It’s sunny today, but cold and breezy. I will probably walk later when it’s a little warmer, but for now I’m looking at the bright day from my window. The trees have turned! It is beautiful here in Southwest Missouri. I am grateful for everything I can see out my window.

This is a month especially for gratitude. Thanksgiving is on the 25th this year, and the first thing I am thankful for is that my sister and brother-in-law will be at my house for the week. There are so many more things I am thankful for, some of them I have come to realize are the basic things some people do not have: a warm, comfortable home; fresh food to eat; transportation that I can take to anywhere I want to go; resources to buy things that make me comfortable, happy and safe; and on and on.

I have been sitting in on a community task force meeting monthly that works tirelessly for homeless youth. I am trying to find a niche where I can fit in to participate in their work. Because of the pandemic I was reluctant to volunteer for some of their activities, but I hope to find something I can do to serve this community of often ignored young people. No one should have to be homeless, but children, especially, should have a safe place to live and resources to thrive and have hope for the future.

There is a daytime facility in Springfield call the Rare Breed, where young people can find shelter and meals and help with other needs. Unfortunately, it is not an overnight shelter. I helped with a group of others a couple of times in providing dinner for the youth who frequent this shelter. It was heartbreaking, but so satisfying, too.

I sat at a table with a young woman, maybe 16, with a child and pregnant again. I think I’d feel crushed and hopeless, but this young woman was upbeat and friendly. She has remained in my heart and mind ever since, and I wrote a poem about her:

Rare Breed

She sits at the table beside her young child,
with another one on the way,
and feeds him the donated food
we brought for this one night’s meal
in this place of temporary sanctuary,
and I wonder how she got here.

“There were too many drugs at my house,
too many people coming and going.
My mom and dad didn’t even know if I was there
most of the time, and didn’t care.
I knew they wouldn’t miss me,
so I ran.”

Her voice is steady and matter of fact;
it’s just the way it is for her.
I want to weep for her,
her children and her future.
How will she get past the barriers
blocking her path:

a child herself with two young children,
little education, nowhere to go,
never knowing where she will sleep
or when she will eat
or what comes next.
She has had no childhood.

I watch her laugh with the others
around the table,
all young teens, homeless,
hanging strong, holding back,
giving nothing away that might hurt
or shatter the walls around them.

I will find my place at some point in part of the solution for homeless youth; I’m not sure how or when, but somehow it will happen.

What is a charitable passion of yours that you want to give, or already are giving, yourself to? Write about it and some ways you are or want to serve that passion.

Make a list of things you are thankful for. Choose one to explore in depth: what makes you thankful for it, describe how it makes you feel, how it makes you act.

How can you make a difference in the world, even in small ways, that make it a better place to live?

Most of us are celebrating and honoring those first responders to Covid-19 and other major health and disaster issues especially in this month of Labor Day. We’ve taken them for granted in the past, but recently we have been putting them up front and center recognizing their tireless work in these, “the worst of times.” They represent some of the traits in people that are good about our country: bravery, resilience, compassion, dedication, and respect for those they help. Thank you first responders; we’re behind you all the way!

I have written a poem about one of the groups of first responders whom I think need to be remembered, recognized, and honored each day:

Nurses

They stand in the midst of chaos
ignoring the din around them,
working feverishly and efficiently,
hoping for positive outcomes,
reaching out to those who stream in
more than one at a time,
moving from one to the next
to the next and the next.
They may not know their names
or where they are from;
they only know they must work quickly
to comfort them – save them.
Though the fatigue threatens to overwhelm them,
they work on through the day
into the night
and into the next day.
They weep for those they lose,
silently and alone,
but move to those who may be saved,
again and again.
Life is fragile here,
and they handle it with care,
with love, with determination.
They will not give up or give in
until it is over, but they wonder
when will that be?

© Dorothy A Joslyn 2021

Think about a first responder you may know or have heard about, and write a tribute to that person, or just write about first responders generally or a specific group. Maybe a poem?

What are you doing now in this upsurge of the virus that you thought you wouldn’t have to do again? How do you feel about that?

Write about when the worst of Covid-19 is over what you will do first.

As we celebrate our freedom from the tyranny of being ruled by a country across the ocean, I would like to be able to celebrate freedom for all of us in this country: black, white, brown, Native Americans, Asian Americans, LGBTQ, immigrants, refugees, and all other people who call the US home. This is a huge country; there is room for all of us to live peacefully and together. I’m not sure why we aren’t doing a better job of that.

Giving others freedom does not reduce our own; it only enhances the diversity and richness of our society. It makes us more interesting as a people and culturally inclusive. It gives us opportunities to grow and learn about other ways of living and being.

I have a difficult time with the lack of acceptance by some people of those who are even slightly different, let alone very different, from themselves. I love to learn about other cultures and how others live their lives. It makes a vibrant life for me. And yet some people seem to be afraid to let others into their narrow lives. It’s as if those “others” are somehow wrong or invasive. They aren’t.

I wrote the following poem looking to find where I stand and what I feel:

A Freedom Prayer to the Universe

Let freedom ring.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive our shortcomings,
but teach us to overcome them, too.
Help us to keep fear at bay
and permit others to live as they wish.
Show us how to incorporate differences
into our lives and celebrate them.
Let us share with others what we have;
there is plenty of everything to go around.
May we take a hand; give a heart;
bloom into a beautiful flower
that lights up a world that can be.
Help us start from the bottom
and work up to higher ground
where the air is fresh and free.
May we be brave and purposeful,
open and kind, accepting and inclusive.
Give our country peace
and freedom for everyone!

© 2021 Dorothy A Joslyn

Examine your prejudices and try to determine where they come from. How can you soften your stance and become more accepting of all people? This may take ongoing attention and writing.

What do you think you might lose if you extend the freedoms you have to others? Write about it until you really understand where you’re coming from.

Pick a line from the poem above and write about how it speaks to you.

My magnolias are blooming in full! They started a couple of weeks ago during a very cold snap, and I told them I hoped they wouldn’t be disappointed. They carried on, however, and in what seemed to be only hours, they burst open to spring. The air is full of their fragrance, and fallen blossoms carpet the new grass coming up. I guess it was time after all. Every year I marvel at how quickly flowers and trees and lawns spring to life. It’s a real spirit-raiser.

It came at the right time for me this year, because a friend’s son died unexpectedly, and I, as well I’m sure she, needed this season of renewal and rebirth to help her get through it. It made me think about the juxtaposition of sadness and joy, beauty and ugliness, life and death. The cycle of life includes death; we just hope we have plenty of time to do what we want to do with the life part, but sometimes we don’t. That’s why I stood outside in the sun for a brief time on the first day of spring while waiting to go in to the funeral. Then, when I got home, I wrote this poem:

Spring

It slipped in quietly this year,

and beautifully,

but I spent the afternoon

attending a funeral

for a young man,

the son of a friend,

who died suddenly and unexpectedly.

As I rest in the stream of sunlight

pouring from the sky,

a man is being lowered

into perpetual darkness.

He was a son, a father,

and a friend to many,

a heartbreaking loss

on such a glorious day

of renewal and rebirth,

but continuing the natural cycle of life,

through grief and joy,

an odd pairing

but existing together nevertheless.

Standing in the warm clean air

a breeze brushing my face,

I see beyond the edges of time and place,

see myself fading into

whatever is out there,

then opening my arms to Spring.

© 2021 Dorothy A Joslyn

 

Write about a time when joy and grief came together for you.

Write a spring poem that expresses your feelings about its arrival.

Think about your life up to now, and write about your intentions for moving forward, knowing of course that there will be an ending.

Regardless of the chaos we seem to be living in currently, the bigger picture includes opportunities to be grateful. Sometimes it’s difficult to find gratitude in our hearts; we have to dig deep to find things, even small things, that enhance our lives. But they are there. For example, the past few days at my house have been cold, rainy and gloomy, but today the sun is out, and it’s a beautiful day. It raised my spirits. There was even something good about the preceding days; we needed rain badly, and the earth drank it in.

I continue to maintain my gratitude journal; I list at least five things a day that I’m grateful for, and I always find them as I rethink my days. Doing that task helps me sleep better.

Can we find gratitude in the undeniable facts of our world: a nail biter of an election, Covid-19, wildfires in the west, hurricanes in the south and east, deep racial unrest that must be addressed? Those are all serious issues that we can’t just gloss over; we have to meet them head on and work through them. So, I’m not talking about a Pollyannaish view of things, just an invitation to take brief breaks from the negative reality to look at what it positive, which is also reality. Doing that may help sooth our fears and anger at all the carnage around us.

The first thing we must do at the beginning of this month is vote. It’s a concrete way to have our say and is critical in these times. If you haven’t already voted, please do so.

Another thing we must do is work toward our goal of corralling the coronavirus by wearing masks, washing our hands, physical distancing and staying away from crowds. These are easy things to do, and they have been shown to help.

We may not be able to do anything directly about the fires and hurricanes, but we can support in whatever ways we can those who are helping relieve the devastation of both of these natural disasters.

We can educate ourselves about racial injustice, and follow through with whatever actions we can take to stop the oppression of races other than white. Why I have to write that confounds me. It is long, long overdue.

Then, November 26 is Thanksgiving Day. Let’s take a little time to rest in what is good in our lives. The chaos will still be there on the 27th, and we can continue to deal with it then.

Another thing that can help get us where we want to go is write about our experiences, feelings, actions and all the things that matter to us. Here are a few prompts to get you started.

Think about something you can do to contribute to solutions to the problems that face us as individuals and as a part of the community of all people and write about your conclusions. . . or questions if that’s all you have right now.

Make a list of gratitudes you have. Include everything you can think of, no matter how small or how inconsequential they may seem. They all matter and can make you happy to write them down.

What is the most important issue to you right now? Write down everything you can think of about it and why it means so much to you.