this silence is valuable.

friendship

aging only spurs more questions and more reflections

this morning i asked myself, what does friendship mean?

for a long time, i was not a good friend.

i did not stay in touch. i did not make plans.

i spent more time with myself than sharing with others.

i used to believe that it was not worth wasting hours on other people.

and thought that others would not want to waste hours on me.

i grew up, only recently, if you ask

i opened my eyes and most of all, my heart

it made all difference as i want to share now

and i want to share and enjoy hours with my friends

as they would do the same for me

someone wise once said that to have friends is to be one.

aging also brings wisdom and honesty

this morning, i reminded myself to be a good friend.

Only in Santa Fe

So you see,

there is something

called hope

in each raining day

such a...

Sun brightens over Sangre de Cristo mountains,

coal miners are getting rescued in Chile

Babies are being born at St. Vincent Hospital,

lovers are saying "I do" in Spanish Mission Churches

It is a fine Wednesday in Santa Fe,

all good things are shared and obvious.

They are what I see when I look out of the sliding door by my bed as I lay

yet I also view the beautiful sights as a painting

Of what I wish to see and feel

when other corners of my room have raining days

Still, this painting also reminds me of one thing

that is world is not going to stop anytime for you,

you get up, sun's waiting for you, sky's limitless.

Sun brightens, tears of joy over the rescues of miners,

there are good things in the world if we see it,

and believe in it when there are

deaths, disappointments, failures, and raining days in our corners

After all, plants grow after rain,

then good things also grow out of raining days.

This is both hope and faith.

Sweet Summer Days

by Dennis Caraher

The summer sun is nearly done
Frost will follow soon
Asters and chrysanthemums
Light up the afternoon

The dew is on long after dawn
Mornings are a haze
One swallow's song is holding on
In these fading sweet summer days.

We flew across the ocean
Some fell into the sea
God will choose what we will lose
Though we may disagree

We come here to be mended
That we may find our way
We pray that there's redemption
In these fading sweet summer days

Summer months comfort us
The sun comes with sustenance
We live for its lingering light

Days slip away from us
Katydids and crickets hush
We drift into lengthening night.

We were once our children
Too soon they will be us
All they ask, a simple task:
"Remember how it was".

We hold them close, we let them go
We watch them fly away
And if we trust, they'll come to us
In these fading sweet summer days

Stars they are innumerable
We'll never know them all
But nature's not immutable
Every star will fall

And one day, I'll return to thee
And all that will remain
Is the beauty and the certainty
of these fading sweet summer days

changes, betterment

Declaration of My Amends

i can't always live in the moment. i can't always believe my actions happen because of how i feel at that moment. i can't always be sure of my feelings for they do change daily; a part of human nature, i now see that. i've made many mistakes through out my life because i strongly believed that i should live in the moment. as i become older, i see that my destiny is not made of living in the moment but of my values, beliefs, and dreams. So here i am, making amends with myself so at the end of my destiny, I will feel good as a woman, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a lover, and a mother.

As long as I live, I vow to think twice about and reevaluate everything daily. You know the saying that you've heard once or several times in your life, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." Will the mistakes in your life be any good if you don't think about them?

Minutes are as important as days, I vow to sacrifice my minutes to my loved ones. For they have given me my life. All unreplied emails will be replied, due visits will be made, and plans will go through. Life is too short for love to be under appreciated.

Existence of my being is a privilege, I vow to respect my mentality, spirituality, and physicality. I will seek for the places of happiness. I will only receive and let go of peaceful energy. I will assure that my body is valued. You live only once, do it well.

No goodness, no greatness, I vow to do good things. I will always make sure that I do something good daily. All great things are created by good things that I do. Thomas Jefferson once said, "I am a greatest believer of luck. I find that the harder I work, the more I have of it."

Dare to be brave, I vow to spend most of my life walking. Dreams and Happiness happen because I walk. I must not be afraid. I must not set back. I must not run away. I must not hide. I must walk and get things done. Does the flower grow if you sit on the pot?

So, we know life is full of mistakes, I vow to always try. If on any day I fail any of these amends above, I will not give up. For the sake of changes and betterment, I will always try. As once told by someone, "The only constant thing is change."

Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose - and commit myself to - what is best for me.
Paulo Coelho