Things that bring tears to my eyes...

Have you ever seen something and started to tear up? I know I have... they could be totally unrelated, but they stir emotions like none other... Here are a couple of things that move me:

1. An old grandpa/ma on the sidewalk - they use a walker/wheelchair or just can't walk without support. And who should be at their side offering that support but their partner, with similar disadvantages that come with age. I always tear up when I see them hold hands to cross the street. I would like to be that grandma someday, with my dear old B by my side, holding my hand and helping me cross.
2. A picture of a child in Somalia - I cannot tell you how many times I have been moved to tears looking at those pictures and wondering why I cannot change their situation. The latest one being this Pulitzer winning picture (below) which instantly drove me to tears.

If I think of others, I will add them on... What are some of the things that move you?

Politics rears its ugly head... again.

I have always hated politics. In fact, I wrote a similar post some years ago when something similar happened to me at work and I was ruminating on how to stay clear of this dirty game. Unfortunately, 5 years later, I still haven't figured out how to get around without getting my hands dirty anyway. And now, when my co-worker, who has been playing this game for a while, is really turning the heat up, I am so disgusted that I just want to get up and walk away. In the end, although I am choosing the high road and don't want to play the game, I'll be the loser, because I'll be walking away from a great opportunity to learn and grow in my career. How is this fair to me? I know... life isn't fair. But still....

Why would you sit back and watch someone fail? Particularly, when that someone has never tried to sabotage your career in any way? I understand that you want to "climb the ladder", but haven't you heard that you should watch your step when you do so? It's not all about positioning and relationships like my colleague thinks. I believe it's about character and the work you do. Yes, I want to climb the ladder too, but not see another person fail in the process when I could have helped them succeed.

Jealousy and insecurity is a dangerous combination. I have seen the effects of it before and I am seeing my colleague go down the same path now. And I wish I could help her, but I realize that help would need to come from another quarter, not me.

In the meantime, I need to figure out how I can carry on without her negativity affecting me and my work. I am here to learn and grow. I keep telling myself that from time to time, more often now than ever. Let's hope (my) perseverance and persistence pays off. Here's wishing good luck to me!

Poems by someone I know....

A very close friend of mine writes these wonderful poems and refuses to publish them... for good reason, I'm sure, but I want the world to read... So here goes...

THEIR BOND

On this delightful day when you bond,
Sharing love and all that may come with it.
journey together hand in hand
Life shall open up as by magic
let love be your shield and
from this day on...
when you walk hand in hand together.

May life open its wonderful path
strewn with petals...
Long and arduous it may seem,
but supporting each other
will you both tread along,
Understanding and realising
the wonderful person at your side

May you relish life and all that it offers you
And may your lives be starlit forever...


UNTITLED

I am too connected to slip away
   to fade away
Days away, I still feel you,
   touching me, changing me
and considerately killing me.

Without the skin,
   beneath the storm,
under these tears,
   the walls came down

The snake is drowned and as I
   look in his eyes
my fears begin to fade
   recalling all those times

I could have cried
I should have cried

And as the walls come down and
    as I look into your eyes
My fear begins to fade
   really all those times that I've died
It's all right. I don't mind.