Sunrises Are Gratitude

 

A friend of Facebook wrote "sunrises are gratitude." I said it sounded like a poem. Maybe it is. 

Symbols and sirens echo in clarion call
Shipwrecks and market crashes are signals of change
Mirrors are gateways through the dense wall  
Raccoons and squirrels will rearrange
Mountaintops are ladders through the ceiling sky
Hummingbirds and dragonflies alter attitude 
Lions and tigers and bears ... oh my!
At our daybreak ... sunrises are gratitude

Hope is based not on the path gone before
But in the knowing of what we're made of
Not even the anticipation of what lies in store
Not even the romantic novel filled with love
Love letters are not guarantees in granite
Wishes are not sturdy branches on which to swing
A priest or pope can't forgive with pardons granted
None of these worldly offerings offer anything

But a baby's first words and first walk 
They are carved into eternal memory
Like that high school first-time deep long talk
The art created by the artist with fine artistry
The poet's meter and symbolism and rhythm and rhyme
The plaster sculpture carefully etched in stone
The experiences of the dreamer etched in time 
The gift of surrender and healing ... as we atone
The expansive oneness we experience alone
Gathering no moss wherever we may roam
On our sacred way to our original home

Shipwrecks and market crashes come to change landscapes
Demolishing past promises and platitudes 
The doors slam shut tight on all our escapes 
An angelic encounter, miracles in the multitudes
Shipwrecks and market crashes will come and go
Now right action is combined with right attitude
Mirrored in nature and your own divine soul 
Sunsets are inevitable; sunsets are gratitude


James Anthony Ellis can be found at www.LegacyProductions.org.

The Universal Nudge

For the past couple weeks I have heard this high-pitched squeal emanating from the front of my car as I stop at lights and stop signs.

Lemme figure this out:

A.     I have somehow trapped a neighborhood pig under my hood, and every time I stop, it is pleading for release.

B.     I have the unfortunate timing of only stopping my car near outdoor concerts, wherein high school girls excitedly welcome the latest boy band.

C.     I need new brakes.

Over time, it became clear that yes indeed, it was C. I was getting that warning signal that told me that in due time my brakes would be D – O – N – E, and soon grinding against the rotors.

That sound was basically alerting me that I needed to get my brakes checked, and very likely fixed.

Call it a tap on the shoulder, a gentle reminder, a nudge.

This got me thinking of the times we are gently nudged by the universe over various aspects of our lives, and how we hold the choice to either bypass that nudge or attend to it immediately.

It got me thinking of how I:

·      Wait on writing something … before the inspiration dissipates and then leaves me.

·      Delay the trip to the dentist … before having to get the pain to stop.

·      Suffered for years at a lame-ass job … before I was asked not so nicely to pack my clipboard and depart.

·      Ignored the initial weeds in the garden … before seeing how they overtook the beauty completely.

That universal nudge is so kind and gentle, whispering the next indicated step that would so make our lives work better … even work out great, beyond expectations. And yet, it is not always heeded. Perhaps it’s often ignored.

No matter the reason for avoiding it, that still small voice (or squeal) apparently doesn’t hold a grudge. Yes, it has no issue with being neglected or abandoned.

The inspiration may fade away, the train may have left the station, the rotors may be damaged, but the nudge continues to carry on its holy task. And what task is that? To help wake us up, to guide us from a deeper place, to make our lives an ever-moving flow, like a river without a dam.

Now when that initial nudge is not heeded, it doesn’t get any more judgmental or loud, though the consequences can get more dire. Discomfort to disease to death. Disagreements to fights to divorce. Brake squeals to grinding rotors to accidents.

The next move is always available to us, as we listen in, to our inner guidance, to the universal nudge … as I did yesterday … now enjoying each and every stop sign and stop light in that lovely and sweet sound of silence. 

James Anthony Ellis can be reached virus free at LegacyProductions.org.

 

All Along

For our law enforcement and the connection we all hold together...

Sirens echoing on the streets

Shadows lurking in the dark

The place where law and order meets

Thousands of our broken hearts

Badges on blue fulfill the beats

The cry for help – a 911 call

Safety, security and our peace

A need arises beneath it all

Righting anything gone wrong

Protecting weakness with the strong

The wounded join in a common song

It’s what we wanted all along

They wake up and prepare their day

Like any of us would have to do

Grabbing a coffee along the way

After sending the kids off to school

Driving to work, putting in the time

Punching the clock, earning their keep

Tackling the challenge, facing the grind

Until reaching home, a place to sleep

Righting anything gone wrong

Holding the thin blue line strong

The loyal join in a common song

It’s what we wanted all along

We wake up and prepare our day

It’s the same for every one of us

A will to walk a lighted way

A longing for the truth and trust

Keeping the peace, holding the dream

One life, one course, one seed

Imagining what is yet to be seen

One source, one force, one need

Righting everything gone wrong

Family and community strong

A journey to peace so very long

We play our parts, we carry on

With a force to which we all belong

The united join in a common song

It’s what we wanted all along

It’s what we wanted all along