Motivation Mondays: Goodbye March!

“Our life is March weather, savage and serene in one hour.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Motivation Mondays: Goodbye March!

Considering all the events that occurred in March, some heartbreaking, others uplifting, mindshifting, or distressing, it is well to bid this month adieu. The thing with goodbyes is that they always leave a lingering and a longing behind… We do eventually move on, but then a fragrance wafts through the door on a sunny morning or a display of colorful polo shirts leaps at you, all quite innocently, at a local store, and the floodgates open our hearts wide again, reminding us of precise and specific moments with our loved ones engaged in some innocuous task. Ah, memory is a powerful thing indeed, and nothing brings it back as well as a scent or a sign… It fades, yes, but we don’t forget. Contemplate the poems below. May the coming months bless us all.

Late March by Edward Hirsch (Redacted)✨️

Saturday morning in late March.
I was alone and took a long walk,
though I also carried a book
of the Alone, which companioned me.

Down at the water, the queenly ship
started moving away from the pier.
Banners fluttered.
The passengers clustered at the rails on deck.
I stood with the people on shore and waved
goodbye to the travelers.
Some were jubilant;
others were broken-hearted.
I have always been both.
Suddenly, a great cry went up.
The ship set sail for the horizon
and rumbled into the future
but the cry persisted
and cut the air
like an iron bell ringing
in an empty church.
I looked around the pier
but everyone else was gone
and I was left alone
to peer into the ghostly distance.
I had no idea where that ship was going
but I felt lucky to see it off
and bereft when it disappeared.

“No winter lasts forever, no spring skips its turn.” Hal Borland

Motivation Mondays: Goodbye March!

How often do we put off things we want to do because we think the time isn’t right? How often do we ignore calls from friends or cut our conversations short because some other trivial distraction has caught our attention? How often do we put off establishing a sensible exercise or healthy eating routine? What about time spent in the company of family and close friends? Did you know there are many credible scientific studies showing that strengthening our relationships and friendships can prolong our lives and keep us healthy? A Harvard University report encourages us to focus on strengthening our relationships by spending time with our loved ones and discarding time-wasting activities. Another popular study showed that our friendships are a key social connection that can prolong our lives

Remember – By Christina Rossetti✨️

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann’d:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

More Below!
“March is the month of expectation, the things we do not know.” Emily Dickinson

Motivation Mondays: Goodbye March!

Be a Blessing to Others – When we wish others well, the stars shower us with grace and goodwill. It is a mistake to believe that because you have X, you should stand in the way of others getting their X. It is also a mistake to believe that your X is more valuable than someone else’s X. All of our X’s have value, and they all matter. A candle is never diminished by sharing its light. When we help others grow, we grow. Take care of your health, encourage others to do the same. Save the judgments for the trash can and burn them in a symbolic funeral pyre. Walk at least 10,000 steps every day, and remember that others need encouragement to journey as far or farther. What we give, we receive. What we withhold will wither away. Stay connected to people who inspire you, and know that you are an inspiration to someone, too. I’m getting off my soapbox now. Stay inspired!

Good-bye by Ralph Waldo Emerson✨️

Good-bye, proud world! I’m going home:
Thou art not my friend, and I’m not thine.
Long through thy weary crowds I roam;
A river-ark on the ocean brine,
Long I’ve been tossed like the driven foam;
But now, proud world! I’m going home.

Good-bye to Flattery’s fawning face;
To Grandeur with his wise grimace;
To upstart Wealth’s averted eye;
To supple Office, low and high;
To crowded halls, to court and street;
To frozen hearts and hasting feet;
To those who go, and those who come;
Good-bye, proud world! I’m going home.

I am going to my own hearth-stone,
Bosomed in yon green hills alone, —
A secret nook in a pleasant land,
Whose groves the frolic fairies planned;
Where arches green, the livelong day,
Echo the blackbird’s roundelay,
And vulgar feet have never trod
A spot that is sacred to thought and God.

O, when I am safe in my sylvan home,
I tread on the pride of Greece and Rome;
And when I am stretched beneath the pines,
Where the evening star so holy shines,
I laugh at the lore and the pride of man,
At the sophist schools, and the learned clan;
For what are they all, in their high conceit,
When man in the bush with God may meet?

Positive Motivation Tip:  Let’s march forward with a resolve to do and be better. “By March, the worst of winter is over. And so hope springs once more and calls on us to make real the dreams of winter.” Unknown

PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos: Goodbye March via Stock Free Adobe

Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet