Leisure:with no guilt strings attached

Ever have one of those moments where you have a ton of stuff to do and all you long to do is to pause the hold button and just be.
I have moments like that. In fact, my body tells me when I'm too busy or too stressed. I might get tension headaches, back aches or leg pains trying to keep it all together. In order to clear my head I need to be by myself. Especially when responsibility is piling up.  And there is nothing wrong with that.
As a happy introvert I need time to be alone. I don't think extraverts understand this very well. If introverts are constantly with people they loose touch with their creative side. Think about it. As satisfying as it is to be with people, it does require your mind to be on guard, to react, to respond, to converse and engage in meaningful conversations with others.
Sometimes I need a break from all that in order to relax. The poems below will free you of any guilt of wanting to spend time by yourself.
So go ahead. Relax and just be: with no guilt strings attached.


What's a poem?

A whisper, a shout, thoughts turned inside out.
A laugh, a sigh, an echo passing by.
A rhythm, a rhyme, a moment caught in time.
A moon, a star, a glimpse of who you are.

Charles Ghigna

Leisure

What is this life, if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this, if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

W. H. Davies

Hold On To Your Dreams!

It's important to dream, isn't it. When I found this poem I knew it was the right poem to post. It describes all the emotions human being experience in order to keep a going when things are tough.

Sometimes reality isn't so great. People hurt us and disillusion sets in. But when we have a place to go where life is good and magical, it makes a difference as to how we are able to handle the sad things in life.

After you read this poem, read it over again slowly and let it soak in. You are going to feel better. And you might even dream up a solution to what ever problem you have in real life.

Louise Driscoll (1875- 1957)

Hold fast your dreams!
Within your heart
Keep one still, secret spot
Where dreams may go,
And, sheltered so,
May thrive and grow
Where doubt and fear are not.
O keep a place apart,
Within your heart,
For little dreams to go!

Think still of lovely things that are not true.
Let wish and magic work at will in you.
Be sometimes blind to sorrow. Make believe!
Forget the calm that lies
In disillusioned eyes.
Though we all know that we must die,
Yet you and I
May walk like gods and be
Even now at home in immortality.

We see so many ugly things-
Deceits and wrongs and quarrelings;
We know, alas! we know
How quickly fade
The color in the west,
The bloom upon the flower,
The bloom upon the breast
And youth's blind hour.
Yet keep within your heart
A place apart
Where little dreams may go,
May thrive and grow.
Hold fast-hold fast your dreams!

Is God Real

The American poet, Emily Dickinson, hardly left her home in the mid 1800's, yet her insights into everyday life are astounding.  To think is a gift from God and he gave this gift to everyone.  Yet, not everyone uses this gift wisely. I find it surprising that Emily understood much about human behavior even though she was a bit of a recluse and had no radio or television or internet.

Watching television uses little brain power. Too much of that will dull the mind. Doing puzzles, word games, reading and hand coordination games is good for the soul as well as the mind. It's also good for each person to question, to ponder and to converse with others their thoughts and ideas so that they can build a better life for themselves and a better world for those that follow. Emily spent a lot of time thinking and her poems demonstrate that.



I never saw a Moor
-by Emily Dickinson-

I never saw a Moor-
I never saw the Sea-
Yet know I how the Heather looks
And what a Billow be.

I never spoke with God
Nor visited in Heaven-
Yet certain am I of the spot
As if the Checks were given-

Fire and Ice

Fire and Ice

by Robert Frost

Some say the world will end in fire.
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

I've bought and laid out the food and the invitations have been sent.

Yes, I'm having a party and the guests keep arriving. I'm not surprised to see so many. Word gets around when there's delicious food. In such a short time, too.

Even with the icy cold winds and snow drifts hammering at the house the guests keep a-coming. And the noise is unbelievable. Everyone came in great spirits. I've never heard such joy and chatter on such a cold and blustery day.

We have a variety of guests too. I counted a dozen or more of each kind. Cardinals, blue jays, sparrows, chickadee, finches, and a big gray squirrel.

I am blessed to be able to host this party. The joy of giving is well worth it. But really, my guests have given me far more than I have given them.

I want to leave you with another poem about perspective on this cold winter day. Spring is coming and the ice will soon melt away.

A Linnet in a Gilded Cage

by Christina Rossetti

A linnet in a gilded cage,-
A linnet on a bough,_
In frosty winter one might doubt
Which bird is luckier now.

But let the trees burst out in leaf,
And nests be on the bough,-
Which linnet is the luckier bird,
Oh who could doubt it now?
 

For the love of animals

If only animals could talk. We would learn a lot about ourselves if they could.

My dog has the most beseeching eyes and when she looks at me it's always because she wants love, food or approval. I often take her for granted as I rush past her to do some errand. I know that she forgives me when I ignore her. She has adjusted well to being the lowest peg on the rung.

Still, I think she gets the most attention from everyone in the household. All because she's so darn cute.

Here's a couple of poems with the insight of animals. I hope it gives you something to chew on.

The Old Horse in the City
by Vachel Lindsay

The moon's a peck of corn. It lies
Heaped up for me to eat.
I wish that I might climb the path
And taste that supper sweet.

Men feed me straw and scanty grain
And beat me till I'm sore.
Some day I'll break the halter-rope
And Smash the stable-door,

Run down the street and mount the hill
Just as the corn appears.
I've see it rise at certain times
For years and years and years.



The Python
by Hilaire Belloc

A Python I should not advise-
It needs a doctor for its eyes,
    And has the measles yearly.
However, if you feel inclined
To get one (to improve the mind,
    And not from fashion merely),
Allow no music near its cage;
And when it flies into a rage,
    Chastise it most severely.

I had an Aunt in Yucatan
Who bought a Python from a man
    And kept it for a pet.
She died because she never knew
These simple little rules and few-
    The snake is living yet.