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Waiting for Rain

Song of the Rain

Kahlil Gibran

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I am dotted silver threads dropped from heaven by the gods.

Nature then takes me, to adorn her fields and valleys.

I am beautiful pearls,

Plucked from the crown of Ishtar by the daughter of Dawn to embellish the gardens.

When I cry the hills laugh;

When I humble myself the flowers rejoice;

When I bow, all things are elated.

The field and the cloud are lovers

And between them I am a messenger of mercy.

I quench the thirst of one;

I cure the ailment of the other.

The voice of thunder declares my arrival;

The rainbow announces my departure.

I am like earthly life,

Which begins at the feet of the mad elements

And ends under the upraised wings of death.

I emerge from the heard of the sea

Soar with the breeze.

When I see a field in need,

I descend and embrace the flowers and the trees in a million little ways.

I touch gently at the windows with my soft fingers,

And my announcement is a welcome song all can hear

But only the sensitive can understand.

The heat in the air gives birth to me,

But in turn I kill it,

As woman overcomes man with the strength she takes from him.

I am the sigh of the sea;

The laughter of the field;

The tears of heaven.

So with love -

Sighs from the deep sea of affection;

Laughter from the colourful field of the spirit;

Tears from the endless heaven of memories.

BLOGGING BREAKFAST

Our favorite waitress in a "special pose."

Two or three times a week my husband and I have the great pleasure of having breakfast together at our local spot, Cindy's Pancakes also known as Pancakes Plus.

We love the people who come there daily: they are the locals, the workers, the older couples, and the men who make it a habit and especially like to sit at the counter, read their paper, and drink their coffee.

The help are all well-connected and most have worked there for years. They have learned to work as a unit. They help each other to make the tasks flow. They can fill in and substitute to do all of the jobs. They have forged life-long friendships working together.

They get to know all their customers very well. They observe their comings and goings, and miss them when they haven't been there as usual. They chat about all these things with their patrons, the ones who want to chat.

I love the place and the people.

WAITING FOR THE WORLD TO CHANGE

MUSIC BRINGS US TOGETHER AND THE LYRICS GIVE US A MARCHING SONG. GOD HELP US TO TAKE CARE OF OUR HOME, THE EARTH AND MAY WE ALL WORK FOR PEACE!

Waiting On The World To Change - John Mayer

Me and all my friends
We're all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
There's no way we ever could
Now we see everything is going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don't have the means
To rise above and beat it

So we keep waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
It’s hard to beat the system
When we're standing at a distance
So we keep waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

Now if we had the power
To bring our neighbors home from war
They would have never missed a Christmas
No more ribbons on their door
When you trust your television
What you get is what you got
‘Cuz’ when they own the information ooohhh,
They can bend it all they want

So while we're waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
It's not that we don't care
We just know that the fight ain't fair
So we keep waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

(Guitar solo)

We're still waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
One day our generation
Is gonna rule the population

So we keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
Know we keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
Waiting on the world to change
Waiting on the world to change
Waiting on the world to change

BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED

Bloom where you are planted

No creature is fully itself till it is, like the dandelion, opened in the bloom of pure relationship to the sun, the entire living cosmos.- D.H. Lawrence

Once conform, once do what others do because they do it, and a kind of lethargy steals over all the finer senses of the soul.- Michel Eyquem de Montaigne

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.- e.e. cummings

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.- Oscar Wilde, De Profundis, 1905

How much easier is self-sacrifice than self-realization.- Eric Hoffer

Rabbi Zusya said that on the Day of Judgment, God would ask him, not why he had not been Moses, but why he had not been Zusya.- Walter Kaufmann

and finally: "A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves."--Edward R. Murrow

WHERE EAGLES FLY

Eaglewatch
Limuw's First Flight
Memories 2007 - Part II
Up Up & Away!

Videos of the bald eagle's nest on Santa Cruz Island off the coast of California. Web cam sponsored by Institute for Wildlife Studies (IWS) and Ventura County of Education (VCOE).

SHALOM

There's a sweet, sweet spirit in this place
And I know that it's the spirit of the Lord
There are sweet expressions on each face
And I know that it's the presence of the Lord
Sweet Holy Spirit
Sweet heavenly dove
Stay right here with us
Filling us with your love
And for these blessings
We lift our hearts in praise

Isaiah declares, "The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners."

THE QUIET FAITH OF MAN

For two decades our family has lived near this farm in White Plains, Maryland. It was always reassuring to me to pass by it because it is so much like farms in Ohio, my childhood home. The changes of the seasons would come and go, and I would quietly mark the subtle differences in the trees, wildlife, crops, and even the wild flowers along its pastures. Quite recently the farm was sold to developers.

This may be its last season of productivity as farm land. I grieve the inevitable changes as do many passersby, who along with me have enjoyed the changing seasons on the farm.

Today, I happened to come by when the workers were harvesting the grain. I remember when they first plowed and seeded in the Spring. I took pictures shortly after the green shoots came up and cast their color on the contours of the farm.

I hope you will enjoy these photographs as much as I enjoyed taking them. ..........Sharon

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A tractor makes its way along the fence line

And drops the seeds precisely in a row

If the rains are kind and the winds don't take the topsoil

Before too long the crops will start to show.

The farmer sees the fields around him growin'

He whispers something low beneath his breath

Perhaps a little prayer to help the growin'

Perhaps a word of thanks for all the rest.

A baby child is born along the highway

A tiny little thing upon the land

An okie with his dreams out on the byway

Lifts the tiny baby in his hand

The woman smiles a little smile of knowing

And whispers something softly in his ear

Perhaps a little prayer to help the growing

Perhaps a word of comfort through the fears.

There's a storm tossed ship tonight out on the ocean

There's a soul somewhere adrift out on the blue

There's a dreamer with his eyes upon the heavens

They're all looking for a way to make it through.

You trust the moon to move the mighty ocean

You trust the sun to shine upon the land

You take the little that you know

And you do the best you can

And you leave the rest to the quiet faith of man.

Bill Staines

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FIRST DAY OF SUMMER

WHAT SHALL WE GIVE THE CHILDREN?

Child Of Mine

Bill Staines

Child of mine, you are the wildest wind and the dearest dream
I will ever know.
Love's lasting light shines out from deep within this father's heart
As I watch you grow.

Child of mine, you are the break of dawn and the brightest star
I will ever know
Love's lasting light comes shining on and on from this mother's heart
As I watch you grow

Chorus
There is a road, and that road is all your own
But we are here, you need not walk alone.
To face, not fear each coming new unknown
Is the way to lift your wings

Child of mine, you are the sweetest song and the greatest gift
I will ever know.
Child of mine, where spirits fly above there is but one
that belongs to you.
So let it grow and it will thrive on love
For it is love that sees us through

You have the hands that will open up the doors
You have the hopes this world is waiting for
You are my own, but you are so much more
You are tomorrow on the wing, Child of mine.

WE ARE lyrics by Asaya Barnwell, Sweet Honey in the Rock

For each child that’s born,

a morning star rises

and sings to the universe

who we are

We are our grandmothers’ prayers

We are our grandfathers’ dreamings

We are the breath of the ancestors

We are the spirit of God

We are

Mothers of courage

Father of time

Daughters of dust

The sons of great visions

Sisters of mercy

Brothers of love

Lovers of life

Builders of nations

Seekers of truth

Keepers of faith

Makers of peace

Wisdom of ages

We are one.

On Children

Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them,

but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children

as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

and He bends you with His might

that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies,

so He loves also the bow that is stable.

WHAT SHALL WE GIVE THE CHILDREN? (author unknown)

....The open sky, the brown earth, the leafy tree, the golden sand, the blue water, the stars in their courses and the awareness of these.
Birdsong, butterflies, clouds, and rainbows. Sunlight, moonlight, firelight.
A large hand reaching down for a small hand. Impromptu praise, an unexpected kiss, a straight answer.
The gift of enthusiasm and a sense of wonder. Long days to be merry in and nights without fear. and most of all,

The memory of a good home.

BEST DAD, HANDS DOWN

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. Elizabeth Stone

There is no stronger need in childhood, than the need for a father's protection. S. Freud.
She's got her Father's eyes, her Father's eyes: Eyes that find the good in things,
When good is not around.
Eyes that find the source of help,
When help just can't be found.
Eyes full of compassion, seeing every pain. Knowin' what you're going through,
and feeling it the same.
Just like my Father's eyes,
my Father's eyes. Amy Grant

Blessed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father. Lydia M. Child, in Philothea

Father and Daughter

If you leap awake
In the mirror of a bad dream
And for a fraction of a second
You can't remember where you are
Just open your window
And follow your memory upstream
To the meadow in the mountain
Where we counted every falling star

I believe the light that shines on you
Will shine on you forever
And though I can't guarantee
There's nothing scary hiding under your bed
I’m gonna stand guard
Like a postcard of a Golden Retriever
And never leave till I leave you
With a sweet dream in your head

I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you

Trust your intuition
It's just like going fishing
You cast your line
And hope you'll get a bite
But you don't need to waste your time
Worrying about the market place
Try to help the human race
Struggling to survive its harshest night

I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you

Paul Simon

LET'S BE FRIENDS, ENCOUNTERS OF THE FIRST KIND

As some of you know, we have a house full of animals: four doves, two cats, a Quaker parakeet, a dog, two canaries, and some fish at the office. In addition, we live across from a lake in a little wooded area with birds of all shapes and sizes.

Our cats and dog have always had an active sibling relationship. Our oldest cat is 19 years old and she has a definite "stay to herself personality." She has always been this way, but will come and warm up when we are very quiet. The other cat and our dog respect this and give her wide berth.

We feed the wood ducks frequently and they come over to our yard and pay us a visit every morning and sometimes later during the day. We also go to visit their various families at the lake whenever our granddaughters come over, and at other times when we have a few minutes. Mika, our dog, always goes along. Over the months the ducks have come to know that they can trust Mika to hang around and not be a problem for them. Occasionally she will playfully scamper toward them, but this is rare. The ducklings are now learning to trust Mika also. Each fall the mature ducks move on to other lakes and streams and the young ones stay behind to winter over and raise their own new babies the next year. We faithfully feed them through the cold winter months, as do most of our neighbors.

Our cats give space to our birds, although our younger cat does like to annoy the canaries by poking her paws in their cage. I guess you could call it play time.

So we have many of those moments of encounter in our animal family world: watching the first hello, the thoughtful pause, waiting for trust to be established.

These pictures that I have found on the internet in a variety of places captures some of the essence of animal relationships. I hope you enjoy them.

Thanks to letsbefriends.blogspot.com for several of the pictures.

Sharon

WHO WILL WATCH THE HOME PLACE?

Deep friendships that have lasted a life time. Friendships that have spanned a continent with unspeakable losses that frame their innocence and wonder. Grace-filled days. Music filled nights and weekends. Back-yard carry-in dinners at friend's homes. Babies. Kindergarten. God-parents. Sharing of family ties. Flower and vegetable gardens. Workouts and saunas. Running and walking. Tennis. Afternoons in the Park. Music festivals. Exploring our pasts and deepening our present. Fixing our cars. Birthdays and breakups. Leaving and being left. Tears, laughter and personal triumphs.

Yesterday morning I had an opportunity, when Lewis and I were picking up some potting soil and half-price mulch, to listen to a track from a CD of an old dear friend of mine.

Her name is Sallie. I haven't seen her face for many years now, but I hear from her still and I think of her often. Christmas before last she sent me her latest CD. We were once in a strong friendship circle. There was Debbie, Ruth, and Betty and all the men. Boyfriends and husbands. And more.

We worked together and learned our craft of therapy together. Our lives moved on. Decisions were made. For Sallie, it was the West that called her, where the "rivers change direction, across the Great Divide." Sallie and I loved to sing harmony and play instruments together.

She was the original Song Catcher. She went to all the festivals in West Virginia for many years and made friends with Hazel Dickens and others who sang the way my mother sang, the shaped note songs, the passed down musical traditions that can be traced back to their Celtic roots. In her group's CD she sings them perfectly, the exact inflections of rhythm, the nuances of harmony and wording. I am but a connoiseur and enjoy the singing and the songs. She is the real artist.

I wanted her to stay. It was so hard to say goodbye. I cried and cried. Just as I did when Debbie left. And when we moved away ourselves.

My primary craft at the time was my work as a therapist, developing and directing a child mental health service, teaching family therapy technique with eager learners as my colleagues. We were each other's teachers, and serious about it. We did not compete but revelled in each other's growth and change.

We each moved on. But the grief went deep. And yesterday morning I cried for a long spell as I listened to Sallie's sweet and clear voice. I put the track on repeat and listened over and over again as she sang these words:

Leaves are falling and turning in showers of gold

As the postman climbs up our long hill

There's sympathy written all over his face

As he hands me a couple more bills.

Chorus:

Who will watch the home place

Who will tend my heart's dear space

Who will fill my empty place

When I am gone from here.
There's a lovely green nook by a clear running stream
It was my place when I was quite small
And its creatures and sounds would soothe my worst fears
but today they don't ease me at all.

Chorus

In my grandfather's shed there are hundreds of tools.
I know them by feel and by name.
And like parts of my body they've patched this old place
When I move them they won't be the same.
Now I wander around touching each precious thing
The chimney, the tables, the trees
And my memories swirl 'round me like birds on a wing
When I leave here, oh, who will I be

Who will watch the home place
Who will tend my heart's dear space
Who will fill my empty place
When I am gone from here

Music lyrics, courtesy of Laurie Lewis, click title above to hear and farm pictures are of my Grandfather's farm...
Click here and listen to Wild Coyotes, Sallie's band, play on WV public radio show
and here is the http// address: wildcoyotes-stringband.com