I Shall Not Hate

We are different

You and I:

Our distinct

And separate worlds,

The way we live…

These tell us so,

Mandate it,

Perhaps.

And so you think,

Naturally,

I am not apart of you,

But the opposite,

So it seems.

Why does this

Make you hate me,

When it only

Makes me curious?

We are different.

This poem was inspired by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish’s new book: I Shall Not Hate. He is known as ”the Gaza doctor” who tragically lost three of his daughters and a niece on January 16, 2009 when his home was bombed by Israelis.

Rather than seek revenge, he is looking to resolve the Palestinian situation in the Gaza Strip through peaceful means. He is a true hero, from whom we all have something to learn.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/book-keeper/2910969639/

55 Flash Fiction Friday: Compose a story in 55 words and report back
to the G-Man at http://g-man-mrknowitall.blogspot.com/ …every Friday.

For Love of Gaia

Not the flaming Sun

Nor the gleaming Moon,

Not the blazing Stars

Across Heaven strewn,

No planet we’ve known

Can even compare

With Gaia’s true grace,

A beauty so rare.

Sunday 160 is a creation of Monkey Man. If you’d like to participate or check-out other 160s visit him here!

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/3710164898/

Greater Joy

All your life, you do what you SHOULD. Then, one day when you are unhappy, you question what you WANT. Which leads to your realization that WANT really = NEED.

Sunday 160 is a creation of Monkey Man. If you’d like to participate or check-out other 160s visit him here!

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24544962@N05/4460463588/

Marathon of Hope

“I'm not a dreamer, and I'm not saying this will initiate any kind of definitive answer or cure to cancer, but I believe in miracles. I have to.” ~Terry Fox

Thirty years ago this week, Terry Fox began his Marathon of Hope. It started in St. John’s Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with minimal attention, but enthusiasm for his quest quickly grew along with the miles he ran to raise awareness and funds for cancer research.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Terry was 18 years old when he was diagnosed with bone cancer. While recovering in hospital from the amputation of his right leg, it was the suffering of the other patients – many of them children – that made him so determined to do something about it.

Terry ran an average of 42 km (26 miles) a day for 143 days, until the cancer that had spread to his lungs forced him to quit on September 1^st, 1980. While he was disappointed in not being able to continue, he had succeeded in running 5,373 km (3,339 miles) across six provinces and winning a permanent place in the hearts of Canadians. Less than a year later, on June 28^th 1981, Terry died at the age of 22.

When he began the Marathon of Hope, his goal was $1 for every Canadian – so at that time, $22 million. But since then, almost $500 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in his name. There is no doubt that Terry Fox, the boy who believed in miracles, has become the hero who continues to inspire everyone who knows his story.

For more information: http://www.terryfox.org/

Energetic Pollution

He had a short fuse…everyone knew it.

Though seldom directing anger at anyone in particular, all felt it. Like toxic waste it lingered long after he was over it.

Sunday 160 is a creation of Monkey Man.

If you’d like to participate or check-out other 160s

visit him here!

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hdr400d/1517884823/

As Hamlet Said...

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” ~William Shakespeare

And this is exactly the line I think of every time I can’t imagine that something could possibly be true. This world is an incredible, magickal place. In the 43 years I have been on this Earth, I have experienced some of the most extraordinary things. And by “extraordinary”, I mean those things not commonly referred to as ordinary but which are in fact, perfectly natural. This world is far less mundane than many people are comfortable realizing… but that doesn’t make it any less true. And that being so (or at least in my opinion), what then is the point?

It’s one thing to recognize that there is more to life than meets the eye, but it’s quite another to understand how it all relates to us and why it matters. I have spent my life asking such questions, and investigating various philosophies and religions. And I have decided that now is the time I’d like to start sharing my ideas with anyone who may be interested.

Originally, I thought I should start another blog dedicated specifically to the topic of spirituality, as it is such a large part of my life. But then, again, precisely because it is so much a part of who I am, I have decided instead to just tackle it right here.

For those who don’t agree with my views, as always, that’s perfectly fine. What a dull world it would be if we were all in agreement all of the time. I just don’t want to shield this part of myself any more… as they say: life is too short – on this plane, anyway!

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/radonic/506326402/

Suffering for Beauty

An ancient art

From regions exotic,

Beauty held on

By a thread,

Row upon row,

Of twisting and weaving,

The follicles

Raised from their beds.

From delicate hands

Trained in expertly etching

The loveliest frame

For each face,

The charge of pain

Such a small price to pay

For another whole

Three weeks of grace!

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30588897@N06/4295771376/

55 Flash Fiction Friday: Compose a story in 55 words and report back to the G-Man at http://g-man-mrknowitall.blogspot.com/ …every Friday.

I was almost stumped this week on finding a nice light topic for Friday Flash 55… until I went for my regular visit to the salon and thought now this is an experience I’m sure our G-Daddy has never had – so I must share it. Eyebrow threading: momentarily painful but the results are well worth it!

Love Between Souls

“But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.” 
Khalil Gibran

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/visbeek/2047546809/

Family Drama

"Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears." 
~ Barbara Johnson

Nothing brings out crazy quite like family get-togethers over the holidays. Why is that? What compels us as grown people who have no difficulty holding it together amongst strangers, to routinely regress and act out around the relatives? It can’t just be my family… can it?

I don’t know whether it’s because we’ve become overly-comfortable with one another or that we’ve been thrown together having so little in common aside from our last names; in actuality, it’s probably a bit of both. But after the impromptu fireworks have erupted, what then?

I know when I let loose - which thankfully happens far less than it once did – I feel terrible and have difficulty getting past it until I’ve apologized or discussed the situation ad nauseum with someone sane. But there are more regular fire starters who clearly feel less remorse over their actions and even seem to relish a good fight over nothing at all.

Regardless of why things are the way they are, if nothing else these circumstances are true opportunities to practice the art of patience.

"Patience can't be acquired overnight. It is just like building up a muscle. Every day you need to work on it." ~ Eknath Easwaran

image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39618914@N04/4325561197/

Dream Date

It began as something

She thought she had to do,

Something planned for,

Expected.

At first, she thought

That was okay.

Didn’t everyone go through

The same thing?

She allowed them

To direct her fate,

Pushing aside her hopes

For security, nine to five.

Now, she wonders…

Could there be

An expiration date

On dreams?

Join in the fun: Compose a short story in 55 words and report back 

to the G-Man at http://g-man-mrknowitall.blogspot.com/ …every Friday.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/krkrkr12345/2984675961/