Courage
Anne Sexton
It is in the small things we see it.
The child's first step,
as awesome as an earthquake.
The first time you rode a bike,
wallowing up the sidewalk.
The first spanking when your heart
went on a journey all alone.
When they called you crybaby
or poor or fatty or crazy
and made you into an alien,
you drank their acid
and concealed it.
Later,
if you faced the death of bombs and bullets
you did not do it with a banner,
you did it with only a hat to
cover your heart.
You did not fondle the weakness inside you
though it was there.
Your courage was a small coal
that you kept swallowing.
If your buddy saved you
and died himself in so doing,
then his courage was not courage,
it was love; love as simple as shaving soap.
Later,
if you have endured a great despair,
then you did it alone,
getting a transfusion from the fire,
picking the scabs off your heart,
then wringing it out like a sock.
Next, my kinsman, you powdered your sorrow,
you gave it a back rub
and then you covered it with a blanket
and after it had slept a while
it woke to the wings of the roses
and was transformed.
Later,
when you face old age and its natural conclusion
your courage will still be shown in the little ways,
each spring will be a sword you'll sharpen,
those you love will live in a fever of love,
and you'll bargain with the calendar
and at the last moment
when death opens the back door
you'll put on your carpet slippers
and stride out.
Month: July 2019
Today’s Reflection: Dare to Dare
Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing. ~ Friedrich Schiller
Sleep Hack: Do You Need a Going to Bed Routine?
Ease the transition from wake time to sleep time with a period of relaxing activities an hour or so before bed. Take a bath (the rise, then fall in body temperature promotes drowsiness), read a book, watch television, or practice relaxation exercises. Avoid stressful, stimulating activities—doing work, discussing emotional issues. Physically and psychologically stressful activities can cause the body to secrete the stress hormone cortisol, which is associated with increasing alertness. If you tend to take your problems to bed, try writing them down—and then putting them aside.
SOURCE
Stress Hack: Need a Quick Fix from Stress?
- Sit in a chair and get comfortable with good posture.
- Place one hand on your chest and the other hand on your diaphragm (just above yourstomach).
- Spend a moment concentrating on your breath and notice how your body naturally breathes.
- Now bring your shoulders back slightly. By bringing your shoulders back slightly (with no strainon the neck), you open up your heart to receive more oxygen and blood flow.
- Practice paying attention to your breathing. When you inhale, your belly expands; when youexhale, your belly goes in and pushes out oxygen.6)Practice two to three slow inhales and exhales. As you get better at this exercise, spend moretime at each sitting. SOURCE
Longevity Tip: Stress & Anxiety Don’t Help
Think About It: Will What Your Worrying About Solve the Problem?
Anxiety and stress may significantly decrease your lifespan. For instance, women suffering from stress or anxiety are reportedly up to two times more likely to die from heart disease, stroke, or lung cancer. Similarly, the risk of premature death is up to three times higher for anxious or stressed men compared to their more relaxed counterparts. . . . Studies show that pessimistic individuals have a 42% higher risk of early death than more optimistic people. However, both laughter and a positive outlook on life can reduce stress, potentially prolonging your life.
Source
Health Hack: Say Goodbye to the Past & Move On
Forget About the Past
If you consider a bad childhood, bad financial decisions made years ago, or a breakup as a negative self-fulfilling prophecy for your future, your future will be pretty gloomy. Instead, take life’s challenges as lessons, put them in your past, and consider yourself stronger for overcoming the negatives in your past.
Source
Writer’s Wisdom: Which Book Should You Write?
“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
My Kingdom ~ Louisa May Alcott
My Kingdom
Louisa May Alcott
Sitting to-day in the sunshine,
That touched me with fingers of love,
I thought of the manifold blessings
God scatters on earth, from above;
And they seemed, as I numbered them over,
Far more than we merit, or need,
And all that we lack is the angels
To make earth a heaven indeed.
The winter brings long, pleasant evenings,
The spring brings a promise of flowers
That summer breathes to fruition,
And autumn brings glad, golden hours.
The woodlands re-echo with music,
The moonbeams ensilver the sea;
There is sunlight and beauty about us,
And the world is as fair as can be.
But mortals are always complaining,
Each one thinks his own a sad lot;
And forgetting the good things about him,
Goes mourning for those he has not.
Instead of the star-spangled heavens,
We look on the dust at our feet;
We drain out the cup that is bitter,
Forgetting the one that is sweet.
We mourn o’er the thorn in the flower,
Forgetting its odour and bloom;
We pass by a garden of blossoms,
To weep o’er the dust of the tomb.
There are blessings unnumbered about us, –
Like the leaves of the forest they grow;
And the fault is our own – not the Giver’s –
Today’s Reflection: Never Quit
If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
