The End of the World?

Everyone seems to be searching for a place of calm while the world fights the same wars over and over again. It seems as if we all believe in some sort of God, Creator of heaven and earth, or overseer, but it seems like something is getting lost in the translation.

According to the ancient Maya calendar the world will end in the year 2012. Boy! That sure makes it difficult to believe in happily ever after when the ghosts of the French Revolution stalk the shadows of Wall Street bankers. What’s up with that?

I believe poor folks have a point. It is pretty clear that not even one millionaire got there without the sweat and toil of lots and lots of little people who live on the verge of poverty. Again, we can look to history for a parallel – but where is Robin Hood when we need him?

I realize I am spitting into the wind, but what if everyone took a minute to think positive about the proposed world’s end and pondered the great WHAT IF?

What if people started being nice to one another? What if every guy on the street picked up one piece of garbage? What if every mom took a day off to love her child, instead of telling that youngster that he or she is bad, and then skip the yelling because a little milk was spilled. What if everyone turned down the heat a couple of degrees? What if people sat on their porches and passed the time of day? What if everyone with a vacant lot allowed people with no land to plant a garden and grow some of the food they need? What if every employer in the world gave his employees one dollar more each week?

There are so many opportunities for people to do good, one wonders why there is so much strife in the world.

Could it be? Is it possible? What if the end of the world could be the end of the world as we know it? What if the end of the world was the beginning of peace on earth and enough for every child to be fed? I believe it could happen….

Do you?

If not, take a walk on the sunny side and you might see the possibilities! Love, Terry

Angels Among Us

A few days ago I accompanied a friend to a doctor's appointment in Washington. Judy drove, and I got the job of navigator. We got to the hospital on time and Judy got good news about her condition with a 'wait and see' prescription from the specialist.

We were pretty happy on the turn-around, but somehow lost the route. Try as we might, we couldn't find the route out of town - although we did see some pretty nifty neighborhoods.

After a while it became clear that we were hopelessly lost. We stopped for directions, and although each person we asked seemed pretty clear about where we had to go, we continued to find new vistas, but no trail to home!

Finally, Judy stopped at a you-pump gas station where she struck up a conversation with a wonderful woman who went out of her way to lead us to the right route! What a relief. Not only was my friend relieved about her health problem, we were on the way back to the Eastern Shore! What a blessing.

It gave me reason to think. A total stranger went out of her way to help us! She must have been an angel for she had been there to help in a city of strangers. God surely blessed us that day! And He kept the promise that we would be safe...

It occurs to me that there are angels among us and that they will appear when trouble threatens. Both Judy and I were so thankful for the woman who helped us and we both wished there was a way to thank her.

I hope you find the angels in your life and that you keep on the sunny side. Love, Terry

Forgotten Dreams

Ever since I moved to the Eastern Shore I loved to go out into the country to enjoy the peace and quiet of the farm fields and marshlands.

One feature of the marshes that leaves a lingering sadness in my heart is the decaying hulks of houses that, condemned when environmentalists decreed the ground would not perk and that human wastes had to be processed in above-ground tanks that were often far out of the means of the old folks who lived in those dwellings - even though these hardy folks have lived in good health in those same houses for time out of mind.

I always feel such a sadness when I notice a decaying marsh house. I wonder about who lived there, what children played in the yard, and the face of the bride who came there as a new wife full of hope and love. I especially wonder about the hope - the expectation that a life might be full of the goodness God promised.

Writers have such thoughts.

An amazing thing is that sometimes (but not always) when I see one of those old abandoned houses I find my head swimming with a grand new idea for a story or book.
It is as if I have been given what might be called a cosmic assignment to tell that story as best I can.

Writing is a task I can't seem to put down, although I sometimes feel as if I have perhaps timed out like those sad rotting houses sinking into the marsh. And then the dictation starts in my head and I find myself still at the keyboard writing a history that seems to come from the very heart of love.

I hope that you have found your bliss, and that the world talks to you about beauty, hope and love - and if that isn't enough, I hope you keep on the sunny side. Love, Terry