This moment of the year most people take some time to pause. For some of us this is Christmas time. I have not been able to come up with a Christmas story or poem but offer, in this post, a compilation of previous years below:
I Dreamed that Santa Saved the Day
Welcome back to #WATWB!
Please check out the notes about joining or co-hosting the blogfest further down this post.
Our generous co-hosts for this month are Lynn Hallbrooks, Michelle Wallace,
Sylvia Stein, Sylvia McGrath and Belinda Witzenhausen. Please visits their blogs while you are online.
I was thrilled to hear that the Bells of the Borough Market in London would toll for their re-opening. It is so important to keep sounding that note of hope in our world. Noticing such a story in the daily news feed reminded me of a comment made, somewhere on a social media feed, by Mary J Melange. Her blog is well worth a visit, by the way.
Searching for good news stories makes us more aware of the good news around us, even nearer to our lives, workplaces and homes.
Part of my life means visiting people. In recent months there have been some notable ones.
One included going to the home of an unwell man and hearing of his story as a migrant to my country many years ago.
“I just thought, shit!” He said. “What am I gonna do now?”
He had been deposited, all alone, in a remote part of our country to fix a broken-down truck. He did fix the truck and drove it back to the nearest town, many kilometres away.
Later in life, one of his children was severely injured in a vehicle accident on a farm. Spinal injuries meant this young adult was facing quadriplegia. Not to be left as a victim, the young adult was rehabilitated and, with some assistance, has quite impressive mobility. This son now teaches in a regular job.
I went visit another couple. He was dying and had a number of loose ends that he wanted to tie up so that his wife would be in a secure state of life after his death.
A gravely voice, from too many smokes and noisy ballrooms, told the tale. Earlier in his life he had been a boxer and, later had travelled the globe as a dancer. In both Ballroom and Latin American forms, he and his partners literally had a ball. Now, as he approaches the last months of his life, he is lovingly putting in place a care plan for his wife.
This month I have not included any flashy pictures or dazzling youtube clips. I just wanted to highlight something that a number of us have noticed: looking for good news helps us become more aware of the good news right near our own doorsteps.
Do any of these stories ring bells for you? What is the good news in your family, workplace or local community?
Towards the Final Dance
Eyes bounce
Around the room,
And dart,
From the impending gloom,
Of days ticking away.
Once, his feet
Had bounced on their balls,
As he danced around the ring,
Boxing –
Giving and receiving
Jabs and crosses.
And, those feet,
Fleet and flowing,
Had glided
Along the dance floor,
In days before
The cancer.
Now,
His days are drawing in,
As he lovingly
Lines up
The steps of his departing days,
To leave his wife
In security.
Then, muster up
He does,
His pluck
For the steps
Towards
The final dance,
That
never
ends.
Simon C.J. Falk 30 June 2017
Next month a clean start! Stay tuned for #WATWB July 28.
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Looking for some stories of hope!
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CO-HOSTS.
As many of you know, keeping a blogfest going needs a pool of positive co-hosts. We started with 20. But, with the wear and tear of life on people’s health, we need some assistance with co-hosting. As Damyanti says:
Sydney Story Factory
When we began this blogfest we said we wanted to hear stories. This May post is about a story. It is also about how a story draws out many more stories from a lot of people.
Little people.
Strugglers.
Battlers.
It is about unlocking the stories they have within.
For the We Are the World Blogfest post this month I would like to feature the Sydney Story Factory. When you go to the link be sure to check out the youtube clip.
In the meantime, here’s a bit from their website:
At the Sydney Story Factory we believe that all Australian young people, no matter their background, should be given opportunities to develop the communication skills and flexibility of thinking that will allow them to live their lives to their full potential and flourish in a rapidly changing world.
Our priority is marginalised young people – those most at risk of losing confidence in their writing and switching off at school. We light the spark of creativity and help them find their voice.
Programs are for young people aged 7 to 17, in primary and high school, and are designed by creative writing and literacy experts to:
All of our lives are story factories. The Sydney Story Factory is a very special one. I wish we had a story factory in the towns I lived in as a child.
We all love to hear stories
To hear them all the time;
About the drearies and the glories,
The downtime and the prime.
I love to hear a tale,
And see others give their spiel;
Even if their voice is frail,
I know we’ll get the feel.
A feel for what is rising,
of creativity deep within;
Whether great or small by sizing,
We welcome stories in!
A larger story goes on….
The last Friday of every month bloggers will share their stories led by co-hosts. This month’s co-hosts are Peter Nena, Eric Lahti, Inderpreet Kaur Uppal , Roshan Radhakrishnan , Emerald Barnes and Lynn Hallbrooks
Please SIGN UP for WE ARE THE WORLD BLOGFEST in the linky list below:
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Can you help us on a team of Co-hosts? Contact Damyanti on atozstories at gmail dot com.
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