Category Archives: hope

A moment of disquiet

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I have no words.

I feel imprisoned within four walls that don’t belong to me.

Lost in a familiar setting, missing the comforts of home.

Thankful for the roof over my head, but a stranger in these confines.

Going through the motions, watching the clock.

Incessant thoughts running through my mind.  Can’t sleep.

Life is out of my control.

Cracks in my resolve.

I am a creature of habit.  I miss my routine.

I make the best of my dilemma.  I rise above and adapt.

Fleeting moments of angst are replaced by gratitude.

Calming breaths.

Hope for resolution and restoration.

Longing for Mr. Sandman.

Maybe sleep will come tonight.

sleep

Stuck – 100 Word Song

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If only I could let the world see me,

see where I linger.

Caught between two worlds, separated only by a reflection.

I continue to write my words, words that come from a place deep within myself,

but those words will never be seen.

Reality lies above and below me.

I can hide in both of these worlds, torn between them,

never sure of which world I will feel truly defined.

I play a role in each of these spaces.

I let those others who dwell here see only pieces of me, not the whole picture.

Caught between my realities.

Above-and-Below

~

(image credit: naturesedgestudio.ca)

Written as a first attempt at the 100-Word Song Challenge.   Lance introduced me to this challenge and I thought I would give it a try.

This is what it’s about –  A song is chosen and the post that is written has to be somewhat based on that song and written in exactly 100 words.   This week’s 100 word song – Above & Below – The Bravery. 

The ripple effect

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(image credit: singerlearning.com)

Every action in life creates a ripple effect.  Whether that ripple effect is as visible to the naked eye as a drop of water in a pond or is so infinitesimal that it is unseen by the human eye there is always a reaction.  We learned it in Grade 11 Physics and the theory is as true today as it was then.   By now our interpretation of that same ripple effect may be broadened. It may not just encompass that drop of water but a drop of energy into the pool of existence.  The end result may dissipate in strength by the time it reaches its destination but it will still create waves on its way to the shore and alter the state of nature as we observe it.

For everything a human being says or does a ripple is created in the universe and that ripple, unbeknownst to you, may affect many more pools of reality than you originally intended.  It brings to mind the old adage – think before you speak.  You may never comprehend the consequence of your words and what reaction may be created, first or second-hand, but the words still have the power to change the tidal pool of various ponds.

Many of the problems we face are essentially man-made.  There are certainly elements out of our control but what if we put forth the effort to regain some of that control?  What could happen if we invested our time and energy in something positive and sent that energy out in waves?  A drop of human kindness or empathy can spread like the circles created by that original bead of water into the larger body of aquatic energy and send that same wave in directions you never thought possible.

Make the power of the ripple effect work for you…..send positive energy and watch it expand as the ripple gets larger on the water.  Know that the good energy you put out there will be shared by more than just the one person you bestowed that energy upon. Your positive energy may ripple into a pond of people who you didn’t even know existed but they will eventually benefit from that one good vibe that you put forth.

A simple smile or a kind word – send the ripple…..and you could potentially change the way those waves reach other shores of lakes that you never knew existed.

Journey back to me

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It was a collaboration week for me last week and this time I put some words together with TwinDaddy from Stuphblog.  I’m sure you all know him and if you don’t, you are missing out!!  Take a few minutes to check out his diversity and genuine talent.  Here is what we came up with.

Journey back to me

I put you up there

not knowing that you would fall.

The pulse of the rain matched my heart beat

as I watched you tumble from that pedestal I put you on.

When our love ended, you had further to fall.

 My illusion of you faded.

Your ruse succumbed to reality

as softly as a leaf falls from its tree.

That pedestal floated gently to the ground

when at last you unveiled your true self.

Although my heart was shattered,

it was easier for me to pick up the discarded pieces.

I recognized those parts of myself that I lost,

eviscerated pieces of my soul that you took.

I could finally begin to rebuild the person I was.

Piece by piece, brick by brick,

a new masterpiece painfully crafted.

A new me, a stronger me

able to withstand torrential emotions,

lithe enough to dodge abusive traps.

Your journey was a plunge to the death of the disguise.

My path was a quest to rebuild what was taken.

I emerge stronger, my scars will heal.

I take back what was rightfully mine.

I put myself up on that pedestal.

pedestal

Hitting the right notes

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Even through the most troubling of times there is something inherently soothing about music.  The dulcet tones relieve the pressure that reality compounds and the rhythm can make the most difficult situations bearable.

I love most types of music but the sounds I find most comforting are the harmonic blends of The Tenors. The uplifting tones of their four part harmony bathe me in a warm glow and bring me out of the darkness.  The joy they find in singing allows me a moment to pause and reflect on the beauty in the world.

The timbre in their notes carries me to a place of serenity and I am embraced by a feeling of peace.  It amazes me how quickly the stress is assuaged and washed over by a wave of calm by simply allowing the pacifying effect of the notes to soothe my soul.

 Tenors

(image courtesy of: tenorsmusic.com)

Recently, these four talented individuals have collaborated on a song with a good friend of mine, Kenny Munshaw, to raise money for the Big Brothers / Big Sisters organization.  The song is called “I Thank You” and is beautifully written by a genuinely gifted group of people and performed by The Tenors and Laura Kaeppeler.

If you haven’t yet listened to these fellows, I urge you to download their new single and support a great organization.  And I’m sure along the way you will fall in love with their voices and their charming and sincere personalities as much as I did.

Hollywood may have ruined it for me

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Admittedly, I have seen Sleepless in Seattle at least a dozen times.  For that matter, I will come clean and say that I have seen my fair share of romantic movies.  There is something truly endearing about the thought of being drawn to someone in the way that Meg Ryan was pulled across the country to find Tom Hanks.

We all love the feeling of being in love……the giddiness, the smiles at random times when you think of those cute moments and the contented feeling from knowing that someone reciprocates those feelings that you feel.  But all too often we find ourselves (at least I do) wishing that falling in love resembled something from the big screen.  We want the music score, we want the slow motion kiss…..we want to be in love in a movie.

Hollywood certainly knows how to dangle the bait of love stories to all of the hopeless romantics that wish their own fables of romance would emulate those on the big screen.  They make us want to fall in love in a way that is completely removed from the mundane realities of our own lives.  And although our lives may not seem at all ordinary, there is something exhilarating about falling in love the way they do in that scripted performance.

In reality, love will find us at random times and show itself in unique ways.  It may not mirror the effortless bliss they show on the big screen, but it is fraught with as much truth and depth as those moving pictures.  Love that we find in our own lives may come with more obstacles than are written in those quickly abating scenes or it may seem completely effortless, like it was written just for us.

Regardless of the circumstances, the love that we put our heart and soul into is the stuff that movies should be made of.  Listen to your own music score and write your own script – your love story could be better than anything you can watch at the theatre.

What I learned about giving thanks

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This weekend is Thanksgiving for me and my fellow Canadians.  I have enjoyed many family celebrations and each year that we are able to get together for a family gathering, we are all thankful for those moments and for the people in our lives.  This year I was given a truly different perspective on what it means to be genuinely thankful.

Each October the family I work for invites their extended family to the lodge for Thanksgiving.  And each year, one of the older couples ventures North for the holiday with their foster children.  This year there are five of them.  Over the last fifteen years, a myriad of young faces have come and gone through the lodge but the expression on each of those faces, I’m sure, is the same.  It is the look of hope.  The joy and sense of togetherness they feel, on this weekend in particular, hopefully renews their faith in family.

There have been so many stories told of what these poor children have endured throughout their young lives.  These foster children are survivors of terrible atrocities that no human, much less a child, should ever have to experience.  With the love of their foster parents, these children are given a chance to, not only succeed but, be part of a family tradition that they may never have experienced in their troubled past.

Selfishly throughout my life I have silently thanked God for the bounty we are about to receive, having never given any thought to what I really should be thankful for but my perspective has been altered.  This Thanksgiving I am thankful for people like Marilyn and Fred – people who open their homes and their hearts to give a child a second chance for a life full of love and family.

This will be one of my most memorable Thanksgiving weekends and I look forward to seeing that same look of hope on some new faces next year.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.