From July to September the rain shadow effect allows Seattle to have a larger percentage of sunny days than during the other months of the year. Out come the shorts, the bright colors, and the smiles on people’s faces. It’s a fantastic sight!

That’s why I chose my poem “Sunlight” for the August Poem of the Month Club.

The recent shootings in El Paso and Dayton blocked the sun for our entire nation… no, for the whole world! More than ever, we need the light, the warmth, and the love to unite our own nation and the nations of the world.

So, the poem selection stays, with the hope that people will begin to smile again and share the sunlight in peace and understanding.

SUNLIGHT

No matter how dark the night, the sun rises
And chases all the shadows away.
The sun rose today; it will do it tomorrow.
The sun comes up every day.

The mornings are full of sunshine and hope…
It’s a wonderful time to start over again—
Whether a continuation of yesterday’s project
Or a new one you’re about to begin.

A little coffee, a little sunlight…
Your troubles will begin to fade.
By focusing on your hopes and dreams
You’ll turn lemons into lemonade.

Happiness can be found in the darkest of times,
Turn your own light on without delay.
Worry does not keep it from raining tomorrow;
It keeps it from being sunny today.

What sunshine gives to the flowers that bloom,
Smiles are the same gifts to humanity.
The good that smiles do, however trifling it seems,
May lead humankind back to sanity.

A flower cannot live without sunshine;
You cannot thrive without love and a dream.
Learn from the flowers which angle towards the sun…
Lean toward people you hold in high esteem.

The sun rises, the sun falls, the wind blows, the birds sing.
No matter who you are, the story is the same.
These experiences unite us all around the world—
Togetherness in friendship is good, I proclaim!

My friend and I recently returned from a marvelous holiday… a cruise in the Baltic Region. The countries we visited are, for the most part, experiencing freedom and independence: Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, etc. However, the 20th Century history of the area (the Nazi and then the Communist invasions and take-overs — coupled with recent [2019] articles of Russian “mergers…” not to mention the Mainland Chinese fighting against democracy in Hong Kong) gives one pause.

It motivated me to think deeply about what the concept — FREEDOM — means. Each July 4th we celebrate our country’s independence… our freedom to govern ourselves: a freedom that not every country has. With that freedom comes the responsibility to guard and maintain it from generation to generation.

Like the poem below states, our freedom is something we must guard, and protect, and pass on intact. We must stay watchful, and perhaps even a little bit paranoid. It could slip away if, or as, we sleep.

FREEDOM

Freedom is not guaranteed to us
Without working for it day after day.
Keeping freedom a fact in our daily lives
Takes responsibility… (not meant as a cliche)

As Ronald Reagan so wisely declared,
“Freedom is never more than one generation away
From extinction.” That means we didn’t inherit
Any genes or blood type that would pave the way.

No, freedom must be fought for, and then protected,
And finally handed on to the next generation…
With the premise that they must carry the burden
Of protecting it for themselves to its next commemoration.

“Education unlocks the door to freedom.”
So said George Washington Carver, a learned man.
He understood the degree of responsibility
That comes with freedom. (Do the very best you can.)

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female Supreme Court Judge
Stated these words which added to her legacy:
“The freedom to criticize judges and other public officials
Is necessary to a vibrant democracy.”

Abe Lincoln weighed in on the subject of freedom:
“America will never be destroyed from [without].”
No, it will come from within, if we allow special interests
To decide what is best, and if we sell ourselves out.

Pope John Paul warned of the pervading nationalism
That is being aggressively imposed in many forms. (Be leery!)
If we are tempted to adopt it as a truer freedom,
We may just be trading for a new form of slavery.

JFK said, “Conformity is the jailer of freedom
And the enemy of growth” (a thought most sage).
The secret to happiness is always freedom…
And the secret to freedom is courage.

George Washington said, “If the freedom of speech
Is taken away [from our rights],
Then dumb and silent we might be led
Like sheep to the slaughter.” (Resist with all your might!)

To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains
But to live in a way that respects others’ independence.
None of us are free until all are out of bondage.
Respond to all dangers with loving intelligence.

The ultimate human freedom comes from these endowments:
Self-awareness; conscience; independent will; and imagination.
They give us the power to choose, to respond,
And to change… and become our own creation.

The word “vacation” had its origins between 1350 and 1400 and its original meaning was “freedom from obligations, leisure, release (from some activity or occupation).” The Latin root is vacate and from that the words vacate, vacation, vacancy and vacant are derived.

The Brits call it a “holiday,” not a “vacation.” Either way it’s an opportunity to journey within and meet your authentic self. G. K. Chesterton, a prolific writer of the 20th Century, described a holi.day (or vacation) as “a restoring thing which, by a blast of magic, turns a man into himself.”

And, as it is often said, wise people travel to discover themselves. Whether you travel near or far, it’s food for your soul.

VACATION

Vacations are medicine for the soul,
And usually require the need to vacate…
Travel is often the method to get away,
To reconnect with ourselves, and re-create.

The choices are many! So many places to go!
Find what brings you joy, and go there.
The world is a book, and if you don’t travel
You have only one page to share.

Doing nothing brings everything into perspective.
Rediscover your passions, your purpose, and plus…
Why do we travel? Not to escape life,
But so that life will not escape us!

The word “vacation” summarizes it all:
Resurrection, rebirth, reincarnation and re-sprout.
A holiday turns people into themselves.
Of this fact, there is no doubt!

Wherever you go, go with all your heart.
The energy expended gains you more than you give.
The bottom line? The message here?
Do not work more than you live!