My footprints have travelled far and this month in time offers many reasons for celebration - my youngest grandchild has turned one year old, my daughter will be turning forty-four and my partner has reached his 70th birthday - and the Circle of  Life continues....   

A Time And A Season

By Beverlee Blampied (c)

There is a time and a season, a rhyme and a reason
And the circle of seasons, from dark into light
Are the reminders, forever, of the Circle of Life
The seed is sown and life begins
The arc starts turning and the carousel spins
I was born into a world of what is and is not
And from birth until now I was constantly taught
That the Circle of Life is on where I would grow
And from where I would reach - so eager to know
There was so much to learn
More to find than could ever be found
More to be seen than I could ever discern
And more to be heard than the noise of sound
Yet I reached outside, so eager to know
All about the world and everything in it
I blinked as I stepped into the 'sun' and the 'snow'
And I quickly learned that the sky was the limit

On this wheel of fortune, on this leap of faith
I tread the arc of hope as I searched for my place
I reached so far from my world so small
Yet I reached till I could reach no more
And on this Circle of Life I learned I could so easily fall
Yet I continued to reach till my arms were sore
But finally I learned that
The Circle of Life connected
When I shared love with those close in my life
And held their hearts close like a glove
That covered my own hand and I shielded them in there
And kept them safe, and continually cared
The Circle of Life gave me children to love
And family to keep close and hold dear
And on this winding path on this Circle of Life
They brought me security, leaving nothing to fear

And now -
As long as I never take more than I give
As long as I always live and let live
As long as I always love from the heart
As long as it is from within my soul that I start
My life can  be filled with happiness and joy
And my Circle of Life  can be guided by the plan I employ
Each day I wake up is a reflection to all
Of the years gone by when I was small
And how I have travelled beginning to end
And so the reality of life's truths on their hearts can ascend
I have walked the arcs of this circle for a reason
And now the leaves have turned from green to brown

My Circle of Life has been a circle of seasons
But as the circle closes I must not frown
As being as one, with all that has passed
Has brought me as one with myself, at last
I was born, I learned, I grew, I loved
And now I can soar to the skies above
I have left my legacy so today can be my past
As the Circle of Life comes but once, for all
And the memories of who I was will be what will last
I gave of myself as I walked into 'fall'
On the path unwinding on this Circle of Life
I've brought round the circle - the circle undone
And can now walk peacefully into the sun

Thoughts and choices invariably rule our own world and can ultimately change the path of our unique life journey.....

Thoughts and Choices and Random Paths

My thought for the day:

In my every thought there is a power to change my world and in every choice I make the path of my life journey diverges. I have my own unique thoughts and choices and no one else has the power to say whether they are right or wrong. Sometimes, however, I have found myself - without having actually processed a thought or made a choice - walking in a certain direction, not knowing why but simply following my heart, and when I look up, I am 'there'. 

My life is made up of everything I have done, and as I walk along my chosen paths, my footprints will  chart a map of my journey.....

The Stories We Tell

A little more than one year ago, I started writing this blog - Footprints Of Life -  with the intent and hope that I would be able, through my writing, to leave a legacy of memories to my children and grandchildren. Through my writing, within this blog and with the publication of two books, I have continued to learn a lot about myself, my life and my 'footprints'.

As I have travelled along my life journey my footprints have chosen my path, and they have left behind them glimpses of moments and experiences and people - people whose footprints have also guided me -  that tell my unique story, and as I study these footprints, I continually wonder what they will reveal to others. At each crossroad that I have faced I have left a unique trail behind me. Just as a fingerprint, each footprint, if followed closely, is 'encoded' with all sorts of information that identifies who I am, what I do, and where I've been. I leave these footprints on whatever path I walk, and with 'silent words' my footprints tell a story - my story. Admittedly, my footprints have the potential to tell the whole story, however, without my written word, they can really only relate parts of the larger story.   

As I have trudged, walked, or run through life, leaving footprints down one path or another, choosing my own unique direction, experiencing success and failure, happiness and sadness, each step I have taken has left footprints of memories - some good and some bad. My stories, through my written word, are made of all kinds of memories - childhood memories, incident memories, 'fictional' memories, and factual memories - and each retelling of a particular memory, be it in story or poem format, adds to the tapestry of my life. Sometimes, returning to the locale of the memory, as in retracing my footprints, I can fill in the background and physical features, and so a story is born.

Most footprints, in time, are blown away by the wind, but memory can make them remain, etched into our minds and heart and souls. Therefore memories are the fabric of which my stories are made - stories worth telling, as they will hopefully leave my footprints on the minds and hearts and souls  of my children and my grandchildren, and they, as with others with whom I have chosen to share my journey, however brief or lasting their stay, will have a deeper understanding and realization of who I was, what my passions were, what I believed in. But, more importantly, they will learn, and be able to verify, that my relationships with them were very special and that I did my best, regardless of the stumbles and bumps along the way, to learn, to teach, to nurture and to love. Their memories can then be filled with my footprints - my legacy to them forever.