Thursday, February 2, 2012

Say Yes! Yes! Yes! to Life


Poets United's Thursday Think Tank prompt today is "Yes."
I didn't have to look far for inspiration! This is my son's mantra.

"Say Yes! Yes! Yes! to Life!"
my son proclaims
to almost everyone he meets
at bus stops,
along the city sidewalks,
in the hospital
where he goes for chemo.

This same son has traveled
a dark and perilous passage,
in his mind,
for twenty years,
recently emerging
as the being of joy
he was always destined
to be.

Like me,he has gratitude
for the little things:
a small potted plant,
clouds on the hills,
the color of the sky.

Turns out, they are not
little things at all,
but very big things.

When one sees the wonder
in the smallest buttercup
growing in some unlikely terrain,
one has found the secret
of happiness
forever.

18 comments:

  1. Beautiful picture! Beautiful words. Yes! Yes! Indeed yes.

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  2. 'Yes' is the best of mantras, imo - especially when one is saying yes to life. Love the truth of the last lines...

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  3. To be able to see the good in the bad and rejoice in the little things (that are really huge) is what it's all about. Love this!

    http://lkharris-kolp.blogspot.com/2012/02/test-water.html

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  4. Through pain and suffering some manage to find the light. Nice work!

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  5. I think you know how much it thrills me to hear of someone going through the darkness and into the light, living with "no" so long and changing it to "yes". I'm so happy for you and your son, Sherry.
    Luv, K

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  6. His trials and yours have made you both stronger souls....souls that know what matters....this is beautiful Sherry! I say yes with you!!

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  7. I agree whole heartedly ~

    I think our sons shared the same journey ~

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  8. Oh what lovely comments to find in here tonight. Thank you all! Yes, there are many gifts to be found along the most painful pathways - that's how our hearts grow. Some days I feel like I need a wheelbarrow to lug mine around in, hee hee.

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  9. He sees like his MOM with an artist's eye! The magic in the what some call ordinary! What I call extraordinary~ Great photo, I am so happy he is finding more joy~

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  10. gratitude...gotta carry that with you...

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  11. My dear Sherry,

    Turns out, they are not
    little things at all,
    but very big things

    Over the last week, I have seen this expression oer and over again.

    I am at crossroads, Sherry, and this saying seems to me like a sign.

    I will write an email to share my story.

    Take care and God bless.

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  12. Joy deserves a great big YES ! :)

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  13. “there exists no single human being that does not either potentially or effectively possess this thing we hold to constitute happiness.” (Enneads I.4.4)

    Glad you both found it 8^D

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  14. Ahhh yes, the secret to a happy life is to enjoy living it in doing the simple things. Lovely read. :)

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  15. Sherry I am writing this through tears not of sadness but of the joy of buttercups seen in the most unlikely of places... Exquisite in form and content and sensibility. YES!

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  16. Good for him! He learned well at his mom's knee.

    My daughter said the same thing as she battled breast cancer. I truly think that was the weapon that enabled her to defeat it. I'd like to say she learned it from me, but the real truth is that it is she who is the teacher.

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  17. Maybe when we hang between life and death we find a yearning to live even more. Your son's mantra is very inspiring. Your poem is beautiful beyond words.

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