#190 "The Blue Jay" By Susan Pearl

A beautiful blue jay was an entertaining sight for me to see,
I watched the blue jay as it made up the one bird parade,
First a balancing act of walking across the fence top including a hop,
Then posing on a rustic wagon wheel, setting so very still,
A pose that pictured sirene and could be a full page photo in a magazine,
But it was all there just for me to see.

The blue jay looked so dressed up, a classic blue and black attire to see,
So well groomed, like the official bird of a formal royal party,
Welcoming all of us, earths' guests, as we come to greet and behold true beauty,
And enjoy the surprise of the fun when lovely moments come to us unexpectedly, 
Then the blue jay took flight, blue on the blue of the sky I watched it fly and then so quickly out of sight,
Leaving me but before it had to go giving a special blue jay show that it was just for me to see.

#189 "True At The Moment" By Susan Pearl

When all of the facts are not in,
Only speculation is what we have then,
So to speculate from the facts that we do have at the time,
Any decision made then should hold this fact in mind,
That to work with what we know is doing the best that we can,
And if things change and rearrange and there are new facts at hand,
It may or not be time to decide again,
And this process is repeated over and over until all of the facts are in.

If an underlying personal agenda has not been in place,
Then any decision made should be judged with grace,
For the decision was made with what was true at the moment,
Are decisions made in truth with only the given facts at the time are not to regret,
For we are only human and no one knows what the future will definatly be,
So speculation with what is true at the moment and the decision is made upon what we can only see.

They say, "hindsight is 20/20" for a review of what may be better next time to do,
But it is still speculation upon speculation based on current facts of the moment that are true,
Because history continues on to be an ongoing statement of moments of facts,
That become known as they happen or maybe made known by studying and discovering true facts of the past,
And these facts become what is new and true at the moment,
As a base of speculation for decisions made to correspond with the current event,
So when a person wants to talk to me about a past decision that I have made,
And use the latest facts known, I think it is like asking, 'Which came first the chicken or the egg?"

#188 "Fear" By Susan Pearl

Fear is a lead suit that once in awhile I wear,
And the heaviness of fear keeps me from going anywhere,
So the weight of fear keeps me here,
I wait and in the distance fun and laughter I hear,
Imagining without fear the lightness of my spirit could soar,
Instead of experiencing the pain of fear like an untreated sore,
Then out of the blue the lead suit lifts and disappears and I feel new,
Gone is is the fear and gone is the weight of fear that I knew,
Will it come back---I'm sure it may try but if I'm aware of what I wear,
I will remain free and lightly go as I wish to and from anywhere.  

#187 "Questions" By Susan Pearl

Do some things need to come to an end,
Before a new time can begin?
Do some things stay renewed
With faith, hope and love to see them through?
I have heard that healing begins with forgiveness,
And to me that does make sense,
Does meanness and bullying end,
When kindness and compassion begin?
Are these traits taught or role modeled for others to know and see?
Would it just take meeting one kind person in our lifetime for good things to come to be?

#186 "Rhyming Tips For Sow, Sew And So" By Susan Pearl

"Sow" is when we plant the seeds in a row.
"Sew" with an "e" is what we do with a needle ("ee--e") and thread.
"So" is the smallest word of the three but we it is used the most like- "so" much- or- "so" little bread was fed.

Note:  The word "sow" has two sounds.

The word "sow" as a noun is a female pig- a farm animal that rhymes with another farm animal- a "cow".("sow" and "cow" rhyme)
The word "sow" as a verb is when we plant the seeds we in a "row". ("sow" and "row" rhyme)

#185 "New Excitement" By Susan Pearl

What happens when we are not excited about the things or the people we used to be?
What does that mean to you and to me?
I used to be excited to see the same person three times a week,
Then a week came that the person could not come but it was not so bleek,
I found others things to do on those three days,
And enjoyed these new things and in new ways,
So maybe when we are not excited about the things or people we used to be we should know,
There are other things that seem new that we would rather do and we like being free to do so.

#184 "Fields" By Susan Pearl

There lies before my very eyes,
A field of flowers, so easy to recognize,
What beauty mutiplied time and again with the perimeter of the field,
Sharing a moment of time a certain season that has a time of yield,
A gratifying sight that will come and go,
Pretty soon the field may be covered with snow.
But a field of pearls is a different sight to behold,
For the beauty is timeless and hidden and as priceless as gold,
Such a field calls us to explore,
After finding a peral it is only natural to see if we can find more,
And so the pearls of life are there for us to find each day time and time again,
There is one requirement, however, to find pearls in the field of life all we have to do is to look for them,
Come rain or shine,
There are pearls of truth about life for us to find with time.

#183 "Our Maintenance Priority" By Susan Pearl

If a train became derailed and investigators came to find out the reason why,
I would think they would investigate the tracks for a flaw and also the speed of the train at the time and place of the derailment,
A flaw in the tracks could be a problem of the maintainence of the rails,
Time and weather are in motion so maintenance is an important part to maintain things going at the best level possible.
In fact, in my opinion, maintenance is a necessary part for a quality of life,
When we do not think enough to maintain ourselves physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually our quality of life will gradually decline or suddenly go off track,
No or low maintenance priority can even lead to our life getting completely off track and go in an unwanted direction,.
Maintenance is a very important part of our well being and helps us to stay on track and get to where we hope to go.
Maintaining our whole self makes for a strong and well kept foundation for our life to run on.

#182 "Butterfly Story Cycle" By Susan Pearl

Beautiful butterfly with  fancy fast fans fluttering wings,
Swiftly circling, darting, then hoovering over the flowers,
The precission of a precissionist flies by in such a precise way,
Bringing fleeting moments of lovliness to and fro throughout the day.

To think the change that beheld the butterfly inside the cocoon,
Becoming what it is designed to be, bringing a special beauty forth, and none too soon,
For more beauty into the world is needed for such artistic joys to behold,
To think these same visions of elegance have been seen by many with stories of such times to be told.

#181 "Freed From Pain" By Susan Pearl

First it was by the hour,
Then is was by the day,
That's the way it was for me.
To have a pain go away.

It started to be better,
One hour at a time, now and then, but it picked up speed,
The hours hooked together and became a chain of one full day,
And I knew that from the pain I had been freed and would succeed.

Because one day hooked to the next day,
And the days held strong became a chain of a  month,
Then the months turned into a year,
The door to the pain remained closed, time now held it shut.

Now it all seems so long ago and far away,
and it started for me first by the hour and then by the day.

#180 "Somewhere Between" By Susan Pearl

Somewhere between being criticized and complimented is an ordinary place to be,
Somewhere between being admired and unnoticed is the ordinarary place for me.
Somewhere between, somewhere between,
Can be a safeguard from being extreme.

The need to dominate, the need to rule, the need to reign supreme,
Doesn't all of that sound extreme?
The answer ordinarily lies somewhere between.

#179 "Thankfulness" By Susan Pearl

Can a person be taught to be thankful?
I think so---I think I was taught at a young age to be thankful.
That was a good lesson to learn,
And I am truly thankful for that.

#178 "Rhyming Tips for Sum and Some" By Susan Pearl

The word "sum" is the grand total of adding everything up.
"Some" is to indicate so much of this or so much of that, like- "I drank some of the tea but not the full cup."--This "some" is not the total amount----"there is some left behind maybe for another time."

Note--"Some"--- the first three letters are "S" "O" "M" ---
The first three letters of "so much of" are "S" "O" "M"

To add up --there is an "U" in the word "up"---
And there is the letter "U" in the word "sum".

Other tips for "weigh, way and whey"

The word "weigh" with the "i" is something "I" do not like to do--weigh on a scale.
The word "way" with the "y"--if ever a person is at a road that is shaped like a "Y" that person better know which "way" to go.
The word "whey" ("wh"ey) is for when ("wh"en) milk is separated into curds and whey.

Tips for "knight and night"

The word "knight" with a "k" may have seved a king ("k"ing) of old.
The word night with a "n" comes after sundown (sundow"n").

#176 "Endless Love" By Susan Pearl

Why does true love not have an end?
Is it because what is given comes back again, over and over again,?
And a true love does hold,
A love that gives back one hundred fold.
Could it be that more is given than is ever taken away?
And that makes a true long love stay day after day,
Constant and steady the way a true love ought to be,
Leaning on such strength is a source of renewal and integrity,
A combination of giving the best and it coming back to be more than before,
Becoming a lasting love that transcends time and by always being able to give more.
So a true love that knows no end,
Is a constant and steady love that has more to give time after time again. 

#176 "Until" By Susan Pearl

When things go backwards as they sometime will,
And a person knows it's time to wait and sit real still,
To see if the decline begins to level out or becomes a steeper hill,
The "in between" of "going either way" is a time called "until",
And so a person will sit real still while waiting for those moments of "until" to fill.

#175 "The Caught Thought" By Susan Pearl

Whenever I feel a little bit down I know the cause of what I got,
It is caused by a torturous or a bothersome thought that is caught,
And I need to rethink or bypass the torturous or bothersome thought,
Until a better thought comes to mind instantly and the troublesome thought does not.

Retraining a thought can take time, maybe over a year,
And it can be a challenge to hang in there,
But the end result will be living a happy and thankful day,
That just seems to come so naturally our way.

No one should feel embarrassed or ashamed for not feeling safe and sound,
To talk to a good friend and to a good doctor is where help can be found,
We need to get more comfortable to talk and discuss what feelings we are going through,
And let the people who know more about such things tell us what to do.

Would a scuba diver wear a scuba suit with three feet loops attached to their gear,
While navigating through the barnicles of the deep such loops getting caught would be a fear,
Sometimes we need someone to tell us what our loops are that keep us caught,
So we can navigate better through life without having such loops and each day have a better thought.

#174 "Two Lovers On A Journey" By Susan Pearl

Two lovers on a journey,
A journey through time,
Two lovers on a journey,
They're going to make it just fine.

It didn't hurt his feelings as he walked out the door,
He thought, "She'll get over it, she has before.
It frustates me so when she looks to me for help,
When I now she has the strength she needs inside of herself."

Meanwhile, she is writing in her journal these words, "I truly know.
There is a kinder side inside of him but why doesn't he let it show?"
Then he went to work in the morning and came home laid off from his job,
She tenderly held him close praying he wouldn't lose his faith in God.

She whispered "We're going to make it through,
Because I believe in our love and I see great things in you."
He said, "Your kind words are just what I needed to hear,
Such words come from your strength and have eased my fear."

She said, "A new life is beginning for us and whatever will be,
I know I have the strength to meet it with the strength  inside of me,
I learned that from you, I learned that from you.

He said, "I now know my words mean as much to you as my touch,
There is more of me to give than I ever knew, thank you so very much,
I have learned that from you, I learned that from you.

Two lovers on a journey,
A journey through time,
Two lovers on a journey,
They're going to make it just fine.

#173 "No One Size Comparisons" By Susan Pearl

Living a full quality of life for some is to go, go, go,
For others it is the peace and quiet of their home and having things be slow,
A person who is busy and goes,
May later want to be a slow person. Who knows?
The one size comparison for all will simply not apply,
People are different, no two the same, and that's why.
I am married to a man who like to be busy and on the run,
I like to sit and write, to me that is having fun,
So to criticize me or him would be out of line,
Because, because, because we get along just fine,
I wouldn't want to be more like him, and he wouldn't want to be more like me,
So together we live in a harmony of letting each other be free and this is a very good place in life to be.

#172 " Our Tide Of Change" By Susan Pearl

The tide comes in,
The tide goes out,
Faith comes in,
Out goes doubt.

The tide comes in,
Hope comes in to stay,
The tide goes out,
Carrying all despair away.

The tide comes in,
And brings love that has an acceptance for all,
The tide goes out,
And takes away hate and prejudices big and small.

Oh, the sea of trust,
Is a must, for us to live by and to recognize and  know,
In more ways than one,
It brings changes to us and to others as we and others come and go.

#171 " Ultimately Better Off" By Susan Pearl

I know someone who is tried and true,
Who has been asked hard things in life to go through,
And each time the challenge was met with a spirit of "can do",
With a strength and courage that is known by few.

The rewards for the trials and tasks would be received later on,
Knowing that life is worthwhile and love will prevail in the long run,
And for all to be better off by what is done,
Will be an ultimate reward in the years to come.

#170 "Rhyming Tip For By, Buy, Bye" By Susan Pearl

"By"-We drove by your house. Please sit by me.... means to be within close range.
"By"- the title is followed "By Susan Pearl" ...this is for the person who wrote something so the author is not kept to be unknown or strange.
"Buy" is when you ("notice "u" in spelling of "buy") make a purchase (notice "u" in "purchase") and for the purchase you have a money exchange.
"Bye" is for when someone is leaving ( has "e")and ready (has "e") to go and we say bye because our time together is over and it is a way of letting each other know.

#169 "Wet Hen Definition" By Susan Pearl

"As mad as a wet hen" is a kind of fun expression,
So it should have a kind of  fun definition,
Now I am getting close to forty-five years of marriage,
So this is my definition of "as mad as a wet hen",
Here goes:
"As mad as a wet hen" is when-
A wife tells her husband she thinks he has been having some back trouble for a little too long,
So, without his knowledge or persmission, she calls the clinic to make a doctor appointment for him,
The clinic says they have just had a cancellation and if her husband can be there in ten minutes the doctor can see him right away,
She tells the clinic to put his name down for the appointment and that he will be there in ten minutes,
The wife then announces to the husband she has made a doctor's appointment for him, that there was a cancellation and so the husband has an appointment to see the doctor in ten minutes and he needs to go right away to get there on time,
The wife did notice a change in the mood of her husband as he was trying to lift his leg to put into the pant leg of a quick change of clothes,
The husband can hardly walk yet alone barely able to get in or out of the car with any type of speed for being in a hurry to be at the doctor's office in just ten minutes.
The husband goes to the doctor appointment that he didn't want, he didn't know about, he doesn't think is even that necessary and he is as mad as a wet hen,
Meanwhile, the wife is saying to the husband to calm down or he will check in with high blood pressure.
So being "as mad as a wet hen" is very short lived kind of being mad.
I guess the "wet hen" dries out pretty fast.

#168 "Good Counsel" By Susan Pearl

It is wise to seek good counsel when a person feels low and weak,
It is wise to seek good counsel when a person has nothing wrong and feels strong,
It is just wise to seek good counsel come rain or shine as the truth is there to find,
Good counsel in a friendship is worth its weight in gold and has a hold on the truth that will unfold,
Good counsel is advice that will withstand the test of time with the good for all in mind,
Sometimes to give others the benefit of the doubt good council will show us as a way out,
Good counsel has a mature and kind point of view that points better options for us to choose,
Then it is up to us to weigh the odds and decide what we know to be true, and that is what we should decide to do.

#167 "Square Number One" By Susan Pearl

The sunset skies light up the white vapor trails left by jets as they fly,
Criss-crossed lines disappearing before my very eyes,
And I wonder why some of my dreams have gone by,
Getting no where fast, coming up empty, why again as each day I try.

Sometimes a person can have the feeling of finally rounding a bend,
Only to find out and see that it is time to start all over again,
Life played like a game won't ever win,
But keeps repeating itself over and over again.

It will send all game players back to square number one,
Back to where they had begun from,
And when the day is done,
That's when the wondering "why" will come.

Some think they have found the answer for staying young,
But some things are inevitable and with time will come,
For others a thought that their power can bring ownership in results yet to be done,
All players of games in life will be sent back to square number one.

#166 "Uncertainty" By Susan Pearl

Some days I wonder why things go wrong and happen the way they do,
Then I go to the deep well of my character that has been made from what I have been through,
And I know that in life there is good times and bad times and everything else in between,
To have only good times or to have only bad times would be an extreme,
So it is unrealistic to think of life any otherwise,
Than that of being fragile with some moments that won't compromise,
The "won't compromise" moments will not bargain,
Things then are final, all said and done, and it happens to everyone,
So what we go through each and every day,
Prepares us for the bigger things that may be coming our way,
It takes a strong character to make it through,
When things go wrong and happen the way they sometimes do,
For uncertainty is part of the picture and that is said and done,
We don't expect the worst but if it comes, there will be no bargain,
So the grace of time carries our strong character through,
When things don't go as we had hoped and wanted them to.

#165 "No Loops/Not Caught" By Susan Pearl

I used to feel sad when I was left out of the loop,
People wouldn't let me in on something new or tell me the latest scoop,
Now I think it is alright with me that I am not in the loop like I used to be,
Because less loops means less entanglements, less complications of getting caught up in, for me,
Less going around in circles because that is what loops do,
More time to explore and see inside of me what's really new,
And important, too, no more loops to jump through,
Because I just don't jump as high as I used to,
So maybe it is me and not them,
That has brought the loops to an end.

#164 "Silly" By Susan Pearl

Today I am thinking of a particular person who can be silly,
This person can jump and click his heels, wake me up to a bugle call without any bugle, can do a "woody woodpecker' call that is halarious, and when he turns on the radio and a song is playing he will do a little jig of a dance.
I think "silly" is a wonderful form of humor.
I think the very best comedians master being silly with satire.
I remember Johnny Carson with his big hat and holding the envelope to his forehead.
It was so silly but it was so funny.
Red Skelton and Lucille Ball were very funny and the best for silly laughs, too.
There is something about having someone be silly that is refreshing and makes a person not take life so seriously,
A person told me once that a secret of life that was good to know is to "not take life so serious".
Maybe that is why I enjoy the unpredictable silly moments so much in life and I'm grateful for those moments that make me laugh.

#163 "Awareness and Change" by Susan Pearl

I had a hand written comment given to me that I remember receiving.  It read, "If you are considering a change probably it is time for that change."

I think that as we go through life we will have different times of an awareness for the need of a change.
When we have that awareness it may be that it is time to consider what that awareness is trying to show us about our surroundings.

I had a surgery once and the doctor said to me, "Surgery is kind of like a divorce--you really don't want it---but you know things can't go on the way they are."

Be thankful for an awareness for a change. Not everyone has such an awareness and it has to be shown to them by other people explaining it is time for a change.

"Awareness and Change" go hand and hand and it is an ongoing journey of change and an ongoing awareness to change.

#162 "One Day" By Susan Pearl

As I stand in the garden of twilight fire flies
Sunset comes and so does fire flies good byes,
A bon fire of colors brilliant array now gives way,
Bringing on a sunset and the end of a day,
The night stars appear and twinkle in the skies,
So lovely and beautiful dazzling before our eyes,
Then illumminous clouds on the horizon arise,
As the dawning of morning's beautiful sunrise arrives,
When I was young my favorite was the twilight fun,
Chasing after the fire flies I would run,
Then when falling in love my favorite became gazing at the stars of night,
Romantic,vastness of glittering lights, while kissing my love as we held each other tight,
Later at the end of a day of meeting responsibility,
The sunset time was by far the most relaxing time to me,
Now sunrise is exciting and holds a special moment of a graditude display,
For I know I have lived to see the beginning of another brand new day,
A day of fun, a day of passion, a day of relaxation knowing I have met the responsibilities expected of me,
And all this in just one day, my, the grandness that awaits, come what may, in just one day.