Fall, fall, fall.....

Hooray!! It's finally here. The beginning of the changing of the season has begun and how I love the changes that are coming. Every season has it's own particular flavor, but after a long hot summer here in the south(of America) the fall season is always a pleasant welcome.
It's so enchanting for me as I sit on my back deck looking out at the wide variety of trees in my backyard. I know as the season approaches those trees will begin to form a beautiful fall picture.
The wind settles down from the hot air stream into that wonderful delightful cool breeze. It filters down across my backyard, gently whisking my wind chimes around. The sound of those tingling chimes is like a playful song to my ears.
Soon the cool nights will eventually begin to paint that warm bright colorful canvas of oranges, browns, reds and sunlight yellows all across my backyard. Everywhere I turn to gaze outwards my eyes are filled with the exciting colors of fall.
Ah yes, fall, fall, fall, how I welcome the beauty that it brings. It refreshes my mind and spirit, helping me to know that nothing stays the same forever. But then, why would we want it to, it's the moving on to new and greater chapters of our lives that makes living so grand.
Fall, just fall into something new and feel the excitement of life.
After all, what do you have to lose? Are you bringing your new and awesome colors to life? Be brave, be behold and fall into something new!

Envisioning

Many times I just sit here in front of my computer looking at an empty screen. My mind twirls and whirls as I dig very deeply inside of my inner being. Hoping for the next inspiring thought I wait, almost patiently for my thoughts to come together. What I'm really doing is trying to envision how I feel about myself and  this world.
That is a very troubling question. I ponder what is happening in my world today and what is my vision of myself within this frame work.
Often times I wish that I could do more for everyone in need, but that isn't really possible. I can't afford to feed everyone that needs a meal. I can't house everyone that needs a home and I certainly can't cure any diseases that anyone might being dying from. So the question of how can I really help others in need remains the same.
Having thought about this situation for many years I realize that I need a simple vision. If I can offer some food to any food ministry then I had fed someone. If I can donate a little extra money to the homeless shelter then I have helped prove shelter. If I can allow a friend in need to live with me for next to nothing then I have found shelter for a homeless person. If I can give money to charities that are a good cause then maybe I have helped saved a life.
When I ask God to guard over those less fortunate than myself, then I have thought of others and not only of myself. Having a vision where I envision what is practical for me to do in trying to serve others is the beginning of believing that with one small step I can actually be of good service to those in need.
Envisioning what is possible, taking one small step forward and trusting that God will lead me to where I need to be is the joy of knowing that I can do anything that I envision.
We are all blessed with a vision, look beyond the horizon and see what is truly possible.

Forward

Time moves forward, constant and forever. How forward do we move when we are tested to our fullest. Don't stop and let the negative aspect of life prevent you from moving forward into a happy and content life.
Keep moving forward towards the sun rise, a new and fresh start for everyone.
We are all God's children, be assured of his blessing, moving forward in peace.

Seeing

Down and out is never good. It leaves you feeling bad and blue. If ever a time comes when you feel too heavy, seeing that you can look up is the answer to your prayers.
Seeing clears the way for visions you couldn't see. Seeing closer than ever before is the way to opening new doors.
So if you feel that low and doubtful moment slipping into your soul. Left up your eyes to heavens front door, for seeing is the first part of believing there's more.

Outward

As you seek to shine a light on others', take time to make sure that the light you're shining is a reflection light within yourself. That warmth and brightness can then truly be felt by all of those around you. May God bless each of you with eternal warmth, brightness and loving light forever.

Heroes

Heroes are born everyday. They are unaware that they are heroes until that one situation comes along to shine the truth on them. No of us know exactly when a heroes will appear in our lives. They come from all walks of life. Heroes are men and women from all different back grounds with one common factor. They rise up when the circumstances call on them to put others' before self.
Today I remember a hero. He was a simple man from my church who did an extraordinary thing. It was not something that he boasted about, nor did he think even once that he was a hero of any sort.
It takes a special type of person that places their own life in second standing to that of another human being.
My special friend was that kind of man. He put his own life at risk to save as many lives as he could during a horrific battle in Vietnam. Not once did he look back after he came home as to proclaim himself a hero.
If not for his actions twelve men would have perish on that day. This wonderful man who lived his life quietly with great dignity will be remember for his valet efforts.
Heroes come from many places for many reasons. In my mind, I think that heroes are with us in order to remind us that once in awhile each and everyone of us has to stop and say, I value your life as much as I value mind own.
We need heroes. They balance out our lives. Heroes, one of God's many treasures.
I salute my valued friend, Garry. A man that we all can be proud of, a man that we will continue to learn from  in this life and in his other. His kingdom that he can now call his home, heaven.
Farewell and God bless you Garry, a true hero forever.

Yesterday, today, tomorrow

Our beautiful world, we live in such sorrow it seems. Everyday there is more talk about the horror that mankind continues to do to one another. This is a day of sorrow, but for me I fully believe that if we continue to keep looking backwards, it only allows us to see what was. Yesterday, I can not change it, I can only remember it.
Today is a new opportunity to move forward into a brave new world of greatness. There is no resolve for all horror. Every minutes presents it own greatness if we let it. God is always with us whether we embrace him or not. It is our responsibility to show up for his love. Today i can learn how much I can forgive and not turn back to see yesterday.
Tomorrow is where my hope lies. It is the well spring that I drink from for it holds the best possible reasons so that I know that I am capable of doing more. We must love our enemies, but it ain't easy. Who said it would be? We do have a power greater than ourselves. We are truly able to do anything.
Yesterday, can not be changed, it is only a lesson to be learned.
Today was a test to see if I understand that I am capable of change.
Tomorrow will let the world and myself know that I indeed understood the value of forgiveness and love.
Minutes, hours, days ,weeks, months and years all pass us by, but love is constant, unbending and never short changed, for it endures all things, and that is God's gift to mankind.

World without Art

Solem, sadness, so depressing upon my soul and spirit everyday. To rise up each daybreak only to face the blandness of the abyss. My spirit wearing out the dreariness emptying my being. No joy of color would my world reflect, no rays of hope to shadow the colorless surroundings.
What glee could I reveal void of shape and imagination, nothing to shower on the things that come my way. How could I shine through each and everyday when all of darkness does engulf me?
Never to enjoy the grace of pastels that sprinkle playful upon the days , clashing boldly
against the primary hues of life. Exchanging their shades and shapes in brilliant form, never  to gaze at the sunrise or sunset of any day.
Does the painter of the canvas indulge in colorless oils, flicking drops of hope without form?
Worlds that hold no art, no form, no hope, no passion as all of our possibilities are gone. Love comes from the color of our hearts and paints the beauty of that creation to spread across the universe smothering in form that glows within the soul.

A Journey

Breathing deeply, filling up all the space within my lungs I feel this wonderful yet terrifing journey that I have traveled thus far. Life is what we humans make of it. A tangle mess of failures and successes all rolled into hundreds of thousands of brief moments.Sometimes we all must stop, hesitate and then take a review of our own journey. Looking back into my own rear view mirror I am amazingly reminded of all that has happen to me. How often I hear peope from all walks of life, young and old alike asking that age old question, why me? There are in thruth no easy answers, but the one thing that most often comes to mind, if not you then who? All of my experiences are unique for my life and all of the choices that I have made. With those selection comes the good and the bad,my personal teacher in my life. If not for my very own experiences then how would I have become the person that I am today? My life, my journey is the very tool that has taught me how to live as well as how not live. In the long run it doesn't matter whether or not I have had too many good or bad choices, only that I learn from each one. In the end what will matter the most is that I have taken something of importance that will improve my life. I therefore must have a value system where by I improve my life's circumstances. Life is sometimes like the same replay over and over always giving us the same daily flavors. In the end it is up to me the sort out those flavors, chose the ones that don't work and stir the ones that do. Often times I love the flavors of life and at other times I can't stand them, but the experience of those flavors remains my greatest teacher always. I know that I am fully and completely blessed in this life. Knowing that I will still have bad days ahead of me I strive to find those good flavors that will serve me best. Funny how facing death can quickly change your perspective in just one skip of a heartbeat.Yet just being able to breath is the best of all possible feelings and this is life at it's best. Learning to be well, live well is for me the greatest journey of all.

When the Bough Breaks

There have been so many times in my life when the weight of "my" world felt too heavy for me to carry. At the heart of the weight is an all too familiar situation that many persons experience.That weight being family issues. More than ever in today's world families are being torn apart by disagreements that can track back to money. At the heart of the matter is one person's need for control. How is it that people, human beings that claim to be so caring for one another, having shared so much love through a lifetime are torn apart by material items that in our afterlife serve no purpose? Having had this experience with my father and most of my siblings over items that were given to me, I find myself at a lost as to why my father later changed his mind. How easy it is for others' to whisper in the ears of those that are of fimble minds. All of this negative chatter only serves to cause hate, sorrow and distrust among each family member struggling to make their point of view correct. What is left behind is only a shadow of the family that once was, a particle form of a loving, caring and trusting unit of souls. Jealousy, shame and the inability to admit a wrongness paves the way for one member in a family to shatter the very net that holds each us bound together.Not one person in a family unit can be more important than the whole of the family itself. Each of us has our place within the confinds of our own family unit. When one person strives to become the greater part of the whole, then we are only pieces of a puzzle that can never be fixed. Feeling the weight of the broken pieces has become a heavy structure for me and when the bough breaks too often it breaks forever. Hopefully for thousands of other families that may struggle with internal forces that seem to want to drive a wedge between the love once shared, if given a moment to sit and reflect, express in calm form your hurts and pains perhaps you can resolve the anger and sorrows that would attempt to pull you apart. Do not wait until it so late into the fracture that there is no return from when the bough breaks. Learning to heal ones' self is the only way to survive the breaking of the family bough.

One Foot In Front of the Other

The thought of speaking about my drinking problem or any other problems I have isn't what I fear,it was having to face the problem at all. I have spoken in front of numberous of persons before revealing my scared soul, but this was different. Now I was actually asking for someone's help. Just thinking about being able to put one foot in front of the other was terrifying. Could I really take this on and see the challenge for what it was, for myself, especially for the rest of my life? Only time would tell. With hope and prayer I mustered up enough strength so that I could face this demon of mine head on. For the first time in so many years I was actually stepping through a door into the dark abyss. Like my heart disease that I had faced many years before there was much unknown to me in this new quest. My fear and the feeling of being unsure surrounded my every fiber like a new enemy. With one clear thought in mind I knew that no matter what lay ahead I could do whatever it took to accomplish my goal of becoming sober and staying that way for the rest of my life. My challenges of having had heart disease for fourteen years had taught me one important fact. I could accomplish anything that I set my mind to including, becoming sober. This was my last major hurdle in a long list of many failures in my life. Throw in a little bit of uncertainty and I will buckle down and achieve anything. Even that which seems impossible. My will to survive is only surmounted by my will to never fall prey to the unknown. For all that I have failed at and all that I have achieved one element remains in my soul, it is the knowledge that I am the captain of my own ship, in all things I trust what I have endured and learned. I am a survivor and a conqueor of the unexpected. Not even death's grip could hold me and thus so has given me a renewed zeal to become victorious over all things that would hold be back. Like all things that push against me, I have waged war against the opression of heart disease, alcoholism and diabetes. Everday that I continue to be the victor I collected that winning chip called life. With one foot in front of the other I step into each day ready for battle, expecting a victory. There is always room for continuing self improvement day by day being reminded that my failures are also a part of who I am. But always I remain the captain of my ship, seeking all things in life that encourage peace, kindness and a true heart that knows, one step at at time. One foot in front of the other, into my future path,I sail.