those troublemakers. I have watched and heard her young heart standing up for what she believes is right or wrong in this life. I have seen people try to muffle her cries for justice…with laughter or jokes, hoping to discourage her candor. But I promise you that this angel is only fueled by any opposition. She is never deterred by society’s criticisms…she keeps her head held high and marches on. She is strong and vigilant…she will stand up even when she feels she is under attack. She always makes her position known…regardless of the viewpoint or perception of others. I have seen her defend the life of a tree more passionately than I have seen men or women defend their fellow man.

  In mid conversation, she will say that it is wrong for the state to kill someone…to prove that killing is wrong. The act in itself emphasizes the “do as I say and not as I do” idea. Even before Troy Davis, the Georgia man who was executed Sept 21, 2011…for the death of an off duty police officer; as a fifteen year old girl…my daughter was debating the death penalty with educators. Did she have some information that we didn’t? No, she simply didn’t need anyone to tell her that killing is wrong. She didn’t seek or desire direction on this matter…she just always knew that loving our fellow man was our primary objective. To put it in her own words…how can our parents teach us that we are not supposed to fight…and that turning the other cheek is what God wants from us. Yet…we send our nation to war. It may seem like an over simplification to some…but again, in her words…wrong is wrong…no matter how many words you dress it up with.

  This young woman is one of my personal heroes. She has won no awards…there have been no stories written about her…outside of my own efforts. She has no National Holiday…but she sings her song of justice loudly…to anyone who will listen. She hasn’t prevented a war…she hasn’t stopped famine or the ongoing problems that we have created for ourselves. But everyday she will tell people openly that the man in the mirror is the change needed. For our reflection is who we are…not who we may think we are. We have a voice…we choose when and where to use it.

  As a society, we have chosen to be led. Growing up; we are told how to behave. Where to sit or stand…who to be nice to…what to wear; the problem is that we are now conditioned. We are conditioned to believe that we need permission to do what we already know is right. It is this conditioning that causes us to allow the destructive actions and decisions of others. No one is dictating to us what we should be doing…so we do nothing. As if we need permission to carry out the work of God.

  What I am saying is that the truths we were taught as children…theses still are true today. The fact is that the TRUTH….always will be TRUE. It is the one constant in our lives. Life can be like a long and winding road…seemingly endless; but the path is the one we have always known.

  We were created to love one another…and with love, comes peace. There can be no negative in that…for the basis of love and peace…comes from our Creator.

  Taking a stand can be hard…but masking who we really are in our silence…is a crime against our nature. Stand up for those that have no voice…be the voice of reason and justice…like our fore fathers before us. Be what we teach our children to be…every day. Lead by example…love by choice…be the humanity we seek in others.

 

The Chain of Hope

  I know that life can seem unfair. We often are faced with situations and circumstances that we are not prepared for. It can seem overwhelming at times. We can come to cross roads…where it can appear that we are left to our own devices. Sometimes we might feel like we have made poor decisions and now we feel trapped or snared…like a hunted animal. But what if we really aren’t trapped? What if the poor decision wasn’t really as negative as it appeared? What would you say if I told you that in the times that you feel at your weakest…it is then that God is at His strongest within you? When we are weakened…it is then when we submit to God’s will…so often those times are used to guide us down our true path. You might suggest that for me to even make such a suggestion that I probably had never been faced with such adversity. You would, of course be incorrect, but I can understand how you could be led to that assumption. There have been many times when I have come face to face with traumatic events. I have been forced to make decisions that I would later believe were mistakes. I have suffered considerable loss in my lifetime. I have known pain deeper than most people can imagine. I, too have the scars that abuse and life choices can leave. I have even had moments where I felt completely alone and isolated. But just as surely as the troubles appeared…they would eventually disappear. There are times when we are faced with terrible life altering circumstances that would appear to make us feel victimized or helpless. Everyone experiences this…in one way or another. The importance is not in what happened…but how you rose above it. What happened in that moment when you felt like all hope was lost? How did you get past that ordeal? Often we are tested and it seems unfair or cruel…as if we are left all alone…but we really aren’t. We should use these experiences as spring boards to uplift others. I have found ways of taking my hurtful experiences to help others who have been in the same or similar situation. The whole idea behind this is to continue the chain of HOPE. Hope is a wondrous thing…it can make us decide to get up every single time we fall down. All we really need is for someone to tell us that there is light at the end of the tunnel. We really only need to feel like we are not left alone…someone understands. I am here to let you know…hope springs eternal. It doesn’t have an expiration date. Hope is recyclable…once you have hope…then you can pass it on to someone else. It never leaves us…we just have to remember that we have it. NO one can take hope away from us…all they can do is make us pack it away. But when you remember that you have it…it will be there for you. Hope is a gift from God…it is that thing that gives us drive. Hope is what gives victims of abuse the strength to survive. Hope is the feeling we give others with the knowledge that they do not have to walk through life alone. It is reassurance…that we also know what they are feeling and coping with. It is important for all of us to know that…adversity is not the end of our story…it’s just the action in the middle. And I know this because all things begin and end with God. Do you ever wonder what makes people cry when something good happens? Or why people cry during a romantic or suspenseful movie with a loving ending? Why do we cry when we watch a baby smile or say their first word? Why do we cry when we see a loved one after an extended period of time? We cry during these times because it is our proof that God is all around us. We aren’t alone. We are so loved that we get to experience a baby’s smile and laughter. We have hope…for the future of ourselves and our loved ones. It gives us reason to go on. Having hope gives us peace…peace of mind. It fills our hearts with the hope that one day we won’t be at war…one day we won’t have children starving…one day we will be accepted for who we are and not what we look like. It gives the hope to believe that one day our fellow man will love us…as we love him. It gives us the hope to believe that people will stop killing…killing our neighbors….killing our friends…killing our families…that man will stop killing our hope…for the future.