Month: January 2016

Nature and I are in Harmony©

Nature and I are in Harmony©

This is a poem I wrote years ago while teaching my students in Oregon about homonyms in a playful way.  I always try to instill in them the love and appreciation of nature whenever I find a chance.  In combination of both, I came up with this poem.

 

Nature and I are in Harmony

To that mountain, fixed to the ground

Unchanged, I cave in around to get through.

I stand up to the bully wind, and

Do not wither, I push it away

With my blows until I win.

I blossom with the delicate rose,

I sway by its beauty,

Sending its fragrance everywhere.

I smile back at the moon, orbiting my space

Beaming, spreading around grace.

To the turbulent sea, I wave

Back ignoring its call.

With the generous river, I flow

Not stopping at the bank, but beyond

Its demanding shore.

I rush by the hour; the time

I don’t pass in waste.

I go by the day buzzing with

The bees.

I fall with the night in the lands

Of dreams.

The sun, I rise to shine with

It,  faithful and bright.

My life is fun.  I know

My roll with every element’s feature.

I live in harmony

With Nature.

©Gainperspectiveblog December 30, 2007

Blood on Snow…Syria’s Harsh Winter©

Blood on Snow…Syria’s Harsh Winter©

When humanity covers itself up in winter, shielding itself while turning away from those who suffer unimaginable deprivation, starvation, and death…some of us have to tell the story lest we forget!

Syrians- innocent civilians in Dara’a, Zabadani, and Madaya- have been under siege for months and months now.  No food or goods have been allowed to this area and its people for months upon months.. until a whole population suffered, and continue to suffer, from starvation. Reports reveal the awful reality: how they started eating from garbage piles, forced to eat even cats and dogs as they witnessed their children dying in front of their eyes, screaming and wailing from hunger and pain.  Hospitals became emptied of equipment, tools, and medicine.  Shops closed because of empty shelves and depleted inventories.

Then, as if starving the people to death is not enough, the Syrian regime (along with Russian jet bombers) started dropping bombs on top of the already dying people.

Then came the snow, but, in spite of all its whiteness and purity … it could not cleanse the harshness of the brutality of war and famine.  The Russians and the Syrian Regime kept sending their bombs in spite of the snow… the pure white snow, mingled with the blood of innocents, became a violent reminder of the daily atrocities as it coated the roads and alleys.  Shocking and very disturbing seeing snow mixed with the red blood! It is said that nature is harsh, but seeing the crime that man commits against his fellow man tells of brutality and harshness of an unprecedented scale.  Women, children, and the elderly continue to suffer from starvation while undergoing the agony of leaving their own homes and living in exile under a tent (if they were lucky enough to find a tent) amid the misery of the cold and the devastation and destruction of war.

How can humanity allow this to happen??  Some hearts are truly harder than rocks and stones.

“Thenceforth were your hearts hardened: They became like a rock and even worse in hardness. For among rocks there are some from which rivers gush forth; others there are which when split asunder send forth water; and others which sink for fear of God. And God is not unmindful of what ye do.” Quran 2:72

©Gainperspectiveblog

 

Two poems…different perspective!©

Two poems…different perspective!©

Going through my old notes, I found these two poems I wrote about the same subject, having a dream; however each has a different perspective and a different effect.  One in despair and giving up your dream and the other has hope, persistence, perseverance and never giving up.  I know you will agree with me that Hope is such a powerful force and a much stronger effect.

I am posting them both here and would very much like your feedback.  Drop a note and tell me what do you think.

Hour-Of-Despair

I Dared To Dream!

Once I dared to dream for me another realty

When I saw the harshness, the wrong, the ugliness

Around me; so I tried to change those things.

I rejected them, dealt with them, and spoken

With rationale sense.  No one could see the need

for change, but me.  I screamed, I yelled,

I asked for help.  The way they acted with indifference

has injected numbness in my veins.

Now, I walk around this mess with stillness that frighten me,

A chill that freeze my path.  Loneliness engulfing me,

A stranger among the masses.  The morsels that feed them,

Choke me; the air they breathe in, suffocate me.

The mere existence is emptiness, unfulfilled emptiness.

Events twist and twirl around my days like leaves falling from a tree,

Insignificant.  Injustice deepen the resentment, Oh, it

Is a long list.  It goes on as steady, as heavy as freight trains.

It is hard to see a future in a horizon full of clouds.

Harder, yet, to build a life when there is no life at all.

It was gone long ago, or taken, in pieces here and there.

Remains everywhere.  The form that is there, cruising

Around, is a phantom.  A mirage of what once was.  What happened

To the life within the shell?  It has been taken captive,

A slave to its masters, with million other bosses to rule that poor

Soul.  Tying it down with ropes that choke, holding it down with chains.

February 3rd, 2001

A dream Comes True!

I took my dream

And place it by the window

And everyday the sun goes up

My dream suckled upon its rays

And fed upon its warmth.

At night I look upon my dream

And saw it with the stars

Glittering by the moon

Free from chains and bars.

Day by day, my dream grew

Tall and strong

I tend to it and work on it

At nights and all day long

Until, behold, it has become

A dream comes true;

My glorious dream’s come true.

©Gainperspectiveblog December-28-2007

United We Stand!©

United We Stand!©

This poem I wrote years ago, but still hold true today.  To all the good people out there, those who are full of humanity and kindness…I say let’s stand together and make a better world for us and for our children regardless of our race, ethnic background, color of our skin, or our belief.  One Humanity, One Fate.

 

On The Same Side

We Stand

From this side

I call you.

Can you decipher

My words?

My words,

I speak

From my heart

To yours.

I was pushed

Here you know;

They want us

To divide

But here I am,

And I must

Reach out

To you

From this side,

I am sending

My words

From my

Heart to yours

I know

You

Will understand.

You and I

What difference

Do we have?

Let’s reach out

I am holding out

My hand.

My son, your son

Are friends

They were

Both born

On this land

The pines, the oaks

They know them well,

They grew together

And played together

Under their shade

The roots entwined.

The water of the same

River runs in their veins,

Here together they lived.

I see you

Coming closer

I feel you

In my heart.

We speak

The same words

I knew you

Will understand.

The heart

Knows no

Boundaries.

United we

Stand.

 ©Gainperspectiveblog January 2nd, 2008

The Science of Hope©

The Science of Hope©

Science has proven that Hope is real.  The latest research in NeuroScience-the scientific study of the nervous system-found

“that your brain is wired to be better. If you give it the right stimulus over a period of time, it changes. So, like I said, this is why we call this, in essence, the science of hope.”1

How it works:

“When people experience tragedy, sometimes the last thing they want to hear is advice about “keeping their chin up.” How, after all, does a person keep a positive attitude in the face of, say, a debilitating brain injury?

It turns out, however, that the phrase “stay positive” is more than just a cheerful colloquialism. There’s science behind those words—evidence that hopefulness can promote a quicker, fuller recovery.”2

Hope is authentic:

“How would you like to be better at problem solving, learning a new language, increasing your ability to focus, regaining body function due to a stroke, or recapturing some lost brain function from a brain trauma such as an auto accident? Your mind is very capable of creating these incredible lasting changes in function from neuroplasticity shaping techniques.”2

“The term Neuroplasticity is derived from the root words Neuron and Plastic. A neuron refers to the nerve cells in our brain. Each individual neural cell is made up of an axon, dendrites, and is linked to one another by a small space called the synapses. The word plastic means to mold, sculpt, or modify. Neuroplasticity refers to the potential that the brain has to reorganize by creating new neural pathways to adapt, as it needs. Think of the neurological changes being made in the brain as the brain’s way of tuning itself to meet your needs.”3

A New Field in Science

“Years ago, really up until about 15, 20 years ago, most scientists thought, “You know what? Your brain, after you turn 23, 24 years old, it’s pretty fixed. It doesn’t change very much.”The fact is, nothing could be further from the truth. You can grow new brain cells, and your brain can actually adapt and change its structure, to take on new tasks, new abilities, and then regain ones that have been lost through injury.”1

Hope is different than merely having positive thinking.  The latter is passive; it could be a way to cope with your current situation without having the clue or the vision that things can get better, while hope generates a clear vision, a plan of action, to achieve your goals.

“It was believed until recently that the human brain, which consists of around 100 billion neural cells, could not generate new ones(the generation of new neurons is also known as neurogenesis). The old model assumed that each of us was born with a finite number of neural cells and when a cell died no new cell could grow. This old model of the brain’s inability to regenerate new nerve cells is no longer relevant. It has been proven that certain areas in the brain can generate fresh cells. This new understanding of neural cell generation is an incredible discovery. Another misconception was that the brain had an inability to create new neural pathways.”3

Knowledge and accurate information keeps hope real and true.  We now know that hope is physically a brain function, part of our system, that if triggered, will generate change and healing.

“What’s the Big Idea?

Your brain is more flexible than we’ve ever thought before. It changes because it is constantly optimizing itself, reorganizing itself by transferring cognitive abilities from one lobe to the other, particularly as you age. After a stroke, for instance, your brain can reorganize itself to move functions to undamaged areas.

And yet, due to the lifestyles we lead we tend to not make full use of our brains.

Dr. Dennis Charney, dean of the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, has studied how the brain responds to dramatic changes in peoples’ environments. Charney describes how prisoners of war who were placed in solitary confinement developed unusual cognitive capacities because the only activity they were allowed to do was think. The POWs were essentially exercising their brains. What can we learn from this?

Charney is using this research to conduct psychological therapies that can improve learning and memory, and solve problems with anxiety and depression.”4

It is important to note that hope and faith- that things can get better- is the trigger, the will power, the turn on switch to this Neuroplasticity  engine.  Treatments, therapy, medical and psychological, medicine, exercises…etc. are the ammunition and the fuel for the healing/change process.

“New studies have shown through the use PET, and MRI brain scanning technology, that new neural cells are generated throughout life as well as new neural pathways. Even the elderly are capable of creating measurable changes in brain organization. These changes are not always easy but can happen through concerted focus on a defect area.”3

The key word, the golden word, is persistence.  One should keep up the hope, keep this stimulus on and running as long and as far as it needs, in order for the healing or the change process to reach its goal.

“In a more practical sense, we know that physical exercise is good for the brain because it helps create new neurons. Similarly, when we teach an old brain new tricks we know that it will help slow age-related mental decline.”4

Hope is real, proven by science, and willpower is the switch (The right stimulus) that triggers this amazing ability to change for the better and correct the defect.  It has been proven that our machine has the ability with the right environment, and if we switch the power on by hope and faith that things can get better, and with persistence, things will.  This is how our Maker created us- with this powerful function as an arsenal in the healing and long treatment process in the fight against horrible challenges such as Cancer, depression, trauma, and even aging.

“This is that idea that there’s a truly holistic view that you can take in a human body, without having to feel very alternative about it anymore. Our brains and bodies are inextricably intertwined, and what happens in one, definitively affects the other.”1

People of faith would tell you that they have known this all along, that prayers, faith, and belief is what triggers and turns this healing process on…now science has proven that it is true.  God Hath created us with this amazing ability, and telling us to use it…only if we had faith.

“One of the things I look at is how the attributes that patients bring to the table—resiliency, spirituality, hope—facilitate recovery,” says Kate Kortte, a neuropsychologist in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. “What we’ve found is that maintaining a positive attitude really does help with outcomes and life satisfaction.”2

I found this to be a very important subject to discuss and to introduce to my readers.  We are all fighting our battles in this life, in different degrees and magnitudes…and my message is simple: instead of getting locked up in a current circumstance, look beyond to the horizon, have a different perspective, and hope and work hard to achieve what you hope for.

Faith told us that it can be done, and now science proved it.

I recommend that you read the following article. It will make you gain more perspective to this great concept:

http://www.thehopetree.com/science-of-hope/

“Without hope, nothing could begin; hope offered a real chance to reach a better end. Hope helps overcome hurdles that we otherwise could not scale, and it moves us forward to a place where healing can occur.”
– Jerry Groopman, MD from The Anatomy of Hope

References:

  1. http://zhealtheducation.com/episode-78-the-science-of-hope/
  2. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/publications/restore/restore_summer_2013/the_science_of_hope
  3.  http://www.whatisneuroplasticity.com/
  4.  http://bigthink.com/think-tank/brain-exercise

©Gainperspectiveblog

 

Should You Burn This Tree!©

Should You Burn This Tree!©

 

Maybe you should

Burn this tree!

She has seen so

Many floods

On her so many

A year.  She is

Barren, no green

Essential to cheer

And ornate,

No fruit, no birds

Claim in her estate.

 

Maybe you should

Burn this tree!

She has seen so

Many seasons;

And winter stayed

in her reasons,

And winds swayed

Her figure and

Shook her memory away…

 

Of life and laughter,

Of lushes branches

Laden with fruit,

Of forever and after,

Of promises of riches

In earnest pursuit,

Of happiness, of sunshine

Tickling her leaves…

 

Of guests all around,

And bird songs to

Entertain, and suitors

Hoping in vain

Carving hearts and

Signatures.

 

But when winter

Settled deep in

Her roots and veins,

Her branches weak and limb,

Years of harshness

Erased the life within.

 

Memories are short,

They took a look

At her and shook

Their heads away,

To wipe the image

Of sadness that

She now portrays.

Forgetting all the

Years of happiness

That she gave them.

Maybe they should

Burn this tree away!

 

But, then, came up

The caring sun

Sending her soothing

Rays, and listened,

And listened again

With care, with love.

Her warmth hugging

The tree, her rays

Patting the sadness away.

 

Tears of the rain

Trickled all the way

Deep down her roots

Awakening the life

Within.  Gently

The loyal jay

Came back to

Settle in kicking

The long winter away.

 

Those who has given up

Hope in her, were lured

Back by her revived beauty,

Seeking her flowing shade.

Those who one day had

Seek to burn her,

Now her grace and

Her forgiveness they bade.

For years to come;

Her beauty lived,

And their evils fade.

 

©Gainperspectiveblog January 4th, 2008

 

Happiness©

[ File # csp10096368, License # 2479729 ] Licensed through http://www.canstockphoto.com in accordance with the End User License Agreement (http://www.canstockphoto.com/legal.php) (c) Can Stock Photo Inc. / Inarik
Kids on tree

A state of happiness

Is like a bird fluttering

Its wings and sings

Of melodies so sweet,

Filling the heart with joy.

It is like sunshine

Beaming with goodness

That warms the soul

Floating in the shimmering light.

 

It is like childhood

Careless and free,

Naive, excited

Skipping and hopping all day.

 

Happiness is like a hug,

An embrace, the closeness

That it brings, the humility

And kindness, the magic

Touch of care, the grace.

 

Happiness is like the day

After night, the dawn

After dark, the good

Beyond evil, the ecstasy

Of victory, the end of war,

The triumph, the glorious

Achievement of love for all.

 

Happiness needs company

To share, to spread the

Bounties.  Happiness is

Generous and sweet

Like fresh water

After thirst, transparent,

Filling, humble, priceless,

Simple, essential to life.

 

©Gainperspectiveblog January 19, 2008

Back to The Light©

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

To those who have been through life with its heartbreaks, pain, and disappointments and still find the joy in living, and the strength to hope.  To all who found the courage to open a window in their hearts and souls for…the light.

 

Back to the Light!

 

The dark passages I came upon

My way back to the light!

The demons and Orcs I fought upon

My way back to the light!

The spikes and thorns,

The pain I had,

The burning holes

I had in my heart and soul upon

My way back to the light!

 

They snatched me, they twisted me

They gnawed upon my flesh,

The bleeding wounds, the oozing pus

The stench, that awful stench

Of unfinished things

Long past.

 

I had endured them all

And faced them and bear them all, and fought

And won them all upon

My way back to the light!

 

A White wizard I came back to you

All, bearing the glad tidings.

There is hope yet, oh, and

There is love beyond those

Signs of doom.

In spite of sickness, and in spite of pain

There is strength to gain and health

Of spirit beyond those clouds

Of gloom.

 

The staff I have in my hand

Is gleaming with shinning awe

Glistening in the morning light

Glittering sparks by night

Singing ballads of my valor.

It is humbled yet by the beauty that

Surrounds us here and there.

This brilliant red rose with dew laden leaves

The crispy breeze filled with chirping birds,

These sparkling waves, the rain washed pine

The freshness in the air, the majestic trees

The cozy cabin and the warm hearth

All this and more, are worth fighting for.

 

I came back and fought my war

For the glory of the day,

For that crowned dawn beaming

Pushing the darkness away.

One look upon my daughter’s face

The magic in her smile

Is worth to live for, and fight back

The ugliness, the dismay

Of this world, bringing back victory

To the light, to that shining light,

Of hope, of peace, of love and harmony

Back to the world, I am back to life.

 

©Gainperspectiveblog December 28th, 2007