Simple Things....

It seems to me, that simple things

Are the ones with the most meaning.

A well-worn book, a peaceful smile,

Innocent, or so they’re seeming.

Simple foods prepared lovingly,

Served on dishes from generations ago

Pictures of relatives, long since gone,

Cherished still, and missing them so.

Sweeping the floor in the kitchen,

Gathering up papers to recycle soon,

Pinching pennies, saving string,

Nourishing hope, this day in June.

What do I need that I do not have?

What is it that I cannot live without?

My world is full of life’s bounty

I am rich; of that, I have no doubt.

Simple chores, simple living,

Taking care to appreciate it all

The things and people who surround me

Giving thanks daily, for great and small.

Looking at the glass as being half-full,

Thinking about the lessons I would preach,

Not remorseful over that which is not mine,

Or envious of the wealth I will not reach.

I cannot complain about being poor

For I am wealthy beyond all measure,

A simple life, lived simply, is mine,

And the Love given to me to treasure.

Questions

Once in awhile, something happens,

Someone comes into your life.

You see him with different eyes,

Eyes you have ever used before.

Colors are brighter, lights are lighter

Everything around you has an aura.

Nothing is as it once was

All is old, but new again.

Rain is refreshing, sunlight is brighter

Grass is greener, its smell: sweeter.

Things that bothered you before

Are now really quite tolerable.

Things that merely made you happy

Now make you incredibly joyful.

Have you changed yourself?

Or did his presence change you?

Or has the truth just awakened

Your sleeping heart?

Does it matter what happens next?

Or can you be content with today’s joy?

Can you be who you really are,

Once you see who he really is?

Do you need to see the future?

Or can you be content with today?

Through Loving Eyes

Things that were old are new again,

When seen through loving eyes.

Roads traveled many times before,

Take me to very different places.

What was once no more than mundane,

Commonplace and very well known,

Has now become new and exciting

When seen through loving eyes.

You touch me with your embrace,

And hold me close and whisper,

And all the world is a concert hall,

Playing a melody just for us.

Things that bloomed, bloom more profusely,

Colors glow in surrealistic shades.

Laughter makes my heart take flight,

And lifts the veil of pain and sorrow.

Has the world really changed?

Or taken off some cruel disguise?

Or am I seeing it again for the first time,

When I look at it with loving eyes?

Sometimes I Get Introspective........

There are two forms of solitude:

One is loneliness, an unfortunate state,

And aloneness, which is chosen.

Loneliness leads to isolation and despair

Aloneness provides a time for repair.

Making choices that preserve my sense of self

Is not the same as being abandoned by another.

Sometimes abandonment is accidental

And my someone did not want to leave.

Other times, it is done with a purpose

Either way, it causes me to grieve.

Is it harder to grieve the loss of someone

Who did not want to go away?

Or is the pain more palpable when

The other is still living and just decided to stray?

Can the difference between the types

Of solitude be measured or judged?

Can aloneness provide comfort

That loneliness can’t?

Is there any joy to be had in finding out

That the choice to abandon me was calculated

To cause maximum grief on my part?

There is no joy in loneliness but

There can be great joy in mastering aloneness.

Learning to be comfortable with myself;

Leisurely learning what makes me tick.

Testing my strength and endurance

By placing me in the thick of it.

Having the time, in my aloneness,

To come to the realization:

I know who I am, I know where I’m going

And I know what it is that I want.

In my aloneness, through introspection

Deep in my heart of hearts,

I find that the Whole of me,

Is greater than my Parts.

And when I am in this place,

Looking carefully at my needs,

Sometimes I see that the Sum of me

Is made up of good deeds.

My Friend the Sea

The sea is a mirror.

It reflects the rays of sunlight

Which dance along the waves.

The ocean looks blue when the sky is blue;

Gray when the fog approaches.

The wind talks to me.

When the sky is blue and the sea is calm,

The wind whispers in my ear.

But when the sky is filled with menacing clouds,

And the sea is swirling and chopping,

The wind nearly knocks me over

As it rages insults in my ear.

Yet, after the storm,

As the clouds hurry on to another place,

And the seas diminish

And the wind returns to its senses,

I am beckoned again to the sea.

Only a moment ago it shunned me

And sent me away.

But it calls me once more

And so I venture out again to meet the sea,

To play in its calm waters,

And run away when it is angry.

The wind laughs as I hasten to my friend.