LOVE OF FRIENDS

"Man strives for glory, honour, fame
That all the world may know his name.
Amasses wealth by brain and hand;
Becomes a power in the land.
But when he nears the end of life
And looks back o'er the years of strife,
He finds that happiness depends
On none of these, but love of friends."
~Anonymous

MY GARDEN OF PRAYER

By Helen Steiner Rice

My garden beautifies my yard
and adds fragrance to the air ...
But it is also MY CATHEDRAL
and MY QUIET PLACE OF PRAYER
So little do we realise
that "THE GLORY and THE POWER"
Of HE who made the UNIVERSE
lies hidden in a flower.

Source: Somebody Loves You

Note:
A very special pre-loved, hand-me-down gift for myself I bought from St. Vinnies Op Shop in Bathurst on my way home from Orange with Lily and JP
September 1, 2018

THIS IS JUST A RESTING PLACE

By Helen Steiner Rice

Sometimes the road of life seems long
as we travel through the years
And, with a heart that's broken
and eyes brimful of tears,
We falter in our weariness
and sink beside tge way,
But GOD leans down and whispers,
"Child, there'll be another day" -
And the road will grow much smoother
and much easier to face,
So do not be disheartened-
this is just a "RESTING PLACE."

Source: Somebody Loves You

Note:
A very special pre-loved, hand-me-down gift for myself I bought from St. Vinnies Op Shop in Bathurst on my way home from Orange with Lily and JP, September 1, 2018

WHERE DO YOU GO?

By Shadowlands

Where do you go?
When you lay down your head,
The eyes have drawn their curtains,
And your lights have been turned off.
You're all cocooned in linen
And silence reigns supreme.
When the ghosts of memories past
Play hopscotch with your senses?

Where do you go?
When reality has gone on vacation
And your visions are a collection of moments,
Lost through time and space.
When fatigue is like a lead blanket,
The body attempts to heal it's wounds
And the mind tries to tranquilize
The events of the day?

Where do you go?
When the lights shine on faint recollections
And private thoughts gently cascade
From an overflowing fountain
Of a vivid imagination.
Do you know the path you take.
Or is the destination just as whimsical
As the journey you create
Through your mind's deepest catacombs?
Where do you go indeed?

Source: FB
26 May 2016

A VEIL OF STARS IN THE SKY

By Patrick Graven

Our fire could not be tamed with the wind,
And the wind couldn't be suppressed by the flames,
As the connection of the light with the dark that blend,
Led to a light that would forever remain.

Our lives become real when our dreams come alive,
Darkness fades and transforms into light,
As the sun and moon begin to entwine,
Seasons change like the colours in the sky.

The clouds descend and the oceans rise,
When the twilight changes into a new sunrise,
Stars begin to fade into celestial skies,
This feeling that lives as days pass by.

We voyage through the journeys of our soul,
Living in our own world,
Feeling the meaning of everything nourishing,
A momentary beauty flowing and flourishing.

We see an ocean filled with mystery up to the horizon,
Filled with depths with a new dawn rising,
We voyage among our lives of havens fulfilled in infinity,
As waves drifting through the sea fulfilled for eternity.

Our souls move as the breeze,
A strong current in rapture of the waves,
We make our way through boundless space,
And fly far away from this place.

Purifying in the celestial air,
Inhale the earth of these limpid regions,
Nourish everything in all that we care,
In bloom with the changing seasons.

Here we find in our voices rhyme,
Within this ocean of time,
And all of this we feel and see,
Is a new dawn to be.

Through this world that we live,
An ocean rising from deep within,
A sparkle of light in our eyes,
Mirrored as a veil of stars in the sky.

Source: FB

BREAK NOT MY CUP

Break not my cup when I am gone,
Let another's thirst be quenched from it.
Nor burn my favourite walking stick
That someone also frailed might lean on it.
Let the useful bits which for now surround me
Pass into the care of others,
Who may know nothing of their history
But might also grow to hold them dear.
For truly we never really own -
What comes to us is to accompany us
For the brief while we are here.

By Michael A. Taylor

Source: Benson Bautista

INSPIRATION IS EVERYTHING

"You are the books you read, the films you watch,
the music you listen to, the people you meet,
the dreams you have, the conversations you engage in.
You are what you take from these.
You are the sound of the ocean, the breath of fresh air,
the brightest light and the darkest corner.

You are a collective of every experience you have had in your life.
You are every single second of every single day.
So drown yourself in a sea of knowledge and existence.
Let the words run through your veins and let the colors fill your mind
until there is nothing left to do but explode.
There are no wrong answers.
Inspiration is everything.
Sit back, relax, and take it all in.

Now, go out and create something.”

~Jac Vanek

Source: Butterflies and Pebbles

THE WAKING

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me, so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.

This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.

~Theodore Roethke
(The Collected Poems)

SALUTATION TO THE DAWN

Look to this day!
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence.
The bliss of growth,
The glory of action,
The splendour of achievement
Are but experiences of time.

For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision;
And today well-lived, makes
Yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day;
Such is the salutation to the ever-new dawn!

~Kalidasa

Bio:

"The great Sanskrit poet became proverbial for his literary flair for similes and metaphors: Upamano Kalidasasya. (The 'Raghu Vamsa' is epic in verse.)" ~A. Madhavan

Source: Poem Hunter

NOT TO SEEK LOVE

"Our task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find
all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it.

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
Tand rightdoing there is a field.
I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere.
They're in each other all along.

The wound is the place
where the Light enters you.

Stop acting so small.
You are the universe in ecstatic motion.

Let yourself be silently drawn by
the stronger pull of what you really love.

The cure for pain is in the pain.
When you do things from your soul,
you feel a river moving in you, a joy.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
As you start to walk out on the way,
the way appears."

~Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī

ETERNAL LOVE

by Rado Gatchalian

Like tulips and bees

Sweetest are the kisses —
The Cosmos collides with the stars
Like friends and lovers
Of Time: of now and beyond.

Perhaps, when the trees and sky

Embrace as two beautiful creatures:
Even the wind and water

Become One — in love
—
and in life.

TRUE FRIENDS

True friends are with you thick and thin;
They cry through your bad times, and celebrate your wins.
You can always find them right there by your side;
Holding you up, rejoicing with pride.
This bond is forever, unbreakable and tough;
For this friendship can only be called one thing…love.

~Robert Clancy

THE GUARDIAN

THE GUARDIAN

When your legs become too weary to walk borrow my wings.

I’m there to carry your precious heart to a place of simply things.
I count your tears on the days when sorrow has filled your eyes.

Kindness is our everlasting bond; divine love holds all our ties.
Watching over you is my full-time job; I deliver all your prayers.

Lift your chin to the light of heaven; know I’ll forever care.

~Robert Clancy ~

AT THE FEET of the MASTER

By Raed Braun

Beware of the man who claims “I know.”
Behold the one who cries “I am dumb.”

He who seeks answers shall dwell in the world of doubts.
He who knows too much shall empty his cup.

Emptiness: it’s the only path to be full.
Acceptance: it’s the ony key that opens a door.

Humility: it’s the only way to become truly strong.
Find your own master 

And you shall find yourself.
There are no feet but only footprints.

Source: FB via Rado Gatchalian

LITTLE PIECES of PEACE

(Dedicated to Tita Mely Tucker and Uncle Kevin)

by Rado Gatchalian

Looking back: one is to endure the pain and joy

Of memories — good, strong yet old.

Time: every second counts

And every step is a way to a place called Home.

Where shall we find this Solace?

This Peace and Happiness?

As we reach the Hands of the Great One

We feel the contentment of a Great Life — one to behold.

Slowly, walking the narrow Path

— a little stone is to be kept in the Heart:

Joyful, Blessed, Overflowing Love, and Faith.

How great is to love and be loved!

To cherish this one beautiful Life:

On a morning: sunbathing with Hope.

On an afternoon: a lunch with dear ones.

On an evening: at peace with God.
Everyday. Everynight.

- One is reborn like a beautiful child.

Source: FB

RIDDLES of the UNIVERSE

By Raed Braun

I may have walked a hundred miles
But would remain a traveler who seeks not the place
But the memories and time.
I could have written thousands of words and poems
But there are emotions that can never be expressed in words.
My loneliness keeps me on the ground
My imperfection reminds me to be strong.
Life is imperfect and full of surprises —

I shall remain a dreamer who seeks happiness.
What meaning shall I give to a miserable life?
What purpose can I find in a lonely existence?
The journey leads us to a place we might hate and love
But we can always keep a special stone from each episode:
It’s a lesson that will mold us to become a better person.
The riddles become a masterpiece —When we are lost, we are found
When we are falling,
we will rise up again.

Source: Rado Gatchalian, FB