Even in times of hardships and sadness one can find beauty. That beauty to me is the beauty of heart. While tears may seem to never subside, the heart still remains strong within its rhythmical beats of life. Take life one heartbeat at a time relishing in each moment, never forgetting you are beautiful! Just stop & listen for a while.
Life has loveliness to sell, all beautiful and splendid things, blue waves whitened on a cliff, soaring fire that sways and sings, and children’s faces looking up, holding wonder like a cup. —Sara Teasdale (American lyrical poet, 1884–1933)
Treasures of the Heart: Moments Captured
Life is a trail of tears, the will to cope
A mountain of discomfort based on hope
It is a highway of dreams, a road very demanding
Out of balance at times, but not without understanding
Along life’s journey appear visions of despair
Wants and desires, times that seem totally unfair
While the expedition can be arduous and cruel
It can also be full of beauty shiny as a jewel
Life’s bounties offer gifts to lovingly share
Ready to be opened and handled with care
Its treasures of the heart tenderly unfold
Becoming moments captured within the soul
A kitten’s purr or a dog standing guard
These are life’s blessings in our own backyard
Images snapped with the blinking of an eye
Are stored in the mind’s diary never to die
Family and friends enjoy a wonderful relationship
Rallying around a campfire in fun and fellowship
Reminiscent of times past—love, lives and such
Stories echo memories thought of so much
Life is an incredible album of sad and joyful times
Echoing of discordant notes and melodious chimes
Count not the yearly months, weeks or even days –
Capture the moments encountered within each phase
Happy Easter to all and may your day be filled with blessings beyond words!
We have been blessed with my husband now off life support, out of ICU and resting in a private room. If fact, he was helped out of the bed yesterday and has begun sitting in a chair. He is very weak and cannot walk on his own. We still have a long road ahead but the way is filled with light and hope for a full recovery. Thank you all for your intercessory prayers, thoughts and concerns.
Not being in the frame of mind lately to keep up with catnip, I am reposting Easter greetings from last year.
Regardless of the year, the message is still the same!
Sometimes we ponder and ponder in hopes of eventually mustering the right words to tender an emotion, offer inspiration or purpose newfound knowledge. That is exactly where I found myself today as thoughts were enveloped in the “spiritual essence of Easter.”
Ah-h-h-h! The wonders of the Internet directed my fingers toward exploring its limitless boundaries in search of something overpowering. Webcrawlers fetched page after page delivering data, information, pictures, videos, etc. At the end of the day, a plethora of windows had opened stroking my heartstrings with sights and sounds of wonder and passion. For every time a window opened a new window was discovered that led to another window and . . . Oh, my! Sounds like something venomous caught in a silky web waiting to be a tasty appetizer while life begins to ebb! Doesn’t it?
Needless to say, my efforts were not in vain. The words of my heart had already been written and laid to rest upon the sands of time to be revisited and never forgotten. Now, I share with you, my readers and followers, what thoughts I discovered on the Easter Lily. . .
“Rightly the lily is the flower of Easter. It lies buried in the ooze of pond or stream. There is the grave of the dead lily that appeals to nostril or eye. But silently the forces of life are dark and the damp to prepare a glorious resurrection. A shaft of green shoots upward toward the sun. This is followed by a cluster of tiny buds. One day the sun smiles with special warmth upon the dank, black ooze, and there leaps into the light a creature of light and beauty; it is the lily, an angel of the earth, whose look is light.”
How did the lily come to grace the fields of America? The cultivation of lilies did not originate in the United States for the lily is a native of Japan. History reveals the account of a WW I soldier, Luis Houghton, bringing a suitcase full of hybrid lily bulbs to the South coast of Oregon in 1919. Houghton freely distributed bulbs to his friends and neighbors. Because of the events of WW II, the Japanese source of bulbs was abruptly cut off. Therefore, those growing lilies as a hobby noted the value of lily bulbs sky-rocketing and many decided to go into business on their own. At that time, Easter lily bulbs were known as “White Gold,” resulting in cultivators attempting to cash in on the crop. By 1945, there were about 1,200 growers producing bulbs up and down the Pacific coast, from Vancouver, Canada to Long Beach, California.
Of course, this post cannot end without my own personal atonement to. . .
The Lily. . .
Sounding of trumpets Extol the most high Rallying a crowd No one should deny
Calls to drill and battle Resound a time nigh Echoing surrender Or a battle cry
No white, just crimson Adorn the fields Beds of blood and bone A battle yields
Within times’ passing Ghastly signs disappear Blades of bright green Awaken thoughts held dear
Slender stalks emerge Rising from earthy graves Flaunting scaly bulbs Pompous as ocean waves
Milky-white trumpets Surge with praises toward the sky Spiritual essence of Easter Extols the most high
Confession:I must confess this poem is from my book Echoes. With my husband’s illness and recent release from the hospital, my mind just wasn’t up to a new write today. Even though he is home, there are still many hurdles to cross. Kellie’s theme this week actually focuses on that one special something cherished beyond measure. However, when I saw the theme key word, I knew the one I needed to share.
“If we treated everyone we meet with the same affection we bestow upon our favorite cat, they, too, would purr.”
—Martin Buxbaum (Author, photographer, artist and humorist, 1912–1991)
“Oh yea, they say ‘life goes on’ long after the thrill of living is gone.”
This is one of Kellie’s favorite Mellancamp songs, Jack and Diane, that she says leaves her pining for those long lost summers of youth and wishing she hadn’t been in such a hurry.
What does this lyric mean to you?
When I was a child
Thrills were in toys
Barbie dolls, Play-Doh
Anything but boys
Later as a teen
Thrills ran with friends
Drive-ins, roller skates
The rouse a kiss sends
Summers came and went
Thrills gone too fast
Boys, boys, boys
None that would last
As a young adult
Thrills & chills hit the scene
Fast cars, night clubs
Anything in between
Summers still came
Thrills led abroad
Oceans of pleasure
Applaud, applaud
Then came thirties
Thrills took a turn
Heartache after heartache
Made the heart yearn
Finally one summer
Thrill of it all
Set my heart afire
My soulmate’s call
Ah! But forties
Thrills at their best
Children of my own
Those were life’s test
Summers came and went
Thrills beyond measure
Swimming, playing in the sun
Search for life’s treasure
The nifty fifties
Thrills beyond compare
Kids grown and gone
Much music in the air
Summers brought joy
Thrills forever after
Wedding bells rang
Grandbabies thereafter
Sixties are here
Thrills still abound
Two cats, a bird
One funny hound
With each day
Life quickly marches on
New sights, new sounds
Long after thrills are gone
What common thread binds families together?
Must be those silent unspeakable memories
Which hide in the attics of our minds
Gathering dust, but never brushed away
Episodes of loving, laughing, defending each other
Strengthen emotions to immeasurable depths
Wanting not, wasting not treasured moments
That natural instinct directs along the way
Domestic chatter that may breed bitterness
Welcomes forgiveness with open arms
Knowing a quarrel is momentary
Quickly resolved and not for keeps
Times with friends, pets, even the common cold
Bare little resemblance to a naked forest
But instead resemble a sheltered canopy
To inherently stay even while winter sleeps
Recollections of coveting Mom’s cake batter bowl
Hiding tooth brushes, locking the bathroom door
Borrowing money without any vision of payback
Reveal frowns only later lifted with a kiss
Family ties shed radiant lights like chatoyant gems
Making us at our absolute worst look our best
Are never meant to be broken
And ultimately become bondages of bliss
“Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul.”
~Thomas Merton
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Windows to the Soul
Eyes twinkle as smiles unfold
Opening windows to the soul
Lips of kindness softly speak
Shedding wisdom for the meek
Ears send sound waves to the mind
Listening as thoughts unwind
Sights and sounds of nature’s rare beauty
Keep us attuned to faith and duty
Arms stretch outward opening wide
Inviting warmth and comfort inside
Hands keep loved ones secure and near
Clasping tightly those held most dear
Legs and feet, a firm foundation stand
Holding steadfast through every demand
Mind and body should always remain in sync
Being in control of what we do and think
Heartfelt emotions triumph to never subside
Waning not, enduring forever to abide
Love and devotion join firmly hand in hand
Echoing solidity, not shifting sand
Memories unite the heart with the soul
Relishing that moments never grow cold
Windows to the soul reflect who we are
Opening portholes for those near and far
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