Love Poetry

"Love isn't something you find.  It's something that finds you." (Loretta Young)

From Shakespeare to Bono, love has been written about since Biblical times.  Here are eight poems about love:

1.  Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare http://www.poemofquotes.com/williamshakespeare/sonnet-116.php.

2.  A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns http://www.poetrysoup.com/famous/poem/122/a_red_red_rose.

3.  Maud by Alfred Lord Tennyson http://www.poemofquotes.com/alfredtennyson/maud.php.

4.  I am Not Yours by Sara Teasdale http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/i-am-not-yours-by-sara-teasdale.

5.  How do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/how-do-i-love-thee-sonnet-43.

6.  They Flee from Me by Thomas Wyatt http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174858.

7.  I loved You First by Christina Rosetti http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/180859.

8.  Brown Penny by William Butler Yeats http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/william_butler_yeats/poems/10173.

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Clarify Your Values

"Any attempt to live on the outside in a manner that contradicts the values you hold on the inside will cause you stress, negativity, unhappiness, pessimism, and even anger and frustration." (Brian Tracy)



Google's definition of values are "a person's principles or standards of behaviour; one's judgement of what is important in life."  Brian Tracy says that before you set out on the journey to achieve your goals, you need to clarify your values.  Think about what you want to be known for, what you represent.  Imagine what you would like people to write about you in your obituary.  As Dr. Gordon Eadie said about American soldiers fighting the enemy in World War II: "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."

Ideal values in the workplace include:  hard work, dependability, cooperation, initiative, ambition and high performance.  Ideal values within the family include:  unconditional love, patience, forgiveness, generosity, kindness and attentiveness.  Ideal values with regard to money and finances include: honesty, thrift, education, industry, persistence and performance.  Integrity is high up on the list of values.  A millionaire once said:  "Integrity is the value that guarantees all the other values."

Brian Tracy points out that your values need to be congruent with your goals.  "Be sure that as you scramble up the ladder of success, it is leaning against the right building," warns Stephen Covey.  If you are an environmentalist, you are not going to fit it at a factory where workers dump toxic waste into the nearby river.  He says that the people who are the happiest in this world are those whose behaviour is consistent with their beliefs.

Tracy maintains that people demonstrate their true values in their actions, especially when under pressure.  An example that comes to mind is my old neighbours.  They said that they loved their dogs, but they never walked them, they chained them up and ignored them.  Then, when times get tough and they were evicted from their home, they abandoned the dogs in the house, trapped inside with no air during a heat wave, walking around in their own filth.

"As within, so without" is a good motto to live by.  Whatever you put into your body or fill your mind with, often comes out in your thoughts and/or actions.  If you do nothing but watch violent movies, play violent video games, read violent books, listen to violent music and use violent language, chances are you are going to have violent thoughts and/or show violent behaviour.  By the same token, if you keep a positive attitude, watch positive shows, read positive books, listen to positive music and use positive language, chances are you are going to have both positive thoughts and actions.

Note:  For more information, read The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale http://www.amazon.ca/Discovering-Positive-Thinking-Norman-Vincent/dp/8122204120.

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Thank You, Dorothy, That was Delicious!

"Develop an attitude of gratitude and give thanks for everything that happens to you..." (Brian Tracy)

On Boxing Day, we were sitting at my parents' dining room table digesting a second Christmas dinner when my sister Laurie asked:  "Why Dad do you never thank Mom for a delicious dinner?  It doesn't matter whether she feeds you a turkey dinner with all the trimmings or wieners and beans, you never say thank you." (paraphrased)

I pointed out that that was not the case with our Grandad Tufts.  As Mom said:  "Whenever Grandad ate a meal, he would say to Grandma:  'Thank you very much, Dorothy, that was delicious.'  Grandma could make him two peas and he would say:  'Thank you very much, Dorothy, that was delicious.'" Grandad practised gratitude.  Not surprisingly, he was a happy person.  And he lived a long life.    

According to motivational guru Zig Zigler, without gratitude, happiness is rare.  When we neglect to require our children to say please and thank you, to be aware of their blessings, their is a much greater chance we will raise unhappy children.  Zig Zigler, one of eleven children, was dirt poor.  He lost his father at the tender age of six.  His mother, however, always made sure that her children knew that she loved them and that God loved them.  She also taught them a strong work ethic.  "Her formula of work, love and faith made their difficult lives easier," according to Zigler.

Zigler suffered a family tragedy when his young daughter Suzan passed away as a child.  At the funeral, even though he was grieving, he said:  "We have no regrets.  She knew we loved her."  The bereaved father, shook hands and smiled at the guests, even offering others solace.  Zigler never neglected to count his blessings.  

Something as simple as keeping a gratitude journal can make us aware of our blessings.  And we don't have to wait for the big things in life to make us happy; we can rejoice in the small things. Publicist Malcolm Margolin talked about making an observation during a rainstorm:  "The sight of hundreds of blades of grass bowing down and popping back up like piano keys strikes me as one of the merriest sights in the world."  

Gratitude doesn't just make us happier but also healthier, building our immunity system, strengthening our heart and improving our sleep habits.  So, the next time your wife cooks you a turkey dinner (or wieners and beans), take the time to say thank you.  You'll be a happier person because of it (so will your wife).

For more information read Attitudes of Gratitude by M.J. Ryan at http://www.amazon.com/Attitudes-Gratitude-10th-Anniversary-Ed/dp/1573244112.

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Advent: The Season of Anticipation

Today at church Jacqueline and I helped the Junior and Senior Kindergarten Sunday School students put together advent wreaths (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent_wreath).  We gave each student a green wreath cut out of styrofoam-like material. Then, we gave them candle #1, HOPE, which they had to colour purple.  Next was candle #2 PEACE which they had to colour purple as well.  Candle #3 was JOY which they coloured pink.  Candle #4 was LOVE which they coloured purple and Candle #5 was JESUS which they left white.  Some of the students were already had their candles coloured and glued on.  Some needed help with the colouring and gluing.  Some needed help reading the five words.  But all were immersed in the activity, their little fingers working busily to finish the task.

The season of advent brings back great memories for me.  The anticipation of the coming of Christmas, the coming of Jesus, makes it so exciting.  I remember the Christmas wreath at our home church.  I always looked forward to the lighting of one candle, followed the next week by two, and so on, building up to the Jesus or Christ candle on Christmas Eve.  One of the Advent Sundays was also a white gift Sunday where we would wrap a canned good in white tissue paper, twist it at the ends and put it under the Christmas tree at the front of the sanctuary.

As an adult, we celebrate Advent at home as well, following Rob's German Lutheran tradition.  My mom gave us her old wreath which she used to hang on our front door.  I bought a holder which fits four candles which sits inside the wreath.  We sit it on our dining room table.  For each of the Sundays of Advent, once it gets dark, we light a candle on the wreath, and sing Christmas carols (English and German).  At the end, we take turns saying a prayer and blowing out a candle.  As toddlers, our children cried when they had to sit still for Advent.  As preschoolers, they suggested we sing Happy Birthday (the only song they knew by heart).  As older children, they loved the tradition.

In two weeks, we will light the Candle of PEACE.  I can already feel the anticipation.  Maybe some of my Kindergarten students will post their wreaths on their fridge doors.  Likely some will have an Advent wreath at home.  Maybe they'll even sing. I'm sure Jesus will smile when he hears their little voices.