Paranoia

The over-riding topic of recent days has been the school shooting in Florida. There is an overwhelming frustration and exasperation with the seeming inability to be able to predict and/or stop them from their ever increasing occurance. I read a blog this morning that rings true to me. The solution lies in all of us noticing and reaching out to individuals who are found on that downward spiral of isolation. Engaging them and reaching out can be, and usually is most terribly uncomfortable, and, hence, rarely done. Perhaps we could all widen our scope a little. We can be a little braver; we can all care just a little more.

Within our circle of friends
We feel both safe and sure.
We share our love with those most dear
Each and every morn.
But when we leave our own friends and family,
We find a world of strangers
All clad in mystery.
And in a world of swollen fears
And cold reality,
A mother holds her baby near
In anxiety.
For who knows where the danger lies;
The seen or the unseen?
What monster hides behind the eyes
Of someone’s twisted schemes?
And I refrain from talking to
A child I find alone.
For paranoia touches all;
The babe to the full grown.
How can I control my fear
When hate appears so strong?
I’d sing a fearful song
And life would be too long.

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2018-01-0030-become?cid=HP_TH_15-2-2018_dPFD_fMLIB_xLIDyL1-C_&lang=eng

Let’s talk about this. Let’s have a civil conversation about a difficult subject. Talk to me.

The Divers

A couple of weeks ago I attended the funeral for my Aunt, who was the last of all my Aunts and Uncles, and it seemed like a chapter was closing. My own mortality seemed a little too close for comfort. For those of us who have finished our era of child raising, time seems to have passed alarmingly quickly. Although this can certainly be quite depressing, it also helps us to understand the importance of enjoying the present journey…not fretting about what we did or didn’t do in the past, and not being consumed with worry over what might lie ahead. My Aunt was exemplary in demonstrating the development of talents and sharing them with others. Bit by bit, she influenced many in a positive way. Her poetry has been a catalyst to me with my own writing, and especially this poem:

The would-be divers slowly climb the steps to the top
The platform
High and intimidating, bids them “Stop!”
And yet, their feet drive to the brink
And off they go,
No time to think!

We watch below and shake our heads.
This, we will never do, we said.
Unaware that we are in the line
Pressing forward all the time.

The oldest ones have gone before
One by one,
Now in our past.
Occasionally a youthful soul
Pushed through the line.
We watched, aghast.

Our steps for now are slow and gay.
We take our time.
We sing and play,
Unaware that our steady steps
Lead us higher every day,
Until, at last, we reach the top.

How the decades fled!
We are now atop.
Some feel peace, and some feel dread.
All surprised
How short the time
From bottom to the top,
A few short years, just a lifetime,
So much shorter than we thought.

Our time will come when toes grip the rim.
Our teeth and hands are clenched,
And we are shoved or nudged,
First flying, and then drenched.

Be assured, our time is coming.
Ignore the pace…the distant drumming,
Be with those who now surround us,
Else we miss the purpose of the climb.

Only as we enjoy the journey,
Will the diving be sublime!

This link is http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/feature-films/2016-10-0002-mans-search-for-happiness-1986?lang=eng a remake of my favorite short video when I was a child. I deals very effectively with the issue of “time”.

Thank You

This is a post-Thanksgiving poem to remind us that it is always appropriate to be thankful. Today I’m thankful that it is snowing and I don’t have to drive to work.

Thank you God for everything
For mountains high, for rivers that sing
For oceans wide with endless sky
For mammals, fish and birds that sing and cry.

Thank you God for family
For grand kids, sweet, where joy runs free
For each child and married spouse
For foods to eat and a cool warm house.

For a wife that cares and honors me
For time to enjoy our family
For vacations amid the cares of life
For trials to share in toil and strife.

Thank you God for thy pure Son
Who gave his all for everyone
Who lived and died that we might see
How we can grow both pure and free.

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Wealth is Health

The new year seems to always bring with it the stigma of useless resolutions, which are never realized, and only serve to make us feel guilty. I think we’ve all felt that, but abandoning goals to help us change usually results in no change at all. I think reachable goals ought to be set throughout the whole year. I’m interested in comments of how you have made them work for you. Last year Bob and I resolved to eat in a more healthy manner. We did make some progress, but also found it was so easy to slip back into old delicious habits. Now we know where our true weaknesses are! And we are committed to try again, but smarter. This poem is what we wrote last year, and it refers to an accountablility quiz we took at the end of each week to track our progress toward our goal:

The wealth is health test is a tool we can use
To help us remember good habits that we choose.
To overcome bad habits forged strong through the years
Can the power of repentance lift us from our fears?

Appetites are based on us; what we desire, we crave.
Our choices lead us into light, or to a dark cold grave.
Changing lusts to healthy goals can help us overcome
To gain health and wealth, use this test, and walk toward the Son.

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