Relationship

Love is Enough: A Poem by William Morris

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Love is Enough

William Morris

Love is enough: though the world be a-waning,
And the woods have no voice but the voice of complaining,
Though the skies be too dark for dim eyes to discover
The gold-cups and daisies fair blooming thereunder,
Though the hills be held shadows, and the sea a dark wonder,
And this day draw a veil over all deeds passed over,
Yet their hands shall not tremble, their feet shall not falter:
The void shall not weary, the fear shall not alter
These lips and these eyes of the loved and the lover.

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Episode 21: The Women in My New Grieving Group Became my Teachers

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In Episode 21 of my podcast, Journey from Grief to Healing, I go to a new grieving group. I am the only male among all women. The women became my teachers as they shared their stories. I witnessed the depth of the pain they felt. I became part of a grieving community seeking healing.
You can listen to Episode 21 on your favorite podcasting app. Or, you can click on the following link:
https://shorturl.at/joRY8

First Love: A Poem by John Clare

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First Love

John Clare

I ne’er was struck before that hour
With love so sudden and so sweet.
Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower 
And stole my heart away complete. 
 
My face turned pale, a deadly pale.
My legs refused to walk away,
And when she looked what could I ail
My life and all seemed turned to clay. 
 
And then my blood rushed to my face 
And took my eyesight quite away.
The trees and bushes round the place 
Seemed midnight at noonday.
 
I could not see a single thing,
Words from my eyes did start.
They spoke as chords do from the string,
And blood burnt round my heart. 
 
Are flowers the winter’s choice
Is love’s bed always snow
She seemed to hear my silent voice 
Not love appeals to know.
 
I never saw so sweet a face
As that I stood before.
My heart has left its dwelling place
And can return no more.

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Thinking Out Loud: Love Loves Without Conditions

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“One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.”

~ Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

NOTE: Love needs no reason to love. Love loves without conditions. Love loves in spite of flaws. Love Loves because love is unable to act in any other way. We know when we are loved this way. It isn’t an intellectual way of knowing, it is a heart felt way of knowing. We know in spite of our flaws and imperfections we are loved. When another person offers you that kind of love, you have everything you’ll ever need, you’ve found your treasure because love found you.

Thinking Out Loud: Open Up to Unlimited Possibilities

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Learning to Appreciate. A look at appreciative inquiry. Excerpts are taken from, Appreciative Inquiry Handbook (2003) by David Cooperrider, Diana Whitney, and Jacqueline Stravros.

The most important resource for generating constructive change is the cooperation between the imagination and the reasoning function of the mind. . . . Appreciative inquiry is a way of reclaiming imaginative competence. P 8

Note: We can apply this appreciative inquiry principle to our everyday lives. Appreciative inquiry at its essence is all about relationships. It is about the generative conversations that occur when two or more people work together to solve challenges. Imagine you and your partner are having a conversation about where to go on an extended weekend break. Both of you have ideas for great get aways, yet your destination ideas are different. In some cases, both people may become fixed in their opinions, an argument occurs, and the result is no weekend getaway. If they decide to set aside their opinions and begin a conversation about what they want out of a weekend getaway without initially naming a destination, their conversation takes on a different hue. As their conversation evolves they can begin to ask, what places satisfy what we want? An important learning point is the set aside. When we set  aside preconceived opinions, we allow our minds to open to unlimited possibilities.  

Awake, My Heart, A Poem by Robert Seymour Bridges

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Awake, My Heart by Robert Seymour Bridges

Awake, my heart, to be loved, awake, awake!

The darkness silvers away, the morn doth break,
It leaps in the sky: unrisen lustres slake
The o’ertaken moon. Awake, O heart, awake!

She too that loveth awaketh and hopes for thee:
Her eyes already have sped the shades that flee,
Already they watch the path thy feet shall take:
Awake, O heart, to be loved, awake, awake!

And if thou tarry from her, – if this could be, –
She cometh herself, O heart, to be loved, to thee;
For thee would unashamed herself forsake:
Awake, to be loved, my heart, awake, awake!

Awake! The land is scattered with light, and see,
Uncanopied sleep is flying from field and tree;
And blossoming boughs of April in laughter shake:
Awake, O heart, to be loved, awake, awake!

Lo, all things wake and tarry and look for thee:
She looketh and saith, “O sun, now bring him to me.
Come, more adored, O adored, for his coming’s sake,
And awake, my heart, to be loved, awake, awake!”

Once A Great Love ~ A Poem by Yehuda Amichai

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Once A Great Love 

Yehuda Amichai

Once a great love cut my life in two.
The first part goes on twisting
at some other place like a snake cut in two.

The passing years have calmed me
and brought healing to my heart and rest to my eyes.

And I’m like someone standing in the Judean desert, looking at a sign:
“Sea Level”
He cannot see the sea, but he knows.

Thus I remember your face everywhere
at your “face Level.”

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Today’s Inspiring Photo ~ Tomorrow is Waiting for You

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Thinking Out Loud ~ A Lesson from Aesop’s Fables about Work

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Aesop’s Fable, The Oxen and the Axel-Tree. Aesop’s Fables is available for free download here.

The Fable

“A pair of Oxen were drawing a heavily loaded wagon along the

highway, and, as they tugged and strained at the yoke, the

Axletrees creaked and groaned terribly. This was too much for the

Oxen, who turned round indignantly and said, “Hullo, you there! Why

do you make such a noise when we do all the work?”

Note: I have a large extended family with lots of uncles, aunts, and cousins. I’ve been present to many family social gatherings. My dad who had jobs as a shoe worker, bartender, and janitor never talked about his work or the people he worked with at these gatherings. There were a couple of uncles who couldn’t stop complaining about their work. The uncles who complained the most were the ones who were always looking for a new job. It’s pretty much a truism, those who do most of the work, don’t complain. They concentrate on getting the job done.

Thinking Out Loud ~ It’s Time to Make Peace With Your Dark Side

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Aesop’s Fable, The Two Bags. Aesop’s Fables is available for free download here.

The Fable

“Every man carries Two Bags about with him, one in front and one

behind, and both are packed full of faults. The Bag in front

contains his neighbors’ faults, the one behind his own. Hence it

is that men do not see their own faults, but never fail to see

those of others.”

Note: Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, spoke of our shadow or dark side. This is the bag that is behind us. Often when we see someone else’s faults we are really see our faults within them. When we are hard on them for the faults we project on them, we’re being hard on ourselves. Recognizing and making peace with our dark side allows to love and forgive ourself and others more freely.

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