A perfect stranger is someone you've never met, never talked to, been acquainted with--most likely never seen... And those circumstances are what make the stranger perfect--the complete lack of interaction. But with that uncontaminated, unaltered, clean-slated view of an individual, who are they to you but perfect? Let them be perfect. And perhaps allow that same courtesy to those you know all too well--without judgement or history--let them, in your eyes, be perfect. Mankind would be well served by such grace of thought.    

Happiness is the permission to Love. ~RCW

A Night of Repose

I call them friends--the people that give validity to your life--the people who remind you that you're good and kind--with laughter, full-bodied embraces, companionship--the good things. I imagine someone kind once discovered such an essential form of love or perhaps someone wise who realized the world is much easier to brave with a hand to hold or at least someone to question the merit of the crazy things you say and do and permit them nonetheless.  It has been a quiet night of repose and the morning will have my gratitude, the night my bowed head and prayer.

12/14/2012

You'll find a prayer from every household blanketing the nation today. You can yell. You can hate. You can injure. You can curse the light of day. But, please don't. With all my heart, please don't. To lose the most precious piece of one's life in a heart's beat is a state of paralysis no one should ever have to endure. I can't imagine explaining to my child why they can no longer go to school or why the doors out to recess must be locked and guarded by armed officers so they can color, count, and learn in peace. "I understand," are words I will never speak to the victim's families. But I would humbly ask permission to mourn, to pray, to love, and somehow, to learn to how to forgive with them--with this nation where freedom, courage, the pursuit of happiness...Lord, let me be an instrument of thy peace.

The eloquence of kindness is rivaled by no author’s account of the wonders of this world. To witness love’s unexpected grace in the hours of yesterday, today, and tomorrow leaves me humbled; wishing to be better for what tomorrow could promise to be.  I try.  With all my being, I try to be adequate to the nomadic standards of life’s questions in regards to the integrity of my character.  But what a waste of energy standards are if they overlook kindness in its raw beauty of human affection.  I would rather be poor in all the foundations of successful endeavors than to misplace the courage to be kind.

These words are meant to help friends, acquaintances, strangers, and loved ones all to find more grace in their lives. There are moments in every day when people just need compassion for life's challenging array of adversity. It is important to feel loved, valuable, noticed, encouraged, comforted--even just for a moment's pause in a day. I hope these small tokens are a vehicle for more moments.

Here are some thoughts for you, sweet friends:

Today doesn't need stress. Last night was long. The morning was early. But today is yours to embrace as your time. Don't wait for the next pause in the rush of your life to take a deep breath. Realize that you can rest in action. And the days aren't as long when the company you keep is kind.~RCW

As the days grow colder, be a little warmer to the people near you. Warmth is a quality that draws people close. It's comforting and inviting. It's kind--dare I say loving. It feels like home. Try to be that. These seasons may actually change for someone in need. ~RCW

A thought at the close of the day: To whoever needs just to be tucked in tonight, You are loved. You are lovely. And I promise the world will find you wonderful tomorrow if you take a moment to breathe it in and smile back. ~RCW

Do what you love and everything will fall into place. ~RCW

It takes a grand amount of courage to love. To see every passerby as a reason this life is worth fighting for. To acknowledge every moment as a chance to put another's life at ease. It seems that those who don't hold a "some one" closer to their heart than the rest find life dizzyingly unfulfilled. But that would make love conditional to say, "I can only love if I'm going to spend my life with someone." And, in turn, the importance of loving yourself is swept beneath layers of self-constructed barriers. I would rather love my whole life--and then stumble into someone doing the same thing who feels like coming with. ~RCW

I think it's spectacular when people come back in your life--friends, acquaintances, lovers, strangers--and you get a second chance to notice how beautiful they are, how valuable, how important...But take the chance to notice, no? How far they've come. How far you've come. Still fighting to meet the standards of everyone around you and laughing at the idea of how that's the opposite of what should be done and yet... And all the secrets learned in life lacking purpose as our habitual characters continue on in a grander, more refined stupidity. But still we grow. Take notice--even as to recognize a new haircut or cadence of step. It's nice to be noticed--a name remembered--a face looked upon kindly--the scraps of a scrapbook. Cheers to you lovely scrappy people ~RCW

If you're tired of the way your answer sounds to the question, "how are you?" perhaps it is time to finally let go of the baggage and cease arguing, "more easily said than done." Just take small steps. Do you realize how breathtaking you can be when you're at your best? Isn't that worth stepping towards? Come for a walk with me.~RCW

I am a witness that love echos. I think it is time to be noisy. ~RCW

Cheers. Much love.