I have a good memory, one that allows me to disregard occasional unfortunate events and dismal challenges I have faced through the years and — when I need it most –— return to the bountiful periods of youthful happiness.
   There I find my mother.
   Positively selfless, human to the core, Mom had a practical wisdom that still shines through on occasions when I need good counsel, or if my spirits need a good polishing.
   A gentle hand with forgiving resolve, and the most loving heart, my mother was my truest friend. She always seemed to find time for me, and knew when I needed it. My first teacher, the lessons I learned from her allow me to be the person I now am; flaws and all.
   I lost my mother too early, and too long ago. 
   Technically, my mother was with me for less time than she wasn’t.
   A mother’s love extends well beyond whom, or where, she is.
   Her love is always with me.
   I still feel her heartwarming presence, especially on days like today. I miss my mother, more than I admit, and cherish her memory often.
   Today, again, I honour her magnificent soul.
Happy Mother’s Day

05/12/2024                                                                                                 j.g.l.

Gratitude is not always proportionate.
   There are big thanks for little things and smaller,
more conservative, replies to larger gestures we may not fully comprehend or even totally appreciate, yet.
   Still, an expression of gratitude in any size, shape or form, should be offered and accepted openly.
   That is the longitude and latitude of gratitude.
   We really do have so much to be thankful for.

© 2017 j.g. lewis

Art is everywhere, if you choose to look.
   Lately, as the weather becomes a slightly more pleasurable each day, I am taking the opportunity to get back out on the streets of Toronto to observe what really happens here.
   Last Thursday, on the way to an appointment, I was fortunate to notice something I had never seen before.
   Just about any day you’ll find Ross Ward hunched over on Yonge Street tending to his art. The ‘Birdman of Toronto’ has been a fixture on these streets in various locations for well over a decade, and during each day he crafts, and sells, palm-sized birds.
   Once only a hobby — this is now more than whittling — Ward carves out shapes of common birds from reclaimed wood. There is always a piece in progress, and always a small flock for sale on his concrete workspace.
   Perhaps in our day-to-day journeys, we don’t look close enough at all the people. We don’t often observe enough to see art just happening here and there on our landscape. I’ve wandered this street how many times and only last week did I notice the man. I saw him again on the weekend.
   Appreciating the beauty of his work, I bought a bird as a gift for someone . . . or maybe a souvenir for myself to one day remember my time in this city.
   Couldn’t we all use more memorable hand-made art?

 05/06/2024                                                                                  j.g.l.