Sixteen times per minute,
twenty-two thousand breaths
in a day. No time
like the present.
There are no other excuses, but
there are always other ways.
Breathe. Choose today
to speak up when you can,
push out the latent sorrow,
guilt, and anguish
only you can understand.
Inhale. There is no life, no
oxygen, like this day. Despite
our selected perceptions,
there is not a
single breath to waste.
© 2018 j.g. lewis
When you start from zero
you are allowed, again, a
perspective without a lot
of unnecessary baggage.
Make the most of it.
Happy New Year.
12/31/2025 j.g.l.
As we prepare to greet another year, looking ahead with both enthusiasm and uncertainty, it is an opportune time to reflect on what got us where we are.
Do not do so with regret.
What has happened has passed; the apprehension and anxieties that have dogged us in the past are better left unsaid. There is so much value in starting over.
In the process of rediscovering (even reinventing) who you are, find clarity in both your actions and intent. Disappointments and delusions will certainly have a say (they often do) but continue stepping forward anyway.
2025 is a fresh start.
May this coming year give you even more to think about. Enjoy each day.
12/29/2024 j.g.l.
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.
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