Every morning, cup of coffee
in hand, I look out at the blue mountain.
Ordinarily it’s blue, but today
it’s the color of an eggplant.
Jack Bogg
And the sky turns
from gray to pale apricot
as the sun rolls up
Main Street in Andover.
I study the cat’s face
and find a trace of white
around each eye, as if
he made himself up today
for a part in the opera.
~Jane Kenyon
“In Several Colors”
from Collected Poems
We need to stop.
Just stop.
Stop for a moment.
Before anybody
Says or does anything
That may hurt anyone else.
We need to be silent.
Just silent.
Silent for a moment.
Before we forever lose
The blessing of songs
That grow in our hearts.
We need to notice.
Just notice.
Notice for a moment.
Before the future slips away
Into ashes and dust of humility.
Stop, be silent, and notice.
In so many ways, we are the same.
Our differences are unique treasures.
We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts
To nurture, to offer, to accept.
We need to be.
Just be.
Be for a moment.
Kind and gentle, innocent and trusting,
Like children and lambs,
Never judging or vengeful
Like the judging and vengeful.
And now, let us pray,
Differently, yet together,
Before there is no earth, no life,
No chance for peace.
September 11, 2001
© Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek 1990 -2004
from Hope Through Heartsongs, Hyperion, 2002
Mattie Stepanek was 11 years old when he wrote this poem on the day of 9-11.
Sadly he passed away in 2004 after a long battle with Dysautonomic Mitochondrial Myopathy.
You can learn more about his brief, amazing, inspiring life at his website:
The short film you are about to see is an amazing testimony of forgiveness and a friendship forged between two women whose relationship might normally be one of great enmity. Their story is a miracle of peace and the product of two mothering hearts. Please Watch!
Mother,
Your voice learning to soothe
Your new child
Was the first home-sound
We heard before we could see.
Your young eyes
Gazing on us
Were the first mirror
Where we glimpsed
What to be seen
Could mean.
Mother,
Your nearness tilled the air,
An umbilical garden for the seeds
Of thought that stirred in our infant hearts.
The Boating Party ~Mary Cassatt
Young Thomas and His Mother by Mary Cassatt
You nurtured and fostered this space
To root all our quietly gathering intensity
That could grow nowhere else.
Mother,
Formed from the depths beneath your heart,
You know us from the inside out.
No deeds or seas or others
Could ever erase that.
~A Blessing For Mothers from John O’Donohue
From “To Bless the Space Between Us”
This Blessing is For All Mothers, Living and Deceased and For All women and men as well in their Mothering Role ~ because mothering is done by teachers, coaches, mentors, therapists, siblings and friends. Moreover, there are some men who play the role of both mother and father to their children. All of us carry the Divine Mother within us. We only need to open our hearts to it and let it shine.
Happy Mother’s Day Mom. I Miss You!
For More Postcards from Paradise Please Make your Way to Recuerda mi Corazon on this lovely Festive Day.
Edund Dulac, Cinderella
by ~EllaNyx
Tribulations overcome
The Prince is sweet, but an idiot
Small feet save the day
~Haiku found on DeviantArt.
In Every Culture, Stories of Damsels in Distress Are a Tradition Old As Time.
But Sometimes, the Act of Rescuing Another May be the One thing that Opens Your Heart and Renews Your Spirit
And the Person Whom You Believe needs Your Help and Attention the Most,
Damsel in Distress by Backlit Stranger
May Be the Very Same One who Offers You ~
John William Waterhouse (Tristan and Isolde)
the Grace and Purpose to Continue on your Journey With Love and Gratitude.
The film you are about to see is about a similar moment of discovery between two much younger people. Let it Open your heart to the possibilities of life ~ even when you may perceive them to be limited.
~Noelle Renee
My Favourite Things from kidswithcrayons on Vimeo. (Irish Film)
For More Haiku My Heart Go to Recuerda mi Corazon. You will be glad you did.
A Blogger friend of mine, Jenny Stevning, had the English version of this film, “The Power of Words” on her blog. I was so moved by it that I searched for the original. It is a film that shows not only the power of words to change human hearts but the power of compassion to change the lives of those who give and those who receive. This, in itself, gives me Great Joy!
For other Sharing the Joy Posts please see Meri’s Musings.
Crow Blacker Than Ever
When God, disgusted with man,
Turned towards heaven,
And man, disgusted with God,
Turned towards Eve,
Things looked like falling apart.
But Crow Crow
Crow nailed them together,
Nailing heaven and earth together-
So man cried, but with God's voice.
And God bled, but with man's blood.
Then heaven and earth creaked at the joint
Which became gangrenous and stank-
A horror beyond redemption.
The agony did not diminish.
Man could not be man nor God, God.
The agony
Grew.
Crow
Grinned
Crying: "This is my Creation,"
Flying the black flag of himself.
(*For my friend Joe)
Crow Tree image courtesy of Spadoman Round Circle Blog
A ROOT IN EACH ACT
AND CREATURE
The sun's eyes are painting fields again.
Its lashes with expert strokes
Are sweeping across the land.
A great palette of light has embraced
This earth.
if just a little clay and water
Mixed in His bowl
Can yield such exquisite scents, sights,
Music - and whirling forms -
What unspeakable wonders must await with
The commencement of unfolding
Of the infinite number of petals
That are the
Soul.
What excitement will renew your body
When we all begin to see
That His heart resides in
Everything?
God has a root in each act and creature
That He draws His mysterious
Divine life from.
His eyes are painting fields again.
The Beloved with His own hands is tending,
Raising like a precious child,
Himself in
You.
~ Hafiz ~
You can watch this film here. It is one of the loveliest little stories done in five minutes that I have seen. You can see it full size on the actual site. Just hit the link if you like. ~Noelle
For More Paradisical Postcards, please visit Recuerda mi Corazon!
Film Apple : Director: Jonas Rudstrm | Producer: Daniel Wirtberg Genre: Drama | Produced In: 2007 | Country: Sweden. Synopsis: A young boy spots the most beautiful apple in the tree across the hedge. A desire is born. One problem remains - the tree belongs to the most dangerous man in the neighborhood.
Ursula I Abresch ~ The Photographer
Ursula was born in Argentina, raised in both Argentina and Chile. She moved to the USA to attend university, and eventually moved permanently to Canada. Ursula now is Canadian, living in the interior of beautiful British Columbia.
Ursula is married. She and her husband have five children. She has a degree in Education with a concentration in Art and History. She now dedicates most of her time to photography.
Photo: The Gold Angel (lily)
Equipment
Nikon D7000
Location
Castlegar, BC (Canada)
