Kindness

In Memoriam A.H.H. ~ A New Year’s Eve Poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson

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In Memoriam A.H.H.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

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Thinking Out Loud: Become a Spark of Light

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“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”

― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

NOTE: Every person I’ve known has experienced dark nights. The darkness, at times, can seem to be devoid of any semblance of light. We wander through the darkness with our arms outstretched trying to find our way through. Suddenly, a flicker of light instills in us a great hope that the darkness will end. Where does the flicker of light come from? It comes from each of us when we become aware of a friend, a family member or another walking in the darkness. Each of us has the power to be a new dawn in someone’s life. We can make the day brighter. I am grateful for those who gave me sparks of light during my dark night journies.

Christmas Fancies a Poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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Christmas Fancies 

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow,
We hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago.
And etched on vacant places,
Are half forgotten faces
Of friends we used to cherish, and loves we used to know –
When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow.

Uprising from the ocean of the present surging near,
We see, with strange emotion that is not free from fear,
That continent Elysian
Long vanished from our vision,
Youth’s lovely lost Atlantis, so mourned for and so dear,
Uprising from the ocean of the present surging near.

When gloomy gray Decembers are roused to Christmas mirth,
The dullest life remembers there once was joy on earth,
And draws from youth’s recesses
Some memory it possesses,
And, gazing through the lens of time, exaggerates its worth,
When gloomy gray December is roused to Christmas mirth.

When hanging up the holly or mistletoe, I wis
Each heart recalls some folly that lit the world with bliss.
Not all the seers and sages
With wisdom of the ages
Can give the mind such pleasure as memories of that kiss
When hanging up the holly or mistletoe, I wis.

For life was made for loving, and love alone repays,
As passing years are proving for all of Time’s sad ways.
There lies a sting in pleasure,
And fame gives shallow measure,
And wealth is but a phantom that mocks the restless days,
For life was made for loving, and only loving pays.

When Christmas bells are pelting the air with silver chimes,
And silences are melting to soft, melodious rhymes,
Let Love, the worlds beginning,
End fear and hate and sinning;
Let Love, the God Eternal, be worshipped in all climes
When Christmas bells are pelting the air with silver chimes.

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Thinking Out Loud: Light the World

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“Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people.” ~ Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

NOTE: We are not powerless. We have an unlimited source of power that can change people’s lives for the better. Offer a warm smile to all you meet today. You’ll see frowns and worried expressions return your smile. For a moment, you’ll have made someone forget his/her worries. A simple act of kindness lets someone know he/she is loved. It lets a person know there is love in our world. In return you get a wonderful reward, someone’s smile, someone’s eyes saying thank you. Yes, we are power-filled. Use your power to light the world.

Today’s Inspiring Photo: A Kind Act is the Best Gift

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Today’s Inspiring Quote: What Really Matters

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That best portion of a man’s life, his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.

William Wordsworth

Thinking Out Loud: Experiencing Moments of Grace

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Boris Pasternack’s  work, Dr. Zhivago.

“For a moment she rediscovered the purpose of life. She was here on earth to grasp the meaning of its wild enchantment and to call each thing by its right name.”

Note: Moments of clarity are few. They come to us unannounced. In those moments we know as we were created to know. I call them moments of grace. In these moments I know that I am part of something vast, wonderful, overflowing with an abundance of love. I want to remain in those moments, nothing else matters. The moments leave. They leave me recharged, filled with the Spirit, to move forward with a heart overflowing with hope and love.

Today’s Poem ~ Angels ~ by Francois Couperin.

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Angels

Francois Couperin.

“To be an angel, one need not have wings.
In giving love there is an equal grace.
Nor need one seek the aura in the face,
As love unveils the beauty of all things.”

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Thinking Out Loud ~ It’s What Friends are All About – A Lesson from Aesop’s Fables

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Aesop’s Fable, The Bear and the Travelers. Aesop’s Fables is available for free download here.

The Fable

“Two Travelers were on the road together, when a Bear suddenly

appeared on the scene. Before he observed them, one made for a tree

at the side of the road, and climbed up into the branches and hid

there. The other was not so nimble as his companion; and, as he

could not escape, he threw himself on the ground and pretended to

be dead. The Bear came up and sniffed all round him, but he kept

perfectly still and held his breath: for they say that a bear will

not touch a dead body. The Bear took him for a corpse, and went

away. When the coast was clear, the Traveler in the tree came

down, and asked the other what it was the Bear had whispered to him

when he put his mouth to his ear. The other replied, “He told me

never again to travel with a friend who deserts you at the first

sign of danger.”

 

Note: A friend is someone we count on when the going gets tough. I have lots of folks I’m friendly with. I know and am friendly with all my neighbors. But who can I count on when my back is against the wall? I am fortunate to have friends who would drop everything and help me. I hope they feel the same way about me. True friends are the glue that holds society together. Life has its difficult moments for everyone. During those difficult moments a faithful friend offers the strength we need to grind through. I hope you have true friends and offer true friendship to others.

Today’s Inspiring Quote ~ Make Kindness the Centerpiece of Your Day

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Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits,

Take care of your garden And keep out the weeds, Fill it with sunshine, Kind words, and Kind deeds.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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