Early Wintry Mornings in Bad Godesberg

When I wake up in the small hours of the mornings in Bad Godesberg

Everything is so very still and quiet

But the silence seems to resonate and reverberate,
So deeply and loudly around my soul

I cannot help but feel the presence of the Lord.

The dark, soundless mornings put my mind working overtime

Thinking of loved ones and friends

I cannot help but thank the Lord greatly,
For a wonderful supportive wife, three great filial children,

And kind, truly sincere, friends.

ltbs

To be capable of steady friendship or lasting love,
are the two greatest proofs, not only of goodness of heart,
but of strength of mind.
William Hazlitt


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Alone, Alone, All, All Alone

Alone, alone, all, all alone,
Alone in my little retreat
Not a soul around to disturb
My soul in ecstasy
Enjoying solitude to the fullest
In a company of one.

Alone, alone, all, all alone,
Alone in my little haven
Not a soul around to interrupt
My soul in earnest
With solitude as company

In a company of one.

Alone, alone, all, all alone

I thank the Lord
For that shanty of a sanctuary
Where I feel most comfortable and tranquil,
With solitude as company
In a company of one.

ltbs

I live in solitude in the country and noticed how the monotony of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.
Charles Dickens

A Young Soul in An Aging Body

How strange it is
Not to see an old me
But an image younger
Whenever I look into a mirror.

But looking at my holiday snapshots
I see an old me
And looking at my passport photo
I see a truly old me!

However, I don't feel old
I've got a young soul in an aging body
I thank the Lord
I'm still able to enjoy a few pleasures of the young.
I thank the few young, too,
Who are blind to my age
Making me feel evergreen.

ltbs


Today the word old doesn't fit the majority of seniors. They're leading active, dynamic lives  -  socializing, exercising, learning, travelling, and falling in love again. They're proof that...Aging has changed. It's time to change our mind about aging.
Geri O'Neill

A Sonata to Kind People

Far away from home
Amidst sub-zero weather,
Feeling rather cold
And a bit homesick,
I think of the people
Who've been kind to me
Either in words or in deeds
To bring me warmth and comfort.

I feel blithesome and grateful
To have had such wonderful people
Bringing me kindness.
Which I'm unable to reciprocate
I can only play a sonata in my heart
To remember them with fondness
And everlasting gratitude
Praying for God's blessings on them.

ltbs

Kindness, I've discovered, is everything in life.
Isaac Bashevis Singer

A Much-travelled Shirt!

While looking through the snapshots of my travel album, a friend commented, "How come you're wearing the same shirt in all the snaps?"

I smiled and answered, "I feel most comfortable in that shirt. It's my travelling shirt."

I went on to say that I usually travelled light  -  with at most, three shirts, two T-shirts and two pairs of shorts used as pyjamas, two pairs of socks and a few underwear. I didn't quite enjoy disposable ones. Everything was packed into a backpack.

I would wash the shirt and underwear I wore for daily outings on my travels in the evenings. The clothes would be dry the following mornings, having been in the air-con room. I need not bring a lot of clothes on my travels.

Then I thought to myself. I felt contented that I am able to make do with very little worldly possessions. I thank the Lord for enabling to lead a very simple life as I neither yearn for nor covet anything of others.

ltbs.


The heaviest baggage for a traveler is an empty purse.
English Saying

A Little Something for Christmas

I usually find the Christmas season very depressing indeed, as it always evokes memories of the times when I was traumatized by certain unfortunate events at different Christmases.

But the Good Lord always comes to my aid whenever I feel horribly low. He did it, again, one Christmas. He got a former student to uplift my spirits... tremendously high indeed!

That student sent me a Christmas card and enclosed, in her own words, "a little something for you for Christmas ". That “little something” came up to 1500 English pounds! It was HUGE, indeed to me when converted to my home currency! It meant a lot to me as I was not drawing a pension nor did I have any EPF left, either.

ltbs


God comes at last when we think he is farthest off.

James Howell