Little Things

Sometimes on the grey days and the black days,
we are prone to focus on the darkness.
But it is far better to look at the shoots and the stars.
Those little stars in the bleak blackness.

A call from a friend.
A walk with the dog.
A good book that makes you laugh.

All of these are can lift the weight off you.
Each little thing helps.
They don't have to be complex.

A hug rather than a worried look.
A small task completed for you.
A meal made for you.

Just little things, but they make life worth continuing.
Every little sensation.
A taste. A touch. A feel. A smell.

Thank You God for all the little things.
For even when there is darkness all around...
I will choose to fix my eyes upon the little things.
Starting with a breath and ending with a poem.

Relationships

Hard. Easy. Partners. Friends.

Family. Colleges. Questionable.

Why do we value each relationship?

Do we value that person in our lives?

or just how it makes us feel?

What we can get out of it?

Good or Bad?

People come in all shapes and sizes.

They come, and they go from our lives.

Those that mean something to us are the ones that stay.

So, who do you make time for and who makes time for you?

How do you show that you care?

When was the last time that you told them?

Hugged them? Sent them a message?

Self-sacrificing love means going out of your way to

demonstrate that you care, making you words match your actions.

Making someone dinner, doing their laundry, driving them home.

All are examples of self-sacrificial love.

This is how Jesus loves us. Without us having loved him first.

Often, we serve others in the subconscious knowledge that they

may well return the favour, love us in return.

When was the last time you simply loved someone without that expectation?

In a way that hurt you and helped them?

Lord teach us how to love.

Ghosts

I try to sleep but am haunted by ghosts.

They are made of memories.  

Becoming so clear in my mind that when I eventually sleep they continue to occupy me. 

To take up the space where they may orchestrate. 

What it plays on the back of my eyelids.

Sometime ago I had a dream where I was tired from a severe lack of sleep.

As a result, I went through my working day, getting everything wrong.

My initial thought was that surely this prediction would be fulfilled. 

It made sense.

However, after gaining some perspective,

I concluded that my brain was simply warning me.

Warning me to take care, be aware of my stress and fatigue, and its impact.   

A tool to use in my competition with this ghost- failure.

Once I looked at it in a new light it no longer scared me.

In fact, I thanked it for its warning. 

It's warning of a genuine danger. 

For not all dreams, recollections, and ghosts are helpful. 

But this one was. That is why I stopped to acknowledge it. 

After all, it did me a favour.  

To my sister, who challenges me with love.

Comprehension

People are afraid of what they do not understand.

Some even avoid the unknown-

People that look and act differently to what they consider 'normal'

Music, listening to other languages, music, cultures, and accents and pronunciations, 

that they cannot understand, and so don't begin to make the attempt. 

Some time ago I became aware that I did this too. 

I then set myself a challenge to try the things that scared me. 

Try new things, talking to people different from me, 

embracing and acknowledging new ideas. 

I joined a Gaelic Choir, began to learn sign language and 

had more in-depth conversations with my sister (a Geologist). 

Doing these things has taught me that not understanding something 
can in fact be invigorating. 

There are two reactions- to wonder, say this is amazing, yet then just walk away.

Or to admire and to get inspired to discover more

about the astounding world we live in.

I once did only the former, now I rejoice in continuously doing the latter. 

Because I believe that we need to do a little of each, a little salt, a little pepper. 

We must investigate to marvel; to become lost in our admiration of, 

what I consider to be, God's intriguing and intricate creation.  

To rejoice in every sensation, uncovering each pattern within.

Now I challenge you readers, grow with me as human beings. 

As a tree sprouting new leaves from its nodes,

letting them develop into leaves, and from leaves to form branches. 

Go on... try something new, do something that scares you, allow yourselves to 

look beyond your own personal understanding. It may just be worth it.

Perhaps together we can create something unique.  

Diversity might then cease to make us tremble. 

Be brave... share with me in my delight.