“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” – Lao Tzu
Flickr Photos
Thought For the Day: Kindness In Words Creates Confidence. Kindness In Thinking Creates Profoundness. Kindness In Giving Creates Love
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Confidence, Create, Giving, Kindness, Lao Tzu, Love, Profoundness, Thinking, Thought For the Day, Words
Leave a comment
Exiting To A New Beginning
Exiting To A New Beginning
by Michael Doyle
The alpha and the omega
The beginning and the end
Life's alpha and its omega
Laid bare at the year's beginning and end
God breathes our lives into motion
Whatever the season's emotions
We aim to begin and finish strong
As the church's family remaining strong
We live as one within one community
Within the truth of our sacred family
Walking our story in relationship
As we live out our ultimate worship
Glasses half full or seen as half empty
The outlook depends on our desire to be happy
It is a matter of the blind gaining sight
The realization of spiritual blindness turned right
Spiritual faith comes to heal the wounds of division
As we learn to remain anchored with greater precision
We must stick to principles that are Biblical
As 2024 become increasingly even overly political
We learn it's okay to struggle without hesitation
That as life presses on, it's alright to question
Even Habakkuk ventured into complaints he had to voice
Finding the courage to ask these was the right choice
Promptings and principles touch the depth of our hearts
They have done so since the soul's search from the start
This is the way of God's promises throughout our days
We see this openly if we study and keep a steady gaze
Keeping focus without falling into vapid distraction
Despite how the world's negativity has its attraction
We keep watchful eyes as the world and Word unwrap
Every word in every sentence approach and quietly tap
Us on our shoulders, we carefully decipher the full story
Watching before our eyes, God walks revealing His glory
We press forward into understanding our watchful stand
Until we can follow the meaningful ways of God's commands
Through this struggle we learn to find our way
Each of us walking life as we live through our own days
Watching, looking, and seeking after what God will say
Following in the shadow and light of God's walk in our days
God's traces are sometimes something untraceable
But the paths He gives us to travel are irreplaceable
As we watch from the chosen ramparts of higher elevation
With the good, true, and noble holding our fascination
God honoring in the way we choose to begin our preparations
Keeping earnest and holy, reflective on our holy destination
At first sipping milk and taking tiny baby-step stumbles
We are well-served when we push on past our grumbles
Even in good weather, we keep our eyes on the storms ahead
Being alert, and rooted, we are contemplative without dread
Knowing that we must keep our eyes toward glory and dreams
And not on yesterday's memories, however it seems
Through the fears we've lived and found to be naught but waste
We must keep our eyes open refusing to make judgment in haste
We have learned to keep confident and cautiously with optimism
We learn to walk at last toward our course without pessimism
And now, here it is that, we stand on the precipice of 2024
Brightly alert to keeping our focus on what tomorrow is for
Quietly we confidently tap on this side of Janus' opening door
And we know that we are ready with hope for tomorrow's more
(c) December 31, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged 2024, Aim, Anchored, Biblical, Blind, Breathe, Church, Community, Complaints, Courage, Desire, Emotion, Empty, Exit, Faith, Family, Glasses, Habakkuk, Half Full, Happy, Heal, Hesitation, Motion, New Beginning, One, Poetry and Poems, Political, Presses On, Principles, Question, Relatinship, Right, Right Choice, Sacred Family, Season, Sight, Spiritual Blindness, Story, Strong, Struggle, The Alpha and the Omega, Voice, Walk, Worship, Wounds of Division, Year
Leave a comment
First Principles: Be At War With Your Vices, At Peace With Your Neighbors, and Let Every New Year Find You A Better Man
“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.“ – Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac (1775)
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Benjamin Franklin, Better, Every, First Principles, Man, Neighbors, New Year, Peace, Person, Poor Richard's Almanac (1775), Vices, War
Leave a comment
Thought For the Day: Last Year’s Words Belong To Last Year’s Language. And Next Year’s Words Await Another Voice
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice.” – T.S. Eliot
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Another Voice, Beginning, End, Language, Last Year, Make, Next Year, Thought For the Day, Words
Leave a comment
My Forever Valentine
My Forever Valentine
by Michael Doyle
All the moments of life are lent
Carelessly given and heavenly spent
It's the separation and the loss
That defines what's the boss
Come away with me quietly
Giving your consent spoken and silently
Openly expressed inside your smile
Telling me you'll give me your while
With the love and humor in your eyes
As we stay up to greet the sunrise
Of dreams lived, not just hoped for
It's at your temple, I dare to adore
Your words are whispered like a siren's song
Telling me where it is that I belong
Though it is winter's rain that will fall
My life waits at the beckon of your call
I stay waiting, leaving well enough alone
Knowing tomorrow, we'll be on that phone
And I will always hold that sacred line
Knowing that you're my forever Valentine
(c) December 30, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Adore, Beckon, Belong, Boss, Call, Carelessly, Come Away With Me, Consent, Dare, Define, Dreams Lived, Eyes, Fall, Forever Valentine, Given, Greet, Heavenly, Hold, Hoped For, Know, Lent, Line, Love and Humor, Moments, My, Openly Expressed, Phone, Poetry and Poems, Quiet, Sacred, Separation and Loss, Silently, Siren's Song, Smile, Spent, Spoken, Sunrise, Tell, Temple, Tomorrow, Wait, Well Enough, While, Whisper, Winter's Rain, Words
Leave a comment
First Principles: Always Stand On Principle…Even If You Stand Alone
“Always stand on principle…even if you stand alone.” – John Adams
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Always, Even, First Principles, John Adams, Principle, Stand, Stand Alone
Leave a comment
Thought For the Day: Boys, I Only Did My Duty; the Old Flag Never Touched the Ground
“Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground!” – William Carney
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Boys, Duty, Ground, Old Flag, Thought For the Day, Touch, William Carney
Leave a comment
Complexity-Simplified
Complexity Simplified
by Michael Doyle
Of all the things I have in life reserved
The right to peacefulness is deserved
I have no need for people who like to cause stress
And this is something I will readily address
2024 will be a year of peace and conflict-free
If you have any other intention, steer clear of me
Trust me when I say I am conscious of all things around
And your shallowness is empty and vapid, not profound
Your games are transparent and not nearly rarified
As they are trite, I seek only complexity-simplified
And if you try to bring me down with a pack of lies
I have the evidence in writing and voice for everyone's eyes
Looking into my soul as I quietly strum my guitar
Wondering why it is that you wish to push me too far
If I had a tattoo and was in any way inked
It would be "Don't Tread On Me" made clear and distinct
We must share this world inside this cage-less zoo
But if you put my back to the wall, I will let you learn too
That some lions you don't want to tug on their manes
These vain efforts will be wasted and clearly in vain
This is your last and final warning to pay what you owe
Stop pretending it is in any way otherwise, you're on a roll
But it's one that ends with you ten feet over the ledge
Before you realize you've pushed too far over the edge
Roadrunner has nothing on me, and you're not Wile Y. Coyote
It's as if you never learned anything when you'd known me
Think back on the mistakes that you have wickedly made
And realize, documenting the evidence has the price of shade
It's a tale as old as time to pick on the wrong sort of man
So be careful of the fight you have chosen while you still can
The courts are no place for childish games, and they are in route
Do you, for a moment, believe otherwise or have any doubt?
It's the destination of your backflow of lurid inhumanity
To think you'll win is nothing but the sheerest vanity
Why pick on someone trained to win like a mercenary knight?
For once in your life, stop being foolish, and act right
(c) December 29, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged 2024, Act Right, Address, Around, Back To the Wall, Backflow, Bring Me Down, Cage-Less, Childish Games, Clear, Complexity, Conflict Free, Conscious, Court, Deserved, Destination, Distinct, Document, Don't Tread On Me, Doubt, Edge, Evidence, Eyes, Foolish, Games, Guitar, Inhumanity, Inked, Intention, Known, Last and Final Warning, Learn, Ledge, Life, Lion, Look, Mane, Mercenary Knight, Mistakes, Need, Once In Your Lifee, Owe, Pack of Lies, Pay, Peace, Peacefulness, Pick On, Poetry and Poems, Price, Profound, Push, Rarified, Reserved, Right, Road Runner, Roll, Route, Shade, Shallowness, Share, Simplified, Sin, Soul, Steer Clear, Stress, Strum, Tale, Tattoo, Time, Transparent, Trite, Tug, Tust, Vain, Vain Effort, Voice, Wasted, Wicked, Wile Y. Coyote, Wonder, World, Writing, Wrong Sort of Man, zoo
Leave a comment
First Principles: A Good Moral Character Is the First Essential In A Man
“A good moral character is the first essential in a man…” – George Washington
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Character, First Essential, First Principles, George Washington, Good, Mankind, Moral
Leave a comment
Thought For the Day: The Love of One’s Country Is A Splendid Thing. But Why Should Love Stop At the Border?
“The love of one’s country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?” -Pablo Casals, cellist, conductor, and composer (29 Dec 1876-1973)
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Border, Brotherhood, Learn, Life, Love, Mankind, One's Country, Pablo Casals, Recognize, Remain, Splendid, Stop, Thought For the Day
Leave a comment
