The Pebble

"The greatest disease in the west today is not TB or Leprosy;

it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for .We can cure

diseases with medicine , but the only cure for loneliness, despair,

and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are

dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for

a little love. The poverty of the West is a different kind of

poverty --- it is not only a poverty of loneliness

but also of spirituality. There is a hunger for love, the is a hunger 

for the Divine."

- Saint Mother Teresa

Inspiration :

An executive on her way to a meeting noticed a homeless woman

she had passed time to time . The woman executive stopped , 

bought a sandwich for the woman. During her conversation

the executive learned how this destitute spirit became broken. 

After a few years of serving sandwiches to the homeless

this executive left her corporate world to create a non for profit

to help the homeless by teaching them how to help themselves.

The organization grew rapidly around the U.S.

to over 200,000 volunteers in 43 states. 

She received the "Points of Light Award" 

from President H.W. Bush.

This pilgrim then met with this executive seeking  her counsel

as to starting a not for profit service for the unemployed. 

The compassionate executive placing her hand on mine,

"When you are ready your heart will know', adding,

"a helping hand can also be in the small things."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Olson

This searcher in disguise then shared 

the previous meeting with another

successful well respected empath female exec.

He trusted her impeccable judgment and ability

to see right through to the heart of the matter.

Listening intently a smile stretched across her face,

"You know you are filled with the spirit. 

Whatever path you follow, be the pebble

the ripples will do the rest ."

https://www.ehstoday.com/safety/article/21914708/former-csb-chairman-dies

A consoling voice murmurs from 

within a transcendental proclamation, 

 " We don't stop being or working

for good , showing compassion and helping those

who can't help themselves because we may not see 

the result of our effort. One doesn't love another just

to be loved in return. We are not selfless and helpful for any

reward...in this life or the the next...we do it ,

....we live this way because 

it is the right thing to do."

-----------

The Writing :

The Pebble

I.

See the broken card board boxes

under the rusted overpass.

Torn sheet tents ,  

three wheeled shopping carts adorning

the passage ways to the residents

reluctant to call this their home.

II.

The fragile factories shuttered and chained.

Remains of once bustling business cubicles 

now abandoned , rats and more rats

roam seeking scraps

through the maze of the refuse of 

once self proclaimed cathedrals of free enterprise.

Those at the beggar's banquet 

inquire from those who have ears to hear.

More vacant office buildings

than hope filled homeless hungry citizens 

needing just an opportunity 

to feed and shelter loved one's.

Desitute cohorts in confusion

over the news of Richard Cory's tragic fate.

A misguided midnight one trick pony preacher 

misses the existential synchronicity

of the moment imploring the disoriented herd ,

"How can the poor pull themselves 

up by their bootstraps if they have no boots"?

III.

The roaming pilgrim blinks at a sudden

supernatural cosmic bright beam shining through 

the fog, grime and clouds 

hiding the divine virgin blue canopy.

This sublime gleam cannot be commanded as

it glows where and when it wills.

The pilgrim catches a glimpse of 

the focal point bathed in the light , 

a drifter casually entering a tired donut shop

who reaches out to a young mother 

on the never ending check out line. There two

toddlers tugging the mom's one hand 

as her other hand frantically 

sorts through the collect of dulled 

worn down coins on the cashier counter.

Attempting to avoid attention he hands 

his plastic money card 

to a manic puzzled barista .

The drifter pays for the woman's order,

not stopping for a thank you he slips away.

A half humiliated-humble smile accompanies a

a solo tear carefully meandering down the mother's cheeks,

     -  a pebble drops.

- JF Sobecki

-------------

" For us , there is only the trying. The rest is not up 

to us."

- T.S. Eliot

Words: Poetry and Such (for your Inspiration and reflection)

click on "links" below each picture for video and sound

Have You Earned Tomorrow

Is anybody happier because you passed this way?

   Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today?

This day is almost over, and its toiling time is through;

   Is there anyone to utter a kind word of you?

Did you give a cheerful greeting to the friend who came

   along?

   Or a churlish sort of 'Howdy" and then vanish in the throng?

Were you selfie , pure and simple as you rushed along the

way?

   Or is someone deeply grateful for a deed you did today?

Can you say tonight , in parting with the day that's slipping

fast, 

that you helped a single brother of the many you 

passed?

Is a single voice rejoicing over what you did or said,

does a man who's hopes are fading now with courage

look ahead?

Did you waste the day , or lose it, was it well or sorely spent?

   Did you leave a trail of kindness or a scar of discontent?

As you close your eyes in slumber do you think God

would say.

   You have earned one more tomorrow by the work you did

today?

- Edgar A Guest

If I can Stop One Heart From Breaking

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

if I can ease one life the aching,

on cool one pain

unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

- Emily Dickinson

The Speech That Broke the Internet

https://youtu.be/wHRdQVnR3XA?si=WRYyToAyqo_iGF_g

------

Music : for your listening pleasure and reflection

click on "links" below each picture for video and sound

I think It's Going to Rain Today - R. Newman

https://youtu.be/7zDt8xyVKtw?si=m2pXnz3DyT0sEXEy

Hello In There - J. Prine

https://youtu.be/RfwGkplB_sY?si=w7sJRGMuuBBvrONN

What The World Needs Now - Ja okie DeShannon

https://youtu.be/YUaxVQPohlU?si=Liyjp9n3umSBMI0j

----------------

Coda: For your reflection and contemplation

Happiness is Amazing

https://youtube.com/shorts/IpqbaOc_OrI?si=p_ZdlA-Y0aklq5ZJ

Small Things Like These  - Movie ( w Cillian Murphy)

( Based on the Novella (Booker Prize Winner) by Claire Keegan 

If you do not to read ...watch this movie - now on cable/streaming)

https://youtu.be/Nqwn5Y_Y4xs?si=nVV73MtZIBjzrXBL

Kundun - ( the Dalai Lama escapes Tibet

from the Chinese invasion- movie ending)

https://youtu.be/WB5Buz0MvZM?si=aDiWWnvVEPq8FER6

R.I.P. - Chase 

Miss you Chase -- I know you're with your pal Otis.

See you on that Rainbow Bridge

To YB and all the self exiling pilgrims - Remember everything 

you have been seeking has been living within...

                                 

53 Years ! (6/16/72)

                                                               

And two bonus tracks just because sometimes we just need

you get up and dance...TURN IT UP!!!

Protection - Colin James and Lucinda Williams

https://youtu.be/pOVJJjamYUA?si=GRJ_DTokuZCKr5wQ

Shine - Mondo Cozmo

https://youtu.be/QIXwAc-zSmw?si=Sv0rBWSPaAzcGxN0

Love And Mercy - B. Wilson

https://youtu.be/U6oYC0Gus-Q?si=huzIm2axWW-a5DUj

AMDG

Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved JF Sobecki LLC

The Art of Being and No Intention

 

"One life but we're not the same

we got to carry each other, carry each other.."

- U2

"I should be content

to look at a mountain

for what it is

and not as a comment on my life."

- David Ignatow

"We plan, God laughs" - Yiddish Proverb

A New Year's Plea

Lord, let me stand in the thick of the fight

Let me bear what I must without Whining

Grant me the wisdom to do what is right

Though a thousand false beacons are shining.

Let me be true as the steel of a blade

Make me bigger than skilled or clever:

Teach me to cling to my best, unafraid.

And, harken the false gospels, never.

Let me be brave when the burden is great,

Faithful when wounded by sorrow,

Teach me, when troubled. with patience to wait

The better and bright tomorrow.

Spare me from hatred and envy and shame,

Open my eyes to life's beauty:

Let not the glitter of fortune or fame

Blind me to what is my duty.

Let me be true to myself to the end,

Let me stand to my task without whining,

Let me be right as a man , as a friend,

Though a thousand false beacons are shining.

   - Edgar A. Guest ( found in a collection of his poetry printed 1925)

___________________

The Art of Being and No Intention

An original member of the band recalled how the pilgrim

Was thought of as the student  with "Aptitude with Attitude."

The "undeclared" pilgrim sojourner believed he was

That cork "floating over the raging sea,"

No course charted or a grand vision of Ulysses.

Often distracted, the pilgrim wandered this way and that,

Not considering how the wind and mystical currents -

Were taking him to be precisely where he needed to be.

On the inhale present to mystery , and

On the exhale the holy longing could fade as

Disorientation and discouraging doubt disrupt the passage.

Almost 28,000 rotations of the earth completed

Since that eternal spark launched his soul's innocent vessel,

From the womb fists ready for the fight, 

You know, just in case,

From the first light injustice and ignorance 

Appeared flourishing in all aspects of the world .

"Where was that unconditional love? 

What happened to the magnificent

Promise of perpetual sanctifying peace?'

No control while relying on faith 

Seemed at times to stop everything within and around him.

Then that secret sacred voice, without speaking ,

Simply and unabashedly penetrated his spirit.

"Let go and just be. You are the author of your own story

Remember 'The treasure is where your heart is' .

No matter where you are

Or what you do or say

It is how you love and serve others that matters."

 - JF Sobecki

____________________-

"Wherever you go there you are."

- Jon Kabat-Zinn

-------

A few musical pieces....       

The Boxer - Kraus, Colvin and Douglas (P. Simon)

(Thanks to Lou P. for the inspiration )

     https://youtu.be/N31AvYe6WUU

There is a Mountain - Donavan

https://youtu.be/zil3-EDye1g

                          

Nights in White Satin/Late Lament - Moody Blues

https://youtu.be/bwr7TUNmwqQ

One of These Days - N.Young

https://youtu.be/XtRTA4u5QkU

One - U2

https://youtu.be/ftjEcrrf7r0

One Fine Day - D. Byrne*

https://youtu.be/JvlT5fBIi4U

Simple Gifts - Yo-Yo Ma/Allison Kraus

https://youtu.be/baNueuDCue0

'Til I Die - Beach Boys ( B. Wilson)

https://youtu.be/87D8-rXTT0M

Night Riders Lament - JJ Walker

( Just because - for all those who follow their own spirit)

https://youtu.be/3wOrfKtAK2Y

Ulysses(ending) - Read by Dame Helen Mirren (Alfred Lord Tennyson)

https://youtu.be/aJb_zJbJ7FI

amdg

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved
JF Sobecki LLC *











* Quaker

Good Luck ? Bad Luck ? Who Knows? : The Letter

One day, a Farmer's horse escaped into the hills. When the farmer’s neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”

A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills. This time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”

Then when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this was very bad luck. The farmer’s reaction: “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”

Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg, they let him off.

"Good Luck? Bad Luck? Who knows?

- Ancient Chinese Parable  

-----

"Dear Whit, (Whit Burnett)

So answer the question you asked me all those years ago.

Yes, I am willing to write for the rest of my life and get nothing in return.

Sincerely yours , J.D. Salinger"

" One Day I will Find the right woods and they will be simple."

   - Jack Kerouac

"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood to live."

 - HD Thoreau

"I write to discover what I know."

 - Flannery O'Connor

"I am more of a Quaker than anything else. I believe in the 'still, small voice', and that voice is Christ within us."

    - Emerson, Ralph Waldo 

Little Egg Harbor Monthly Meeting House ( Quakers )

"You ain't gone far enough to say at least I tried

You ain't worked hard enough to say I've done mine

You ain't run far enough to say my legs have failed

You ain't gone far enough

You ain't worked hard enough

You ain't run far enough to say it ain't gonna get any better."

   - Hey Mama, Nathaniel Raitliff

"Spirits are using me

Larger voices calling"

 - Southern Cross, S. Stills 

------

Note from Blogger:

Bored and waiting and waiting and bored in an almost vacant airport terminal. An ancient used bookstore

appears out of nowhere.Sipping a latte, the aisles become some strange maze until this soul is drawn to an aisle of poetry. Lifting assorted volumes whining sounds of unwanted strays whine "Take Me! Take Me!" 

Seeking to conjure genuine compassion for each volume two books jump into the searching hands. "Heap O' Livin" Vol I&II by Edgar A. Guest Published 1916 are saved. One poem within , "Don't Quit" strikes that lost chord. The books purchased and when they find their place on my "To be read" stack a letter in an unaddressed, no stamp envelope slips from the pages. The date on the letter indicates it was written days ago.

-------

The Letter

April 5, 2022

Seaview , NJ

My Dear Friend Statler,

I know you think I think too much. Well, I was thinking about our exchange the other day.

Tiger Woods  recently struggled through four rounds of competitive golf in four consecutive days walking one of the most hilly arduous courses in the world. It was 400 days since his last official round of golf. Back surgeries , then a life threatening car accident and surgeries attempting to fix broken legs. He didn't do that well playing golf  but his victory was in finishing.

There comes a time when body parts wear us down and we slow down and become more selective in what games we play, how we live and where and when and why we decide to continue to play our our parts in the great play. Oftentimes a better choice is just to be present and be grateful for what we do have and the the run that we have had. Though, someone once observed "Not to decide is to decide."

A confidante once advised as this soul trudged on through that ever-disconcerting maze  that there comes a time when we get to play the back nine ( the finishing holes.) Fatigue and aches , pains and worries can overwhelm and influence how, when and why we may continue or not to play the game. Sometimes it is the good decision just to be present to the now savoring each breath and heart beat of all of creation and this decision is more than sufficient to keep us alive.

There comes a time when some souls become aware that the point of all this  is more than seeking that reward or recognition. Some parts of the play are meant for seasoned professionals and not appropriate for seasoned old people. A former colleague counsels on the necessity and benefits of having a personal mission to achieve while on this journey. Yet, he admits his admiration for "river runners" who let go and allow the river to take them to where they need to be and how.The unseen wind with her mysterious source and the mystical currents often carry these pilgrims as they pray to be mindful and trust in how this is everything, This is it.

While at university back in the day this soul had no plan. Receiving a diploma fueled the separation anxiety. Graduate school seemed a reasonable course of action. There a professor , a student of Blake, guided lost sheep with the ease of a master shepherd. "You can do that. be a teacher", a hidden voice said. Soon this soul then found himself celebrating dead poets.With the blink of an eye teaching turned to counseling the hungry hearts. Escape to another graduate school to get the tools and rules of counseling seemed a good idea at the time. The new university became a cocoon of formation that led to being invited to join the ranks of that academic community. The honorary regalia robed lords of the castle of knowledge  made it known that if they could get rid of those lost sheep they could get more published. The self anointed grand wizards of that ivy covered facade treated the rest as indentured servants. Another secret voice from outside the walls called to secure a role where one could use the skills and tools of teaching and counseling to fill silos without encumbrances. Blue jeans and chalkboards turned into suits and PowerPoints and soon this wandering disciple evolved to an "Obe Wan in Training " a consigliere to E- Suite inhabitants in the business world. "Spirits still using me with larger voices calling."

Perfect storms always arrive without warning. This novitiate soon found himself as captain owner trying to keep the practice from floundering when wind and waves  knocked the the Homeric Galley up and down and all about. She was finally swept away by a riptide. Pieces lay on the shoreline. Depressed and in a way humiliated a mentor called saying," Shit, you really had a good run. Who else do you know who has a cadre of executives around the world on their speed dial?" I was more worried about what my wife would say and how my children would feel. My wife said "OK, let's think about how we can manage this. We can always downsize our lifestyle."

 Do you believe in angels? 

One of those executives on this soul's speed dial reached out calling me,  " What happened to that piss and vinegar that I have come to know and love in you? I guess I have more faith in you than you have in yourself." Just like that he abruptly hung up the phone.

Riding in and out of the funk of feeling like being knocked down by one wave after another wondering where was that light, that hope , that trust and that blessedness I once felt ? Was it all a dream? While meandering a lonely half abandoned shopping mall , a once cathedral of commerce , when suddenly a one of this pilgrim's former college students appeared like Marley's Ghost smiling a joyful grin . Recognizing this wandering soul he reached out his hand and said "Oh Captain, My Captain." I fought back the tears.

Do you remember the line form that old Richard Thompson song?

"There is no rest for the one's God Blest and he blest you most of all."

Good luck, bad luck who knows?

I have returned to meditations on gratitude.

Sorry for the ramble

Pax Tecum

Wally

-------------

( JF Sobecki)

   Don't Quit - E A Gust

https://youtu.be/S-WoZXTFp0w

                                                     

   Old Friends- Simon and Garfunkel

                     https://youtu.be/6YpK-qrGQrg
    

                             

         Song of Myself (last lines) - W. Whitman

                      https://youtu.be/hPLHVQpm1JA

                       Looking for My Life - G.Harrison 

   

                    https://youtu.be/zd0tA3d-xwc

                            

      In My Hour of Darkness- G. Parsons

 
                     https://youtu.be/KzuSeaMy-aU

    King of Bohemia - L. Rondstadt(R. Thompson)

            https://youtu.be/hrUJLRBLrLE

                      

                               

    I Remember Everything - J Prine

 
                https://youtu.be/L21Tc_DtL6M

                               Wheels

                 https://youtu.be/rbB3zv1EC9s

    Coda : 

                                                    

   For The Children - The gift is you

 All Of You - ( from the movie Encanto)

)

               https://youtu.be/hrMxx8EV4JU

                               

                                            

    Still Running - N. Raetliff

         https://youtu.be/T-WT3IE2CRk

                                             

amdg

 

Copyright All Rights Reserved 2022 JF Sobecki LLC