What I Need to Set Me Free

It just popped into my head and suddenly, without even so much as a thought, I was whistling.  But you know how that can be.  Where do these things come from?

The guy on the bus knew.  He smiled and said he hadn't heard that one in years.

"They don't write 'em like that any more."

The woman walking along the subway platform smiled.  She knew, too.  A simple melody, a couple of notes, a pop tune from the past can have such power. 

From my lips to God's ear.

I spend a lot of time wondering if there isn't something more--more that I can do or say--to make this world a little bit better: to bring joy.  Maybe sometimes you wonder that, too.  Maybe in the end it all just comes down to a simple melody, a happy tune, a shared smile with a stranger.

Oh, and of course a yellow ribbon.  A simple yellow ribbon.

"So tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree...a simple yellow ribbon's what I need to set me free."

(c) Fiechter, 2015

Is Your Fear Winning?

No doubt about it, It's a scary world.  Unless you were already living in a state of denial and had already drawn the shades and pulled up the blankets, you know of recent events and you are witnessing the results:  fear.

And it's growing.  Fear is growing when we accept simple answers that seem plausible and just so happen to fit into our already limited world-view.  Fear is growing when we point fingers and roll up the sidewalks--when we slam doors in the face of those in need.  Fear is growing when logic is trumped by emotionality.  Fear begets hate.  Hate is fear on a bender.

Self manage.  You, along with everyone else, have a right to an opinion. None of us has a right to our own facts.  Is your fear rational?  Are you acting or reacting?  Are there two sides to your story, or only one--and where did you first hear it, your story?  Is it really yours?  Or is it the story of the loudest, scariest voice in the room, sweeping you along with the lemmings into a pile of disastrous distrust?

It's a scary world, no doubt about it.  What are you doing today to relieve the fear?  How are you writing a different story?

"Perfect love casts out fear."

How Refreshing

I was nearing the end of a strenuous jog when the light at the end of a freeway off ramp provided me an opportunity to catch my breath--and there I found myself standing next to a man.  To be honest, if I'd been in my car this would've been someone I'd have avoided by looking the other way or rolling up my window and shaking my head. 

He was holding some kind of a sign and was asking stopped motorists for money. 

But the funny thing is, since I wasn't in my car and had no cash to share, I found myself saying hello and asking him how things were going.  After a short conversation, during which he shared a broad smile, the light turned green and I got my sweaty self moving again.

And as I jogged away, I heard him call out to me: "Drink plenty of water!"

Now I'm wondering how many kindly interractions I've missed out of fear.  How many opportunities to acknowledge someone's humanity have I lost out on because I was feeling guilty or stingy or self-righteous?  How many times have I denied a fellow traveler the opportunity to treat ME with dignity and respect because of my assumptions? 

All of which leaves me feeling pretty darn thirsty.

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(c) Stephen Fiechter