Tag Archives: acceptance

left behind.

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what a wonderfully kind gesture

for someone to leave a gallon of milk and bread behind

to be discovered by someone else who may need it more.

“let us temper our criticism with kindness. none of us comes fully equipped.”

-carl sagan

stick together.

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our rainbow of people

“look at the rainbow, it is made up of different colors, yet they do not split,

because they know how beautiful they are when they stick together.”

Michael Bassey Johnson, Song of a Nature Lover

open society.

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 powerful messages found everywhere

 

“in an open society, no idea can be above scrutiny, just as no people should be beneath dignity.”

-maajid nawaz

 

grand trunk pub, detroit, michigan, usa -2020

opportunity.

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when hanging outside with a couple of my grandies,

we talked as they worked on creating pictures

taken from online designs

very, very carefully selecting each tiny bead to put into place 

i thought it would be a good time to tell them about my cat, olive

who loves to pounce on the jigsaw puzzles on my table

when she finds me in the midst of them

i also thought i would do a mini dramatic recreation of how it all happens

as i pretended to be olive, bouncing my hand on the table

i apparently was a little too into my role

 when i hit the table

we all froze for a few seconds

after noticing that all of their hard work

had just been destroyed in the course of my acting.

great recovery though

as i apologized

we all laughed and laughed and laughed at what happened

knowing

that while it would take a long time to rebuild their designs

we also also knew

that life can be so instantly funny sometimes. 

“the more you find out about the world, the more opportunities there are to laugh at it.”

– bill nye

falling.

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forsythia bright in my quarantine kitchen

 blossoms have begun to fall

everything is temporary.

 

“Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.” – pema chodron

bridge.

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walking on a bridge and looking down at each side

same day, same time, same place

what you don’t see

is what is happening just below the bridge

to make each side of the very same river

act in a very different way


“no bridge has ever taken sides.” 

-ljupka cvetanova, the new land

 

come home to you.

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where olive belongs. 

 

“Want to know the truth about belonging?

It takes courage to belong.

It takes bravery to show up in your own skin.

It’s easy to fit in.

It’s easy to blend in and hide your outrageousness.

And it’s also the easiest way to lose the precious parts of you.

You deserve to be seen. You deserve to be heard.

You deserve to be known for the real deal that you are.

Stop taking the easy way out. Stop trying to fit in.

The best place in life is where you’re already okay.

Come home to you.

It’s where you belong.”

Anne Bechard

extraordinary.

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what a surprise and delight

it was to meet peter

(who is known as jonathan when in trouble)

the proprietor of a tiny shop near the beach.

how was i to know

that he was

a visiting nurse

a gentle spirit

a master

of local lore, directions, recommendations

who worries about what will happen to his store

when he is gone

and wonders

if the people who take it over 

will be able to make enough money

 in spite of some adversity

he was brimming

with happiness and passion

as we spoke at length 

about the joys of sea glass

with all of its pits and scratches and imperfections

that only serve to prove

 it’s the real thing

having survived

a long and challenging journey

having arrived at last

on a soft and sandy shore

collected by hands

that appreciate it for all of its beauty

exactly as it is

and he was extraordinary.

“for me, the difference between an ‘ordinary’ and an ‘extraordinary’ person

is not the title that person might have,

but what they do to make the world a better place for us all.”

-jody williams

 

 

 

 

wells, maine – august 2019