" What we should be, all of us "

 

What we should be, all of us!

“Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.

Finally, there was only one other family between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me.

There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn't have a lot of money, but their clothes were neat and clean.

The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night. By their excitement you could sense they had never been to the circus before. It would be a highlight of their lives.

The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say, "You're my knight in shining armour." He was smiling and enjoying seeing his family happy.

The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? He proudly responded, "I'd like to buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady stated the price.

The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip began to quiver. Then he leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady again stated the price.

The man didn't have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?

Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket."

The man understood what was going on. He wasn't begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heart breaking and embarrassing situation.

He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied; "Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family."

My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with.

Although we didn't get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.

That day I learnt the value to Give.

The Giver is bigger than the Receiver. If you want to be large, larger than life, learn to Give. Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything.

The importance of giving, blessing others can never be over emphasized because there's always joy in giving. Learn to make someone happy by acts of giving.”

~ Katharine Hepburn

 

" Up on the Roof "

 

In the early 60’s Gerry Coffin and Carol King wrote a song titled “Up on the Roof” -  “When I come home feelin' tired and beat I go up where the air is fresh and sweet (up on the roof) I get away from the hustling crowd And all that rat-race noise down in the street (up on the roof) On the roof, the only place I know Where you just have to wish to make it so Let's go up on the roof (up on the roof).”

I believe this song is still as valid today as it was back then. We are in our eleventh month of a virus that is tearing family, friends, and countries apart not only because of its nature but also because of the sickness of the politics that have grown up around it. “..this old world is getting me down and people are just too much to face,…” Where do we go for peace of mind? The church is locked. The library may or may not be open. Where is it safe to go? Everyone needs a ‘safe place” where they can go to in a time of emotional pain. For some it might be a real place like a boathouse, a cabin in the hills, a cottage near the sea. For others it is an imaginary place where they take themselves as they “hide out” in the bathroom at work or home. Going “up on the roof” is a way of putting distance between myself and the stress that is attempting to control me. “The roof” is my sacred place of rest, of peace and quiet and I am willing to share it provided those who wish to share it with me leave their negative baggage on the street, on the side-walk. On “the roof” I see the night sky in all its fullness of stars and a full moon. It is where I see a shooting star, a wishing star, a comet, and even the International space station flying by. On “the roof” I dance and sing and listen to the music of the night. It is where I let go of that which would keep me grounded to the negativity of the street with all its contradictory noises. Up on “the roof” I feel peaceful, I feel confident, I feel hopeful as I have a sense of being closer to heaven and God, my Higher Power, or however I chose to understand the Ground of my Being, that Power which I trust but do not fully understand. On ‘the roof” I listen to the quiet voice within and without telling me not to be afraid, that, no matter what happens- good or bad – all will be okay. Creator God, Great Spirit, I give thanks for those who can verbalize their hopes and dreams in song and poetry with which I can identify, and it brings me peace. May the Holy Spirit enkindle in me a fire to find my “rooftop” so that I can let go, for however long or short, of life’s negativity and absorb the power of gratitude again. Amen.

  

Up On The Roof

Carole King

When this old world starts getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space
On the roof, it's peaceful as can be
And there the world below can't bother me
Let me tell you now

When I come home feelin' tired and beat
I go up where the air is fresh and sweet (up on the roof)
I get away from the hustling crowd
And all that rat-race noise down in the street (up on the roof)
On the roof, the only place I know
Where you just have to wish to make it so
Let's go up on the roof (up on the roof)

At night the stars put on a show for free
And, darling, you can share it all with me

I keep a-tellin' you

Right smack dab in the middle of town
I've found a paradise that's trouble proof (up on the roof)
And if this world starts getting you down
There's room enough for two
Up on the roof (up on the roof)
Up on the roo-oo-oof (up on the roof)
Oh, come on, baby (up on the roof)
Oh, come on, honey (up on the roof)

Everything is all right (up on the roof)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHzMeEf3rM0&ab_channel=CaroleKingVEVO

" this too will pass " + " the Egg seller"

 

“ this too will pass” – I was taught these words by my grandmother

As a phrase that is to be used at all times in your life.    When things are spectacularly dreadful, when things are absolutely appalling,

When everything is superb and wonderful and marvellous and happy.

Say these four words to yourself.

They will give you a sense of perspective and help you also to make

The most of what is good and be stoical about what is bad.

Claire Rayner 1931-2010  

The Egg Seller

 

She asked him, 'How much are you selling the eggs for?'

The old seller replied, '$.25 an egg, Madam.'

She said to him, 'I will take 6 eggs for $1.25 or I will leave.'

The old seller replied, 'Come take them at the price you want. Maybe, this is a good beginning because I have not been able to sell even a single egg today.'

She took the eggs and walked away feeling she has won. She got into her fancy car and went to a posh restaurant with her friend. There, she and her friend, ordered whatever they liked. They ate a little and left a lot of what they ordered. Then she went to pay the bill. The bill costed her $45.00 She gave $50.00 and asked the owner of the restaurant to keep the change.

This incident might have seemed quite normal to the owner but, very painful to the poor egg seller.

The point is,

Why do we always show we have the power when we buy from the needy ones? And why do we get generous to those who do not even need our generosity?

I once read somewhere:

'My father used to buy simple goods from poor people at high prices, even though he did not need them. Sometimes he even used to pay extra for them. I got concerned by this act and asked him why does he do so? Then my father replied, "It is a charity wrapped with dignity, my child”   --  spread this message.

 

" Today we mourned you differently "

 

Today We Mourned You Differently

Today, we mourned you differently — not in the way we would have

liked to or felt you deserved. A fettered celebration, not enough to

even begin to pay tribute to the life you’ve lived.

Today, we mourned you differently. The pageantry was sparse, we

had no singer to sing your songs, and the shoulders of the fine men

you reared were bare — they would have gladly, though sadly taken

your weight with pride, and carried you to where you now sleep.

Today, we mourned you differently — your friends and neighbours

lined the street — a noble gesture, but poor substitute for the squeeze

of a shoulder, an embrace, and the vice-grip handshakes full of grief,

solidarity and questions.

Today we mourned you differently — the bare handful of us, the

chosen few, stood around you, while broad-backed men from the old

days trembled in the distance, and from a parked car your brother

looked on with pursed lips through the condensation.

Today, we mourned you differently. Sad eyes looked up from where

big hands were holding little hands that didn’t understand — not that

the big hands understood much better.

Today, we mourned you differently, but this much is true — you are

gone, but not without a trace, as you are in every face you leave

behind, in every imprint of your foot on the path you so diligently

wore from the rose bushes to the kitchen door.

Today, we mourned you differently.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=today+we+mourned+you+differently

 

 

" Don't lie to me "

 

Don't Lie to Me

Barbra Streisand

Why can you just tell me the truth?
Hard to believe the things you say
Why can't you feel the tears I cried today, cried today, cried today
How do you win if we all lose?
You change the facts to justify
Your lips move but your words get in the way, in the way, in the way

Kings and Queens, crooks and thieves
You don't see the forest for the trees
Head and heart on our knees
You can't see what we all see

How do you sleep when the world keeps turning?
All that we built has come undone
How do you sleep when the world is burning?
Everyone answers to someone

Don't lie to me, don't lie to me, you lie to me
Don't lie to me, don't lie to me, you lie to me

You can build towers of bronze and gold
You can build castles in the sky
You can use smoke and mirrors, old clichés
Not today, not today

Kings and Queens, crooks and thieves
You don't see the forest for the trees
Hand on heart, down our knees
You can't see what everyone sees

How do you sleep when the world keeps turning?
All that we built has come undone
How do you sleep when the world is burning?
Everyone answers to someone

Don't lie to me, don't lie to me, you lie to me
Don't lie to me, don't lie to me, you lie to me

Can't you see I'm crying?
Can't you see we're crying?
Where's the new horizon?
Where's the new horizon?

How do you sleep?
How do you sleep?
How do you sleep?
(How do you sleep when the world is turning?)
How do you sleep?
(All that we built has come undone)
Enough is enough
(How do you sleep when the world is burning?)
How do you sleep?
(Everyone answers to someone)

Don't lie to me, don't lie to me, you lie to me
Don't lie to me, don't lie to me, you lie to me

Can't you see I'm crying?
(Can't you see we're crying?)
Can't you see we're crying?
Everyone answers to someone