life: acoustic & amplified
poetry, quotes & thoughts about life
Archive for the category “words”
make the world a little kinder
I would like to have engraved inside every wedding band,
“Be kind to one another.”
This is the Golden Rule of marriage and
the secret of making love last through the years.
– Randolph Ray
But the fruit of the Spirit is
Love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
Maritta Terrell
Thoughts are also posted at:
http://thoughtsaday.blogspot.com/
poetry is a gift
Last issue of the year – Songs from the Valley newletter (a gift for you) over at www.songsfromthevalley.com
This World Is Not Conclusion
Emily Dickinson.
this world is not conclusion
a species stands beyond –
invisible, as music –
but positive as sound –
it beckons, and it baffles
philosophy – don’t know –
and through a riddle, at the last –
sagacity must go –
to guess it, puzzles scholars –
to gain it, men have borne
contempt of generations
and crucifixion, shown –
faith slips – and laughs, and rallies –
blushes, if any see –
plucks at a twig of evidence –
and asks a vane, the way –
much gesture, from the pulpit –
strong hallelujahs roll –
narcotics cannot still the tooth
that nibbles at the soul –
________
Public Domain
Happy Mindful Writing Day: Nov 1st
Writing Small Stones is just downright good!
A tiny song within a thoughtful poem of well-placed words
strung together like a ribbon of twinkle lights
calling us to the party –
there will be dancing
http://www.writingourwayhome.com/
http://www.ahandfulofstones.com/
on this and every day
Beannacht
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets into you,
may the flock of colors,
indigo, red, green
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the curach of thought
and a stain of ocean blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
John O’Donohue
look for miracles, smile…
Just as darkness retreats before light,
so all anger and bitterness disappear for the fragrance of humility.
-John Climacus
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor
and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:31-32
Maritta Terrell
Thoughts are also posted at:
http://thoughtsaday.blogspot.com/
a poem on poems
A simple line of black words
On a white background
Like stars hung in white space
I catch myself
Breathless
from the beauty.
That so few words
can carry this much content
A complete story told
Within a few well-placed letters
Feeding my soul
(My cup runneth over)
Line by line
Condensed
Full
Sharp
Brilliant
Precise
Dripping
Creating images in my mind –
Inspiring me to try it for myself
The people so different –
Hayden Carruth
Ann Voskamp
Kathy Galloway
Steve Garness-Holmes
The Psalmist
Wendell Barry
Rumi
Robert Frost
Emily Dickenson
– My list is ever growing
The search for beauty will never be completed in this lifetime
There are infinite possibilities –
Just like the the people and the words
they are infinite and unique
They fill me
saturating me with
so much more than I can express
Some old
Some new
All calling me
Inspiring me
Challenging me
To find my own voice
To add my own lovely word-jewelry to the mix
Inviting me
To change the world
No comparisons needed
each one stands alone
joy
these words
Put together by brave people
speaking simply from their own place of being
Humble and grand
experiences
Blend in harmony –
It is humanity
Such different voices
Yet each so clear
connected
Graciously allowing me to find my own place among them
In this jewelry box of words
Beginning with a thought
Poured on blank pages
To feed the hungry souls
Searching
The ones
In need on new thoughts and
Ideas
Inspiration and
learning
In this ever-always, wide-open, universe of the unending
Yes, all connected
Here, there and everywhere
From beginning to end
The Word (and we) endure
For ever and ever
Amen AL 8/1/12
We are what we continually do – Aristotle
Habits Die Hard
I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest asset or heaviest burden.
I will push you up to success or down to disappointment.
I am at your command.
Half the things you do might just as well be turned over to me.
For I can do them quickly, correctly, and profitably.
I am easily managed; just be firm with me.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though I work with the precision of a
machine and the intelligence of a person.
You can run me for profit, or you can run me for ruin.
Show me how you want it done. Educate me. Train me.
Lead me. Reward me.
And I will then…do it automatically.
I am your servant.
Who am I?
I am a habit.
by Mac Anderson & John J. Murphy / simpletruths.com
Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Rest in peace.
Habit 1: Be Proactive
Take initiative in life by realizing that your decisions (and how they align with life’s principles) 
are the primary determining factor for effectiveness in your life. Take responsibility for your choices and the consequences that follow.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Self-discover and clarify your deeply important character values and life goals. Envision the ideal characteristics for each of your various roles and relationships in life.
Habit 3: Put First Things First
Prioritize, plan, and execute your week’s tasks based on importance rather than urgency. Evaluate whether your efforts exemplify your desired character values, propel you toward goals, and enrich the roles and relationships that were elaborated in Habit 2.
Habit 4: Think Win-Win
Genuinely strive for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in your relationships. Value and respect people by understanding a “win” for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten his way.
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
Use empathic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, respect, and positive problem solving.
Habit 6: Synergize
Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals no one person could have done alone. Get the best performance out of a group of people through encouraging meaningful contribution, and modeling inspirational and supportive leadership.
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. It primarily emphasizes on exercise for physical renewal, prayer (mediation, yoga, etc.) and good reading for mental renewal. It also mentions service to the society for spiritual renewal.
7 Habits – repost from http://thedailylove.com/
friends with benches
Benches are special things aren’t they?
They themselves sit and rest, in the sun, in the shade, in the rain, in the snow, at three in the morning…
there to welcome whoever might pass by.
And for what purpose?
To give a soul a moment to rest, to look out, to think, to plan something, or to get over something.
And in their most special times, most special for these benches, are when two people meet and share themselves. Communicate and think more completely than they could or would if they were still walking.
Then after minutes or hours the people rise.
They are different forever because of those minutes, or hours.
Different in very minor ways most times I’m sure.
And at other times, profoundly changed.
They look back and the bench seems physically unchanged, but we know otherwise.
A person was there, moments after measurable warmth remains,
albeit slowly spreading out to be no longer measurable.
The world is different.
Relationships,
interconnections,
changes in perspective.
A reaffrimation of love in the broadest sense.
That maybe god did not make man in his image. That maybe man arrogantly makes god in his image.
God did not make only man,
and I don’t think everything else was made for only for man’s purpose.
Maybe what we find so beautiful and comforting is that nature,
the cosmos,
god,
free will,
the opportunities to do good or ignore other’s needs,
the choices to try and give more than we take,
or take all we can,
the always present capability to pursue happiness…
are all here as are we,
with a purpose we will always look for,
and never completely find,
and all of it as part of a whole incomprehensible to us.
Such joy possible just knowing we are so fortunate to be part of it.
God has no limits, none whatsoever.
On a bench,
realizing we are part of it all,
and always will be,
and sharing
that there is no necessity to understand it all.
– Sunny
life: acoustic & amplified 