Tag: appreciation

Dedication to Dr. Seuss

I have been a huge fan of Dr. Seuss from the time I was a kid until now. Yes, his work is full of silly rhymes and childlike things, but his work is very meaningful, even in today’s world. I loved a lot of his books like “Green Eggs and Ham,” but one of my favorites is “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” and in fact, I got that book as a graduation present from my parents. No matter what age you read that book at it is still a great book to have in your collection. And here is an excerpt from that book.

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

I wanted to keep this post short, but I also wanted to show my appreciation for Dr. Seuss. So here is a piece I wrote and I got first place for it on my favorite site DUP, which I have talked about before. Here it is and happy reading!! And thank you Dr. Seuss for being such a huge inspiration! Happy birthday to you.

All the Places You’ll Go! (A Take on Dr. Seuss)

You are traveling to cities and meeting new faces.
You are exploring every new culture and lose traces
Of your previous life. You find new people to fall
In love with and you will have stories to tell. The wall
Will be crumbling and is falling at your awaiting feet.
There are many snow-capped mountains you can defeat.

You conquer anything. Oh, the places you’ll go! And
Yes, you will be on your merry way to stand
Tall against the naysayer’s nonsense. You have smarts
Locked in that big brain of yours and have many hearts
Made of gold beating in your thick-skinned chest.
You choose all you want to be different than the rest.

Oh, the places you’ll go! Memories made among stars
And between blades of grass. Your imperfect scars
You forget about as you closed your eyes and this world
Takes you to a different galaxy. The thoughts that uncurl
And you stand there fully transfixed. You will arrive
At your destination with unmeasured breaths. You drive

Down the west coast with the wind in your hair. Oh,
The places you’ll go! Life is like a fireworks show
Because all you can do is sit back and enjoy it before
It passes you by. You will be watching a new door
That opens and see sights from a bird eye’s view.
Tears sprouting from your eyes helped you as you grew.

Remember the smiles and every time you got splattered
Messes on your clothes. You thought you never mattered
Or would make it, but there you are saying to yourself…
Oh, the places you’ll go! Your love stays on the high shelf
And someone will be lucky to get it one day, but you walk
Your streets. You are like Mary, but ahead of her flock.

Appreciation For All We Do Have

I have not posted for a while, cannot believe it has been about a month since the last time I posted. Things have been that busy I guess. I wanted to post something about Thanksgiving and I know I am about a week late, but I guess it is better to be late than never. We have a tendency to complain about all the things we do not have instead of all the things we do have. It is just a part of our human nature to worry more about the things we do not have and we forget to appreciate the good things in life.

There are several good quotes about appreciation, thankfulness and gratefulness, but this is one of the best ones I could find by Wale Ayeni who says, “Be thankful for what you have. Your life, no matter how bad you think it is, is someone else’s fairytale.” So in other words, even when your life is bad someone else’s life could be worse or better. I know things have not been going well for some people, but there is so much to be thankful for. I could give a list of what and who I am thankful for. Maybe this list would inspire others to do the same. In fact people should write at least 5 things they are grateful/thankful for. I will start (and it really has not changed much over the years although I keep adding to it). Here it is and I wrote two poems about what I am thankful/grateful for.My list is as follows and might be long so bear with me (and it is not in any particular order:

  1. My parents
  2. My friends – including my two BFFs
  3. My second family on the West and East Coast
  4. Poetry
  5. Music
  6. My sister
  7. My brother
  8. Family friends
  9. Family
  10. Sunrises
  11. Sunsets
  12. Laughter
  13. Love
  14. Heartbreak
  15. Being broke
  16. Failures
  17. Happiness
  18. Roses (and other flowers)
  19. Rain
  20. Sunshine
  21. Chocolate
  22. Food
  23. Shelter
  24. Therapy (favorite store)
  25. My therapist
  26. Clothes
  27. Baking
  28. Exes
  29. Color
  30. And many more things

Here are my two poems I wrote. I forgot to mention this before and I know I need to do more of this, but I hope you show your appreciation to those who have been there for you because there might be a day when they will not be here. Enjoy and be thankful for what you have every single day. You will not regret it one bit.

Thankful For…

The muse that makes every morning more bearable.
All the hugs and kisses that are keeping me stable.
The whispers behind my back that are making me
Grateful for every kind word. When someone sees
Me for the mess that I am, but is continuing to love
Me anyways. To know that the bright world is full of
Harshness and darkness, but there is knowledge that
There is a smile behind the clouds. The quiet and flat
Laughter turning into sunny merriment coming down
The long hallways. When it felt like you could drown
In sorrow and sadness, but the smell of roses turns
That frown into bright eyes. All the scars and burns
Beginning to repair or heal themselves. The tears
That are drying all on their own and all of the fears
That make me strong. The women who came before
And paved the path for me to follow. Hearing my roar.
Being Thankful For Everything
Life has me thankful for it all…
The easy ups and sharp downs.
The pain and every single tear.
My solid and protective wall.
Smiles emerging from frowns.
The hope blooming after fear
Dies away. The times I laughed.
The mistakes I have made. The
People who are there for me.
Moments not photographed.
My safe place. When there is a
Feeling of peace. The rough sea
That becomes calm. The stars
That are still shining. My heart.
Every day that I am still alive
And breathing. Words that are
Mine. Chance for a new start
And the ability to deep dive.