The Arts
Music, Poetry, Movies, Painting & Sculpture
All of these arts have inspired people to live better lives for
Themselves
Others
The Common Good
Below are some works of art which have inspired me over the years.
What are some works of art which inspire you?
Share Your Thoughts
SPRING IS THE SEASON OF HOPE AND JOY
Though all of us experience ups and downs in our lives,
I frequently remember the song “April Showers” which was very popular
When I was a kid. It has always helped me accept and cope with the negatives of life,
and then be ready to enjoy the many good things in my life.
Though April Showers May Come Your Way
… Life is not a highway strewn with flowers
Still, it holds a goodly share of bliss
When the sun gives way to April showers
Here's the point you should never miss
… Though April showers may come your way
They bring the flowers that bloom in May
So if it's raining, have no regrets
Because it isn't raining rain, you know
It's raining violets
… And when you see clouds upon the hills
You soon will see crowds of daffodils
So keep on looking for a bluebird, and listening for his song
Whenever April showers come along
Written by Louis Silvers
The Arts Bring Hope and Help:
“WE ARE THE WORLD”
Click on this link to watch the 7 minute video: U.S.A. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AjkUyX0rVw
One of the readers of the monthly Hope newsletter sent me an email with a link to a video which she thought would be fun and interesting to see and hear. Here are some words from her email: “Dear Bob, You may remember this song from the 80’s. Last night Jim and I watched an amazing documentary on Netflix about how they pulled it off in one all-nighter after the (AMA) American Music Awards they had all attended. It was the brainchild of Lionel Ritchie. With so many stars, they were actually writing the music as they went. Nostalgic and fun to watch. We could use a little of this spirit.” Another monthly Hope Newsletter reader sent me an email suggesting that I include this video in a Hope Newsletter. So, in response to their requests, I am including it in this Newsletter.
This performance was put together to raise funds help address the famine issues in Ethiopia and other African countries in the 1980’s. Raising funds to help fight the famine also helped some African countries to become more democratic in their constitutions and laws.
As I watched this seven minute video, I recognized some of the performers. But just to jog your memories, here is a list of the performers in the video:
Soloists: Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles.
Chorus: Dan Aykroyd, Harry Belafonte, Lindsey Buckingham, Mario Cipollina, Johnny Colla, Sheila E., Bob Geldof, Bill Gibson, Chris Hayes, Sean Hopper, Jackie Jackson, La Toya Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Randy Jackson, Tito Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Bette Midler, John Oates, Jeffrey Osborne, Anita Pointer, June Pointer, Ruth Pointer, Smokey Robinson.
With Thanksgiving approaching, I wanted to include some music appropriate for the season. There are many religious-themed pieces of music which are focused on being grateful for the beauty and goodness around us. But as I searched for a non-religious, Thanksgiving song, I came across This Thanksgiving Day written and performed by Ben Rector. I thought you might enjoy it. To see and listen to the song, click on this link: Bing Videos
Wonderful World of Sunsets
Beauty inspires us to be hopeful. Here is a link to a Facebook collection 0f pictures called the Wonderful World of Sunsets: (20+) Facebook And here are two examples of the beautiful pictures on the Facebook page. Give it a look.
Remembering a Good Friend
A very good friend of mine, with whom who I worked for over 25 years, recently died. He was a source of hope for me and many other people. He was generous with his time in helping me and many others to grow professionally. He served the communities and organizations he was actively part of giving his time and financial support. He was also an accomplished musician playing the violin in a symphony orchestra. And he did it all with a “quirky” sense of humor. Below is a lively, 6 ½ minute violin concerto which I am sure he played at various concerts over the years. Enjoy!
RHAPSODY IN BLUE
One of our website readers suggested adding “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin to The Arts section of the Hope From Bottom Up website. This is the 99th Anniversary of the creation of this beautiful piece of music. Gershwin modeled it after the subway sounds he heard as a kid in NY. Click on this link to hear some subway sounds in a New York subway. https://pixabay.com/videos/subway-brooklyn-new-york-city-4541/
Here are two versions of Rhapsody in Blue.
Rhapsody in Blue Debut | Rhapsody In Blue | Warner Archive - YouTube 6 minute version with Robert Alda playing the role of George Gershwin from the film “Rhapsody in Blue
George Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue, New York 1924 Version - Jerzy Maksymiuk and Daniel Vnukowski - YouTube Full Rhapsody in Blue 19 minutes
SPRING IS THE SEASON OF HOPE AND JOY
AND TO CELEBRATE SPRING, LISTEN & WATCH BEETHOVEN’S ODE TO JOY!
https://youtu.be/87qT5BOl2XU
I love the change of seasons. Each season has its own beauty. And as seasons change, it reminds us that the mix of change and sameness in the world around us is a good thing. We enjoy the beauty of the past and present and look forward to beauty in the future.
Click on this link for some music appropriate to the winter season:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcXSm51UI5M
As a precursor to the first night of Hanukkah, which fell on December 18, 2022, Brooklyn artist Allison Garber, in the spirit of John Atkinson's "Art of the Christmas Tree," created her own rendition, illustrating how famous artists might interpret a menorah!
The song “9 to 5” written and sung by Dolly Parton and the movie “9 to 5” starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin became an anthem for working women in the 1980's uniting women together under one battle cry for fair working conditions. Dabney Coleman was the bad boss.
Here is a link to a video of the song: Dolly Parton - 9 To 5 - YouTube ENJOY!
BEAUTY INSPIRES HOPE & JOY
A friend of mine sent me this picture last year. It is the sun rising over Lake Michigan.
I used it in the December 2021 Newsletter. I thought it was worth seeing again.
As the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Beauty is its own excuse for being.”
And as the poet John Keats said, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”
Creating Humor is a Form of Art.
I think Humor Helps Create a Hopeful Attitude.
Puns are Considered the Lowest Form of Humor.
I Love Them 😊
To see and read more puns, click on this link
Summertime And Beauty Surrounds Us…Enjoy It!
“Summertime and the livin’ is easy”
Porgy & Bess by George and Ira Gershwin
Porgy & Bess "Summertime" - Bing video
Summertime and the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high
Oh, your daddy's rich and your ma is good lookin'
So hush little baby, don't you cry
One of these mornings, you're goin' to rise up singin'
Then you spread your wings and you'll take the sky
But 'til that mornin', there's nothin' can harm you
With daddy and mammy standin' by
Happy 246th Birthday of the United States of America
The New Colossus
BY EMMA LAZARUS
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch,
whose flame is the imprisoned lightning,
and her name, Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand glows world-wide welcome;
her mild eyes command.
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!”
cries she with silent lips.
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
You can enjoy a half hour video discussion of this poem produced by PBS by click on this link. Poetry in America Season 1, Episode 112: The New Colossus [FULL EPISODE with captions] - Bing video
Beautiful music is always a source of hope to me. “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” from the musical “Oklahoma” is a hopeful way to start a day and this newsletter
Oklahoma! - Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' (1955) - YouTube
SPRING IS THE SEASON OF HOPE
LAUGHING IS A HOPE BUILDER
Signs in Front of the Indian Hills Community Center in Colorado
For a few more laughs, click on this link
The Golden Rule Painting by Norman Rockwell
To See an 8 minute video of why and how Norman Rockwell created this painting, click on this link: https://youtu.be/YY_8qAeKMrM
Please go to the Prayers and Spirituality Resources Section of this website for more thoughts about the Golden Rule.
Beautiful Music and Beautiful Photography
Always Bring Hope
“Autumn Leaves” by Nat King Cole
Click on this link: The Autumn Leaves By Nat King Cole - YouTube
“Hope is the Thing” is a poem written by Emily Dickinson. Hope is the Thing: Wisconsinites on Perseverance in a Pandemic is a book edited by B.J. Hollars and published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. The book is a collection of 100 short essays and poems by Wisconsinites about their thoughts during the 2020-21 pandemic, each of which explores how and why they experience Hope in their lives even in difficult times.
In Recognition of Our Newest Federal Holiday - Juneteenth
The Black National Anthem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyS3HPInHtI
BY JAMES WELDON JOHNSON A group of young men in Jacksonville, Florida, arranged to celebrate Lincoln’s birthday in 1900. My brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, and I decided to write a song to be sung at the exercises. I wrote the words and he wrote the music. Our New York publisher, Edward B. Marks, made mimeographed copies for us, and the song was taught to and sung by a chorus of five hundred colored school children.
Shortly afterwards my brother and I moved away from Jacksonville to New York, and the song passed out of our minds. But the school children of Jacksonville kept singing it; they went off to other schools and sang it; they became teachers and taught it to other children. Within twenty years it was being sung over the South and in some other parts of the country. Today the song, popularly known as the Negro National Hymn, is quite generally used. The lines of this song repay me in an elation, almost of exquisite anguish, whenever I hear them sung by Negro children.
A Beautiful Song By a Wonderful Singer
When I see or hear beauty in any way, shape, or form,
I am filled with hope.
We can all create beauty. Some can do it through the arts.
Most of us can create it through our relationships with people.
Hear is something beautiful by the combined talents of a
composer (Puccini), a soprano (Renata Tebaldi), and orchestra.
Renata Tebaldi - O mio Babbino caro (Concert) - YouTube
Emmane Beasha: A Ten Year Old Girl With a Beautiful Voice
Bringing Joy to Millions
And a Smile to Your Face
To watch a five minute video, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjecfrF6ZOU
“We’ll Take a Glass Together”
From the Musical Grand Hotel
Click on the link below to enjoy a rousing, joyful, and hope-filled 3 minute video :
Broadway's Lost Treasures - Grand Hotel - Bing video
Cartoons Are Artwork As Well
Take the time to look at these gems of wisdom from good old Charles Schultz
“Peanuts” was developed by Charles M. Schulz and ran for nearly 50 years.
It was published in 2,600 newspapers, 75 countries and 21 languages.
For more Peanuts cartoons, click here.
A POEM BY CLARA THURSTON
The Candle
A candle is but a simple thing,
It starts with just a bit of string.
Yet dipped and dipped with patient hand,
It gathers wax upon the strand.
Until complete and snowy white,
It gives at last a lovely light.
Life seems so like that bit of string;
Each deed we do, a simple thing.
Yet, day by day, if on life's strand,
We work with patient heart and hand,
It gathers joy, Makes dark days bright,
And gives at last a lovely light.
Need healing for the new year? A new Philly hotline offers poems of hope.
by Brandon T. Harden, Posted: January 6, 2021
Philadelphia poet laureate Trapeta B. Mayson on Monday launched the Healing Verse Philly Poetry Line (1-855-763-6792), a toll-free telephone line that offers callers a 90-second poem by a Philadelphia-connected poet. A new poem will be featured each Monday throughout 2021.
In the context of a pandemic, a presidential election, and a racial reckoning, Healing Verse “offers a glimmer of hope because all those things impact us spiritually, mentally.” Mayson said in an interview Tuesday. “And now, more than ever, we need spaces to process.” To read more go to: https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/philadelphia-poetry-hotline-healing-verse-trapeta-b-mayson-poet-laureate-20210106.html#:~:text=Mayson%20on%20Monday%20launched%20the,featured%20each%20Monday%20throughout%202021.
“Lean on Me” music video.
Submitted by a Wisconsin Man.
"My youngest cousin went to college at the U of West Virginia, on a full music scholarship. After graduating he joined the Navy instead of going to grad school. He joined the Navy Band. He is playing the electronic piano in this video and can be seen in the very first scene. Very proud of him. May the US Navy Band/Choir “Lean on Me” touch your soul. It has mine."
Athletic Performances
I enjoy playing all types of sports, and I enjoy watching them as well. One reason I enjoy watching athletes in action is that sometimes, the things they do with their bodies are wonderfully artistic and beautiful. One of the great pleasures I have experienced was watching the artistry of figure skaters Meryl Davis and Charlie White win the 2014 Gold Medal Ice Dance competition at the Sochi Olympics. Here is a link to that performance. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5JUnTJrnps
Movies & Videos
A new movie and related book are recommended by one of our website readers. It is titled The Reunited States You can find out more information about the book and a 3 minute video preview https://vimeo.com/460384832
Here is a link to a 7 minute video about giving hope to men in prison submitted by one of our readers. It is titled Step Inside the Circle. Lovely and well-done. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVxjuTkWQiE
Music
Hallelujah Chorus Flash Mob in Philadelphia Mall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohagajJvzhU
Across the Vast Eternal Sky – Ola Gjeilo (Norwegian born composer /Julliard grad – lives in the US now) on an poem by Charles Anthony Silvestri on the theme of rebirth and using the mythical phoenix as a metaphor. Recommend you read the poem before listening to the music. Stunning! Link to Gjeilo selection- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61FaBl-5R_k
Across the Vast Eternal Sky
Sunlight shines on my face;
This is my grace, to be
Restored, born again,
In flame.
When I was young I flew in the velvet night;
Shining by day, a firebird bathed in light!
Grey now my feathers, which once were red and gold;
My destiny to soar up to the sun
Sunlight shines on my face;
This is my grace, to be
Restored, born again,
In flame.
Do not despair that I am gone away;
I will appear again
When the sunset paints
Flames across the vast, eternal sky.
We Shall be Free – Garth Brooks
View video here
This ain't comin' from no prophet,
Just an ordinary man.
When I close my eyes,
I see the way this world shall be
When we all walk hand in hand.
When the last child cries for a crust of bread,
When the last man dies for just words that he said,
When there's shelter over the poorest head,
We shall be free.
When the last thing we notice is the color of the skin,
And the first thing we look for is the beauty within;
When the skies and the oceans are clean again,
Then we shall be free.
We shall be free, we shall be free.
Stand straight, walk proud,
'Cause we shall be free.
When we're free to love anyone we choose,
When this world's big enough for all different views,
When we all can worship from our own kind of pew,
Then we shall be free.
Ode to Joy – Beethoven
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee,
Op’ning to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day!
All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
Earth and heav’n reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee,
Center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain
Call us to rejoice in Thee.
Thou art giving and forgiving,
Ever blessing, ever blest,
Wellspring of the joy of living,
Ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother,
All who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other,
Lift us to the joy divine.
Mortals, join the happy chorus,
Which the morning stars began;
Father love is reigning o’er us,
Brother love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward,
Victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us Sunward
In the triumph song of life.
We Shall Overcome – Joan Baez and Crowd
We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome, some day
Oh, deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day
We'll walk hand in hand
We'll walk hand in hand
We'll walk hand in hand, some day
Oh, deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day
We shall live in peace
We shall live in peace
We shall live in peace, some day
Oh, deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day
We are not afraid
We are not afraid
We are not afraid, TODAY
Oh, deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day
The whole wide world around
The whole wide world around
The whole wide world around some day
Oh, deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day
“We Shall Overcome” was the most powerful song of the 20th century. It started out in church pews and picket lines, inspired one of the greatest freedom movements in U.S. history, and went on to topple governments and bring about reform all over the world. Word for word, the short, simple lyrics of "We Shall Overcome" might be some of the most influential words in the English language.
"We Shall Overcome" has it roots in African American hymns from the early 20th century, and was first used as a protest song in 1945, when striking tobacco workers in Charleston, S.C., sang it on their picket line. By the 1950s, the song had been discovered by the young activists of the African American civil rights movement, and it quickly became the movement’s unofficial anthem. Its verses were sung on protest marches and in sit-ins, through clouds of tear gas and under rows of police batons, and it brought courage and comfort to bruised, frightened activists as they waited in jail cells, wondering if they would survive the night. When the long years of struggle ended and President Lyndon Johnson vowed to fight for voting rights for all Americans, he included a final promise: "We shall overcome."
In the decades since, the song has circled the globe and has been embraced by civil rights and pro-democracy movements in dozens of nations worldwide. From Northern Ireland to Eastern Europe, from Berlin to Beijing, and from South Africa to South America, its message of solidarity and hope has been sung in dozens of languages, in presidential palaces and in dark prisons, and it continues to lend its strength to all people struggling to be free.
As you listen to "We Shall Overcome," think about the reasons it has brought strength and support to so many people for so many years. And remember that someone, somewhere, is singing it right now.
In Recognition of Our Newest Federal Holiday - Juneteenth
The Black National Anthem
Author and activist James Weldon Johnson wrote the words as a poem, which his brother John then set to music. Two key events led to its being named the Negro National Anthem: In 1905, Booker T. Washington endorsed it, and in 1919, it became the official song of the NAACP.
"Lift Every Voice and Sing" (1900) was written by James Weldon Johnson for a presentation in celebration of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. The music was composed by his brother and songwriting partner, J. Rosamond Johnson. The song was originally performed in Jacksonville, Florida, by children.
Lift ev'ry voice and sing,
Till earth and heaven ring.
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise,
High as the list'ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.
Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chast'ning rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet,
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the bright gleam of our bright star is cast.
God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might,
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee,
Shadowed beneath thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.
The Jive Aces present "Bring Me Sunshine" (Morecambe & Wise theme) - Bing video
Bring me sunshine in your smile
Bring me laughter all the while
In this world where we live there should be more happiness
So much joy you can give to each brand new bright tomorrow
Make me happy through the years
Never bring me any tears
Let your arms be as warm as the sun from up above
Bring me fun bring me sunshine, bring me love
The Impossible Dream from the Man of La Mancha, Richard Kiley
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
And to run where
The brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
And to love, pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march
March into hell
For that heavenly cause
And I know
If I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart
Will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be
Better for this
That one man, scorned
And covered with scars
Still strove with his last
Ounce of courage
To reach
The unreachable star
Rainbow, Kacey Musgraves
When it rains it pours but you didn't even notice
It ain't rainin' anymore, it's hard to breathe when all you know is
The struggle of staying above, the rising water line
Well the sky is finally open, the rain and wind stopped blowin'
But you're stuck out in the same old storm again
You hold tight to your umbrella, well, darlin' I'm just tryin' to tell ya
That there's always been a rainbow hangin' over your head
If you could see what I see, you'd be blinded by the colours
Yellow, red and orange and green, and at least a million others
So tie up the bow, take off your coat and take a look around
'Cause the sky is finally open, the rain and wind stopped blown'
But you're stuck out in the same old storm again
You hold tight to your umbrella, well, darlin' I'm just tryin' to tell ya
That there's always been a rainbow hangin' over your head
Oh tie up your bow, take off your coat and take a look around
Everything is alright now
'Cause the sky has finally opened, the rain and wind stopped blowin'
But you're stuck out in the same old storm again
Let go of your umbrella, 'cause darlin', I'm just tryin' to tell ya
That there's always been a rainbow hangin' over your head
Yeah there's always been a rainbow hangin' over your head
It’ll be alright
Come on everybody, put your hands together
It's got to get better
All over the world
Listen to these words
People come (people come)
People go (people go)
Your life has been (your life has been)
Out of control (out of control)
You're confused (you're confused)
Don't worry (don't worry your soul)
It will get better
It's gotta get (better)
It will get better
It's gonna be (better)
It will get better
'Cause God (God is in control)
(Find your praise)
Within your heart (within your heart)
Hold it close (hold it close)
Don't ever (don't ever depart)
It gets cold in the night
But you'll be (but you'll be alright)
Gonna get better (it will get better)
It's gotta get (better)
It will get better
Gotta get (better)
It will get better
'Cause God (God is in control)
Whatever state I find myself in
I learn how to be secure
Knowing that God
Will supply all my need
And it works out for my good
It will get better
It's gotta get better(better)
People all over the world (it will get better)
It's gotta get better (better)
It will get better
I told you to summit (better)
Can't you hear me (it's gotta get better)
Talking to some family (better)
It's gotta get better (it will get better)
It must be (better)
It's got to be (better)
God promise me (better)
And it will be (better)
God's gonna make it (better)
God's gonna make it (better)
God's got to make it (better)
You gotta make it better (it will get better)
Better (better)
God's gotta make it (better)
God's gotta make it (better)
Better (it will get better)
Keep on moving' (better)
Keep on searching (better)
'Cause God's gonna make it (better)
It will get better
Better
Better
Better
It will get better
It's gotta get better (better)
Better
It's gotta get better (better)
It will get better
Better
It will get better
Better
It will get better
Better
It will get better
Gotta get better (better)
It will get better
God's gotta make it better
It will get better
Better
It will get better
Better
It will get better
Better
It will get better
Better
It will get better
Better
It will get better
Cause God (God he's in control)
Hey
It's gotta get better
Poetry
I turned 80 years old in April 2022. One of my sisters sent me the poem below.
I Love to Live
Today , dear Lord, I’m 80, and there’s so much I haven’t done.
I hope dear Lord, you let me live until I am 81.
But then, if I haven’t finished all I want to do,
Would you please let me stay, until I am 82.
So many places I want to go, so very much to see.
Do You think that you could manage to make it 83?
The world is changing very fast, there is so much in store.
I’d like it very much to live until I’m 84.
And if by then I were still alive, I’d like to stay till 85!
More plans will be up in the air, so I’d like to stick.
And see what happens to the world when I turn 86.
I know dear Lord, it’s much to ask.
(and it must be nice in heaven)
But I would really like to stay, until I’m 87.
I know by then I won’t be fast, and sometimes will be late.
But it would be so pleasant, to be around at 88.
I will have seen so many things and had a wonderful time.
So I’m sure that I’ll be willing to leave at the age of 89……maybe.
And one more thing I’d like to say, dear Lord, I thank you kindly.
But if its okay with You, I’d love to live past 90.
(Author Unknown)
On a Foggy Day by Paula Voekel
It is a foggy day today.
There is something surprisingly peaceful
about the descending of the cloud of unknowing,
both in my inner and outer vision.
If I were to strive to understand the moment I am living through,
I would run the risk of being drawn into the black holes of fear and confusion
that are threatening to swallow up life as we knew it.
Nothing is as it was, and the prophets that once warned us
to change our ways,
are quietly pointing us to seek the wisdom we hope for
not outside, but in the depths of our own being.
So, how do we pass through this fog of unknowingness
to the promised light of inner clarity?
I know that silence can lift the veil and so I seek it.
Like a spring of cool water sending quiet ripples
into the well of my being,
I am led to see beyond the inner circle of my understanding
and welcome the expanded sight of what wants to be revealed.
This is made clear: beneath the cosmic and planetary changes
that are threatening our lives and peace of mind,
there is an undercurrent of Grace beckoning us to trust
the necessary changes.
The great universal wisdom that has brought us to this moment,
is not about to forget or forsake us.
We were formed by love, for love,
and are being moved through the necessary steps towards this ever-lasting,
ever-evolving love.
In our innermost being we can glimpse a reflection
Of the perfection of all created things.
That is where the fog clears and we recognize that we are not far
from the essence from which we were created.
We are never far from the light that seeks to burst out into the world
where the fog lingers and questions remain unanswered.
I praise the path towards inner clarity,
and vow to follow it
and be changed by the inner light that birthed me.
Scavenger of Delight
Miriam Brown, OP
I am a scavenger.
I have been one
Ever since
As a child of eight
I found one day a
Bright shiny
Something—
Like a rock
But
That got all rainbow-y
When I tilted it
In the Sun.
I kept it in a small matchbox
And flashed it
Before my friends David and Freddy
Till the day it was
Swept away in a storm
And lost forever—
Except,
I still remember.
It started for me
A career of scavenging:
Eyes sharp for
Bright surprise—
Lone earing on a curbstone,
Red tulip in the brush,
Half-buried golf ball
Glowing in the grass.
Do I go looking?
Or is Life
Just there,
Glowing,
To be found?
I take in the gift of it.
Sidewalk art of the neighbor’s child,
Hubble photos, Broadway tunes,
Poets’ depth, athletes’ moves,
And chants of protest ringing forth
That all may
Breathe
In justice, hope, and Love.
I leaf backward through
My old Winnie the Pooh
And find myself
With a “tiddley pom”
And a gift for Eeyore’s
Birthday.
I leaf forward
Through some heavy tome
And there on the
Two-hundredth page
An iridescent line
Glows--all rainbow-y
In the sun.
My tiny matchbox
Is now a crate.
My favorite words
A four-drawer file.
My special photos
A shelf of albums.
My wondrous people
Fill my heart.
Bright collages
Of Life.
Eyes to see,
Hearts to savor.
Souls to give thanks.
Every day another day
To scavenge for
This world’s precious
Treasures:
Full of grace.
Holy.
Holy.
Holy.
Paintings
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo
