Celebrating Our Independence-Happy 4th of July

On this Independence Day, please take a moment to pause and remember what it means to be considered an American. Most importantly, please remember, America is not just me and it is not just you, it is us. There is one thing that describes us all, no matter the color of our face, no matter what place we may have once called home, in this great land, we are all Americans. At the end of the day, we win or lose as a whole. Never think what you do doesn't matter. It has an effect upon us all as your fellow Americans. I am so grateful to all those who contributed in making this country what it is today. From the least of men to the greatest of men, we owe an expression of gratitude. If we never gain anything else from our years, may we learn this. If in all our accomplishments, we fail to learn how to live together peacefully, we will have accomplished nothing. Great men don't have small minds, they have great minds. Happy 4th. A Little More Love If I could reach the great writers in the heavens above, I’d have them write a song for the world I have no doubt the topic would be love Throughout the ages of time One message was on their mind. Everybody wants to know Can I lean on you when I need a friend? When my burdens get too hard to bear, Can I count on you to be there? Will you answer my call? Will you lift me up when I fall? I wish the world would finally hear these words. If I had to send one message throughout eternity, Today, tomorrow and forever the message would be We need a little more love. Whether it’s written in English, Spanish or Greek. There’s only one path to the peace we seek. A little more love is what we need. If everyone planted just one seed, The garden of love would grow Across every mountain and beyond every sea. With love there are no impossibilities If we want wars to cease, If we really want to see peace, We must learn to live as one. There would be no doubts, No fears to overcome, If we just let love be Peace would be ours for all eternity.

The Gift that is Free

There is a gift that is free Once we unwrap it, it's ours for all eternity. It comforts the wounded and the broken-hearted. It erases boundaries and causes walls to fall. It cannot be purchased or won, but it is offered to everyone. It forms lasting friendships and creates marriages that never end. It is stronger than any glue you can find. It holds families together through trials and tragedies. It endures a life time. It brings hope to the hopeless and gives strenghth to the weak. It is the answer to unaswered questions, and the solution to every problem. It allows us to look into the innermost parts our being to places that are beyond seeing. It teaches unconditional respect and mercy. It circumvents station, reaching down from the highest of places to the lowest of places. Without it we will never grow and we will never know all we need to know. We can remain blind and allow the doors of the universe to remain locked, but that is not how it has to be. The answers are ours to find. They are in the singers song, and the the painters portrait. They have been written across the pages of time in verse and line. Listen, and you will hear the universe speaking. "Nothing is unique. You have the answers you seek. There is no problem to solve. There is no big mystery. I am the answer. I am the key." It goes back to the beginning, you see. Back to the eve of our Saviour's birth. Think of the gift he brought for you and for me. The gift is the key. Jesus is saying, "Accept the gift, and you will be free. If you never receive another gift, you can still be happy. Here is the key. The greatest gift is yours for free. That gift is me."

Posting Back at Blogspot

Last year I posted that I would be also posting at Wix.com.  I am no longer posting at the..patlightacandle.wixsite.com/a-light-in-the-dark website and have resumed posting at lightacandl.blogspot.com.

To the Fathers of the World

In every corner of the world across continents and cultures, a Father is a Father.  Despite our differences, there are some things that connect us all.  We may deny it from now until forever, but it will not change the truth.  When a Father holds his child in his arms for the first time, that feeling is universal.  When a Father dances with his daughter at her wedding the joy he feels is the same for every Father.

As a daughter who has lost her Father, I know that someone out there way on the other side of the world feels the same gaping hole in their heart.  If we could look beyond what we believe is our obvious differences and embrace our all so obvious similarities, maybe, just maybe, we could learn to live together in peace.  Maybe.

This Father's Day, I am breaking down the walls and reaching across our differences to wish all the Fathers in the World a Happy Father's Day; because, somebody, somewhere loves and appreciates your love and your sacrifices more than you know.

To my Dad, Daddy, I miss you.  Though the years have lessened the degree of the pain I felt when you first left, your absence is still felt just as strong as the day you left.  I thank you for the years that I will never forget.  I still remember your voice, your laughter, your love and your unwavering devotion to our family.  I smile when I remember the little things that you did with us as kids.  How can I not miss such a strong presence that was ours to share across 3 generations?  When you left I was way past the age of being your little girl, but just like you never stopped referring to me as, your "Little Girl," I will never stop calling you my Daddy.   You were not better than the rest, in my eyes, you will always be the best.

For all the little girls and boys who danced on their father's toes:  This one is for you.

 

Dad, Mom and us

Thank you for the Sacrifice and for Paying the price.

We give thanks and we pay tribute to the men and women who died while serving our country and keeping us safe.  You sacrificed and died to secure a better future for us and for those to come.   We honor that sacrifice and we celebrate your life.  It is our prayer that one day, we will realize there is no need to war and fight one another because we are all one on the tapestry of life.   

One Heart, One Mind

When I think of the years

The unnecessary tears

The agony, the shame

The anger and the pain

That comes from being hurt again and again,

I wonder if we will ever live together peacefully.

Must we always war needlessly?

It doesn’t matter who we are or where we are from

Life is the same for everyone.

If we open our hearts we will find,

We have one spirit, one heart, and one mind.

When time is no more,

Our differences won’t matter anymore.

Regardless of what language we speak,

There is a commonality in what we seek.

No matter where we live our goals and our aims

Are the same

Everybody cries

When someone they love dies.

There is no difference in our tears

We share the same fears

We have different faces and different names,

But inside we are the same.

It’s time we realize

We have common ties.

When we get down to the heart of the matter,

That’s all that matters.

Not the color of our skin,

Not where we have been,

Whether we are a King or a Queen

Or where we live in the world.

One day, we must leave this world.

If we continue to hate,

This will be our shared fate,

Wars on every hand

And the deterioration of man.

We brag about how far we have come,

But if we never learn to live as one,

Our accomplishments will be as dung

They will have no significance for anyone.

We must live as a people, undefined by station or place

Inseparable by color or race.

We can’t rewrite history

But we can change what is to be

When we  realize that we are not just kindred spirits,

But a perfect fit

On the tapestry of mankind.

With one heart and one mind,

Peace will finally be ours to find.

Copyright 2010, Matters of the Heart

Patricia Newman-Harris

I dedicate this song as a Memorial on this Memorial Day

To Graduates...Congratulations for a Job Well Done

Whether you are graduating from Middle School to High School or from High School to College,
You deserve a special commendation for sticking to your goal to complete the mission.  It is not easy to stay focused with so many distractions.  With the added stress of school shootings and bullying in the schools, it can become a challenge, but you did it.


Children of Tomorrow, 4

Children of tomorrow,

Where are you headed what do you see?

What will your future be?

For every problem,

There is an answer.

Keep searching.

You will find the answers.

The hatred in the universe can be reversed.

By design,

This is your time

Through disappointments, set-backs.

Persecution and fear,

You can persevere.

You are on the right track.

Don’t turn back

Keep lifting your voice

It’s time for new choices

You are on the path to a better day

My daughters and sons,

There is a new day forming on the horizon

Let this be the one.

It doesn’t matter if you are as dark as the darkest night

You can be white as the whitest white,

Together, you can make things right.

The world hears your cries.

They can see the determination in your eyes.

It may take many tries,

But keep pressing towards the prize.

Children of tomorrow,

Where are you headed what do you see?

What will your future be?

There is a new day on the horizon.

Morning is sure to come.

Let this be the one.

Let this be the one.

If you are to save your daughters and your sons,

Let this be the one

No more wishing and hoping

That a day of change will come.

Let this be the one

If we want to save our daughters and sons.

Let this be the one.

Children of tomorrow where are you heading?

What do you see?

You have dreams to pursue

How will you make them come true?

The future is in your hands

You alone will seal tomorrow’s plans

The world sees you as a generation lost,but

There is more to you than the world can see

You can live victoriously.

If you don’t know which way to go,

Know,

For every problem, there is an answer. 

Keep searching and you will find the answer.

The hatred in this universe can be reversed

By design,

This is your time.

You have the gift of an open mind.

Through disappointments, set

Backs and persecution,

Keep searching for a solution.

You are on the right track.

Don't turn back.

Keep lifting your voice

The world will hear

what you have to say.

It's time for new choices.

You are blazing the path to a better way.

My daughters and sons,

There is a new day dawning

I can finally see the sun

There is hope on the horizon.

I hear your cries

I see the determination in your eyes.

No matter how many tries it takes,

Keep your eyes lifted to the skies

Keep pressing towards the prize.

Some say you are a generation lost

But that doesn’t have to be.

Children of tomorrow

Where are you headed?

What do you see?

This is a combination of two poems.

Believe in you and you will make it through.

Copyright Patricia-Newman-Harris

Honoring My Mother and all Mother's..Happy Mother's Day

Having Lost my Mother in 2012, I wrote this poem.  Since then, it has brought comfort to many friends who have also lost their Mother.  To the younger generation, I'd like to say.   You may not agree with everything your Mother has to say, but at least consider her words.  You can always believe that she has your best interest at heart.  Friends may leave you, but your Mother will always be there, through all your mistakes and every heartache she will be there.  

Thank you to my Mother for always being there and to all the women who were an inspiration in my lifetime.

A Mother's Love Never Dies
copyright Patricia Newman-Harris

A mother’s love never dies.

From the moment she lays eyes on you,

Her love is faithful and true.

There is nothing you can do

To make her stop loving you.

Through the ups and downs

She’s always around

Encouraging and uplifting.

That is her special gift.

Her love is without condition.

She is always willing to hear your petitions.

She loves without fear or restraint.

Her love never falters or faints.

She knows her advice you may not heed,

Nevertheless, she plants her seed;

Tirelessly, pouring her wisdom

into the family until she creates

the perfect tapestry

For generations to come.

Through time and space,

Her love can never be erased.

Her love will go on and on

Long after she is gone

Long after her last goodbyes,

Long after your last cries

Because a mother’s love never dies.

Never Again

I searched high and low looking for a poem I wrote long ago, entitled, Never Again.  If I find it, I will post it later.  What it said is basically, that never again, would we allow some of the things we allowed in the past to happen again.  Some of us still believe in that promise.  In light of so many things that have been happening, I think it's time for us to revisit what we, as American's stand for.  I appreciate our freedoms, I like the idea that we are entitled to our own point of views.  I would like to think that we can agree and disagree without feeling that our lives will be in danger simply on the basis of our beliefs.   Clearly, the atmosphere here in this country is shifting.  It's a sad day in America when people cannot seek sanctuary in their chosen place of worship without fear of losing their life.  It is not just a sad day, it is a day that should cause us all to question where we are going as a nation.  We continually confront terrorism everywhere else in the world but we refuse to confront it here in our own country?

In honor of those who we have lost their lives in this way, we grieve with you and your family and we pray that one day, soon, we will not only get it right, we will put an end to the hatred and bloodshed.

Tribute to Nipsey Hussle

I didn’t know Nipsey Hussle, and I must admit, I never heard his name before last year when I heard a story about his on my favorite radio morning show.  The story was one that impressed me      because it was a positive story about a young man who grew up in the hood.  What made me notice him more was that in spite of his success, he chose to open his store in the neighborhood where he grew up.      He was endeavoring to give back to a community that he knew was in desperate need of positive male role models.  Instead of putting his money into building an empire outside of the hood, he was building it right where he lived. 

    I didn’t know that the next thing I would hear about him would be the story about his shooting.

I don’t know the details of what happened.  All I know is that the young man’s life was taken needlessly and far too soon, which is too often the case with young black men.  It doesn’t matter the circumstances.   Hearing about the death of any young black man is hard for me to swallow.  It is even harder when we lose one who was on the right path.  Nipsey was a young man who was        living daily what he believed in.  He was not only living his dreams, but he was also encouraging      others to believe that they could live their dreams too. 

  So, to all those who are left to grieve, I make this appeal.  Please don’t let this young man’s life be      in vain.  He was proof that you can turn your life around, that it doesn’t matter where you are from    or what your past may be, you can make something of your life.    Thank you Nipsey Hussle.             Even in death, you are influencing lives and changing them for the good.    The greatest tribute you  can give him is to make sure your lives count for something.  He doesn’t have another chance, but you do.   As long as you are here, you can learn something new, you can start again, there will always be a second chance.   As long as there is a new day dawning sunny and bright, you can make things right.

To Nipsey's family, I wish you peace in the midst of this storm.  

Remembering the Cross

Time stood still

On Calvary’s hill

Oh that he didn’t have to suffer

he didn’t have to die

He could have asked why,

But he knew it had to be.

If we were to live eternally

It had to be.

Would that you could see

Just how much he cared.

He willing placed himself there

He died on the cross

To save a world that was lost.

No one else would have given their life.

No one else would have paid such a price

But he loved us so much

He died for us

He knew it had to be.

In order for us to have life,

And have it more abundantly,

He knew it had to be

It had to be

It had to be.

He knew he had to die

So, he never asked why

He willingly gave his life

For us he made the sacrifice

For us, time stood still

On Calvary's Hill

copyright P. Newman-Harris