A Poem
What would you do if you were a shoe
and all day long some guy stuffed his foot in your mouth?
A foot, mind you,
covered in a sock
and constantly perspiring.
I know what I’d do.
I’d rub a big, fat blister on his heel
or I’d wait until he was driving
or having an important meeting
then pinch the bony part on top.
Or, I’d wear my treads smooth
and wait for a patch of grease or liquid or ice,
and then dart out from underneath him
and reach high, high, high
until he went tumbling on his head.
That’s what I’d do,
if I were a shoe.
A Journaling Exercise
Every day I write the list
Of reasons why I still believe they do exist
(a thousand beautiful things)A Thousand Beautiful Things by Annie Lennox
Everyday we’re bombarded with the ugliness that exists in the world. I suppose the sorrow sells but it doesn’t do much to lift our spirits.
But, if ugliness is news, than beauty must be the norm.
I always think of Alice Walker’s line, “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t take notice.” Have you taken notice?
Create a space in your notebook, on your computer, or on a piece of paper you carry with you and begin to compile a list of beautiful things. Write down the things that cause your heart to pause or steal your breath away.
Here are some of mine:
- my father’s eyes when he was telling you something he truly believed
- a photo from my sister’s wedding album where she’s cupping my mother’s face in her hands
- the quiver in a friend’s voice the day he came to visit me and tell me that he had fallen in love, not only with a woman, but with her disabled son as well.
- my son’s anxious fidgeting as he awaited finding out whether or not he made the basketball team (He did.)
- a loose strand of hair on a woman’s cheek
- shared laughter
- the mix of colors in a pot of jambalaya
- my wife’s guffaw
- tough people learning to being tender
- tender people learning to be tough
- kids playing with blocks
Build your list as slowly as you need, but why not aim for a thousand or more? I’ve only got 989 to go.
What’s on your list?
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Now playing: Annie Lennox – A Thousand Beautiful Things
via FoxyTunes
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