A Thankful Haiku

Our thanks bestow on
the children of the world, who
teach us how to love…

I was fortunate enough to spend time with these wonderful children while visiting a Masai village in Kenya in 2006. Like youngsters everywhere, they were giggly, shy, curious and keen to be noticed.
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While families had little in the way of material possessions, the children were bursting with joy, eager to embrace the excitement each day brings. I was humbled by their spirit, and am still learning to be grateful for what I have, instead of pining for what I lack...

I am linking this post to Poets United Thursday Think Tank. This week's prompt is 'thanfulness', something we surely have in abundance. To see more poems about gratitude, do check out the link below:
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http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/2010/11/thursday-think-tank-25-thankfulness.html

International Peace Day 2010

Haiku for Peace

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'Neath skin dark or light

beats a heart that knows only

the colour of love...

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Children are the same the world over. The lively and curious youngsters I met in this African village in 2006 were kindred spirits to the giggling, rambunctious kids who frolicked through a shared childhood with my own offspring in Canada.

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To a child, each day is an adventure and life is always more about sharing than dividing. I propose this may be a recipe for serenity at any age...

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On this visit, one grinning young lad clasped onto my arms and would not let go. As he snuggled in close against me, I was reminded of my much-loved sons at that age, bursting as they were with the curious mixture of independence and affection that changed them from moment to moment as they grew into their own skin.
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How can it be that the complete acceptance we embrace in childhood so often dissipates by the time we reach adulthood?
I have not found the anwer to this question that so desperately needs explained. If we seekers of the world work together, is it not possible we may gain back the ability to trust and to share wholeheartedly? I have to believe it can be so.
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September 21st, 2010 is

International Peace Day.

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I am posting this haiku simultaneously here and on my other blog, Imagination Lane, to join my voice to the worldwide prayer that we may one day put an end to the madness of war...and that peace may then allow us to begin the long journey toward healing our fragile world.

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Let this peace be our bequest to the children of

today...and their promise for tomorrow.

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Namaste

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If you would like to know more about these wonderful youngsters, you might want to check out some earlier posts...

http://theimaginativetraveler.blogspot.com/2010/07/dreams-of-africa.html http://theimaginativetraveler.blogspot.com/2010/08/africas-true-treasure.html
http://theimaginativetraveler.blogspot.com/2010/07/giraffe-rescue-centre-kenya.html
http://theimaginativetraveler.blogspot.com/2010/07/forgotten-generation-aids-orphans-in.html

International Peace Day 2010

Haiku for Peace

.

'Neath skin dark or light

beats a heart that knows only

the colour of love...

.

Children are the same the world over. The lively and curious youngsters I met in this Masai village in 2006 were kindred spirits to the giggling, rambunctious kids who frolicked through a shared childhood with my own offspring in Canada.

.
To a child, each day is an adventure and life is always more about sharing than dividing. I propose this may be a recipe for serenity at any age...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.
On this visit, one grinning young lad clasped onto my arms and would not let go. As he snuggled in close against me, I was reminded of my much-loved sons at that age, bursting as they were with the curious mixture of independence and affection that changed them from moment to moment as they grew into their own skin.
.

How can it be that the complete acceptance we embrace in childhood so often dissipates by the time we reach adulthood?
I have not found the anwer to this question that so desperately needs explained. If we seekers of the world work together, is it not possible we may gain back the ability to trust and to share wholeheartedly? I have to believe fervently it can be so.
.

.

.

September 21st, 2010 is

International Peace Day.

.

I am posting this haiku simultaneously here and on my other blog, The Imaginative Traveler, to join my voice to the worldwide prayer that we may one day put an end to the madness of war...and that peace may then allow us to begin the long journey toward healing our fragile world.
.

Let this peace be our bequest to the children of today
...and their promise for tomorrow.

.

Namaste

If you would like to know more about these wonderful youngsters, you might want to check out some earlier posts on The Imaginative Traveler...

http://theimaginativetraveler.blogspot.com/2010/07/dreams-of-africa.html http://theimaginativetraveler.blogspot.com/2010/08/africas-true-treasure.html
http://theimaginativetraveler.blogspot.com/2010/07/giraffe-rescue-centre-kenya.html
http://theimaginativetraveler.blogspot.com/2010/07/forgotten-generation-aids-orphans-in.html

Dreams of Africa

What do you want most in the world? What dream sustains you through the everyday, and promises so much joy and satisfaction that you quiver just at the notion of this possibility coming to pass?

As a child growing up in Belfast, my dreams were of Africa. The drab, sparse streets of industrial Northern Ireland were so far removed from the endless sky and rolling grasslands of Kenya to be found in books that my soul was captivated from the start. Eventually, my family emigrated to the West Coast of Canada, putting even more space between me and my heart’s desire.
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But the dream to see Africa stayed with me. When a chance came in 2006 to make the trip of nine thousand miles to Nairobi, I was warned by well-meaning friends that the reality of the continent could not possibly live up to my decades of anticipation. How wrong they were...

Africa was every bit as magnificent as I knew it would be. I embraced it eagerly...the boundless savannah...the spacious skies...and, of course, the beautiful, glowing children. The shy smiles of youngsters we met in a Masai village is something I call to mind often. It is a memory that never fails to fill me with joy and wonderment.

I have a new dream now...to return to Africa,

this time not to take

but to give back. The chasm between the 'haves' and

'have-nots' looms large in that continent ravaged by AIDS,

mismanagement and corruption. I have taken Africa to my heart,

now I must act on my heart's desire to help. It will not be

this year...it may not be next..but I will return one day to

the Africa of my dreams...

Dreams of Africa

What do you want most in the world? What dream sustains you through the everyday, and promises so much joy and satisfaction that you quiver just at the notion of this possibility coming to pass?

As a child growing up in post-war Belfast, my dreams were of Africa. The drab, sparse streets of industrial Northern Ireland were so far removed from the endless sky and rolling grasslands of Kenya to be found in books that my soul was captivated from the start. Eventually, my family emigrated to the West Coast of Canada, putting even more space between me and my heart’s desire.
.

But the dream to see Africa stayed with me. When a chance came in 2006 to make the trip of nine thousand miles to Nairobi, I was warned by well-meaning friends that the reality of the continent could not possibly live up to my decades of anticipation. How wrong they were...

Africa was every bit as magnificent as I knew it would be. I embraced it eagerly...the boundless savannah...the spacious skies...and, of course, the beautiful, glowing children. The shy smiles of youngsters we met in a Masai village is something I call to mind often. It is a memory that never fails to fill me with joy and wonderment.

I have a new dream now...to return to Africa,

this time not to take

but to give back. The chasm between the 'haves' and

'have-nots' looms large in that continent ravaged by AIDS.

mismanagement and corruption. I have taken Africa to my heart,

now I must act on my heart's desire to help. It will not be

this year...it may not be next..but I will return one day to

the Africa of my dreams...