open space

Love.
General love, specific
love, generic love,
holistic love, familial
love, familiar love
(remember),
it’s needed now.
Love.
Right now.
More then ever before?
Who can really say,
but I know, what
you know, and we all
see and hear too much
of everything
but love, right now.
We need a little more
love today, really
everyday.
Take a look around.
Love thy neighbour
is a phrase that has
been bandied about
forever. Forget any and
all religious connotations,
think more about love
between the nations,
and
across generations.
That kind of love.
Now, I’m not getting
all altruistic, and looking
for potential through
rose-coloured glasses.
I know
this planet has problems
deep and vast, and an
ever-increasing rift
between those who have
more commonalities
than differences,
and I’m not
saying love is
the only answer;
nothing is that simple.
But
something that simple
could go a long way
towards healing some
wounds and bringing
all of us
(everyone)
closer together.
It is what the world
needs now.
Love.
Right now.
It’s worth a try, and
we needn’t question
why. Open your eyes,
your heart, and 
your mind.
Find the love, feel the
love, show the love,
share the love
and be the love.
It can make a difference.
Now.
Right now.

j.g.l.

Maybe today you will do as
you planned and maybe today,
caution be damned, you’ll do what
you do and you will understand
that maybe the time you’ve taken,
until now, has served a purpose
that is stronger than the disbelief
and doubt you felt yesterday.
Maybe today you will know what
you mean, and maybe, today, it
will be easier than it seems. Maybe
today you’ll find your way, maybe
today is that kind of day?

01/30/2020                                       j.g.l.

I purchased some Purell yesterday; a big bottle for home, and a couple of pocket-sized dispensers for my packsack or pocket. The hand solution claims to kill 99.9% of germs.
  In the short walk to the post office, I passed two people on the street wearing facemasks.
  The big, bold front-page headline of Tuesday’s Toronto Sun on Tuesday read: YEAR OF THE VIRUS, and the amount of information on radio and television increases daily.
  The coronavirus is a reality. While it had reportedly been contained in China, a case was recently reported in the United States. That’s cause for alarm.
  Of course I am concerned, particularly as word spreads like the disease of what is often referred to as a “SARS-like virus”.
  SARS is a believable, horrific word in Toronto.
  In 2003, Canada was the hardest hit country by the SARS outbreak outside of Asia. Of the 774 people killed by the virus worldwide, 44 deaths were in Canada. More than 3,300 people hospitalized (of the 8,098 global cases) and billions of dollars in economic losses have been attributed to SARS as people avoided Toronto like the plague.
  I did not live in Toronto at the time, but travelled there on business regularly. There were months I did not make the trip. The reality of SARS was simply too great to take a chance.
  I live in Toronto now. Flu season has not yet peaked, and now every cough from a stranger is cause for concern. A virus like 2019-nCoV is easily spread by person-to-person contact, and there are more people in this city than any other in this country. They are the everyday people you see, meet, and brush up against on subways and in shopping malls.
  Of course I am concerned.
  Health officials advise that washing your hands is still the best first-line defense against this virus, just as it is for the common cold.
  I know I wash my hands regularly (not obsessively), but also know many people don’t. Yes, I purchased the hand sanitizer for me, but really I bought it because of them.

01/23/2020                                        j.g.l.

We are all the same, yet different.
Each of us has a purpose, desires,
skills, thoughts and beliefs. We all
breathe, and we all bleed, yet our
concerns will vary, as will our needs.
Many of us are quiet, while some of
us loud, but we can all be ourselves
and still be a part of the crowd.

j.g.l.

Stand up.
Stand tall
Get back up
if you fail
or fall.

Don’t be
Disappointed.
You can do this.
Believe.

01/14/2020                              j.g.l.