Song Lyric Sunday: Grateful

Helen’s direction for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday is to share a song about gratitude. I was looking for a chance to share another one of Nimo’s Empty Hands Music videos so I’m very grateful she chose that theme.

The song I will share is Grateful: A Love Song to the World by Nimo Patel and Daniel Nahmod.

Lyrics

Verse 1:

You’re my life,
You’re my breath,
You’re a smile
You my guest

You’re the earth
You’re the sun
You’re the grass
You are love

You’re my hands
You’re a bug
You’re my eyes
You’re a hug

You’re the light
In the dark
You’re the spark
You are fun

You’re my mom
You are water
You’re the stars
You’re my daughter

You’re my friend
Till the end
You’re my dreams
You’re my father

You’re the ants on the ground
The miracles that surround
I’m feelin’ it all around
The hemisphere and the clouds

You’re my pain you’re my sorrow
You’re my hope for tomorrow
You’re the strength when I’m hollow
You’re the path that I follow

You’re the blessings that exist
The small things that are bliss
The gift to realize that
Everything is a gift

Chorus:
All that I am
All that I see
All that I’ve been and all that I’ll ever be
Is a blessing
It’s so amazing
And I’m grateful for it all, for it all

Verse 2:

You’re the blessings
Every time I try to count,
You’re the lessons
That l learn
Every time I turn around,
You’re the water when I’m burned
Every time I think I’ve found
Everything I’m looking for,
You’re the sign sayin’
Stop to take a bow

And keep moving forward
And start looking towards your heart,
it’ll open all the doors
And only then you’ll start
To hear the world sing in chorus
With your mind and heart
Aligned in purpose
Everything will feel gorgeous

Chorus:
All that I am
All that I see
All that I’ve been and all that I’ll ever be
Is a blessing
It’s so amazing
And I’m grateful for it all, for it all

Breakdown 1:
Everyday I sit and pray
Cuz what I have is
More than I deserve
Or could ever imagine
How do I give back
To all of this magic
And spread the love
So everybody can have it

Doesn’t matter if I’m rich or poor
If I gotta family or if I’m all alone
Bad things happen I can just complain and moan
But there’s a million things that I can be grateful for

Breakdown 2:
So I lift up my hands now
And I open my heart
And my gratitude goes out
To everything near and far

Final Chorus:
Everything I am
And everything I see
Everything I hope
And everything I dream
Everything I feel
And everything I be
I Look deep down
And feel all the blessings
I’m grateful for it all
It’s amazing

All that I am
All that I see
All that I’ve been and all that I’ll ever be
Is a blessing
Its so amazing
And I’m grateful for it all, for it all

Outro:

You’re the blessings that exist
The small things that are bliss
The gift to realize that
Everything is a gift

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO2o98Zpzg8

Be sure to watch the fun outtakes at the end of the video. You will also be able to download the free Empty Hands Music album should you want to do that.

Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around

I just watched this video on my friend Kathie’s blog Chosen Perspectives. It is what I needed to hear right now. I thought that might be true for others too so decided to share it on my own blog.

In posting the video above, I saw and listened to the one below, so am posting it too.

May we remember where we came from and always move forward, even when it seems impossible. May we treat all people in the world as if they are our brothers and sisters, because they are.

Taize: Veni Sancte Spiritus

vidireras-698098_1280

This has been such a difficult week for me, as it has been for many of us. It seems like so much of what I hold dear is in danger.

From time to time during the last two days, a song from a monastery in France has come to my mind. That song is Veni Sancte Spiritus.

The Taize monastery is dedicated to the reunification of the Christian church. At this point there are 100 brothers living there. They come from various Catholic and Protestant denominations and are from 30 different countries.

Taize music touched me to the core the first time I heard it and that has never changed. I visited the French monastery with friends in 2003 or 2004. We had the privilege of spending part of one evening with Brother Roger, their founder. He was in his late 80’s at the time of our visit.

I will never forget that experience. I felt like I was in the presence of a master. One or two years later, he was murdered in the temple. The world lost a great soul that night, but his work lives on.

There are Catholic and Protestant churches singing Taize music all over the world. Those services are always ecumenical.

I have picked a version of Veni Sante Spiritus that includes several different languages (I don’t know how many languages since I only understand English!) When I started the video and the music began, I burst into tears once again.

Following the first video, there will be another one that is in English. And at the end of the post you will find the lyrics in English. The photos in the first video are from the Taize monastery.

I chose to put the video prior to the lyrics so you had an opportunity to get a sense of the song without knowing what it meant. Here is the English version followed by the lyrics. It is also a very beautiful version. As I am listening to it my tears are still pouring.

Lyrics

Come, Holy Spirit, from heaven shine forth with your glorious light.
Veni Sancte Spiritus

Come, Father of the poor, come, generous Spirit, come,
light of our hearts.
Veni Sancte Spiritus

Come from the four winds, O Spirit, come breath of God;
disperse the shadows over us, renew and
strengthen your people.
Veni Sancte Spiritus

Most kindly warming light! Enter the inmost depths of our hearts,
for we are faithful to you.
Without your presence we have nothing worthy, nothing pure.
Veni Sancte Spiritus

You are only comforter, Peace of the soul.
In the heat you shade us; in our labour you refresh us,
and in trouble you are our strength.
Veni Sancte Spiritus

On all who put their trust in you and receive you in faith,
shower all your gifts.
Grant that they may grow in you and persevere to the end.
Give them lasting joy!
Veni Sancte Spiritus

Read more: http://www.letssingit.com/taize-lyrics-veni-sancte-spiritus-t9tpw88#ixzz4PrsEY2x0
LetsSingIt – Your favorite Music Community

Song Lyric Sunday

runaway eggs

Rara is one of my most favorite bloggers. She is so creative and her posts are unlike any others. I also love that she is so full of love and that she can go through the most difficult of situations and still “be” love.

Keep Loving by Nimo Patel

When I checked my email inbox this morning, I found an email from Nimo Patel of Empty Hands Music. I heard him sing in Atlanta in August of 2015. I was very impressed by his music at the time, and once I learned more about him, I was even more impressed. In his email message, he offered words of wisdom and a video.

***

Dear Family and Friends of Empty Hands Music,

In this moment when many of us our unhappy, saddened and hurt by the decision we may have made, as a country, to select such a leader, is also the same moment we can take to use that energy for positive change. We vote for this type of leader every 4 years in America. But, really, everyday we have a chance to vote. Everyday we can vote by using less of earth’s resources to help fight global warming. Everyday we can vote by treating our women with the deepest unconditional love and respect. Everyday we can vote by treating all our brothers and sisters in our country and in the world, with genuine appreciation and gratitude for all the beauty and diversity we bring to each other. Every moment, in every day of our life is a seed being planted, is a vote being made. Lets move forward now voting each day through our actions, thoughts and heart. Through whatever darkness we perceive, lets try to shine light. May we all KEEP LOVING! Hope you can enjoy this Music Video during this moment in time. Love you ALL. We will move forward together now. But we all just need to focus on doing our part. Making our daily votes count. Love Love Love.

Blessings to you and sending lots of love!
-nimo and the Empty Hands family.

To learn more about Nimo and Empty Hands Music click here.
To download the free Empty Hands album click here.

Song Lyric Sunday: Everyday People

Helen’s direction for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday is to “post a song that deals with judgment or the opposite- getting rid of judgment and being more accepting of everyone.”

I love how this weekly challenge gives me the opportunity to re-connect with music that has been important to me in the past. The song I chose for this week is Sly and the Family Stone’s Everyday People.

Everyday People was written by Sly Stone and was released in 1968. It was the first single by his band to reach #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Wikipedia reports that Everyday People was “one of Sly Stone’s pleas for peace and equality between differing races and social groups, a major theme and focus for the band.” It also stated that the band was “the first major integrated band in rock history.”

Lyrics

Sometimes I’m right and I can be wrong
My own beliefs are in my song
The butcher, the banker, the drummer and then
Makes no difference what group I’m in

I am everyday people, yeah yeah

There is a blue one who can’t accept the green one
For living with a fat one trying to be a skinny one
And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo

Oh sha sha we got to live together

I am no better and neither are you
We are the same whatever we do
You love me you hate me you know me and then
You can’t figure out the bag I’m in

I am everyday people, yeah yeah

There is a long hair that doesn’t like the short hair
For bein’ such a rich one that will not help the poor one
And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo

Oh sha sha we got to live together

There is a yellow one that won’t accept the black one
That won’t accept the red one that won’t accept the white one
And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo

I am everyday people

The Daily Prompt: Tiny

I spent many years sewing tiny dolls that were sold to support Amma’s Embracing the World humanitarian projects. I wonder if making them again will become part of my retirement activities.

Saraswati

Written for Daily Prompt: Tiny

Good Morning to You!

In the early to mid 90’s, I wrote a fun devotional song that my son told me sounded like a sea chantey. Years later, one line from that song would often come into my mind when I went on morning walks. At that point, though, the lyrics were different. They became “Good morning to you, good morning to you, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning to you.” I would sing the ditty to the plants and trees I encountered on my walk.

Thursday night, we had a big rain and wind storm in Seattle. On Friday morning I went outside to see how the trees fared. I found myself singing that song to each tree along my way.

First I visited the trees in my back yard:

Maple tree, good morning to you!

Holly tree, good morning to you!

Magnolia tree, good morning to you!

Juniper trees, good morning to you!

Blue Spruce, good morning to you!

Next, I walked down to the Greenbelt lot where we’ve been rescuing the trees from blackberry vines and ivy. I was eager to check out what had happened there during the storm. I could tell everything was fine, but it was still windy so I didn’t go as close to those trees as I would have normally. I didn’t want to take any chance that a dead branch would drop on my head.

Cherry trees, good morning to you!

Cedar trees, good morning to you!

Buddleia, good morning to you!
I look forward to seeing who you become now that you are freed from the blackberries. I also look forward to seeing if butterflies flock to your blooms.

Hawthorne tree, good morning to you!
I look forward to seeing what happens now that you have a chance to thrive.

And last but not least, beautiful Alder, good morning to you!

I thoroughly enjoyed my morning visit to each of these trees. Maybe this will become a daily ritual for me!

I wish each of you who read this post a very good morning, no matter what time of day it is in your part of the world.

cropped-senior-salon

Shared on Senior Salon 11/2/2016

You Are Enough Right Now

“You are enough right now, not after further, future achievements, but now, as you are.

Your wisdom is a valuable contribution to others right now, not after further study and life experience, but now, as it is.

You are worthy of respect and compassion right now, as you are, and not just because Brene Brown says so, but she does say so, and she seems like a nice person.

You are wonderfully lovable as you are right now, not at some future point when you’ve purged yourself of every human foible, but now, and not just because Mr. Rogers would say so, but you know he SO would.

You have the inalienable right to be flawed, ordinary, in your stuff, and off-track. These are fundamental to existence, and in no way subtract from any of the above.

Go forth and rock.”

by Fritz Reitz
Quote used with permission

Weekly Photo Challenge: Quest

Throughout Seattle, there are groups of people working to remove blackberry vines, morning glories and ivy from parks and Greenbelts. The empty lot that is behind my house is in of one of the Greenbelts. During the last three decades, the invasive plants have completely taken over the once beautiful land. So many trees have died.

There have been times in the past where I cleared parts of the lot, but since I can’t take out all of the roots, they, of course, always come back. Lately removing the blackberry vines and other invasives from the lot has become a passion for me. A friend and I have worked many hours cutting them down.

This is my favorite tree on that property. (It is actually two different trees, and each one of them split into two trunks so there are actually four trunks, but I still see them all as one tree.)

One of my first priorities was to remove the blackberry vines and ivy from that tree. I have done that enough times over the years that was a fairly easy goal for me to accomplish. For the first time, however, I noticed that there was a branch on the north side of the tree that was so long that it disappeared into the blackberries. I resolved to free the branch.

But how would I even get to it? There was no easy course.

I planned my route to the buried branch and committed to free it the next day.

Early Sunday morning, I set out to accomplish my goal. First, I went to the storage shed to pick up the tools I needed.

As I started to open the shed door, I walked face first into a big spider web. Yuck. I backed up to see where the spider was. What I saw was a yard spider that was bigger than any I’ve ever seen before.

I had been looking for a subject for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Quest. The moment I came face to face with that spider was the moment that I knew I had my subject for the photo story. Freeing this tree branch was indeed going to be a Quest.

I picked up my tools and then headed towards the stairs that go to the lower lot.

Shortly thereafter, I again walked into an unseen spider.

Okay, it is time for me to get conscious.

Pay attention to what I’m doing.
Carry the hedge shears downward.
Watch where I’m walking so I don’t slide on the uneven ground as I walk down the hill.
Don’t step in a hole.
Make sure I have my phone safely stored in case I need help.

I inched my way down the hill, drawing ever closer to the tree. As I descended, I appreciated how much clearing we have already done.

Cutting a path through the blackberry vines, I drew closer and closer to my destination. It wasn’t just a matter of cutting down the upper layer of blackberries. If I opened a hole in the mass, I could see that many of the old ones were in layers three feet deep. I had to be careful not to accidentally put my foot into a drop off.

Finally, I got close enough to the branch that I could begin cutting the vines that were holding it down.

I worked diligently, oblivious of the time.

I was excited to see that there were many signs of life on the smaller branches that were offshoots of the larger one.

When I thought I had freed it, I discovered that there was still one part was still trapped. I couldn’t even see where it ended. It occurred to me that none of the other branches on the tree were anywhere near that long, so I decided to cut it just under the areas of growth.

When I made the cut, the branch rose ten to twelve feet into the air.

Free, free at last!

Mission accomplished. As I started to leave the area, I saw so many other trees that need to be liberated from the blackberries. I recommitted to come back and do more of that work, but this quest was enough for one day.

Time to go home.