Sweetest Gifts

There are times for traditions and time for new activities.   I believe Christmas is that time of year. 

my pic from Christmas card

I've been thinking about how in the world did Christmas gift-giving become so commercialized.  Buy this and that and also those!  Looking back at the origins of Christmas, I think the tradition can be traced back to the three wise men.  After all, they brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to baby Jesus.  Useless gifts indeed!  (Although I believe their hearts were in the right place.)  How many of us have received or given useless gifts at Christmas time because of feeling the pressure of having to get something?

📷 guvo59 on pixabay

So this gift-giving thing is way out of hand and very unfortunate for many, especially the kids in poor families.  Yeah, this is the move to the serious side here.  As a kid I dreaded returning to school and hearing all the kids boast about what they got, but worse, asking me what I got.

When I wrote the poem "Discounted" ©1997, this was what crossed my mind.  But also, the magic of Christmas enlightened upon me too.  Because sometimes there are those out there who understand the joy of a child receiving a sweet gift, just because.  God bless the hard-working parent(s) who try their best to give their children good gifts.  I just wish our society (and many others worldwide) would tone it down a bit in pressuring to buy this or that,  as well as those.

Keeping it simple is the best way to go.  Celebrate in other ways too.  After all, baby Jesus didn't need any of that gold, frankincense and myrrh.  What he needed was a warm blanket, a roof over his head, and love.  Isn't that something we could all use?       Theresa M

my pic from Christmas card

🎁❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄🎁

Discounted

Her hands clutched objects colored with the season,

 decorations and ribbons discounted,

as her little girl of five or so
clutched onto her mama’s dress,

 a hand-me-down from long ago.

“Look, mama!” The child would delight

 at all the toys and gifts displayed.

Saddened eyes, weary from no sleep

 would look upon her child with a deep love

that was priceless - never discounted.

Half a smile she bestowed at the voice of her child,

 the unsmiling half at their poverty.

Cold winds and flurries drifted in from the storefront doors

 as people and packages fought their way in and out.

Discounts - sales - hurry don’t be late!

 or nothing will be left for you.

Her hand-me-down dress hung to her knees

 stockingless against the breeze,

Her child wore a coat much warmer than her own.

 Her child was cloaked with warmth all around.

Tons of pigtails with pretty ribbons

 held her dark hair in place.

Her round eyes looked at the world in awe,

 her tiny hands wanted to grasp everything.

But her mama disciplined her well to know,

 “We can’t pay for just anything.”

In line they stood and waited so long

 as customers bought loads of merchandise.

Her turn at the counter, she laid down the decorations

 green, gold, red, discounted down.

The purchases rang up to the pennies she figured

 and with a half-smile she payed

and picked up her package.

A friend stood by the exit door with a smile.

 she nodded, he nodded - hands extended to shake

Change passed, unnoticed to her child -

 the friend would get a gift for her in secret -

Her mama always knew and never doubted

 that her daughter should never be discounted.

Theresa M, ©1997

Merry Christmas to all ...

me and my snowman

🎁

Trading Spaces

This past weekend I rearranged some kitchen furniture and found space I didn’t think I even had. The room is more inviting. Even though my house is small I don’t need lots of space, yet I don’t want to feel cramped. 

my pic of Luke

📷 Goodfreephotos on pixabay

Although there is a limit to what I can change, due to fixtures set in place, I was able to balance off what I could move. And I hardly had to throw anything out to do it.

 OK, I’m amazed - I’m sure you get that. Now I’ve been thinking about other spaces. Spaces that I can and cannot control at the bird site. Of course, I can choose whom to follow, I can mute or block. I can even lock the account. But knowing that a wave of abusive people are going to be let back into that site, well, it’s sickening. I really don’t want to be a part of a site that approves of so much trash. 

In this case, a safer space, a saner place can be helpful. I don’t know about totally getting rid of the bird site - maybe I can just shut the door awhile. Lock it up. Check on it later. 

📷 brisch27 on pixabay

Meantime, I find a safer, saner place to be at Mastodon. It will take time to build an interactive community for what I enjoy, but as I’ve already started to do that, I find that it’s well worth the effort. 

So I’m rearranging my social media furniture. As this year ends, the bird site will be in a closed locked room for now. As the new year begins, the Mastodon site will be explored and enhanced further inside a bright new living room.

 And you know what? It feels good to rearrange and change. Some sadness for loss, but hope for what is to come. That’s life. 

Theresa M

📷 StockSnap on pixabay

find me now at @thetreezz@mastodon.online

A Little Bird Me Told Me So

Once upon a time there was a bird who sent a message to a human.  That human sent a message back, and then to other humans with the help of the bird.  

📷 Lane Jackman on unsplash

Soon birds were flying everywhere, sending so-and-so and you-know-who a message about this-and-that and so-called-breaking-news.

All was a flutter, as one human tried to run the bird business, then passed it on to another human, and so on.

📷 sdm2019 on pixabay

For years the birds were busy, flying high and low, with experts, posers, and common humans sharing their opinions, their views, sometimes sharing something worthwhile, or even nice!

If a human didn’t like a particular other human, they could ask the bird to stop them from seeing the message.  Many humans could actually block or mute those humans they didn’t want to bother with.  All seemed fairly well.

Until…..

One day a certain human manager took over, bragging about how he could control all speech, and he even dared to call it “free” speech.  He had kept throwing ideas about what he would do with the bird messengers.  Many birds were dismissed, as the new manager stopped feeding them just like that!  The rest of the birds got a bit nervous, as did the humans who relied on them for their messages to be sent and received, so they went hunting for safer communities.

Out of the blue, the new manager decided he wanted money from as many of these humans as he could get, and in what can be seen as a projection of his own egomania, he decided to charge eight dollars for a special mark to be put on their message, so they could appear significant.  But this was the same mark that was used all along bestowed to verified people, like government officials, reporters, companies, so the public would know they were the real deal.  

📷 flockine on pixabay

But now the new manager decided to sell the mark to anyone.  Feathers started flying, cages were rattling, eggs splattered (some was even dripping off the new manager’s face!)  People couldn’t tell who was real anymore.  Bad actors came aboard with their purchased mark, and pretended to be the real verified humans.  Some of their messages were funny, some dirty, cruel, some totally misleading.  But there it was - total chaos. That was “free” speech for a price.

The fate of the birds is yet to be seen.  Beware:  birds of a feather sometimes can’t flock together!                  Theresa M

A bird does not sing because it has an answer.

A bird sings because it has a song. - Chinese Proverb

📷 GLady on pixabay

Leftover Leaves

I stood under the giant black walnut tree on one warm October afternoon.  The breeze moved the leaves into the air, and as they came gently falling, I tried to catch them.  I felt like a little child, and laughed.  I’ve done this before, I thought, in the rain.  I’ve done this in the snow.  Leaves, raindrops and snow falling from the heavens is such a delight.

📷 my pic

Just a few days prior I had my annual battle with raking and bagging the nasty black walnuts rotting all over my lawn.  Did it all in one day this time, and it wasn’t really too bad a chore.  The leaves have all turned yellow, and I can see the beautiful blue sky beyond it.  So today I enjoyed what is left of this black walnut tree.  Instead of focusing on the labor I have to go through every year, I focus on the beauty of leftover leaves.

The beauty of life is all around. The trees, the sky, the rain and the snow.  Sunsets and twinkling stars.  Birds and squirrels chattering, preparing themselves for the winter.

📷 birds feeding - my pic

November here is kind of a solemn month.  After the festivities of autumn in October, the nights get a bit longer.  The clouds get a little drearier.  Naked trees have no choice but to wait patiently for time to pass before they can once again clothe themselves in lustrous greens.

As time moves slowly, it moves just as quickly too.  With holidays approaching, people make their plans, run around to get this and that and push their way into the future in such a hurry in order to get it all over with.  Silly people, wishing their lives away.

We could all learn from the trees.  Be patient.  Time moves on by anyway.        Theresa M

my watercolor A Fall Evening, 1993

Do You Know the Way?

There is a mantra I often use to help me focus, keep the faith, and move forward.  I’ve used it in times of deep depression, in times of uncertainty.  Even in good times, it is important for me to know I’m okay where I’m at.

📷 enriquelopezgarre on pixabay

“I trust in the Lord and the direction he leads me in life.”

📷 kienvirak on pixabay

I feel calm saying this to myself, either in my mind or aloud.  A sense of safety surrounds me, I feel as if I’m cared for.  I don’t feel so alone.  I get the understanding that I will have the strength to do whatever I need to do to get through obstacles and difficulties, to  move on despite emotional pain or anger.  I do not have to fight with anyone.  I might make mistakes but I myself am not a mistake.  In the here and now of things I do matter, even when I think I don’t.  In due time, all will be well.  Trust is key.      Theresa M

📷 susan-lu4esm on pixabay

October Festive

It’s my favorite time of year again - October!

Time for festivities to take in all the colors and

smells and brisk cool weather.

October brings both good and sad memories.

However, I’ve come to appreciate the changes

in life and in the seasons. I feel autumn is just as 

refreshing as spring.  It’s kind of like growing up and

looking back on one’s life, finding acceptance.  Some

things were rough to go through, other things were 

better. I just need to be in this day.  Each day has its 

own challenges, but also its own rewards.

📷 Bessi on pixabay

Thank you October.  You’re beautiful.   Theresa M

🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁

Social Insecurity

Life is so strange.  One needs to be open-minded to learn, to grow, and find some peace within.  As a child, most everything and everyone was to be feared.  As a teenager it was the same, only more risks were taken to try to change things.  As an adult - well, it is all the same as before, although by being willing to learn and to challenge old beliefs, and weighing risks more carefully, that is how one evolves.

📷 johnhain on pixabay

One of the most important things I’ve learned is to let people be who they are.  I cannot change them.  “Live and let live” as they say in recovery.  I don’t have to like what they do, I can disagree, but I wonder what is it inside them that makes them think the way they do?  Why do they give such immense power to others to rule their views of life?

Somewhere deep inside is an insecurity, whenever someone derides another for their beliefs.  What are you so afraid of?  Will you feel unloved?  Unwanted?  Will you be a nothing, a nobody?  Would you feel ashamed if you were to change your own belief or perspective?

📷 geralt on pixabay

Sometimes reality is so very painful, people will just bury themselves into a cult-like frenzy to protect themselves from the rawness of deep emotion. 

Sometimes people can have a break-through.  Often not.  People might live their entire lives on the notion that they are very important and everyone should follow what they say and believe (but not necessarily what they do).

Open-mindedness, exploring the other possibilities, the acceptance that people are not necessarily bad or wrong, but they are troubled.  We all are in some way.  You be you.  I’ll be me.  Living examples for all to see, and to learn by.         Theresa M

📷 johnhain on  pixabay

What's Around You

"Take care of what's around you."

📷 Nixon-Ruiz on pixabay

A deep thought rose up for light to shine upon it.

An answer, a direction for me to follow.

I was questioning life as I felt so unfit.

Sometimes quiet solitude opens the window.

A sense of understanding streamed down from the light.

The answer may be simple yet within my reach.

I embrace the words, the Holy Spirit is right.

With God’s guidance I’ll take care of what’s around me.

Theresa M

📷 Larisa-K on pixabay

I dedicate this to my latest cat, Merci, of whom this poem is about.  This happened when trying to decide to take him into my home.  I feel blessed, because actually he chose me.    Theresa M

Merci

Earth's Path

You walk upon my paths.  You dig this dirt for gardens and crops.  You even bury your dead here. I am Earth.

📷 Pexels on pixabay

I provide hideaways for many creatures.  They make their homes all throughout vast landscapes of forests, fields, even deserts.

In some places my land rises high up to the clouds, others are down in valleys.  Water visits me often, in the form of snow and ice, or in rivers and rains.  Refreshing isn’t it?  Ah, the smell outdoors after the rain.

📷 21177668 on pixabay

Creatures, all but humans, show respect for me, understanding I am a provider of not only shelter, but nourishment.  Although humans build their fortresses upon me, they wreak havoc on me, with their toxins and trash that I cannot consume and reestablish within.

My future is determined by how I am treated.  Along with the air and water, and even fire, we need you to interact with us to help us stay healthy.  This is life, all of our lives, you are dealing with.  Please take a step upon my path in the right direction. 

~ Earth 🌎

Theresa M

📷 NASA 2012

Life is a Breeze

Feel the comfort of my breezes on a warm evening.  Breathe in the smell of flowers that I carry on my invisible bouquet through the air.  

📷 BarbaraJackson on pixabay

I am the Wind.  The Air.  All over - everywhere.  You cannot live without me.  You can’t even see me, you simply trust that I am here.

Surely, you see the leaves flitting about, or the objects jetting forth in a tornado.  Is that wind?  Is that the air?  That is me.  Do you care?

📷 rawpixel.com

You know me.  You might have seen my work in a machine that keeps people breathing.  Unnatural that it is, but you often insist I stay a little longer, even when it is time I move on.

Living creatures all around interact with me.  But humans seem to lack taking care of me.  Oh they use me alright, but their greed puts toxins into my atmosphere.  They try to choke me - Air - and end up harming their own lungs, and the lives of all creatures.  Leaving them all a bit winded, dare I say.

📷 jplenio on pixabay

Why so little respect?  Why the smoke and the smog, why the chemicals and the creation of multiple hazards?

I was there for your very first breath at birth.  I’ve been here all your life.  Right up to the end I am loyal to you.  May the comfort of breezes flow over your grave.  I live on. 

~ Wind 🌬

Theresa M

📷 Theresa M

Fire Struck

Lava, although intensely hot, is beneath me; it does not define me.  Neither does a matchstick.  I can be useful or I can be destructive.  Lots of that depends on you.

📷 geralt on pixabay

I am Fire.  You often hear about me when homes and forests are being destroyed.  They say I’m “raging.”  Am I?  I am so fast at traveling that firefighters can’t keep up sometimes.  People and animals run as quickly as possible, but they can’t take their homes with them.

Does that make me, Fire, bad?  Was the “raging” fire started by a human?  Or by lightning?  Who is at fault?

📷TheDigitalArtist on pixabay

Yet I have a purpose.  From eons ago when humans “discovered” me, I have been cooking your food, keeping you warm.  I’m also simply fascinating to look at, especially in a fireplace.  

Fire.  I am so powerful.  I am so fascinating.  Apparently I sound arrogant as well!  But I know my limits.  You do too.  You can make choices to have me be harmful or helpful, up to a limit.  You know me.  How about respecting me?

 ~ Fire 🔥

Theresa M         

📷 ivabalk on pixabay

One Drop of Water

I am but one drop of water. 

📷fernandozhiminaicela on pixabay

You might see me on a leaf, reflecting the light of the sun, enhancing green beauty.  You may see me on a windowsill, an amazing shape frozen onto your pane.

📷Denis Doukhan pixabay

📷Alexis_Fotos on pixabay

               

                                    

I am but one drop of water.  Sometimes I am left at the bottom of a bottle, and tossed away in the garbage.  Precious, precious drop of water that I am.

Sometimes I am the drop on the cat’s nose, giving away its silly little antics of having sipped the drip from the faucet.   

📷pklaschka on pixabay

I am but one drop of water, sometimes surrounded by many other drops, as we come falling down from the clouds.  My, the rush of it all!

You see me sometimes on a counter or table, then erase me.  Where did I go? 

📷Baudolino on pixabay

I am but one drop of water, a part of a stream, a lake, a river, an ocean.  All creatures thirst for me, some fight over me, some try to own me, even sell me.  I am worth everything.  I am part of life itself.

📷geralt on pixabay

I am but one drop of water.  You might see me on your cheek, having slipped from your eye, after you felt pain.  I am here to help you live life, both in joy and in suffering.  Please share me with others.

 ~ Water💧  

  Theresa M

📷geralt on pixabay