See For Yourself

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower

William Blake

To be amazed by the very least

 

To be awestruck by the very small

To be completely filled by the tiniest of blessings

And overcome by the very least of joys

That is great riches

and that is poetiquejustis

“The Lord bless you and keep you;  

the Lord make his face shine on and be gracious to you

the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26

 

A Good Life Does Not Just Happen

You have to make it happen

Denis Diderot

That good day you want?

You have to make it happen

That dream you want to see come true?

You have to make it happen

that person you want to be?

 

You have to make it happen

Michael Jordan said:

"Some people want it to happen

Some wish it would happen

Others make it happen"

IT just does not happen on its own

and that's poetiquejustis

                                       'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' 
                                                          says the LORD Almighty.
                                                                 Zechariah 4:6

 

From Whence Desire Comes

One must desire something in order to be alive

Margaret Deland

The word desire comes from "de sidere"

"what the stars will bring"

Is that why we wish upon a star?

Do you ever wish upon a star?

When no one is looking 

Is there something so deep in your soul that it reaches out to a star

That is the desire of your heart!

Go!  Desire!  

It just means you are alive

and that's poetiquejustis

Delight yourself in the LORD 

and he will give you the desires of your hear

Psalm 37:4

 

Take it or Leave It

 

“And if my heart be scarred and burned,
The safer, I, for all I learned.” 

Dorothy Parker

Piece of my mind?

Peace of my mind

Live and let live?

 Give and give and give

you can

or

you can believe and receive it

Life is about choices

and that's poetiquejustis

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...

Joshua 24:15

That Hidden Smile

I forgot to shake hands and be friendly.

 It was an important lesson about leadership.

Lee Iacocca

There is a man I would see when I went walking

He was probably in his 80's

and a bit of a grump

For one solid year,

My dog and I  said hello and smiled whenever we saw him

No response

But we would not give up

He grumped right by us every day 

And we just kept giving him a big hello

(or a friendly wag in my dog's case) 

Then one day,

 he just gave up

 he smiled!

He said good morning!

It felt like Christmas!

I believe that inside every grump

there is a smile waiting to come out

Go! Find a grump

Then give him a reason to smile!

 

and that's poetiquejustis

A cheerful heart is a good medicine

Proverbs 17:22

 

Above It All

The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who... looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space... on the infinite highway of the air. 

Wilbur Wright

Rising above the crowd can be a lonely business

It may mean taking to the sky alone

But perhaps you will help others to follow

It may mean you will hit some wind and rain

But you will also reach the rainbow first

So what if you take a dive once in the while

It beats sitting on the fence

You can hang around and talk about it

Or you can soar

Your wings....

Your sky....

Your choice

And that's poetiquejustis

...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

 

The Empty Shelf

Manifest plainness

Embrace simplicity

Reduce selfishness

Have few desires

Lao-Tzu

I remember the day I called my brothers who lived far away
from my seaside home

They were both quite a bit older than I am- both retired

One livesd in the middle of a desert

 and the other on the top of a mountain

The California kid sister calls and chatters on about her teaching jobs, her book contracts

and her all around busy-ness

They listened patiently and are even with interest

because that is how we were brought up,

 but I can tell they were quietly drumming their fingers

 wanting to return to what they were doing before the call

And what they were doing was 

living

Without the tether of a iPad, Daytimer,
or a steady assault of "Action Required" emails that make up my day

They were living.
Plain and simple

As usual, my brothers were ahead of me

They have traded the busyness of life

for the business of living

I am not ready to retire- the fact is I probably never will be

But I am ready to make some room for living

I have a friend who keeps an empty shelf on every one of her bookcases as a reminder

To leave room for new learning

 a space in which to breathe

Today, I am clearing off a shelf in my mind

Today, I am making  room for living

Thanks, Bros

I am still learning so much from you both 

and that's poetiquejustis

  I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 10:10