Summer in Las Vegas

Summer is here, 

It is the heat we fear, 

As triple digit temperatures rise. 

The homeless now swelter, 

As they look for shelter, 

From deadly triple digit temperatures. 

Motivational Monday or Lost Monday

Motivational Monday 

Or was it a lost Monday 

Somewhere in between 

After a difficult start this morning, I finally got  motivated to accomplish something. Most of what I did today was phone calls. I had to call my insurance agent to see if they would cover some of the cost for compression stockings. They will. I called my doctor to have her start the paperwork to get the compression stockings. I don't know how much my co-pay will be, but that's alright because I will find the money. 

I also accomplished a little writing and some Facebook time. I think I may be spending too much time on Facebook. Perhaps I should cut down on the statue updates because I would get more writing accomplished. I only need to update my status one or twice a day, unless it is a special occasion. 

Gratitude List for Thursday, June 22, 2017

Today I am thankful...
         01. ...that in the past six days I have written ten poems dedicated to the Blessed Beauty.
         02. ...for bottles of frozen water because of the triple digit temperatures here in Las Vegas.
         03. ...that I downloaded an app to my smartphone to count my steps. So far today I've taken 456 steps.
         04. ...for fresh the fresh brewed Folgers black silk coffee that I have each morning.
         05. ...that I downloaded apps to give me access to some of the Baha'i Prayers and Scriptures.
         06. ...for the birds I heard singing this morning when I went for my walk.
         07. ...that my poem "I Never Saw Grandpa Wear Blue Jeans" was featured in the WDC poetry newsletter of June 21, 2017.
         08. ...for the prayers revealed by The Bab, Baha'u'llah, and 'Abdu'-Baha because they help refocus my positive attitude when I get depressed.
         09. ...that my checking account is not overdrawn.
         10. ...for the working air conditioner we have in this apartment.

Living in the Twenty-first Century

At 70-years young, 

I'm finally moving into 

The Twenty-first Century. 

Yesterday, 

While at one of my doctors' offices, 

I downloaded an app 

To my smartphone. 

This wonderful little app, 

Calle Easy Pedometer, 

Counts my steps. 

The goal is 

1,000 steps per day, 

And I'm already 

Up to 605 steps. 

Tomorrow, 

I may have to double 

The goal. 

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day! 

Please take a moment to pray 

For all those fathers and grandfathers 

Who have  passed away.. 

I don't remember much about my father because my parents were divorced when I was young. I remember a tall distinguished looking man wearing khaki work pants and a long sleeved shirt. Daddy, a blue collar laborer, worked at the Blackwell Zink Smelter before my parents divorced. Another think I remember about Daddy was sitting on his lap on Sunday morning while he read to comics to me. 

Happy Father Day! 

Take a few minutes to say 

Thank you to those fathers 

And father figures 

Who are still with us. 

Grandpa Newland, my mother's father, was my father figure. He was around almost all of my growing up years. Grandpa worked at the Blackwell Zink Smelter before he retired. I remember Grandpa sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee and rolling his own cigarettes. I also remember him showing us, my siblings and myself, how to fish and water ski.  

My Poetry Goal for the next 127 Days

My poetry goal to write 200 poem dedicated to the Blessed Beauty (Baha'u'llah) by October 22, 2017. According to my calculations (with the help of a calendar and a calculator) that is approximately 127 days from today. I am posting this goal in this blog because I need to hold myself accountable, and I have found the best way to do that is to make my goal public instead of keeping it a secret. This way I can write a blog entry once a week about how I am progressing with this goal. 

Motivational Monday: Motivating Myself to Take a Walk

I skipped my morning walk on Sunday, but this morning I took a walk around the block. I find that I need something to motivate me to get out and walk. This morning's motivation was taking the trash to the alley. I use the plastic grocery bags for trash, so it is easy, even with a walker, to take two or three of them to the alley. 

After I put the trash in the dumpster, I walk around the block instead of going back through the court yard. I will continue the walking around the block once a day for the next couple of weeks. After that, I will walk around twice. I don't know what I will use for motivation then, but I will find something. Maybe I will down load a music app to my smartphone. 

Poetry Sunday: I Contemplate Love

I contemplate love, 

The love God shed upon the world 

When he sent His Divine Physicians 

To minister to humanity. 

I contemplate the Divine Love 

Shed upon the human race 

By Buddha, 

By Muhammad, 

By Christ, 

By the Bab, 

By Baha'u'llah, 

By all the Divine Physicians 

Sent into the world 

To heal our wounded souls. 

I pray 

For those who, 

For what ever reason, 

Spread hate. 

I pray 

That all humanity 

Will see love's golden ray 

Uniting the religions 

Of humankind. 

Thursday Thoughts on Life

Someone, I forget who, said that "life is a journey, not a race". I'm thankful for that because with my walker I can race very fast. Come to think about it, I never was very fast or athletic. I always preferred reading, listening to music, or picnicking as opposed to playing sports. I enjoyed going to The Lake ( don't know if it had a name because we always called it The Lake) with my grandparents and  swimming around their boat dock. 

I never was a very good swimmer, but since we always wore lifejackets I didn't think it matter. In the summer, we would go to The Lake where we would swim, waterski, and fish off the boat dock. That was fun, especially around the Fourth of July because we always stayed the night so that we could set off fire works. Grandpa always made sure we celebrated Independence Day. 

I was going to write more about how we celebrated Independence Day and other holidays with my grandparents. Unfortunately, I was interrupted by a telephone call. The call was about mindfulness and positive thinking. These two are important because without them a person will be unhappy and depressed all the time which has an effect on a person's health. Anyway the gist of the message is that this week I'm supposed to be mindful of what's troubling me. If I can do something about it, I need to. If I can do anything about the problem then I need to let it go. Letting go is an important  part of life's journey because it helps a person's physical, emotional, and spiritual health. 

World Environment Day

It's World Environment Day, 

It's the day to learn about Earth's environment 

And find a way 

To improve it or, 

At the very least, 

Accept Global Warming 

As a scientifically proven fact.