Feb.28- "The Pearl Gift" By Susan Pearl

Sometimes to find a gem we have to leave the comfortable enviorment that we know,
Like a pearl is found in the ocean where we have to leave air and gravity to find it below,
But we have the ability to hold our breath and we can swim under water for a brief while,
We must be willing to go the limits of our potential to find a priceless pearl,
But, there are times when we are given a pearl by someone else's efforts to find it,
We appreciate what they went through to share and give to us what they found and know to be true,
Bringing more value to life's worth by filling it with more rare beauty to see,
We are grateful to have such an illuminating gift and to know the treasured times it will show,
Not all pearls are just for us to find,
Some are found by others to be given to us with true beauty to be revealed with the passage of time.

Feb.27- "No Label Vision" By Susan Pearl

Does it really matter the size of another person's thighs or the kind of car the other person drives?
Shouldn't people be seen as "people without any labels" and not just their flaws before our eyes?
Everyone has strong points and weak points, too, so who should be the leader of the pack?
I was taught when we point our finger at someone else we have three fingers pointing back,
Also, I was taught that we lead by example, too, and that thought alone should direct us as to what to  do.

Feb.26- "Kind Words Bouquet" By Susan Pearl

There was a couple so very much in love each day,
That they decided to give each other a daily bouquet,
A daily bouquet made from the kind words that they would say,
So each day they gave each other a bouquet of kind words heartfelt and true,
Day after day, year after year and all the while their love stayed fresh and new,
They could not afford to buy bouquets of flowers but there was a special loveliness that they knew,
And they were surrounded by a beauty of love that only the giving of their kind words could do,
Their love never faded away,
Each day they would give to each other a sincerity of heart kind words bouquet,
Words that only to each other they could give and only to each other they would say,
And that couple is still giving kind word bouquets and are very much in love to this day.

Feb.25- "Belief's Assurance" By Susan Pearl

Clouds blocking sunshine's rays
We have all known those days,
But we know the sunshine is there,
Even in a dense cloudy atmosphere,
We know the hidden sunshine is there,
Even if in a tightly closed deep dark room,
We know sunlight is happening somewhere,
And that belief assures there to be,
More to know than we can see.

Feb.22- "Watch Out" By Susan Pearl

Just as the moth is drawn towards the flame,
Watch out for playing a "self destructive" game,
The lure and being prone are there beyond compare,
So that person must stay constantly aware,
For consequences will come without a doubt,
A prone person has to be viligant and "watch out".

Feb.21- "Deny Or Ignore"

In my opinion, there has to be a very clear way to explain the difference between denying something and ignoring something.

So to me---
Denying is not recognizing that something is even there.  Denial is not accepting the presence of something.  It is like that "something" doesn't exist even though it does. Denial is avoidance of the recognition of the existence of something.

Ignoring is recognizing something is there but treating it like it is invisible.   Ignoring accepts that something is present but gives no attention to it. Yet, its presence is acknowledged and not denied.  Ignoring is recognizing the existence of something but avoidance of it.

I have at times denied the pain and the hurt caused by some people in my life.
I now recognize the pain and the hurt and I ignore the people who caused them.

Feb.20- "Ever" By Susan Pearl

Somedays I feel tireder than "ever",
Then another day I can feel as young as "ever",
I've heard that a certain person is as mean as "ever",
Also, some people are as good as "ever",
And as big as "ever",
But another is as thin as "ever"
Do people really live happily "ever" after?
So what is "ever"?
The dictionary shows the meaning of "ever" is "always",
And I think people can live happily "always" after,
"After" they learn to forgive,
And "after" they learn to live and let live,
"After" a lot of things then better times can come,
With a hope of "happily ever after" being there for everyone.

Feb.19- "Hearing Distance" By Susan Pearl

When does something healthy and enjoyed become unhealthy?
Could it be when it crosses over a line to be excessive and over done?
For anything done in excess becomes not good for us in the long run,
When a constant balance is held between the extremes it does contains something very certain,
And the certainty is that the constant balance will steadily keep us within a clear hearing range to the voice of reason.

Feb.18- "Time Perceptions" By Susan Pearl

I think my perception of the dimension of time has changed for me over the years,
When I was young it seemed like I had to wait a long time for a special occasion to come,
Now that I am older the special occasions seem to come so quickly that there is hardly enough time to get ready for them,
A special occasion is barely over and it is time for the next one,
Maybe it is because that to me a week now seems like three or four days,
Then a full month seems only like a couple of weeks, 
And a year doesn't seem like a full year either, like it used to,
When I was young I remember having time on my hands,
Now the hands of time show me how fast the hours of a day can go by,
And if I lose track of time then maybe that is why,
My perception of the dimension of time is that it has begun to fly,
And it's not going to wait for me,
Like I used to wait for those special occasions to be.

Feb.15- "Grief" By Susan Pearl

I have read that bitterness and self pity are misguided forms of grief, 
But for self pity and bitterness there can be relief,
There are things in life that are not fair and things we can not understand,
But our tears and sharing of feelings with others can become likened to that of a guiding hand,
A guiding hand that helps us find an entrance to acceptance,
Acceptance of  a sorrow that won't leave,
Learning how to live with what we grieve,
We don't ever get used to it but we do learn to live with it,
Sometimes minute by minutes, bit by bit,
Until our minutes turn into an hour,
And hour upon hour will build a way to become one whole day,
We can not change the way some things are, no one can,
But acceptance can find an entrance when led by a guiding hand.

Fed.14- "A True Friend" By Susan Pearl

Having a good friend is a special gift in life,
A true friend is a "blessing" who brings good,
Days are bettered by knowing a true friend,
Joy with much gratitude accompany such friendship.

Feb.13- "My Simple Life" By Susan Pearl

I am not on the computer like I use to be,
I have gone back to watching good ol' TV,
There are favorite shows that I like the best,
I crochet and I feel so content and blessed,
I live a very private and simple life now,
So many busy years got to be behind me some how,
Retirement has become a lovely time for me,
And I do enjoy the calls each week from family,
Retirement to me is having time that is free.

Feb.12- "Foolishness" By Susan Pearl

I read once that fools can only love what is pleasing to them,
There are settings and times in life that are not very pleasing,
But these areas of life still need to have love and kindness,
To think that this is not a very real likelihood would be foolish.

Feb.11- "Sensitivity Insight" By Susan Pearl

Since I have lung problems it amazes me how quickly my lungs let me know when something is  irritating,
I have a sensitivity and certain irritants make it difficult for me,
Another person who has healthy lungs does not even notice the irritant,
We can be together in the same room and I have a reaction and the other person does not have any type of reaction,
In life sensitive subjects and  certain things are irritating to one person and not to another person,
If a person pays attention to what is irritating maybe that person will also become aware of what specific area is also very sensitive,
Then maybe a person can understand better why something causes a reaction of irritation and address the area that is sensitive to this irritation.

Feb.8- "My Bermuda Triangle" By Susan Pearl

I have an end table by my chair in the TV room,
I call my chair "official project center"---
Because I try to do as much as I can from my chair,
The problem is if I put something on the end table,
It is like it disappears and I can't find it anywhere,
So I have nicknamed the end table by my chair, "The Bermuda Triangle",
Because anything that enters there is never seen again,
Until a good cleaning and I find things that I forgot I had,
And I find where things are and really they hadn't gotten away very far,
So mysteries get solved, the lost is found, until I lay something else down.

Feb.7- "No Guarantee" By Susan Pearl

When things are all said and done,
Good and bad things can happen to anyone,
And if we think we have a physical immortality,
We are not being aware of what really can be,
But we shouldn't live our life in fear or anxiety,
So we live our life each day knowing there's no guarantee.

Feb. 6- "Updated Expression" By Susan Pearl

I have heard the expression, "we agree to disagree",
But I have been thinking lately that another timely expression could very well be,
An updated version of this expression saying, "we disagree to agree".

Feb.5- "Sharing Prayer" By Susan Pearl

It seems like after saying a prayer,
There's more happiness to share,
It seems like after saying a prayer,
There's more peace to share,
It seems like after saying a prayer,
There's more encouagement everywhere,
So:
Yesterday when a lady told me of a happiness she wanted to share,
I knew right then and there she was sharing what had been her prayer.

Feb.4- "Hope's Renewed Way" By Susan Pearl

There once was a very trecherous passage way,
And people took this same path every day,
Each day was a struggle from morning until night,
Every day seemed like hard labor and an intense continuous fight,
Frequents falls into the dark valley below were very common,
Life was hard and thoughts of a new route had been forgotten,
But with time renewed hope for a better way of life is what the people began to say,
And to have a better way of life there needed to be a better way for them to take each day,
Through determination and desiring the best for all, a new route is what they began to take,
And to this day the route of hope leads the way for people to find what their dreams can make.

Feb.1- "The Kept Answer" By Susan Pearl

I would like to share a memory of my father-in-law and mother-in-law,
When my father-in-law was in his seventies he put up his own quonset building,
He was so agile and had no fear of heights and could walk easily on the top of the quonset,
One day my mother-in-law came outside and saw him walking on the top of the quonset,
She loudly called to him, "Aren't you afraid?"
He called back, "Of what?'
She then said, "Well, if you don't know I'm not going to tell you."

* My father and mother in-law had many good years together and enjoyed over sixty years of marriage.