A poignant tale

“Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise.”

Have We Had Help?

After after getting to know an old tramp back in the nineteen seventies, I decided to write the following story…

~~~

Dhobi

I walked into the autopsy room at the beginning of the day to find a body awaiting my undivided attention which had been found in the woods above the neighbouring village where I grew up. I was equally shocked and saddened. It was my childhood friend Dhobi.

Back then most of the kids in our village were merciless towards him, throwing stones, shouting obscenities. None of them knew the simple gentle man hidden beneath the grime the way I did.

I was the only kid who didn’t pick on him. There was something very special about this loner who had shunned society for the woods. Never once did I wonder why he lived the way he did, nor did he ever offer an explanation. Dhobi was a man…

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Blind-spot…

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”  – Plato

“Too much self-centered attitude, you see, brings, you see, isolation. Result: loneliness, fear, anger. The extreme self-centered attitude is the source of suffering.”  – Dalai Lama

“Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world. It requires profound purpose larger than the self kind of understanding.” – Bill Bullard

 

Blind-spot…

 

Yes. I’ve observed

You can read the sports section

Financial updates, fashion – a mask

News sensations and acts of

Aggression,

 

Yet, you never could see me

Staring way  outside my periphery ( you don’t know me)

Desperate to avoid, oh, the chinks in your armor

These eyes, they frighten you

Fearing, they could expose you

 

Some say your eyes are vacant

Others say, hostility resides there

You declare astuteness and brilliance

Like an open book

I read the pain from where you strikeout

 

You are terrified

Your wounds open, raw

Could find healing

A vessel for your pain

I never judge and my lips remain sealed

 

You remain locked in the fear

Fear that I would know you too well

Yet, I already do

 

Bisous,

Léa

Desiderata

“I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness; I hear the approaching thunder that one day, will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more.”      – Anne Frank

“Peace cannot be kept by force; but by understanding.”  – Albert Einstein

The following, I read as a young child. I’ve carried it with me for a very long time. It was always there, within the folds of my heart. It remained a compass for my journey. I’ve never been good at following the main path. I feel strongly about its message and feel the need to share it today. Thank you Max Ehrmann for your words and thank you for reading on.

–

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

 

Paix, Peace, Shalom et Bisous,

Léa

Suit of armour

“Quiet people have the loudest minds.”  Stephen Hawking

“Don’t underestimate me because I’m quiet. I know more than I say, think more than I speak and observe more than you know.”  Michaela Chung

“Opinion is the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world. It requires profound purpose, larger than the self kind of understanding.” Bill Bullard

 

Suit of armour

 

Hard to believe

She choses to wear her

Hair as though the wind

Has had its way

 

Who would want

To dress so casual

Borderline slovenly

As if it is a uniform

Others cast aside

 

 

Her shoes, worn

No, pathetic

So out of date

Lacking style, fashion unconscious

 

If you even notice her

She is off in a corner

Back to any available wall

Book, journal, alone 

 

Sometimes she is joined by others

Pulled from her pages

She holds them in her gaze

Square on, silent

 

 

Nodding her head, offering a hand

Armed with hugs

A quiet word as needed

She holds up the mirror

Offers a different view

 

Her mask keeps frivolity at bay

But those in need

Always seem to find her

Even seek her out

 

 

And for them, she is there

Telling no tales

 

 

Bisous

Léa