Mary Oliver Poem

When I Am Among the Trees

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness,
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, "Stay awhile."
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, "It's simple," they say,
"and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine."

Mary Oliver

(Thirst)

The ticket

It always amazes me how one little thing can start a series of events/emotions/thoughts in motion and wind up somewhere totally unexpected.

I had a great day. Right up until the time that I got pulled over and got a speeding ticket. The cop didn't give me the tiniest break on it and for good measure also wrote one for no seat belt. So, I was angry. Very angry. Immediately the thoughts racing through my head were: 1. why is there never a cop around when you need one to help, 2. I drive w/ cruise control on literally all the time. This one time that I hadn't gotten it back on, I come across the first cop in 250 miles, 3. I know that if I had been a friend or relative or someone important I would not have gotten the ticket.

So, these angry thoughts are swirling through my head while at the same time, the good thoughts are trying their best to get in. I know things happen for a reason and this must just be God telling me to slow down. I know that I should not be feeling hateful towards the cop cuz she was just doing her job. But the bad, angry thoughts are winning. So, then I'm thinking, "well, guess you're not so spiritual as you think you are if this tiny little thing can set your off like this.  Grrrrr!

In my need to vent, I head for Facebook as soon as I get home. (never a wise decision btw) I wanted to just blurt out, I hate cops!! By the time I got home, a tiny speck of sense had returned (not much tho).
(At this point I must interject that I am the last person that will ever feel sorry for myself. I realize that I got the ticket for a reason and I am ok with that. My reaction to it was a major slap upside the head tho)

So, my FB post alludes to the fact that I have bad karma (not that I'm a leadfoot) and then asks if anyone can tell me any good stories of cops helping them out. I have really been working on improving my attitude of cops and thought some stories showing them being helpful would help me see things differently.

And I did get a couple of stories. Yea!!! And one cops daughter that was offended by my post. Sorry.

Being that I was still slightly annoyed with the whole situation (my reaction to it) I knew that I would not be able to sleep. (Finally getting to the point)

I looked through my stacks of books for something that would get my thinking straightened out. Miracle of miracles, I found a blank journal that I didn't even know I had. It is a guided journal that asks questions and then you have 2 pages to write your answer. The first question was, what's great about your life? Grrr. Well, I'm angry right now. I want to write about that. Ha ha. That is exactly the time that you most need to think about what is great in your life.

I filled up 2 pages and could have filled up 2 more. It is amazing what gratitude can do to a persons mood. Amen. I can go to sleep now.

be Still and Know that I AM God

be still and know that I am God is my newest tattoo. I was asked what it was from and I didn't have an answer. I wasn't sure where I had heard it. All I knew was that when I started thinking about what my next tattoo was going to be, this is what came into my head. Once it was there, it would not go away no matter how much I told myself that I really wanted something pretty. It became part of my daily meditation, helping me to be still. It bothered me slightly that I couldn't tell my friend what it was from though so I looked it up today. It is from Psalm 46. I looked through and read several web pages and the passage below is what really hit me because this thought has been so much a part of my life lately. It said:

Be still and know that I am God – What is its origin?
“Be still and know that I am God!” is the first part of Psalm 46:10. Here, the word still comes from a Hebrew word meaning to “let go” or “release.” The meaning would be best understood to say “cause yourself to become restrained or to let go.” In other words, we need to come to a place where we are willing to submit ourselves to God and acknowledging that He is in sovereign control.

When we realize that we are truly incapable of controlling life, we can surrender our will to God’s will. It may be a matter of finally saying we trust Him. This will open the door so that we may experience the fullness of all God wants and has for us. After all, He is our Creator and has a perfect plan for us when we let Him orchestrate it.
 
Be still and know that I am God – How can we know it’s God?
“…and know that I am God” denotes recognition, acknowledgement, and answering God. First, we must know that God is God, the one and only Supreme Being who created all the heavens and earth (Genesis 1:1).

We can know Him by having an intimate relationship with Him. That does not come from knowing about Him, but rather getting to personally know Him by what He says (in His Holy Word, the Bible), recognizing the things He does in our lives, and by way of His Holy Spirit who comes to guide and comfort us. In John 14:26, Jesus says “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (KJV).
 

Desiderata

I didn't write this, just copied off of today's Mountain Wings issue.

DESIDERATA
=========
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what
peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms
with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others, even to the dull and ignorant; they
too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to
the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain
or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser
persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble, it's a
real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world
is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what
virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and
everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither
be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and
disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully
surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden
misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark
imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and
loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and
the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the
universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him
to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the
noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still
a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

Written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann

Mary Oliver Poem

When I Am Among the Trees

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness,
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, "Stay awhile."
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, "It's simple," they say,
"and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine."

Mary Oliver

(Thirst)

Thought for the day

Today let’s make a decision that we will look for the good this day. We will praise what we see that is good. We will give thanks. We will have a positive attitude.
 

Today we will remember there is no problem that is bigger than the God we come from and live in. We have an attitude of gratitude.

Instead of looking at what’s wrong, we look at what’s right. When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.

New Years Resolutions

This is copied in it's entirety from an e-mail I received. If I was a writer, I may have written these same thoughts. But I am not so I will just share Veronica's.  :)

My New Years Resolutions

I want to be happy for no reason this year except that I am here and alive and I claim this moment as my own. It's mine. Its got my name on it!

This year, I want to spend more time in nature, not on the path near my home, with its iPods, and cell phones and incessant chatter, but deep in a forest, where the earth recognizes my step, and the ground kisses my feet as I walk.

This year, I want to say no, more often, and not feel guilty, and say yes, more often, and not feel embarrassed.

I want to take the time to grieve fully this year, for those people that I have lost and mourn those things that I shall never have or be again.

I want to hear the sounds of creation and I can't tell you what those sounds are, because I have never really heard them before. I 've been too busy for that. But their music beckons to me in the stillness when I have finally given up my need to control.

I want to see, really see the sights of the universe and I can't tell you what those sights are, because I have never really seen them before. I've had my eyes closed. But their vision haunts me in my dreams and gently calls forth to me in my waking hours.

I want to take the child in me out to play more this year and step in mud puddles, get my feet wet, eat cotton candy, build a snowman, talk to strangers, kiss furry dogs and chase mangy cats.

This year I want to eat my spaghetti with a fork and forget about the spoon and get my face really dirty.

I want to get to know my teddy bear more this year. After all, he is really the only one who has always been there for me, in my darkest hour, comforting me and whispering sweet messages into my heart, that were more accurate than any psychic ever could be.

I want to see the world with new eyes this year, as if I have never seen it before, like an alien on an unfamiliar planet, and not take anything for granted.

This year, I want to talk less and say more. I want to taste more and eat less.

I want to write more about those things that really matter to me, with passion, the things that I know in my gut, the things that stir up my soul, and not give a damn about keywords or tags or where I rank in Google.

I want to sit with a flower this year and watch it bloom, and know what it feels like to finally surrender to life, to succumb to a purpose bigger than my own.

I want to talk to the moon and bask in the sun and gaze at the stars for hours and hours.

I want to be much more silly this year, and care much less about what people think of me. I have forgotten just how much fun being silly can be.

I want to laugh, harder than I have ever laughed before. And cry less for all of the pain and suffering that I think I can't fix, because I know that I can. Every time that I make the choice to be free, there is less suffering in the world, not a world with less pain, but less pain in the world.

I want to love more this year, not the sappy, greeting card kind of love they sell on Valentine's day cards, but a love that surpasses all distance, time, space and differences.

This year, I want to make friends with those parts of me that I am afraid of and attempt to do those things that still scare me to death. Well, at least some of them.

I want to appreciate more and complain less, accept more and judge less, forgive more and blame less. I want to ultimately do nothing and allow everything.

This year I want to break open the windows of my life and knock down the doors, remove the shackles and stare down the illusion until it sets me free.

So you won't find goals here or projects or timelines or objectives or plans or directions or bucket lists or targets.You'll only find me.

Veronica Hay
Veronica Hay is the author of In a Dream, You Can Do Anything. An extraordinary collection of writings that will uplift you, motivate you, inspire you, and gently guide you along the inner path of your life.Go to: http://www.insightsandinspirations.com or feel free to email your comments about today's message to: veronicahay@telus.net