Pre-High Holy Days 2021 reflections
Reflect, transform,
Happy new year.
I Have Been
I have been weak
I have been strong
I have given up
I have persevered
I have been aggressive
I have been passive
I have been.
I am
Human.
I have been happy
I have been sad
I have been busy
I have been bored
I have been loving
I have been unkind
I have been cynical
I have been trusting.
I am
Human.
I am
Resilient.
My have beens
are part
of the person
I am.
I have been.
I am.
I don't think I'm finished with this one yet, but I'm posting it because I'm not sure when I will have the strength to go back to it.
When my child hurts,
My heart breaks,
as I try to figure out what I can say,
that will feel like the hug
I want to give.
Knowing that nothing said over the phone,
Will feel as comforting as my arms,
holding her tight,
as she drenches my shirt with her tears.
When my child is drowning in misery,
in my arms or a thousand miles away,
I feel helpless.
As I listen to her words and sobs,
I hold my breath to stay calm,
To hold in my thoughts of rage and revenge
against whoever caused the pain.
I hang on
Until she emerges,
From the moment,
Wet and shaken,
And somehow stronger,
Even though she might not realize it yet.
When my child hurts,
she often recovers faster than I do,
And her life goes on.
And maybe, just maybe,
something I said or did
made a difference.
Whether it did or not,
isn’t the point.
I was so looking forward to my apple last night.
Crunchy red apple,
Looked so good and had no taste.
Juicy, what a shame.
[needs editing, I think]
Writer’s Lament
Damn!
I had a couple of thoughts
and didn’t write them down.
Now they’re gone.
Hopefully they will come back
and I will take the time
to see where they take me.
I'm not sure if this one is done but I did a lot of editing, more than usual before posting, so here goes.
Technology and Life
Technology isn’t life.
But it can help you live.
When you feel alone,
it can help you interact with people
without leaving your home.
It can help you find people
with common interests,
from around the world.
It provides a safe space
to create friendships,
so natural,
that it appears to outsiders
that you’ve been friends forever.
Technology doesn’t make friends
Technology doesn’t create relationships
It doesn’t talk, sing, laugh, weep.
It doesn’t hug, hold, comfort, celebrate, commiserate.
Technology isn’t companionship.
Technology provides a place,
You can live in,
When being in person
is difficult
A place where you can choose
When to interact
How much you want to interact
A place where you can observe
Without being seen
Listen without having to speak
A place you can come and go as you please
Without leaving your home.
Technology isn’t life
But just like in life,
You might get lucky
And make a friend,
just like in kindergarten.
Because they were there when you looked,
and it turned out
to be
one of the best things
that ever happened to you.