life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “Grieving”

25 Oct 2011

Charge of the Light Brigade

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
‘Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns’ he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

‘Forward, the Light Brigade!’
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Some one had blunder’d:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley’d & thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder’d:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Cossack & Russian
Reel’d from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter’d & sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder’d.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

“The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Tennyson. Public domain.

Posted in courage, Death, determination, Freedom, Grieving, Leadership, Life, Love, Peace, People, Poetry, power, Reflection, Relationships, strength, Tears, Thoughts, time, Trust | Leave a comment
23 Oct 2011

A Way of Living

Zig Ziglar, has a way with words. He said, “When I speak, people will occasionally say…’Zig, I loved your talk, but for me, motivation doesn’t last!’ I always tell them…bathing doesn’t either. That’s why I recommend it daily.”

I recently read a book called, ‘One Thousand Gifts’ by Ann Voskamp http://onethousandgifts.com/, which is about living a life of thanksgiving – no matter what your circumstances.

It is an amazingly beautiful book which is now on my short list of all time favs, along with The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho http://harpercollins.com/books/The-Alchemist-Paulo-Coelho/?isbn=9780061122415 and The Shack by William P. Young http://theshackbook.com/.

There is a thought which makes perfect sense, even though in today’s world, it does not seem to be very popular – in order to get something different, you must DO something different. Along with this thought, the truth of Zig Ziglar’s statement resounds through the air, it must become a way of living. Much more important than bathing, if we are going to create happiness, we must always be in awareness of our choices.

Each of our lives are valuable and important. Our living demands and deserves our attention. We are responsible for our choices and for our own happiness. We must stay aware of what we want in our lives. If you are not happy and you want to be happy, then you must do something differently than you are doing now if you want happiness in your life. This is not about easy – anything of value is never about easy, but it is possible! Our lives have so much more value than most of us even consider.

When I set out, many years ago now, I was a mess. I still am – but now I know the truth, I am a beautiful mess with God as my helper. I have nothing to brag of on my own, but I am the apple of God’s eye. I was broken into millions of pieces by abuse, control, manipulation, loss mistakes, grief and disillusion. With God’s help, I was determined to do it differently than I had seen, and done, all my life. With the words of Jesus in Matthew chapters 5, 6 & 7 to help me with my choices, and by taking Psalm 37 to heart and not trusting to my own selfish way of thinking, I decided I would not fight for ‘fairness’ from others, but instead I would try only to work on my own heart and life. I was determined to refuse bitterness, anger or victimhood in my life. I knew I had a very small and limited view of life and so my faith was in something bigger than myself.

In order to do this I had to stay in a place of constant awareness. I had to choose to face my truth. Choose to battle the darkness within my heart. Choose forgiveness for myself and those around me. Choose to look for the good. Choose to look for the miracles everyday, and everyday I found something good to smile about. Miracles abounded! Many of my wounds have healed, my scars remain. I have learned to love them – as they are the reminders of what God has done for me. They keep me on this path of learning and sharing with others what I have I lived.

Life continues to challenge and every day I must ‘bathe’ in inspiration, I must continue to choose to make the choices towards happiness. This is my life and what I do yesterday is not really very important – it is what I do today that always matters! Every moment matters. Over and over I have made the choice towards love and forgiveness. Every time I make the choice it leads me further into joy, peace and the unconditional, unlimited love of God. I am determined, with God’s amazing grace, to continue.

It is very good!

Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Blog, Change, Choice, courage, create, Death, determination, Dreams, Encouragement, Freedom, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Happiness, Hope, Imagine, Impossible, Judging, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Peace, People, power, Purpose, Quotes, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Smile, strength, success, words | Leave a comment
05 Jul 2011

This is what you shall do

by Walt Whitman

“This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.”

“This is what you shall do…” by Walt Whitman, from the preface of Leaves of Grass. Public domain.
Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Burnign Bridges, Career, Change, Choice, courage, create, Death, determination, dominance, Dreams, force, Freedom, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Happiness, Hope, Impossible, Judging, Letting Go, Life, light, Losing, Love, Miracles, Mother, Peace, People, Poetry, power, Purpose, quiet, Quotes, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Seasons, Smile, Spring, Stars and Moonlight, strength, success, Tears, time, Trust, Winning, worry | Leave a comment
05 Jun 2011
1 Comment

Posted in art, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Burnign Bridges, Career, Change, Choice, courage, create, Death, determination, dominance, Dreams, force, Freedom, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Impossible, Judging, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Party, Peace, People, Poetry, power, Purpose, quiet, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Seasons, Smile, strength, success, time, Trust
02 Jun 2011

Markers


Markers of birth and death,
markers of marriage and divorce,
markers of graduation and success,
markers of failure and pain.

Within the fabric of human experience,
in the human life span . . .
There are measure marks.
Surprises on the journeys of life.
They are given on purpose… for our purpose.
The trouble is, we sometimes want to escape them.
Issues that we cant figure out.
Embracing them . . . easier said than done.

Aren’t we all searching for breakthrough,
healing, and restoration…?
From Covering, Hiding and Blaming . . .
A heart locked up, tight as a drum.
Suffering.

If we allow the process, and acknowledge our fear
Mercy and goodness chase us down.
The best comes and not the worst.
Over time . . . we gain the experience and we find the
treasure in the trial.
Scars are there to tell us where we don’t want to go.

Responding is the challenge, ACCEPTANCE…God loves us just the way we are.
He is the source, He is Big enough. Stay connected.
He makes us clear and pure on the inside.

We all hold keys that may open doors marked
“Do Not Enter”
They are ancient keys . . . keys of compassion,
keys of love,keys of trust
that bring life, hope and healing to suffering souls.
Because healed people heal people.

Markers…We are always in a process, looking for provision, daily forgiveness, fighting temptations, delivered from evil.
Recognizing Gods in charge.

Forever

Dan and Gina Blaze used with permission

NEPC
22 South Park Ave
Easton, CT 06612

http://www.newenglandprayercenter.org/?utm_source=NEPC+Contacts&utm_campaign=fd66b234d9-Markers6_1_2011&utm_medium=email

Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Blessing, Blog, Choice, courage, determination, Dreams, Freedom, Gratitude, Grieving, Habits, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, People, Poetry, Reflection, Relationships, Seasons, success, Tears | Leave a comment
28 Apr 2011
1 Comment

Beauty or Flight

The man who jumped from the highway bridge one afternoon
who drove his car along in rush hour traffic
then carefully pulled it over, fussed with something briefly on the dash,
so casually that another driver passing
thought he was looking for a map, or a cassette tape,
that had slid during the last turn before the bridge-that’s all—
and then stepped out of the car, standing, stretching,
and closing the door routinely, a man in need of a break
on a long drive, a man untroubled by his next appointment,
a man who felt himself growing tired and thought
he needed some air, looked up the highway once
and then down at the almost frozen rows of traffic
under the haze that lingered above the bridge
and then broke simply and suddenly into a run, a dead run,
one motorist called it, crossing in front of his car
and not even stopping at the railing between the bridge
and the empty space beside the bridge, entering that space
and opening his mouth in what one driver called a scream,
though she heard no sound above the drone of traffic, and
other drivers saw as a gasp for breath, not unlike a child takes
when diving into a backyard pool, and he executed then
a nearly perfect, if a little rushed, swan dive out across the space
next to the bridge and into the water ninety-five feet below.

One fisherman in a boat a little upstream
saw the man who jumped from the highway bridge,
the moment he left the bridge and entered his dive, and the fisherman
swore he saw not a man but a large bird, a falcon or an eagle,
shot mid-flight by an angry driver, a large bird
who was trying to regain some sense of beauty, some sense of flight,
in its final dying seconds.

http://www.denverbutson.com/

Denver Butson

Used with permission

Posted in art, Burnign Bridges, Change, Choice, Death, Grieving, Life, Poetry, Reflection
22 Apr 2011
1 Comment

The Prayer I need…

At the Foot of the Cross

God of love,

at the foot of the cross

we confess our violence,

our desire to make others

carry our suffering.

Forgive us.

We confess our fear,

our illusion of our unworthiness,

our anxiety to justify ourselves

rather than to love.

Forgive us.

We confess our self-centeredness:

that other people become

means or obstacles to our ends

instead of people,

sacred and beloved.

We hurt and judge,

we exploit and dehumanize.

We think that we or others

are unworthy.

We betray your love in us

and we crucify.

Forgive us.

At the foot of the cross

we behold this mystery:

that broken as we are,

we are sacred and beloved,

and you cherish us.

In our darkest violence

you forgive us.

In our deepest shame

you give yourself to us.

In our most adamant betrayals

you are one with us.

At the foot of the cross

give us the gift of sorrow,

the wisdom of an unflinching gaze.

Bless us, that we may know our brokenness,

that we may receive your presence,

that we may accept your forgiveness,

that we may be transformed by your love.

We pray for those whom we have hurt,

and bless those who have hurt us.

We ask and receive forgiveness of all.

We seek only to trust, only to love,

only to heal and to be healed.

At the foot of the cross,

may we die to our fear,

our self-centeredness,

our separation from others.

Take our old, mean lives

and give us new ones,

tender as new green shoots,

lives of grace,

lives of love, mercy and tenderness.

At the foot of the cross,

O gentle God,

may we die with Christ,

that you may raise us up in love.

 Amen.

______________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

www.unfoldinglight.net

Posted in Beliefs, Change, Choice, courage, Death, Freedom, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Life, Love, Miracles, People, Poetry, Purpose, quiet, Reflection
19 Apr 2011

Do not Stand at My Grave and Weep

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave bereft
I am not there. I have not left.
Mary Elizabeth Frye
Public Domain

Posted in Death, Freedom, Grieving, Life, Poetry, Reflection, time | Leave a comment

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