Archives

Kindness

Dec10

His kind words made me cry today
Kind words can do that you know

His kind words made me feel accepted and loved
I felt like I belonged
His kind words tore the veil of silence
And let in the light

Sometimes silence means complicity
Sometimes silence means we don’t want to go there
Things that are difficult to talk about
Remain behind the veil of silence

It takes courage to be kind
In a world that sometimes does not value kindness
At times, kindness is seen as weakness
What an absurd thought, I say

Kindness is like a river to the thirsty one
It’s life giving like sunshine
It’s like music that uplifts the soul
What more could one want?

One drop of kindness sweetens the ocean
Said the sage
This is the power of kindness

Kindness touched my heart today
A river of tears began to flow
Why tears as a response to kindness
I don’t know
I don’t know

December 1st, 2016

Naked

Nov28

img_0343It’s winter
The trees have lost their leaves
Their branches stand naked
Nothing protects them from the glances
That are cast upon them

The nests built in the shadow of their leaves
In spring
Stand exposed

There is something sad about
The absence of the lush leaves
That decorate their branches

In the summer time
But there is beauty
In their new found transparency

Their branches are extended
With self confidence
Nothing weighs them down
At this point
They feel lighter
Even though they are exposed
No secrets
No hidden agenda

They are vulnerable though
Ice will cover their branches during
Freezing rain
Weigh them down and break them
They will feel the sharp jabs
Of hailstones more acutely
But there is always a price to pay
When baring one’s soul

November 25th, 2016

photo credit:  Masoud Atrvash

Stones

Nov28

 

img_0341

We live more isolated
More orderly lives
Various things separating us
From one another

Bigger homes
Longer distances to work
Less time for family and friends
Valuing independence
Fear of rejection
Old wounds of the past

The distances created between us
Make our communities feel colder
More organized perhaps
Less chaotic
But Loneliness is rampant

Instead of talking to friends
We call hot-lines designed
To help us cope

When we need help
We are weary of asking our
Neighbour for a hand

When we stand in line
We look down at our phones
Instead of at each other

Separation is cold, lonely and lifeless

Being more connected may be
More chaotic
Louder
Less comfortable at times

But it’s colourful
More lively
More cozy
More kind

And a helping hand is always nearby
November 28th, 2016

 

Laugh out loud

Nov4

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Laugh out loud my friend
Laugh out loud
I know there are times when we cry
When we’re sad
When the world weighs heavy on us
But when you can
Please laugh out loud

Let your laughter ring
Through the room
Let it bring joy to everyone

The days of women being
Demure is done
Laugh out loud my friend
Laugh out loud

Tears are special
When they fall
They wash the sadness
From our hearts

But when life affords you
The opportunity to laugh
Laugh out loud my friend
Laugh out loud

You need to be heard
You need to shine
You need to celebrate life
No more silent or quiet laughter
Laugh out loud my friend
Laugh out loud

November 4th, 2016

A new low…

Oct11

When truth does not matter anymore
And people say whatever they want
When you need to fact-check someone’s assertions
Because we can’t trust them

When dishonesty is rewarded by material gains
When we can’t count on anyone’s words
And they keep denying what can’t be denied

Our society has reached a new low

When we expect politicians to lie
At least sometimes
When accusations fly back and forth
With no way to prove who’s telling the truth

When women are objectified
And those remarks are asked to be excused
As locker-room talk
What kind of example are we setting for the young?

When civility is lost
And words are spoken that make one cringe
When insults take the place of discussion and talk
We know we have reached a new low

Don’t get me wrong
I think there is hope
But, boy does the night seem dark
Before the appearance of the dawn

 

October 11th, 2016

Pinch me

Oct4

There are times in my life
When the ocean is calm
The storm has come and gone
And I’ve survived

When the weather is mild
And the sun shines
When all is well with the world
And there are no big worries on my mind

At these times I feel as thankful
As can be
I feel blessed
And sometimes I almost feel guilty
For the way I feel

I know another storm will come
I know the clouds will appear again
And the rain drops will pelt my head
I know the light at the end of the tunnel
Will grow dim
I know all this

But for now
I’ll enjoy the calm and the sunshine and
Do my best to help others who may feel down
I’ll be a good friend, mother and wife

That’s what I can do to
Show my thankfulness
As I sail on the ocean of life

 

October 2nd, 2016

 

 

Instant communication

Sep24

These are the marvels of technology
In this age of instant communication
I sit in a coffee shop in Montreal
Write down some thoughts
And put them on my blog

A few minutes later
I notice they have been read
By someone in India or Australia!

We take these things for granted now
But the only way to get one’s writings to Australia
not so long ago was telegram, mail or Fax!
Remember Fax?
And even then there would be one person
On the receiving end
Not a world audience

No publisher is required to share ideas now
We all can share our views and thoughts

I’ll try not to take this blessing for granted
The technology we have access to now
Boggles the mind…
September 19, 2016

A person I don’t recognise

Sep21

So, here is a person I don’t fully recognise
It’s supposed to be me, but everything is off!

She can’t concentrate
She can’t quickly problem solve
She doesn’t laugh out loud
Actually, she hardly laughs at all
She’s gloomy and tried
She is irritable at times

And sadly trying harder
Focusing more
Wanting to do better
Does not work
I’m stuck in a bad place
And feel like I have no control

They tell me I’ll be fine
But what am I supposed to do
In the meantime?

How am I supposed to live
With this person who I hardly recognise
And don’t even like

I try to find something positive in the situation
But that’s hard
It feels like I’m being punished, somehow

I know I’ll be back to myself soon
But what am I supposed to do in the meantime?
September 21st, 2016

Light bulb moment

Sep19

Life is harder when we focus on ourselves
Our challenges, our unexpected difficulties

I now have the challenge of teaching English
To adult students who speak almost NO English

At first, I was frustrated
A bit in disbelief that there are still people
With almost no knowledge of English

I thought I didn’t have the patience
To teach this group
And found the material I taught
Mundane and boring

Brother, sister, son, daughter
All new words for this group of eager students
It was something else trying to explain the verb ‘to need’
As in I need some milk

Then suddenly a light bulb turned on in my head
I started seeing things from my students’ point of view
They are at the beginning of an adventure
Learning a new language
And each day, they double and triple
What they used to know

They try hard
They help each other
And they come to class with smiles on their faces
And a sense of mission

Looking at it this way
What I did became more meaningful to me
Yes, we talk about very simple things:
I like ice cream, I don’t like hot dogs
But these are words that were not
In their vocabulary until now
They will be able to communicate
In a new language soon

Last time we met,
I taught them ‘have a good weekend’
And with that we said goodbye
Teachers keep learning too
No matter how many years they have taught

September 16th, 2016

To Facebook or not to Facebook

Sep16

To Facebook or …

Not to Facebook?

Perhaps the answer is not no or yes

It’s hard to ignore something

So ubiquitous!

 

Rather how much should I Facebook each day?

To avoid getting addicted or perturbed?

And who should be my ‘friend’

On Facebook?

Who should read every update

And see every photo?

 

Pictures and words can connect us

Of course

Keep us up to date

And in the know

But should I put all my pictures on Facebook?

 

I’m impressed when people

Ask for information and pose questions

In their status update

An interesting way to use their network

Of friends

 

But do we need Facebook for

Relationship updates?

‘In a relationship’ can mean one thing

to me, another to my ‘friend’

And what does ‘it’s complicated’

Actually mean

That one really confuses me!

 

‘Friending’ is fun

But when do I defriend?

How do I feel if I’m the one being

Defriended?

 

How often should I change

My profile picture?

In it, should I include my spouse

And my children

 

Do I have to ‘like’ someone’s comment

So they know it was read?

Do I ‘like’ the whole album

Or just photos taken by a friend?

 

Facebook like anything else

Can be used in different ways

And these are choices that we need to make!

And for good or for bad

I’m afraid

Facebook is here to stay my friend!

 

 

November 11th, 2011