And if we all should close our eyes
we would never recognize
the difference between the touch of a black or a white hand
And if we all should close our eyes
we would never recognize
the difference between the touch of a black or a white hand
Posted in Words of music | 31 Comments »
I am
lucky
to have
enough to eat
and a place to sleep
It is more than I need
and
I am
thankful
even though my body is disabled
because
my heart is not
❤
Posted in The little positivity | Tagged content, enough, grateful, positivethinking | Leave a Comment »
There is a man in town.
He has shaved his head.
Tattoos cover his whole body;
arms and fingers,
the neck, the skull
his lips, his eyelids
his face
I saw him tonight before midnight
on my way home.
A small dog walked beside him,
ran between his legs
I went up and asked if I could pat the dog?
A tiny fragile voice
said
Yes
He is only 14 weeks
…
just before leaving
I asked the dog’s name?
His name is Bluie.
Blue?
Bluie, it is British slang for best friend
and that is what we are going to be.
said
the little gentle voice
As he walked away my friend
said
I saw him the other day and was afraid to look
I did not want him to think I stare,
to think I judge him.
Do you know how many people think I am
stupid because I am black,
because I am from Africa
I know.
You are talking to a man
with a beard down to his belt.
And little do they know
we are kind,
you a doctor in mathemathics
and I,
a teacher.
And the tattooed man
a person who will soon be
the little dog’s
best friend
Posted in Simple but true | Tagged goodness, kindness, Life, Love, nature, pets, prejudice, racism, tattoos, truth | 4 Comments »
Some time ago a good friend had been gathering clothes
Unconditionally given by people she knows
One boy
No country
No fixed home
No family
She says
please take anything you want
He picks only
one sweater
one t-shirt
She says:
Would you not like one shirt?
I already have three shirts, thank you
Maybe someone else need them
Posted in Simple but true | Tagged childhood, compassion, empathy, Family, Greed, hope, kindness, Life, Love, people, reflection, Reflections, thoughts, Unconditional | Leave a Comment »
I don’t know if picking up
the snail slowly crossing the road
and putting her/him down
in the grass on the other side
was helping?
Maybe I confused the snail?
Posted in Thoughts | Tagged compassion, kindness, Life, Love, nature, philosophy, reflection, Reflections, snails, thoughts | 3 Comments »
I love my grandparents
my mother’s mother and father
are still alive
A few years back my grandmother who was in her 80s had a stroke. It was a severe one and she would have died had it not been for my grandfather.
As he saw the woman he had spent his whole life with
falling down
life slowly leaving her
he managed to calm down and get her to a hospital.
He saved her life.
He loves her.
She lost her ability to cook and somewhat to take care of herself. She can’t dial a phone number. She even has a hard time walking and moving around. She does not leave the house alone without help.
This year they celebrated 60 years of marriage.
They still stand closely by each other,
gently holding each other’s hands.
They still look like they just fell in love.
As we talk about how things were when they were young he always tell her how beautiful she was
and still his.
She smiles and her eyes are full of love.
My grandmother is always positive.
She never complains allthough you can clearly see she is in pain.
She is calm and wears a smile on her face.
Always kind and thoughtful.
If someone generalize or say negative things about others
she mildly but strongly let them know that it is not OK.
For that she is my heroine.
Last night my grandfather had two strokes
It was late and dark but my grandmother stood up
made her way to the door of the house
walked alone down the stairs
over the road to the neighbors’ house.
She saved her husband’s life.
My grandfather.
I love her
I love my grandparents
Posted in Love | Tagged Death, grandparents, Hero, Heroine, Life, Love, Positivity, stroke | 11 Comments »
Some times things are not the way they seem
and yet we are sure they are.
As a young man, or not yet a man but a boy,
I sat on the railing of a very high bridge.
my feet dangling
my eyes looking down the gorge.
The place I lived in seemed to be the entire world
and at the moment it was not a happy one.
The war hadn’t even begun for years to come
yet inside me it was already there.
I thought about leaning forward and letting go.
Letting go of the thoughts that haunted me.
Letting go of my reality painfully pounding me.
And also,
letting go of life.
Looking back,
I don’t see why
I just did not take one step.
One step
out of my reality
to see that there is more to things than they seem.
Or that even though they are
the way they seem,
one step away,
one small step away,
another reality,
another adventure
is waiting.
I did not let go,
I just sat there
for hours
staring at the black river
making its way forward.
I left
with no money in my pocket
and a broken heart in my chest
to find goodness
in places and strangers I did not know.
I also found,
war
pain
hunger
sorrow
and things
I wish I did not see,
but
never
will I stop
flowing forward
from reality to reality
For what would life have been worth
had I let go of the railing
not having felt
pure
unselfish kindness
love
friendship
and
tiny moments of inner peace.
“If you are not living good,
I beg you, travel wide.
Said I am a living man
I’ve got work to do…”
Bob Marley – Soul Rebel
Mentally or physically, please step out of your reality and into another.
When you feel you can do nothing for yourself, do something for others.
Please do good.
You might find things weren’t the way they seemed.
Posted in Thoughts, Words of music | Tagged broken heart, esperanza, hope, Inspiration, kindness, Life, Love, memories, Music, philosophy, poetry, reflection, soul rebel, thoughts, Travel | Leave a Comment »
Imagine if every person on Earth did at least one act of kindness today.
Imagine the kindness explosion and the positive ripple effect it would give!
Perfect love!
Posted in Thoughts | Tagged hope, Inspiration, kindness, Life, Love, philosophy, reflection, Reflections, thoughts | 1 Comment »
Why do you seem so content when you have constant pain?
my friend asked.
I think I have no goal in life but to notice the small pieces of happiness and try to do good.
Maybe happiness is not to be reached.
Maybe it is just there for all to see who are not in a hurry to reach there.
Small pieces of positivity
in the midst of pain or daily life,
small moments of joy
if noticed,
will make me think before I die
I lived a happy life
For me happiness is:
Knowing that a special person knows she has inspired me to do better
Giving a homeless friend a place to sleep, an occasional visit to the cinema or sharing a meal
Hearing my father say to a woman that left me three years ago -I love you my child.
An invite to eat or sleep in an unknown’s home when travelling
A kind smile or look from a passerby
Listening to old people’s stories
Seeing a young person get up for an elderly person to sit down
The smell of rain on dry asphalt
You
To give love
Knowing that I don’t need things I see many others have
Music
Bringing a Thai meal for my 80-year-old grandmother and grandfather to tickle their taste buds in their otherwise bland non-spicy diet
Knowing that one of my friends sends haphazardous text messages with hugs to another troubled friend
Thinking about the bread my grandmother baked
Sitting in the place where my late grandfather and I reasoned for hours
and
knowing that my heart, soul and mind is who I am,
not my body,
nor what I can or can’t do.
Posted in The little positivity | Tagged happiness, hope, Illness, Inspiration, Life, lifestyle, Love, mental-health, Music, pain, Peace of mind, people, philosophy, reflection, Reflections, Satisfaction, thoughts | 22 Comments »
In my life I have indeed met some truly good people.
I come to think of it today since
I might have left a truly good woman
giving unconditional love.
Sometimes I feel there is something wrong with the world,
but hen I remember:
If we see good we don’t think that all is good.
When we see one thing or person being bad,
we generalize and many think that all persons or situations similar must be equally bad.
So why should not the opposite also be true?
You see one thing good = more things are good!
If it is, the world is not half as bad as I thought.
There is at least as much good as there is bad.
In fact the people that do good (uncoditionally) are many times not seen,
but they are there, among us everywhere.
Many of them are not older than they can show with their fingers.
I am talking about unconditional good
without any expectation of getting anything back at all:
leaving nice and comforting notes in a book at the library for a mother to be,
so called guerrilla goodness.
Or letting a refugee live in your house until ready to move on.
Or the unselfish goodness that happens when you most need it:
Some 18 years ago (before mobile phones and digital cameras)
I left my home in a hurry. Brokenhearted I spent my last money and flew to the other side of the world.
In the south of Mexico I chopped and cleared jungle for roads to pass,
people gave me food that was left over when restaurants closed,
poor families sharing what little food they had on trains that traveled so slow it took days to get where you were going.
Those were unselfish acts as well as the five Mariachis escorting me from parts of Mexico City in which I would not have lasted long.
Or the veterinarian taking me into his home, treating my typhoid fever for weeks without asking for nothing in return.
But above all
the little Zapotec boy
with torn clothes,
not a half man tall,
that just before nightfall
high up in the Oaxaca mountains
spent all his money
to pay the bus
for a skinny bearded long-haired-giant
a stranger
whom he had never met before
also giving me half his bread to eat
even though I did not understand a word of Chatino.
That is unconditional good
and
I have not forgotten you little hero
Posted in Thoughts | Tagged amor, compassion, Culture, empathy, esperanza, hope, Inspiration, kindness, Life, Love, memories, Mexico, reflection, Reflections, thoughts, Travel, Unconditional good | 11 Comments »
Today I lost a very dear little friend
a bundle of joy and smiles
Tomorrow
you would have turned five
and
the pink cake is
already prepared
My heart is shattered.
I have never been
as sad as today
but
thinking about
your big eyes
looking out the mail slot
and
your little voice calling my name
every time I passed by
slowly
reassembles it
and
I will do my best to be
as loving
and happy
as you were
Hala we miss you and we love you
Posted in Love, Today | Tagged Friends, friendship, Life, Love, pain, poetry, Saknad, sorg, sorrow | 14 Comments »