Silence

If you've listened close to silence,

I'm sure that you have heard,

The gentle constant ringing,

In the space between two words.

When you really pay attention,

You find it's not just in your head,

But instead is whispers of the words,

The world has left unsaid,

It's "I love you" left unspoken,

And a mothers last goodbye,

That she never had the chance to say,

As she watched her daughter die,

It's forgiveness never given,

And a "sorry" left too late,

That would have saved a best friends life,

If they'd known it could not wait, 

It's a phrase that could have helped them,

And it's secrets that could heal,

It's words from those too scared to say,

The truth of how they feel,

But you have an advantage,

For you're still alive to speak,

Words that could help save a life,

Or give strength to someone weak,

So may you never leave unspoken,

Words the whole world ought to hear,

Before they just become the ringing,

In another person's ear.

~e.h.
erin hanson

 

 

Time

Blooming 1 by Karen Hale


Time

You were the one

I wanted most to stay.


But time could not

be kept at bay.


The more it goes,

the more it's gone,

the more it takes away.

~Lang Leav
 

The Tao and William Martin

 

The Tao

I love classic brush paintings from the Taoist tradition. They beautifully and simply present the soaring majesty of mountains, rivers, and forests. Human beings are always depicted within such paintings as tiny, barely discernible figures seated by the riverside or moving along the path. This illustrates the Taoist perspective on the proper attitude to adopt regarding one’s relative place in the scheme of things.

My cultural mythology insists that I should be important and do important things. The Tao insists that importance is an illusion. In the flow of Tao, nothing is more significant than anything else and nothing “important” needs doing - it is all being done.

A single cell in my body functions by taking its humble place among millions of others and going about its little “cell business.” It doesn’t try to fix anything about me. It doesn’t concern itself with infections, viruses, or injuries. It simply remains itself and the mysterious system of which it is a small part is able to do its work. If it were to start agitating itself, worrying, searching about for something great to do, it would no longer be doing its part. It would begin to interfere with the process. It would begin to pressure other cells to behave as it thinks they should. It would actually begin to bring harm the body in its attempts to be important, big, and significant. (Think cancer cells.)

I am a tiny little puff of smoke, amounting to nothing. Yet I am part of an amazing, incomprehensible, Mystery. I find my place by the side of a stream with the mountains rising into the endless sky above me. None of it needs me, yet here I am, as much a part of the Mystery as the galaxies. It needs nothing from me because it is me; and I am it. Imagine the freedom that comes when we are released forever from the need to be “great and marvelous.” Why, it’s truly great and marvelous! ~ William Martin

 



One Big Puzzle

Our lives are one big puzzle,

 

We don't know how many pieces we've got,

 

There are people that fit in quite nicely,

 

And people who try but do not,

 

We're constantly adding more pieces,

 

All the memories of things we've been through,

 

We add laughter and tears and adventure,

 

And the lessons we've learnt to be true,

 

Everyone has their own puzzle,

 

There will be ones where you do not fit,

 

Don't you ever dare make your piece smaller,

 

Just so you can live there for a bit,

 

If you keep cutting off all your edges,

 

One day you won't recognize what you see,

 

And you'll forget the person you once were,

 

Before the world  told you who you should be,

 

Make the most of each piece in your puzzle,

 

It'll be a grand masterpiece when it's done,

 

So you won't have to look back when it's over,

 

And realize you've left out the sun.

 

 

~e.h

 

erin hanson
 



Good Advice for Parents

 

 

Make The Ordinary Come Alive

 

 

 

Do not ask your children
 

to strive for extraordinary lives.

 

Such striving may seem admirable,

 

but it is a way of foolishness.

 

Help them instead to find the wonder

 

and the marvel of an ordinary life.

 

Show them the joy of tasting

 

tomatoes, apples and pears.

 

Show them how to cry

when pets and people die.

 

Show them the infinite pleasure

 

in the touch of a hand.

 

And make the ordinary come alive for them.

 

The extraordinary will take care of itself.

 

~William Martin

Goodreads Author

For the Love of Animals

An Aspect of Life

 

 

In the Words of Maya Angelou