GREATNESS

It’s not the old time religion
which inspires me.
It is the old time wisdom
passed down from generations
which does, like what my Bubby
taught me about greatness.
Greatness, she would say,
is not about being great, but
about being humble,
ordinary, and
ignorant.

She would remind me
that I was great simply because
I am me. and she was great
simply because she was her.
Our greatness came because
we were all of who
we were created to be.

She taught me that what I viewed as ordinary,
others saw as
unique and different.
Where I thought I was ignorant
Others saw me as intelligent.
What made me great,
she would say,
is that I was humble
and gave thanks for
being the ordinary
and ignorant person
I was created to be

SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

Having been pretty much unable to leave my home the last seven years, other then for drs appointments, has given me a different view of the world. When I roll down my driveway and get to venture into the world, things overwhelm me. Today, for example, I got to see someone I have not seen in 8 years. As I rolled into the bus, taking me to the oncologists office, I could feel the excitement surging through me. I felt like a little kid. I was going somewhere and nobody was going with me. It was just me and the world.

As I sat at the café before my appointment, I could hear people complaining about how they had to leave the house, the traffic on the drive, the people who had pissed them off on their way there, the person who tried to scam them and of course the overpriced food at the café.  I sat and listened and remembered a day when leaving the house and going somewhere was just what you did. I didn’t think much about it, I didn’t see it as a blessing. It was just life.

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