Here's to the Best in All of Us this New Year!

In this new year,

I offer my gratitude

to all who play their parts

as creation carries on,

as life moves forward.

All are needed; All work together in this creation

This is a poem, which like the future, has no real ending

to which acknowledgement and appreciation

can be added; anyone can join in.   (Please do!!)

For the life work, I took the separate verses

and randomly rearranged the order

to reflect the diverse nature of our gifts...

the great fortune cookie of life

as we each open to our callings.

Here's to the newly born, the babies,

who keep us aware of our vulnerability,

who bring out our tenderness and nurturing,

who offer hope for the future.

Here's to the children

whose freshness and exuberance

enliven our world

with new eyes, new ears….

new opportunities for 

a future of better choices.

Here's to the teenagers

who challenge our values

who test their new strengths and desires

who explore their interests, their options,

whose urgency is ever upon them.

Here's to the young adults

who try out the possibilities 

of their life paths

seeking work that is meaningful,

marrying and starting families.

Excited and terrified by the 

significance of choices being made.

Here's to the middle aged 

who bear the full weight of their responsibilities

who are immersed in their work

who are raising children 

and shepherding aging parents.

Who are striving to not lose themselves

entirely in the midst of life's demands.

Here's to the elderly

with their reflective wisdom

who are seeing the larger picture

even as their eyes dim,

who are aware of their mortality

and of the many farewells

that fill their days,

the tenderness they feel 

as they experience life's fleeting nature,

and the pull of life beyond this one,

which awaits their arrival.

Here's to the photographers and moviemakers

who help us see our world...

to see both beauty and ugliness,

ourselves at our best and our worst...

that by bringing it to clear view

offer it up for healing.

Here's to the storytellers

who weave words into meaningful tales,

who take life experiences

and capture the lessons and surprises

in a way that gives us greater understanding

of our journeys on this earth.

Here’s to the actors

who perform on the stage

the truths, the dreams, the fantasies of our lives

so that we can feel and act beyond the ordinary and mundane, 

inspiring us to new heights.

Here's to the therapists

Who guide our broken spirits

through probing exploration

and artful re-visioning and re-framing 

to bring us back to our true selves.

Here's to the teachers

Who help bring the collective

knowledge to our upcoming generation

and teach them how to learn, 

how to use their curiosity 

to seek new answers

to the questions and challenges that ever arise.

Here's to the coaches and consultants

Who take their knowledge and experience

and share their expertise

so that others in their work and challenges

may have their paths smoothed so that

they can ride on the shoulders of those 

who have traveled similar paths before them.

Here's to the leaders in government

that strive for justice,

that both lead and respond,

that discern the will of the people

and guide with a goal of fairness to all,

that reward good stewardship

that protect the vulnerable.

Here's to the healers of all kinds, 

who take our bodily malfunctions and wounds

and strive to bring us back to 

physical health and well-being.

Here's to the warriors

to those who defend and protect,

who selflessly offer their lives

for purposes that they believe in

who put themselves on the line

with their unwavering commitment,

both body and soul.

Here's to the sales people

who bring forth the features

of the things that can help our lives

run more smoothly and safely,

that can bring us beauty and enjoyment.

Here's to the gardeners

who tend their small plots of earth

gently nurturing each individual plant,

protecting them from overcrowding,

bringing flowers to full and glorious bloom,

bringing produce to fruition.

Here's to the poets

who blend words into rhythm and harmony,

forming crystalline distillations

of our experiences and aspirations.

Here's to the workers,

who assemble, who record. who carry out

that which needs to be done,

who attend to the particulars of our lives...

the steady, the meticulous,

the guardians and champions 

of the intricate details...

the unsung heroes.

Here's to the sculptors

wielding chisel and knife,

patiently paring away the non-essential,

who release angels 

from stone and clay.

Here's to the composers

who arrange separate sounds

into rich layers of harmony

and moves them in an divine order 

through the narrow strain of time.

Here’s to the musicians and dancers

who faithfully and creatively 

perform the song, the dance, the symphony.

Here’s to the homemakers

who bring beauty and warmth and order

to the surroundings of the lives that live within

the four walls that shelter us.

Here’s to the athletes

who train and discipline their bodies and minds

to feats of strength and beauty

whose courage and determination

are formed into powerful, cohesive teams

or soaring and splendid, solitary achievements.

Here's to the merchants

who connect those that create with those that receive,

who perform a service

in the smooth functioning of commerce.

Here's to the architects

who design the blueprints of the places where we dwell,

the gardens that surround us,

the neighborhoods, and cities,

bringing a planned order, functionality, and beauty

to our created environments.

Here's to the explorers  

and those who travel to new shores

and new worlds!

Who use their bold sense of adventure

to help us push our boundaries,

to farther reaches.

Here's to the painters

Who takes the materials of earth

and, armed only with a brush,

dances them into images of prismsatic colors and light.

Here's to the parents

who foster and raise up new lives

through their love and their example...

the teaching process of presence,

the discernment of the unique needs

of the young lives as they grow.

Here’s to the journalists

who dig deep to find the facts,

who probe that which is hidden,

who mine untapped sources of knowledge,

and report what they find.

Filled with a desire to bring forth truth and 

generate discourse,

helping us each find our own truths.

Here’s to all who suffer

who arouse in us compassion

who move us to needed action

who reflect our mutual wounds and brokenness 

of body, mind, and spirit,

who awaken in us a desire to heal and be healed.

Here's to the garbage collectors

who release us from our past

who clear away the debris that 

our living has generated, 

the clutter that would lead to stagnation.

Here's to the farmers

who faithfully nurture the seed

planted in the cultivated earth,

through all the gifts and wounds that weather provides,

to a harvest that reaches our tables

that fills our reserves

that prepares for next year's crops.

Here's to the quilters

who take the ragged remains

of our discarded clothing

or the untried new cloth

and stitch them together

to bring warmth to eye and heart and body.

Here’s to carpenters, plumbers, electricians, 

and builders all kinds

who execute the plans

that bring into physical reality

the structures of our habitation.

Here's to our spiritual leaders

who hold us in awareness

that there is more to life

than our earthly needs and desires

that this is not our home forever, but

that we are travelers on a journey.

Here's to the mosaic artists

Who take the broken pieces of our lives

and set them together in new ways,

more intricate and glorious

than the separate parts.

Here's to the engineers

who understand the 

mechanisms of how this world functions

and builds on these truths

to create complex and workable mechanisms.

Here’s to the scientists and researchers

who explore the facts and create hypotheses

and unflinchingly hold them to the test,

advancing our knowledge and understanding 

of the universe.

Here’s to the cooks

Who prepare the foods

that nourish our bodies and souls,

that bring out the rich fragrances and tastes

which we ingest and use to sustain our lives.

Here’s to the caregivers 

who tend to the needs of others,

who humbly nourish, and salve, and bandage, and clean up,

who honor and value the care receivers,

seeing past their weakness and dependency

to the strength and dignity of their individual lives.

Here’s to the realtors

Who help us find the dwellings

and workplaces

that are best suited for our needs and aspirations.

Here's to the historians

who help us remember 

where we have been,

who do not let us forget 

hard-learned lessons.

Here's to the storytellers

who spin their words

into meaningful tales,

who take life experiences

and capture the lessons and surprises

in a way that gives us greater understanding

of our journeys on this earth.

Here's to the weavers

Who take the separate strands of many colors ,

creating strength and beauty

through using their minds to design

and engaging their full bodies 

in the patient laying of the warp

in the steady shuttling of the woof.

Here’s to life, to our fellow sojourners

on our various paths!

My prayer is that we each

use our gifts toward greater good

that we recognize and honor and value

each other for our unique offerings,

our unique circumstances,

our seasons of life... 

that no one be lost or unloved,

that no life be wasted

I am inclined to believe that 

on the Seventh Day,

though God rested,

it was only a pause

before God continued to create

in and through us.

God has not abandoned us;

God has anointed us!

The best is yet to come. 

Gail Elizabeth Speckmann