THE MIRACLE OF HAVING A HOME

It is a miracle to have a home, to be in a home where there are 3 meals plus snacks everyday, where my bed is comfortable, where there are people who are amiable, with a roommate who cares, with entertainment every hour, with computer access and Internet and software usage. It is a miracle to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It is a miracle not to be hungry at all during the daytime. It is a miracle to get sleep at night. It is a miracle to read good books and to own them. It is a miracle to have library access in my neighborhood. It is a miracle to win prizes at a Bingo game. It is a miracle to watch The Wizard of OZ movie on my home television set in a large dining room filled with people like in a theater. It is a miracle to walk next door to go to a center to upload my poetry onto a blog. It is a miracle to walk 2 blocks east and be on a sandy beach shore of the Great Lake Michigan. It is a miracle to see children playing games in a nearby park. It is a miracle not to need a car to get anywhere, access to buses and trains just outside my front door that lead to everywhere. It is a miracle to live in the Heart of Chicagoland and be with native Chicagoans, a diversified people, but who are all like me. It is a miracle to be happy where I am, with whom I associate, and doing what I love to do. Life itself is a miracle and it is a miracle to have miracles in my life!

A MIRACLE TO BE ALIVE

It is a miracle to be alive, to smell, to touch, to feel with all my senses, all six of them--to be in a world of the living and also alert in the world where the dead comes alive again in our memories. To be in where we feel all things, the bad with the good. A miracle to be in a world where yellow abounds like sunlight, a color of yellow and white with the bluish skies. A miracle to be alive, to be feeling all things, to have emotions, to have an abundance of abundances, to have friendships, to have close family, to have all the things one needs to feel security and the prolonging of one's life, a life where all needs are met. The needs of the spiritual world with the material world, a world where we are free to be you and me. A world where all are accepted, a world where we are all in heaven together seated at the right hand side of the Father--Adonai.

THE TORAH IS A TORAH MIRACLE



Burying my nose inside the Book of Life--THE TORAH--these days. No other reading is as good, wouldn't waste my time in any other book. The print rises from each page like a heavenly rain cloud and it then mists its goodness into my eyes as I remove my eyeglasses to see the pages better. Stories of incredible heavy meaningfulness, a good read. The names of the Prophets stand out as in 3D from each page, and their poetic sounds resonate like sea waves into my mind. I love to pronounce each vowel and consonant in Hebrew, the most beautiful language ever created. A language created to talk to God. Learning about children, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers. Learning how the poor and needy like Job become rich and successful. These are stories that touch my heart, glad to hear of happy endings for people who go through torment to come out on top--to get peace. Love to learn about prophesies and the wisdom of the elders. Love to read about Prophets hearing God's voice and letting us know what He said. Love to learn about the meanings and secrets of the universe--no other reading is as good. The Book of Life is a book FOR life, it keeps me alive and reading words that offer protection and survival techniques, The Book that saves lives gives me a reason to live.

THE MIRACLE OF FINDING A BARGAIN

Shopkeepers near the beach, all have a lesson to teach,
You give a little, I give a little, and the consumer gets a deal.

He sells it to me for less, but the miracle is that a "thank you" he gets,
Indeed he is getting more, because my appreciation is at the core.

Sadly he says his business knew better weather,
But he gives me a smile, that tickles like a feather.
He sells, I buy, and I walk home with a new toy.

Bathing suits for sale, trinkets, and jewelry, new items of quality with no foolery.
He sells what he can, it is like an estate sale sold by one man.

I offer him a sale lower than what is marked,
He raises my price a little, but still a deal I buy smart.

Walked a mile for a deal, stopping in shops along the way,
Finally found my treasure, it has been a good day!

THE MIRACLE OF BIRTHING A CHILD

 

Children, miracles, little bodies, playing, laughing, tickling and blowing soap bubbles. Youngsters, infants, diapers, diaper rash, who will change the next diaper, him or me?

Money needed to feed an infant's mouth, milk bottles, Gerber's baby food, little silver spoons, night cap, cradle cap, Johnson's Baby Shampoo, Johnson's Talcum Baby Powder, who will get a job to pay for all this, him or me?

Education, school clothes, new gym shoes to fit a growing foot. Dress up clothes for going out, bathing suits, a pool in the backyard, a swing set to play on, who will build the treehouse, him or me?

Clothes must be laundered, fabric softeners, mild child detergents, no irritation to a baby's soft skin. Laundry machines and dryers, needing constant repair, highly priced costly electric bills, tumbling blankets and winter coats at a Laundromat. Needing more hangers to hang up clothes, closet space needs to be expanded, who will do the laundry, him or me? Who will do the shopping, him or me?

Children are miracles, thinking about having a baby? Do you want to be a parent or do you want to have a parent, are you ready, will you ever be ready? What makes a good parent, a person who has been taught to be a parent by their parents, or is this type of person just a person who grew up too fast without having a childhood of his/her own?

Yes, it is fun to watch a child play a game, to cause a child to laugh, to put a Bandaid on a scraped knee, but when it comes down to it, are you really qualified? Should an unqualified parent be a parent? Are you ready to give up everything unselfishly and give it to another so s/he can grow, or will your actions actually stunt another and cause harm instead of good. It is something to think about, all the glamour, the baseball caps and hair bows, the trips to the beach and the car rides to school, the new shoes, the teaching and learning. Is this a job for anyone? Is it the job of the child to care for the parent? Should a child help his parent or should a parent help his child?

Soap bubbles, yo yos, dolls and children's books. Halloween costumes, candy, bubble gum, and toy guns. Children are miracles, little people, miniatures, dollhouses and toy stoves. Teaching a child to be a parent, needing a treehouse and a swing set, a big backyard, s/he needs her own room. Bills to be paid, cars to be fixed, computers to be purchased.

Parenting is not a job for just anyone, it is a job for someone who wants the job. Abortions and birth control, preparation, forethought, prevention, teen education. It is about wanting the job not being forced to do a job you are not prepared to do or do not want to do.

Children are miracles, let's keep them as miracles not as potential societal problems as unwanted children, with unwilling and unprepared parents. Baby booms, parents without spouses, children without parents, orphans.

The best form of birth control is teaching your child how to say "No." Teen education: Learning 75 different ways to say "No" and to get results.

TIKKUN OLAM; THE HEALING, THE CHANGING OF THE WORLD

Heard the words in a song on the radio:
"We Spend Our Days Begging, Borrowing, and Stealing."
How can a song like this benefit society unless we think to ourselves that we must change this, change these behaviors, not fall prey to them--stop the negative behaviors and instead start doing what is righteous: "Spend Our Days Giving, Lending, and Crediting."

What can we do to change? Give a dollar to a beggar if what you have are 2 dollars. Keep 1 dollar for yourself and give 1 away. Find joy in watching a beggar eat: if you have enough food for 2 meals, feed the hungry a meal and keep a meal for yourself. You will not go hungry, you have enough food for 2, so give a little food away--if you keep it, it will spoil anyway, because a person can eat just so much without over-stuffing himself.

If you do not have enough even for 1 meal to feed yourself, then humble yourself to receive food from another who has 2 meals and wants to give one away, to give you his extra food. The way the world goes around is by giving and receiving. Living selfishly or living generously, this is not a choice--we must and should pay taxes--so that the poor man has a meal.

It is not just physical property that needs to be shared, something for everyone, it is the way one person treats another: watch what you say to another--instead of expressing inner anger or jealousy, instead of trying to destroy someone's ego to put your own up, say something favorable to someone to aid him in his view of how to see himself: give verbal encouragement to another human being, tell him that you believe in him. Sometimes all we need is for someone out there to believe in us, to believe "We Can Do It." To give someone a stroke, a word of kindness, instead of belittling someone or doubting him, or worse yet threatening someone to get from him what you want, something that you are not entitled to get from him in the first place.

It is a miracle in my life that someone said to me today "You are a very nice person, very well mannered, I hope you have a beautiful day!" This person gave of himself to say something nice to me today. And it was said early in the morning so it could carry  me through the day starting me out on the right foot. If someone says "I love you" or even just cares enough to say "Good morning," it can be the impetus to change someone's entire attitude toward the world; and if everyone's attitude changes, then the world will change. This is Tikkun Olam--the meaning of these  Hebrew words is: "The Healing, The Changing Of The World."