Weeping Willow ~Courtesy of Sheep Purple

The Weeping Willow sings a somber song
Of distant seasons long past gone
Of present moments seeming far too long…
Of lovers gazing into each other’s eyes
Perhaps returning with sad goodbyes
Of mothers wishing upon far away stars
For safe return of sons and daughters in wars
Of fathers praying please send him home
Alive and well; safe from harm.

As I sat beneath the old willow tree,
I watch the children play freely
A priceless price was paid to watch them run
And jump, and skip beneath the sun
I know a war is over there…
But in my world war is everywhere
The war of boys who think they’re men
Killing neighbors’ sons; even their own kin
Senseless violence with no meaning…
Communities too afraid or complacent to intervene

Teens toting guns like boys with toys
No one’s brave or angry enough to make some noise
For every young man killed in Iraq
Might be two or three fallen around my block
Not for the freedoms we believe we know
But it’s the same old story; just a different show
Ego tricked minds taking what they feel is there’s
In Love and War, they say all is fair…
Youth brainwashed to take what’s not
The bigger the weapon, the bigger the lot

Gently, old Weeping Willow sways to and fro
Shedding dew drop tears for us below…
So here I sit under old Weeping Willow Tree
As she weeps good will for humanity
Lovingly we send a prayer with the passing wind…
God bring our children safely back home again….
And, if it’s not too much and in your plan
Please instill more love into the hearts of man

~Written by CordieB.

Let us drop the stones of revenge and try a new approach... forgiveness - by Anit@_M

 Now just because we forgive someone does not mean that we should allow anyone to continually hurt us. It means that we release them from the anger, resentment, and bitterness usually associated with an unforgiving spirit. It means that we love them, in spite of….. We love them whether they are in our lives or out of our lives…just like the father loves the prodigal son.  In order to conjure the spirit of forgiveness, we must first conjure the spirit of godly love and compassion. The spirit of godly love (agape) “compassionate love” will get us much further in our relationships than the spirit of being in love (eros) “passionate love.” You see in the spirit of eros love, with it’s swirling emotions and drama, we don’t actually actively love our beloved; rather, we find a desperate emotional need for our beloved to love us.  Although, the spirit of eros in a relationship is important, as it makes the relationship, exciting and exhilarating, these feelings ALWAYS dissipate unless they are accompanied by the spirit of agape love.

So if there is something that you feel unforgiving about your beloved today, try to summon the spirit of agape love and harness compassion, not only for your beloved, but also for yourself.    This is the spirit that 50-year old anniversaries are based upon!  You might be surprised how much better you will feel about your beloved, but even more so, about yourself!

Quote for the Day:   "There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” – Bryant H. McGill -

Later this week, I will give some ideas on harnessing the spirit of agape love….and I appreciate any input or comments you may have.  Until then…

Peace, Light and Love, CordieB.

Twisted Feet ~By CordieB. Yeah, those are my twisted toes! lol

Seems Like. . .

Every time I felt comfortable enough
to walk in the green grass; barefoot, carefree, like a child
along came a snake who felt compelled to bite my feet

Seems like. . .

Every time I gained comfort enough to walk
around the house with my shoes off, twiggling toes
in carpet along came a spider; bent on biting my toes

And so . . .

I began to ensure that
no matter where or with whom I travelled
I always wore very good, element proof, protective shoes . . .
I never took my shoes off; I wore them every hour . . .

But, then one day, I realized how much
I really missed
the cool grass under my feet;
the rough blades of grass between my toes . . .
The comfty feeling of walking
barefoot on soft carpet . . .
the coolness of the hard wood floors . . .

I missed it so much that . . .
I begin to walk barefoot again;
Yet, I kept a keen eye out for snakes and spiders.
I begin to learn how to spot them a mile away.

Wearing those tight, uncomfortable
shoes has taught me
I’d rather be bitten than to ever completely
give up on walking barefoot ever . . . again

And . . .it’s funny that, the more I practice Faith . . .
Wisdom . . .
Courage . . .
And the knowing that the bite always heals . . .
the less I am bitten.

~Written by Cordieb