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December 26

my wish for peace

How can we speak of peace when war rages in parts of this world, even on Christmas Day?

As unequivocally unjust is the appalling, mean-spirited political propaganda on this side of the ocean; it never ends.

Yesterday, as I did the days before, I repeated, again, my wish for peace.

Today I am left humbled and humiliated.

How can we dream of a world not polarized by hate?

We can only try.

One by one, we can only dream.

Has there ever been a time, in our lifetimes, where peace is more important than it is now?

12/26/2024 j.g.l.

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December 22

Solstice Blessings

In North America, we have come out of the longest and darkness night of the year.

From here on in it only gets brighter.

Deify the light; acknowledge the dim.

Christmas is but a few days away, the high holidays close, and the spirit of the season is building. In all our cultures, there are so many good and wonderful days ahead.

I wish you and your families and friends — those who are close and them far away — everlasting love and community in the days and years to follow.

deep peace

j.g. lewis

12/22/2024

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December 19

speak up

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December 17

12/17/2024

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December 15

in my journal

Incomplete thoughts, generally, complete me. Always, in my time.

Casually or constructively, I write what I think (or what I want to think) until it all falls together.

The unfinished thoughts – those bruised, blemished declarations, replete with erroneous expectations or rough edges – often lay latent in my journal. For a time.

Often intrusively confusing and so full of questions, the mandate of the message lacks even muffled clarity.

Those words will keep for another day.

12/15/2024 j.g.l.

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original content and images ©j.g. lewis

a decade of days…

2025 is an anthology of thoughts du jour, unsolicited advice, messages of peace, philosophy, poetry, and photographs from the past decade of Mythos & Marginalia. In unchronological order, the years not as important as the dates, each post a reminder (if only to myself) that I do indeed write every damn day.

December 28

we are the same

From east or west. By
longitude or latitude
we differ, yet we are
the same, depending
on your attitude.
We are connected,
each of us playing a
part in the evolution
of this amazing planet.
Imagine what could
happen if we put aside
our unconscious bias
and worked together.

© 2021 j.g. lewis

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December 25

the tradition of Christmas

Those of us who celebrate the date do so with traditions we adhere to, learn, or create.
  Above all else, Christmas is tradition.
  It shows itself beyond gifts or cards lined up on the shelf. It is felt more deeply than religion or faith. It is the simple belief that this day is what we were once told.
  It keeps us believing.
  Tradition is found within a mother’s needlepoint, or a song she sang. Maybe now you do too. It is remembering your sister as a child, as you see her child as she was about that age. This is, and has always been, time marked by family love and lore.
  Tradition is in the stories we tell, or told.
  Traditions keep us close to what we knew.
  However you celebrate, if you celebrate, I wish you a Merry Christmas.
  May your memories – the one’s you hold or the ones you make – be as warm, as loving, and as generous as mine.

Deep peace
-j-

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December 23

sounds of the season

We find comfort in the music we choose to listen to, particularly that of this season.
I have a handful of albums from across the musical spectrum that I listen to each year. These are my sounds of the season.
At the top of the list is the soundtrack to a film I grew up watching, but it goes past being a childhood favorite.
I played A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio the other night. I’ve owned the album in a couple of different formats and have enjoyed the music as a kid, a teenager, and a full-fledged adult. This album has no boundaries.
I’m sure I will play the album a couple of times over the holidays, the infectious jazz brings me happiness and memories. It reminds me of both childhood and fatherhood.

© 2021 j.g. lewis

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December 27

trust that it is

Trust is a give and take word, and not one to be taken lightly.
In any relationship or encounter you give trust, or allow trust, often in the moment; many times without thought. You, in effect, trust yourself to trust others.
You take trust at face value. Trust is, or should be, reciprocal. We trust that it is.
Are we too trusting?
Trust is earned. Trust cannot be replaced.
Trust can be taken away as easily as it is given.
To trust is to give of yourself without compromise.
It takes trust. It takes time.
Don’t give up.
Trust yourself.

© 2020 j.g. lewis

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December 26

hope

what have we
if not
hope

for ourselves

in each other

hope
keeps us
believing

in each other

in ourselves

© 2019 j.g. lewis

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December 19

let’s not

Let’s
not forget
what we promised,
what it meant, and
what we are.

Let’s not
forget who is there
when it matters,
not who came along
when it was
convenient.

Let’s not forget
why it mattered, and
why it still does.

© 2019 j.g. lewis

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