APATHY LEADS TO ATROPHY.
NO MERE CLICHÉ.
WHEN WE ARE INDIFFERENT,
WE WILL WASTE AWAY.

ONLY BY BEING INVOLVED
DO WE STAY WELL.
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS,
ONLY TIME WILL TELL.

Heart Versus Mind

Shall I follow my mind or my heart?
One keeps me together, one apart.

My mind can act like the great divide,
Keep me from reaching that place inside
Where I find the love that is in me ...

I now follow my heart, primarily.

Secrets Of The Heart

SECRETS OF THE HEART
NOT UNLOCKED BY ANY KEY...
RIGHT COMBINATION.

FIRST TURN TO THE RIGHT,
THEN PAST THE PREVIOUS PLACE
TILL SENSING A CLICK

RICHES TO BE SHARED
BEYOND THE MIND'S CONCEPTION,
NOT FOR "SAFE-KEEPING".
 

When Love's Left Out

A hard heart
Is terrible to behold.
It can happen
Without being old.


Going along
Feeling uptight,
Can be a symptom
That all is not right.

It can be hardness
That has come about,
By living life
With love left out.


To help the heart's condition,
For the hardness to wane,
There is a treatment
That carries no pain.

It is to love
All that appears.
This softens the heart,
The hardness clears.

Be on the lookout
For a heart that's not well.
When love is not felt
Its absence does tell.

Don't let the heart harden,
Feel your love flow
At all times
Love should show.

Blessings In Disguise

In all things distressing
One can find a blessing.

No matter how stark it be
There is some good to see.

It is not always clear
From what does appear.

It may be in disguise,
But look ... somewhere it lies.
Strange as it may sound
A blessing can be found.

Patience

Patience is a nectar
As sweet as can be,
A state of feeling easy,
Pure serenity.

How does one gain patience?
It has so much worth.
Is it an extra quality
One receives at birth?

Can it be acquired,
Developed so to speak?
Learning to accept
Helps when one is weak.

Bridle the mind,
Let it not stray.
Stay in control,
Keep it at bay.

It wants to roam
Hither and yon.
Before we know
It will be gone.

Causing trouble
Without one's intent,
It is something
One can prevent.

Hold firm the reins,
Never let go,
Soon as it starts
Say
WHOA!
WHOA!
WHOA!

"It's not easy"
"It's hard ",
Are these reasons to discard?

When one is faced
With a difficult course,
Why not overcome,
Bring forth resource?

It is common
To fall into a trap,
By claim of hardship
To quit and lay back.

If it is something
That has positive good,
Why not make the effort?
If one could.

Hardship is no license
Not to go ahead
Hardships disappear
Only when dead.

Whatever is, is whatever one thinks it is . . .
Does this confound, astound?
It's just that,
Sound and profound.

If one thinks something
Whatever it may be,
That is it -
Not what others may see.

This is so,
Really true.
What is,
Is one's view.

It doesn't matter
If you agree,
It is a good example,
All
is
as
you
see.

Help me into the starting gate,
To start the race, it's getting late.
I want to start, and not delay,
Rearing to get under way.

Whether I will win, place, or show,
I am not sure I will ever know.

My heart's desire is to start out
Now that I know what life's about.
To live life as a humble man,

Giving
and
sharing
all
I
can.
 

When it comes to survival
Nature knows best.
Survival of the fittest,
Is the test.

A natural happening
Very neat.
The weaker die,
Face defeat.

This is true for animals.
Who survive
Those physically stronger
Stay alive.

For man
It's not the case.
History shows
No master race.

The stronger are not more fit,
Not in the least.
Though at times behaving
Like a beast.

For mankind
There's more to it.
It's not solely physical
In being fit.

It's how one lives
While alive.
If more than physical,
One will survive.
 

Resigned,
he throws up his hands,
Claims he can't meet life's demands,
Quitting before he's dead,
Says there's no way, instead.

Too often this is what we hear.
Life is too much to bear.
Can't deal with it any more,
Stop trying, what for?

Bows out
saying he is through,
Thinks there's nothing he can do.
Hope is lost, none is left,
life has him of it bereft.

Seeing the darkness and the doom,
He sees no way to escape his gloom.
 

As
I
look
back
So much is a blur.
I ask myself,
Did it really occur?

Much that went before
Is like a dream.
Can what is now,
In the future so seem?

Should I not believe
What is going on -
Before long
Will soon be gone?

In retrospect
I've come to see,
Not to take life
Too seriously.
 

Can't Change Another

I fought and fought, it was all for naught.

It was built in

- Why fight? -

No chance to win.

I'm easier now, though all is the same.
Changing another is no longer my aim.

Finally learned there's nothing I can do.

Can't change another,
only my view.
 

It's to go along,
Take life as it comes,
Feast on it fully
Down to the crumbs.

Savor each serving,
Everything to taste.
Of all that's offered,
Nothing to waste.

It's like a party
That goes on each day.
Fun and laughter
When that way.

"I will live tomorrow" - this is heard.

"Seriously, I give you my word,
It cannot be today - it just can't",
is repeated, like it were a chant.
"Only a postponement"-one will say,
"Tomorrow for sure, but not today".

Hope is voiced but is it believed?
Even if not, some pressure's relieved.
All these tomorrows will come and go.

WILL LIVING START TOMORROW?

Likely no!

Greetings

Greet the morning, greet the day,
Say "Good morning", say "Good day".

Greet the sunlight, greet the sun,
say "Hello" to everyone.

A bird, flower, dog or cat,
To each of these, tip your hat.

Let each know how you feel,
Matters not if they conceal.

If they could speak they would say
"Greetings, friend, enjoy the day".

The Key

What would you say
if this were your last day?
What would be its design
if at the end of the line?

Is this question too much
for you to touch?
Not care to think
you're at the brink?
That's sad,
too bad.

It's the key,
to be able to see.
How to go and do
when not about through.

When one can do and go,
not to forgo
opportunities to live ...

Before it's too late.

Healing A Rift

It is never too late to make amends,
to heal a rift between friends.
When love is known to open any gate,
how can one ever say it's too late?

With love, ring the bell, knock at the door,
say you are sorry, no matter what for.
Say you'd like to begin again ...
See the break as only a strain,

Till We Die

Many of life's actions
in which we engage,
no longer apply
in one's later stage.

Then one must forgo
some earlier pursuits
and savor the sweetness
of life's other fruits.

Yet there's one
that does always apply,
it's to serve others
until
we
die.

Sink Or Swim

With life
as with a friend,
At times one has to bend.

Till the end of one's days,
What was,
is,
never stays.

No matter how grim,
It's sink
or
swim.

Away from the deafening crowd,
Away from all that is loud,
Avoiding the TV screen,
Seeking the quieter scene.
Trying to keep myself whole,
Knowing that noise takes its toll.
I know when I feel my best,
It's when my ears get their rest.

More Precious Than Gold

As with panning for gold
- there -
somewhere,
It's through grit, grime, rock and slime.
So one must overcome for wisdom.
Which is worth more ...
wisdom or ore?

Humility

THE STRING
THAT HOLDS PEARLS TOGETHER,
THE YEAST
NEEDED TO MAKE DOUGH RISE,
THE SEALANT
TO BRAVE LIFE'S WEATHER,
THE HALLMARK OF THE TRULY WISE.

WITHOUT IT
ONE IS A BOUNDER
STAGGERING ALONG
AS IF BLIND.

THROUGH LIFE
HE WILL EVER FLOUNDER,
HAPPINESS HE WILL NEVER FIND.

The Wiser One Gets

"To become wise is to suffer".

Is that quote hard to take?
Better believe,
Its no mistake.

In Ecclesiastes this appears,
Written by King Salomon
The wisest of his peers.

One may ask why this is so -
The wiser one gets
The more foolishness will show.

Never Too Old

Never too old to love,
Never too old to play,
Never too old to yearn
For love to come your way.


Never too old to live,
Never too old to care,
Never too old to hope,
For someone to share.

Never too old to feel sad,
Never too old to cry,
Never too old to laugh,
Thinking of times gone by

Enjoy & Release

All that one may own,
Is only on loan.
To have and to hold
Until one is cold.

Nothing to keep
When one goes to sleep.
No exceptions, none -
For anyone.

Possessions cease,
Enjoy and release.
Better in one's day,
To give it away

Not The End Of The Line

"Move over, you're in the way" -
"Move over, you've had your say".

That's not right, not for me!
I'm not finished, there's more to see.
I live each day as best I can,
Young in spirit, though an older man.

I'm still here, I'm not through.
As long as I live, I hope to do.
Do your thing and I'll do mine,
For me, it's not the end of the line.

Honesty

Dishonestly kind
Is not the way .
Honestly and kindness
Should hold away

Honest but unkind
is also nay.
Honesty and kindness
Carries the day.

A Fact Of Life

Each one has his time and place .
A fact of life we have to face.
Some times miles apart ,
Differences so great, nowhere to start.

It may not matter where some are,
If there's no contact , they're afar .
Trouble may come when two are close,
With differences that don't disclose..

Even with backgrounds as sister and brother,
It can't be assumed they're the same as each other,
Though from same parents born,
Somehow differences spawn.

EVERY PERSON IS UNIQUE, AND CANNOT FOR ANOTHER SPEAK.

Final Acceptance

Life is so precious, ask someone ill,

Dying against his will,

"Why me? Oh why me?" he asks out loud.

"Please let me live ", he begs, he's not proud.

No one can help him as he groans,

Helpless he lies, moans and moans.


He settles down, accepts his fate

Gone are his hopes - now it's too late

He becomes quiet, no longer grim.

After a while, peace comes to him.

Death - The Great Abyss

Death's a moving on, that's all.
With no return, no recall.
Passing into a deep sleep,
Deeper than the deepest deep.

A going into an abyss
Of timeless silence, it is this.
All else imagined, more or less.
No more is known - Why guess?

Departing Word

Should my life go by without rendering a report
Of what happened, and the way I did comport?
Do I just leave, not utter a sound,
Or express some understanding of life that I found?

Shouldn't I at least relate to my next of kin
What I learned in life from the time I came in?
Shouldn't I say something to show I was here?
To all: Live with hope, love, never despair.

Life

Touching all bases
Trying to be ever safe.
Life is not that way.