poetry

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR EMOTIONS IN A HURRY

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Listen to these words carefully.
Angrily Blindly
Badly Boastfully
Boldly Foolishly
Fortunately Happily
Gleefully

Take a good look at these words. Read them aloud. Leave a second in between each of them. What do you feel when you hear them?

Angrily, Blindly, Badly, Boastfully, Boldly, Foolishly, Fortunately, Happily, Gleefully.

Emotions, that is what you hear, because that is what you feel. As you speak each word again, your emotions do an abrupt about face, switching from negative to positive and back again. Your thoughts and your feelings are inner twined in the same way that we are all connected. Every time that we are beset with an unhappy or negative thought it is possible, yes even probable that we can change just one little word and by doing so change our current outlook on life.
Our thoughts and our words are the engine that runs us. The next time that you are having a less than positive thought, stop and look at the word you used that described it. There are tons of great words that should be floating around in our mind. Let us capture them and share them with someone we love. Share them in our writing and share them in our speech.
Someone famous once said we are our own worst enemy. We use our own words against ourselves. Listening to our own positive words will bring a lift to our spirits and a smile to our faces. It sure beats hunting for the Bufferin bottle when my own thoughts give me a headache.

THE MAN IN THE MOON

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THE MAN IN THE MOON

Looking out my window this early winter morning,
In the western sky the moon is perfectly golden.
Reflected on the white surface of a snow-covered lake
It hangs there, round and beautiful,
Mysterious and fascinating,
And I wonder, where is the man in the moon?
Can I go back to the innocence of childhood,
Believing in that man,
Believing that all is well in the world,
Believing that the moon will go down,
The sun will come up,
And neighbor will help neighbor?
Or do I face the world as a disillusioned adult,
Watching the television news,
Reading an evening newspaper,
Fearing my enemies have put me in harms way?

God, I am praying for my misplaced innocence,
I know that You can bring it back to me.
I know that deep within every one of us, You reside,
And I thank You for the reminder of the “man in the moon”,
Watching over all of us, just for You!

MILLIE

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8fcfd141-9386-4ef8-9e13-6aa8c2cdbce2Everywhere I go I see Millie,

Everywhere.

The click click of little toenails coming down the hall

The deep sighs of our Millie, sound asleep under the bed,

The big brown eyes begging me to go for a walk.

The tug on the leash as she pulls me thru the orchard,

The soft curly hair beneath my stroking hand,

The sharp barking when a stranger comes to the door.

The prancing and galloping when she sees us come thru the door,

So relieved that we’ve come home.

The urgency of the run for the grass every morning,

The pleasure of knowing she loves us, no matter what!

Ah, Millie, thank you for all of the joys

and fun you brought us!

I see you wherever I go,

Our beautiful little shadow,

Gone on, but not forgotten.

THE PUZZLE

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Coming home from the store
I am filled with anticipation.
I have a new jigsaw puzzle.
A new challenge has come into my life.
Setting up the card table,
Opening up the colorful box
I begin laying out my prize.
One thousand pieces – what fun!
This won’t take long.
Ah, a straight piece, another and another.
Swiftly I pull them out from the pack.
These two go together, and so do these!
This border will be together in no time.
For days I work on the puzzle.
Slowly the picture begins to emerge.
Every spare moment that I have I hurry to the card table.
Every time I walk by I stop and look for another piece
that will fit.
I know that I am accomplishing my goal.
The time keeps going by.
The card table just isn’t big enough.
I set up another table for the extra pieces.
The puzzle has begun to take over the room.
In fact the puzzle has begun to take over my life.
I am obsessed by the idea that maybe I don’t have all
of the pieces.
Maybe some of them have disappeared..
Maybe someone is hiding them ON PURPOSE.
Maybe I will never get this puzzle done!
Ah, I keep on searching and finding where the pieces
need to go.
They keep falling into place and now I know I am almost done.
Somehow all of the pieces are appearing just when I need them.
What a great picture!
I have completed my puzzle!
It looks terrific!
I look at it for a few minutes, and then I tear it apart.
When it is back in the box, I put it away on a high shelf.
I wonder,
Do you think the store has gotten any new puzzles lately?
Maybe I’ll go look tomorrow.

THE FARMERS MARKET

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Is it really the “farmers” market
Or does it belong to the customer?
Standing behind the counter in our busy stall,
Sorting out apricots, golden and beckoning,
I watch the people walking by.

Young mothers with strollers, or their babies in back packs,
Older women with teenagers trailing behind them
Women in work suits or long dresses,
Hurrying thru their workaday lunch hour.
Always there are women with canes, or walkers,
Or clinging to the arm of a granddaughter.
Older couples, a little bent, and hair of gray or silver,
Men sent by their wives for a special item.
Single men learning to buy and cook for themselves,
Fathers, brought along to carry the many bags and baskets,
Young women asking for advice.
“How do I cook this, or which one is the best buy?”
Older women, buying varieties they remember from childhood,
The laughter, the smiles, the joyful greetings,
The questions of people who assume I know the answers.
The many customers who just want to talk to the “farmer”.
The pleasure of pleasing the friends stopping at our stall,
And the delight of working with our fellow co-workers.
The abundance, the vivid colors of the many fruits and vegetables.
The heavenly aroma of the bouquets of flowers blazing
Everywhere along the crowded aisle.
The courtesy, the kindnesses of the farmers for their customers.

This is truly “The People’s Market” to me.

THE APPLE

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Today I bought an apple.
It was a bright and shiny apple.
As I sunk my teeth into the firm white flesh,
I thought about how it got here.

First there was God.
Then there was the Farmer,
Then there was the State Horticultural Agent,
Then there was the nursery that grew the young tree,
Then there was the spraying and pesticides agent,
Then there was the picker,
Then there was the trucker to the processing plant,
Then there was the worker who washed
And preserved and boxed the fruit,
Then there was the trucker who hauled it to the store,
Then there were the store employees,
The planners,
The investors,
The bookkeepers,
The warehouse workers,
The stock boys,
The maintenance workers,
The greeters,
The clerks,
The checkers,
The carry out persons,

And now there is Me,
Enjoying the Apple,
Red or green, tart or sweet,
Knowing that we are all working together.

Thank you, God!

TODAY I FORGOT

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TODAY I FORGOT

Today I forgot to remember the Presence of God in my life.
I was in a hurry.
The television was blaring out unimportant messages.
I had to think about what was expected of me.
Brightly light stores filled with intriguing packages beckoned me.
The phone kept on ringing with an Urgent voice.
The children needed me to be a referee.
At work the computer broke down
And I didn’t know how to fix it.
I was reminded that I had promised to attend an unimportant meeting after dinner.
I just got tired. Too much going on in my mind.

How do I break the cycle, God?
Where do I draw the line?
What can I do the next time, when I realize
The impossible has happened?
I have put God at the end of the things to remember.
My mind is filled with everything BUT the
Acknowledgement of the Presence of God!

My Remedy.
Be still and remember that I am.
I am as God created me.
The most important thing in my life is the Presence of God.
Wherever I am, God is.
I remember to relax and turn back,
Because God has never left me!

WHEN?

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WHEN?

When will it get easier?
When will I always remember?
When will I look upon all beings with love?
When will I treat others with the golden rule?
When will I accept everything just the way it unfolds?
When will all paths be smoothed for me?
When?
When I relax
When I release
When I let go
When I stop insisting
When I stop controlling
When I remember I am an extension of God’s love,
Here on earth.

WHAT IF I REALIZED THAT

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WHAT IF I REALIZED THATsept 011 neng fall 007

I am filled with energy.  It is easier and easier for me to wake up each morning knowing that I can still breathe and walk and carry on my daily routine.

I am surrounded by family and friends who will come willingly if I call them.

The whole world of books is at my fingertips wherever I go and I have the time to read them.

Someone somewhere is waiting for my smile and a hug to cheer them up.

New friends await me on my internet connections from faraway places.

I don’t have to wonder any more “What will I be when I grow up?”

I can relax knowing that children and grandchildren are doing all the things I dreamed of but didn’t quite manage.

New things keep popping up in my life and I can enjoy learning them.

It really doesn’t matter if it takes a little longer, I can still accomplish them.

Having a blog, theappleladyblog.com, to express myself is a lot of fun.

I am filled with love and light and energy and this is a beautiful thing.

Realizing that I can enjoy my life no matter what happens is just wonderful.

Yes, I sure do realize now!