A friend once sent me this poem. It is by Les Ralson
In Some Ways However Small and Secret
In some ways, however small and secret
Each of us is a little bit mad.
Everyone is lonely at bottom
And cries to be understood.
But we can never entirely understand someone else.
And each of us remains part stranger.
Even to those who love us.
It is the weak who are cruel,
Gentleness can only be expected from the strong.
Those who do not know fear
Are not really brave,
For courage is the capacity to confront what can be imagined.
And you can understand people better if you look at them
No matter how old, or impressive they are
As if they were children.
For most of us never really mature,
We simply grow taller.
And happiness comes only when we push our hearts and brains
To the furtherest reaches of which we are capable.
For the purpose of life is to matter.
To count,
To stand for something,
To have it make a difference that you lived,
At all.
I never know what is going to set me off on one of my writings. In this case, I was looking through a book that I have in which I copied out some things that I found or that people sent to me over the years. I call the book "These are a Part of Me." It was originally a blank book and I just put things into it that I wanted to keep and read again later. I can't find Les Ralson when I google him nor if I google the title of his poem but I like it and hope you did also.
I also wrote in the book that I thought "Success is making a suggestion or a contribution and having others recognize it merits or knowing that what you have done has made a difference."
I think I felt that way because it is sometime hard as an elementary teacher to see that what you have done did make a difference. So,
happiness comes only when we push our hearts and brains
To the furtherest reaches of which we are capable.
For the purpose of life is to matter.
To count,
To stand for something,
To have it make a difference that you lived,
At all
Once in awhile you do find out that you made a difference. I had a former student send me an e-mail which said " I thank you for the gift of curiosity, or learning and or practicallity that you have bestowed on me and others, for these things have and will continue to play a big part in the composition of my individuality." A parent sent a letter to my principal in which she stated "It is a wonderful thing to have a teacher who consistently inspires her to go above and beyond and is willing to take the time to grade the resulting papers...Mr Simser is a very special teacher. Edwards is lucky to have him..."
You don't always hear that and I still remember how I felt when my principal in 2000 shared that letter with me.
I think that one of the reasons I love being a Mason is that, with the ritual work, you know right away if you have done the right thing. I gave an Apron Lecture last night and Bill Y gave me a big grin when I was done and a "thumbs up" sign. Another Brother told me how much he liked my giving it. When you go to Lodge you know that you are doing something correctly. You don't always know that in life and certainly not with relationships. I guess you just have to try to do your best and hope that people appreciate it.
I have said before that I don't seem to be able to write poetry right now but this blog does help me keep my creative juices flowing. It is more meaningful to me because others read it (even if I don't get many comments) and hopefully they find what I write worthwhile. Of course it does take away some of my sleep because I sometimes find myself thinking about what I will write on here and do not fall off to sleep right away (or maybe there is some other reason I was awake until almost 2:00 list night)but I suppose that is good for me because it keeps me thinking about something other than my "pity parties"
So that is my post for today. I will share other items from my book from time to time. I have some really neat things in it and I hope you enjoy them.
You are loved, Hugs - j
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