The Gift of Life!

What do you do when you are shaking like a leaf and swaying like a palm tree? The recent events have us all reeling and looking for some solid base on which we can locate an anchor. Then we can throw it out from the turbulent waters and hope that it latches onto some steady land.

The pandemic, the loss of life and the loss of jobs have left many families unable to put food on the table. Or in some cases, others do not know how they are going to bury their loved ones. I heard a conversation the other day between two people who had lost loved ones and they were discussing costs. “Do I cremate to save money, or will we be able to raise the money for a full funeral?” This was a surreal reminder of where we are as a nation right now.

Just when we thought it could not get any worse, it does. All hell breaks even further loose when George Floyd loses his life while being played out on television through the blatant insensitivity of a few. Now we have outraged citizens and burning cities which have caused a most imperfect storm.

So, we pause, and we pray. That is the only sure way that we will get through these dark, scary, and uncertain times. History has a way of creeping up on us and repeating itself. “Those who don’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” said George Santayana. So here we are again being reminded that we did not get it. The lesson was not learned so the situation has cropped up again.

Doing business as usual does not get new results. Old formulas bring about the same ‘ole by-products. Simple. Just as we must take baby steps while businesses reopen to get our economy up and running, some of us need to take baby steps in dealing with other human beings. Slow and steady wins the race. We must mindfully place one foot in front of the other and before we know it, we have advanced a whole mile as we grow our finances and our humanness.

As we emerge from our safe cocoons of self-quarantine, we remember the beauty of the sky and the sun. We remember that nothing is promised nor owed in this life and we are reminded that many will not ever have the opportunity to see them again. We as mortals are quite dispensable at any given moment. And no, wearing a mask is not a political statement. How absurd! It is a lifesaver.

For those who did not get the childhood lesson, guess what? The Golden Rule still works. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It is a law and it creates good karma. Defy it and oh well, “May the force be with you!”

Life is a gift. It is a privilege, not a right. We should take no day nor person for granted. All sunrises and sunsets are gigantic blessings. Every soul we encounter along our paths is a precious being who could very well be an angel in disguise. They could be testing us and keeping score to see how we are handling our earthly affairs!

Lynn M.                                                            May 30, 2020

Comparisons!

I could barely believe my luck when I located a new magazine that featured a newly published and incomplete work by Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women. I was sold on this Strand Magazine and anxiously started reading her Aunt Nellie’s Diary when I got home.

It is an account of Aunt Nellie’s observations of her orphaned niece, Annie Ellerton and her friend, Isabel Loving. She notices how the two young women interact with each other while they visit her home. She has warm and protective feelings towards Annie who is amiable, unassuming and possesses a warm heart.

Isabel, however, causes Aunt Nellie quite a bit of discomfort because she sees a darker, competitive spirit. When the dashing Edward Clifford, enters the picture, Isabel’s need for attention becomes even more apparent because he is more drawn to Annie.

The short piece reminded me of the two stepsisters in Wives and Daughters by the British author, Elizabeth Gaskell. There is the lighter cheerful Molly and her beautiful but deceptive stepsister, Cynthia. whose secret liaisons almost cost the unsuspecting Molly her reputation in their small town. Both novels were written in the mid-1800’s when life moved much slower. Onlookers had more time to observe and watch every nuance and choice that people made in their daily lives.  The authors lived on different sides of the pond, but human nature is the same.

Though Louisa May Alcott did not finish Aunt Nellie’s Diary, I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting her writings again. As it closed, I can see the naïve Annie headed for trouble as she harbors a secret about Isabel’s ties to a Mr. Herbert Ainslie. Life!

Lynn M.                                                 May 23, 2020

Remnants!

Years ago, there was a song called, Pick up the Pieces by AWB. As we walk through the scattered debris left from the current pandemic, we must follow suit and sort through what is left behind. In Biblical times, these remnants were known as spoils.

Some soldiers were designated to go through the heaps and mounds of carnage and look for the hidden treasures.  They were often abandoned by those that took flight.

Though life may never look, feel nor be the same for many of us, we must make the most of what is still available to us. We may be facing a new frontier, but we should gather up the essentials for our survival kits and play it forward.

It is much like collecting seashells by the seashore. We may initially overlook a few but after getting on our knees and taking a closer look, we might notice the beauty in a few cracked shells. So, we brush them off and put them in our keeper bin while having a silent, aha moment.

Now that we have been forced to curtail our busyness, our grasping at straws and our hoarding, we can pause and look through our personal collections. We can more clearly see what we have already acquired and find a few gems.  They can soothe us during those quiet feelings of brokenness.

As we wash our hands, spray down our counters and distance ourselves from others, we can mindfully rinse the dirt from those items what we have around us. And just perhaps, we may have enough remnants to create a new string of pearls!

Lynn M.                                                                 May 16, 2020

 

 

 

Mothers Breathe!

Our maternal mothers breathe as Mother Earth breathes. On Earth Day, a beautiful rainbow appeared after the smog cleared from the skies while the stay-at-home order was in effect during the pandemic.

Mother Earth sighed, “Aha.  I can breathe freely again.”  She thought. No factory smoke, no car nor truck emissions are congesting my lungs.  There are no zillions of people’s feet stomping all over me and those fewer human breaths are not polluting my already toxic air.

“Ah,” she sighs again.  “A peak into normalcy.  I had forgotten what it felt like!  I feel calm, still and reflective as I slowly rotate on axis with a natural rhythm.”

And while Mother Earth breathes and sighs with relief, so do our maternal mothers. They have been coerced to be in the same quarters with their children. In many instances, it is for the first time and now they are taking a closer look at them.

They, too, are sighing, “A-ha or ah.”  They are thinking, I never knew he laughed that way or I did not realize that she did not like noise.  They are really seeing  their children for the first and some are slowly admitting that they do not really know their own children.

There’s no school, no babysitter, no nanny, no ballet classes, nor soccer practice.  No, nothing. Nada.  They now see that, yes, he does need more help with math and yes, her handwriting does need improvement.  Or, yes, he does tend to be a wise guy and yes, she does talk all of the time.  All of those irritating messages from those batty teachers now have some merit.

So, while Mother Earth relishes her break from the madness, the maternal mothers have been reunited or introduced to the quirks, idiosyncrasies and the loving touches from those that the Creator entrusted into their care.

           Happy Mother’s Day!

Lynn M.                                                               May 9, 2020

Splendid May!

The fresh beauty of splendid May,
Soft pastels make us sigh and say,

It’s here at last! We deeply breathe,
Palms upturned; ready to receive.

Long strolls in the welcoming sun,
Frolicking, smiling. So much fun!

Lynn M.                                         May 2, 2020