JANUARY 31, 2010

Hello everyone. We’re back home again. And it’s damn cold, only got into the 60s today! But I’m cozy here in my library - “I have my books and my poetry to protect me.” Well, protect may be a little strong, but they do provide a certain comfort. And sharing a little of that comfort poetry:

Rolling snow turned peach-color

the moon

left alone in the fading light

makes a soft cry in the heavens

and once more

drinks up the scattered light

Gary Snyder

“Dawn”

Hope your week is filled with the softness of light and love.

Keith

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January 24, 2010

Buenos dias.

A Little Mexican Magic

Senses focused west
across Banderas Bay
to the Pacific Ocean.
The crescent moon,
a silver bowl,
and nearby
the evening star, Venus.
The horizon darkening,
shades of pink and orange.
Below us, the incessent surf
ebbs and flows.
And the pool complex
glimmers with lights.
Here, by the ocean,
my heart sings quietly
and I am at peace.

Keith R. Gentzler

May you also be at peace this week.

Love,
Keith

January 17, 2010

The wisdom of chocolate

When we come to Mexico, we always come with lots of dark chocolate -- along with a glass of red wine it makes the perfect dessert! And then there's all the great reading we get to do. A favorite this year is Luis Alberto Urrea's THE HUMMINGBIRD'S DAUGHTER, good reading in Mexico. Huila's wisdom is hard to beat --

When women ran the world,
the palaces would be made of
chocolate!

Most of my wisdom this week comes from the wrappers of Dove chocolates. Don't laugh. Some of them aren't bad. I kinda liked these
two--
Follow that dream wherever that dream may lead.
Mary Ann from Inez, KY

Don't look back -- you've already been there.
Lana from Lemore, CA

But the one that stopped me in my tracks was--

Even small celebrations deserve a dance.
Laureli from Spring Grove, PA

Honest! It's my tiny hometown!

This week follow you dreams, don't look back, dance if you can, and if things get rough, try some chocolate.

Love,
Keith

January 10, 2010

Greetings from Puerta Vallarta--

This week, especially, I should feel guilty - most of you freezing, even in Florida. But, as Rie says, guilt is a useless emotion unless you can do something about it. I'll enjoy the sun!

Week after week, as I search my mind for thoughts to share with you, I have come to realize that much of the poetry that sings to me is the poetry of music. Over the next several months, I'll share a few examples from time to time--
When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong
Just remember, in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose.
Amanda McBroom

This week, stay warm or enjoy the cold, whichever. We have yurned the corner- spring is on the way!

Love,
Keith

January 3,2010

Buenous dias. Greetings from south of the border. I'll try not to rub it in, sitting by the pool enjoying the sunshine and the temperatures in the mid-80s. But whether you're here or in the cold and snow (I know some of you love it), it's time to start another week with appreciation and enjoyment. This week, for no special reason, I've been thinking about how much our own attitude about who we are can affect the life we live. Here are two quotes I like:

No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face
to himself and another to the multitude, without finally
getting bewildered as to which may be true.
Nathaniel Hawthorne

OR, somewhat more direct:

You are what you pretend to be,
so be careful what you pretend to be.
Kurt Vonnegut

This week, maybe we could all "pretend" to be a bit more kind and gentle.

Love,
Keith

INTRODUCTION

This blog is a work in progress - under construction. These weekly meditations began in March of 2008. I had an unexpected heart attack on March 17. My wife started a "heart" e-mail list of our family and friends to keep them informed of my condition while in the hospital. Modern medicine fixed my heart.

When I returned home, I decided to celebrate by sharing a meditation I had written the previous year (see below). I e-mailed it to those on the list. Thus began what has become a weekly message designed to uplift my friends' spirits and to start their week on a positive note. Some of these messages are from my own writings. Some I draw from poetry and other writings that I love.

I never really intended this to be such a long journey, but it has evolved. From time to time, I have added new people to my list. Positive feedback and my own enjoyment in doing it have kept my weekly messages going for nearly two years. Somewhere along the journey it occurred to me that there might be a larger audience for my weekly inspirations. Thus the blog.

While I am starting this effort as 2010 begins, my travel plans will prevent me from doing much with it immediately. I will post my new weekly messages. Eventually, I hope to create an archive of my past messages. But, as always, my purpose is a simple one. I want to help each of you to start your week on an upbeat note.

Here's my first message, to be repeated every year in mid-March:

Treat today as if it is

the only gift you were ever given.

It is the most precious!

Fill it with love and joy and serenity.

Try to breeze past all the disharmonies

that assail you.

Keep today special --

treasure it with every breath

you take,

and every beating of your heart.

Keith R. Gentzler