SLOW DANCE

This poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York Hospital.

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids,

On a merry-go-round?

Or listened to the rain,

Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.


Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Do you run through each day,

On the fly?

When you ask "How are you?"

Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done,

Do you lie in your bed,

With the next hundred chores,

Running through your head?

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Ever told your child,

We'll do it tomorrow?

And in your haste,

Not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,

Let a good friendship die,

Cause you never had time,

To call and say,'Hi'?

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,

It is like an unopened gift....

All thrown away.

Life is not a race.

Do take it slower.

Hear the music.

Before the song is over.

Life Coaches - GIve me a break!

I think I will scream if yet one more intelligent person I know tells me they have hired a life coach. Give me a break!

Who in their right, intelligent mind, hires someone from the internet who proclaims to be a life coach?

I have known at least 10 people who market themselves as life coaches - most are either very under-employed or unemployed, but feel they can direst someone else to success and some have "taken an online class" to give themselves credibility.

Not one of them has a life I'd like to emulate. The people hiring life coaches believe what they read on the internet. I urge them to find someone in their life or community who they respect and go talk to them, read books, network with those who have the skill sets they desire. Journal. Anything but turn their life over to an online "life coach" with an inflated ego who has no measurable success and all we really know about them is what they wrote about themselves. Give me names of real people they helped, with their before and after bios, their email and phone numbers. Give me names and numbers of people who know them well and those who only know of them. Show me their employment history, marital history, etc. It makes no sense to me that anyone would let a total stranger ONLINE be a life coach. I'd rather they buy a lottery ticket.

Twitter and the internet is filled with such people.

The subject of life coaches came up in a woman's discussion group last night... and most agreed with me - those who led full-rich lives mentor by example and spend time with people they know - they don't hang out on the internet waiting for some poor soul with bad body language, cash and low self-esteem.

Yes, I'd much rather they buy a lottery ticket - perhaps they'd win enough to hire a real profession, with a qualified degree and measurable success. Or, I'd like to have swamp land to sell them, at least they'd have a deed for their money.

Perhaps it's the weather

I am once again restless.
Often I find myself
staring out the window,
fixed on the hosta breaking through damp earth.
I welcome them like long lost friends.
How long has it been since I last looked at you?
Touched you?
Realized your beauty and strength?
You tolerate winter much better
than I do these days
and wait patiently until
it is your season

I push the envelope
realize with each passing year
that time is running short
regret the years I wasted
and the days that passed
without me noticing
even the slightest beauty
or grace.
I watch the robins
frantically gathering
twigs, straw, old string
already planning
to mate and go forward
I snip bits of colored yarn
and place it in my suet feeder
for them to gather
my contribution to spring
and new life
new love

Over a cup of coffee
a friend asks
"How many more springs
do you suppose we have?"
Sigh.
Like Emily Dickinson
I dwell in the possibilities
of what each arriving spring
may bring into my life
and what I leave behind
I refuse to focus on the end
before I have exhausted today.

Early Morning Walk

This morning I went for an early morning walk,

The air cool with thick misty fog

As dawn broke I desperately searched

For early signs of spring

To signal the end of winter

The air smelled of damp earth

But what I really craved

Was even the faintest scent

Of you

Lasting Relationships

“Some of the biggest challenges in relationships come from the fact that most people enter a relationship in order to get something: they're trying to find someone who's going to make them feel good. In reality, the only way a relationship will last is if you see your relationship as a place that you go to give, and not a place that you go to take.” -Anthony Robbins

Reflection

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected
in one dewdrop on the grass. ~ Dogen

The Winner Is

I've learned that when you have an argument with your spouse, the first one who says, 'I'm sorry I hurt your feelings; please forgive me,' is the winner. ~unknown