Today is a day for fireworks! Today is a time for celebration! Now is a time when people around the world gather together, make plans, feel thankful, and once again hold hands - and it is at this time of the year, when the days are short and when daylight is precious, when people brave the cold and follow the lights that they see, as they venture out into the dark to find and discover seasonal treats that always bring people some much needed joy to their life and make both adults and children laugh. Today, now, any day, any time, is always the right day and the right time to reach out and tell someone what they mean to you and give them the gift of explaining to them what they have that no one else has... today, every day, someone you know might need you more than you know - and all that they need is someone, anyone, to tell them that if they need someone to speak to about how they feel about anything, they have you - and to some people that is like the feeling of elation and salvation that the survivor of a sunken ship feels after they once again finally find dry land. Today, like every day, for most people can be like undertaking an uphill struggle and not knowing what they will find when they finally reach the top - which is why friends, coworkers, family members, forgotten acquaintances, even blink and you miss them strangers who might you see on the street are important, because they have the power to give everyone who needs it the fuel, the spark, the energy, the boost to light up someone's sky and remind everybody who needs to be reminded that all is never always lost and there are heroes out there in the world who will do what they can, when they can, for whomever they can, no matter the cost, and who will gladly sacrifice what they have to throw an arm of comfort around those who feel as if they have no one to turn to and no where else to go - and those people are true Angels of Salvation.
sacrifice
My Poem “Sacrifice”
These are crazy times…
these are the days that we hoped would never come…
these are the times when people are
acting on their survival instincts… these are the days that we will hopefully
one day look back upon and marvel at
humanity’s collective ability
and each of our own individual capacity
to do all that we feel like we need to do
when faced with a crisis that we cannot control
but which we can play our part in finding
a way through the thick fog
of what we do not understand.
Each of us recognise that the time
we are living through now
most of the time feels like a struggle…
each of us know that feeling of distress,
of disappointment, of depression
that rears its ugly head and rises
to the surface of our minds
when we are hindered from doing
what we want to do, going where
we want to go, being with who
we want to be with –
there are people staring out their windows within the safety of their home,
there are doctors, nurses, patient care techs
who are working long shifts in hospitals
who wish that they did not have to be so far away from their loved ones,
but who are all choosing to do
what they feel they need to do
to beat the threat that feels like
it has engulfed the world
and which is praying on people
young and old from every walk of life.
As Winston Churchill once said:
“This is not the end.
It is not even the beginning of the end.
But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning” –
and it is this quote that has been
carrying me through these times,
and I am sure that these words
I will continue to repeat to myself
as the chaotic times of our present predicament
continue to change and ask of us
to be strong, to be safe, to be mindful,
and to be the best version of ourselves
and to not choose to give in to fear
and to the dark side of human nature
that some people dwell upon
and act upon because they cannot help themselves…
the human race will survive
what we are all going through…
the human race has had to deal with
and live through atrocities
of our own making because of human action
or inaction before and we will one day
get the chance to reflect upon these times, these days, this real-life nightmare
and find a way to live with our own sacrifice.
My Poem “Appreciation”
We don’t always appreciate something
when we first see them,
we don’t always appreciate someone
when we first meet them,
we don’t always appreciate what
something means when
it is first given to us,
we don’t always appreciate
what someone does for us,
until we witness the work,
the sacrifice, the effort that someone
might have had to put into something
so that people can keep living their lives
and keep doing what they like to do –
because, most of the time, in this life
most people are oblivious to
the other sides of life
that exist behind curtains, walls,
doors, barriers, even underground,
that keep the wheels of society turning…
nothing happens without first
putting some effort into something.
Everything comes from something,
something comes from someone,
someone comes from something
than someone does –
because that is the cycle of life,
that is the process of life…
life on Earth is a potent mixture
of chemistry, physics, biology,
psychology, origin, struggle,
discovery, knowledge, adaptability,
innovation, strength of spirit,
and it should be a choice
and a willingness
to want to better yourself
and make the world better for your actions.
Most people don’t appreciate
something until they
no longer have it,
and the people that
understand and appreciate
what they have should know
how lucky they are
to have what they have
and they shouldn’t wish
they had what someone else has.
Things happen for a reason –
even the things that
we wish didn’t have to happen…
most things and most people
follow a pattern of behavior
that they find hard to break free of
because when they are on
the same path that they know so well
and they might not often think about
anything else or anyone else other than
the result and the reward that they are going
to receive when they reach the end
of their current cycle of repetition.
Very few people actually know
or ever ask where, when, and how
something appeared before their eyes
to their overwhelming delight –
because no one is capable
of being witness to every step of the way,
nor every chapter of the story,
of how something found itself transitioning
from being something literal
into being something physical;
however, some people do ask themselves why
things are the way that they are,
and when they do they often times
they are unknowingly opening doors
to all the other worlds that exist on Earth
that surround us all,
and when some people step through
those doors and they take a specific journey
to a world and a life
that is so close but which feels so far away,
people can come to attain
an understanding about things,
about life, about people, about nature,
and gain a wider, deeper, richer,
and a more respectful appreciation
about what goes into making
the life that we see every day
and at the same time the same life that
we may find that we do not really know.
My Poem “Working”
Working all the time is not good for your mind…
Working all the time can sometimes bring out your bad side…
Working all the time is not good for your health…
Working all the time may earn you money –
but everybody knows that there is more to life than a person’s wealth…
Working all the time can be stressful…
Working all the time can be emotional…
Working all the time can sometimes make it hard to breathe…
Working all the time can sometimes make you feel like
you are chained to your workstation and unable to leave…
Working all the time can sometimes mean sacrificing
a part of your life that means more to you than words can say…
Working all the time can feel like you are
stuck in a cycle of obsession that you repeat day after day…
Working all the time is what we all need to stop doing…
Working all the time without a break and without recognition
for all your hard work is like being a member
of a team that is constantly losing…
Working all the time will do you no good…
Working on something that makes you happy,
in between the hours that you have to give over
to that which pays the bills,
is the thing that at the end of every day
will always fill you with the most joy:
that which you put all of yourself into,
but at no point while you are doing it
does it ever feel like you are working.
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