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I see trees of green,
red roses too.
I see them bloom,
for me and you.
And I think to myself,
What a Wonderful World.[1]
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When I was a boy, this song was popular in my home. As a boy of six and seven I used to sing this song, to my Mom, doing by best to mimic Louis Armstrong. Even at that young age, I prided myself on being able to mimic the voices and tonal qualities of famous people. I did a mean John Kennedy, until 1963… when I stopped doing his voice.
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I see skies of blue,
And clouds of white.
The bright blessed day,
The dark sacred night.
And I think to myself, What a wonderful world.
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It is another year, here at The Other Shoe. Another year means another opportunity. An opportunity to share with loved ones. An opportunity to redefine, or further define ourselves… and maybe help others… find and redefine themselves. For the past seven years, a great amount of grinding has been going on. Grinding on each other, grinding on others… grinding on the people we love, because we feel as though life (and maybe work) grinds on us… too much.
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The colors of the rainbow,
So pretty in the sky.
Are also on the faces,
Of people going by,
I see friends shaking hands.
Saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying,
"I love you". .
The time has come for all the grinding to stop. Time for the grinding in our places of work, to stop. Time for the grinding in the places we call home, to stop. And… it is time for the grinding in our politics… our political dialogue… our voice in our governance, to stop. All this grinding on each other, leaves us shattered and smaller people… than we know ourselves to be.
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I hear babies cry,
I watch them grow,
They'll learn much more,
Than I'll ever know.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.
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The grinding comes from pain. The pain comes from anger. The anger comes from fear. The fear… comes from voices. These voices that we hear on the radio in the car and in our homes, these voices spread fear. Fear of our neighbors, fear of people we do not know. Fear that we are being taken advantage of, and fear of the unknown. That is the greatest fear, isn’t it? Fear of those that are not the same… fear of those unknown.
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The colors of the rainbow,
So pretty in the sky.
Are also on the faces,
Of people going by,
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We all need to let go of our fears. The world around us is changing, some say too fast. I think that there are a lot of liars out there, spreading hate. Selling, to those willing to listen, a vision of our world… that is just simply not true. Spending hours, out of each and every day, sewing seeds of division that flower into hate. Many trust these voices… to the point of not listening to any others. They listen to the point of exclusion, and therein lay their mistake.
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For that is all it is, a mistaken choice. Let us not make any more of it… for that might lead us to hate. “Another year means another opportunity… An opportunity to redefine, or further define ourselves… and maybe help others… find and redefine themselves.”
Another year is a new opportunity to open your heart, mind, and soul. There are new and different voices to listen to, for this new year. Voices of compassion, and voices so sincere. Voices that wish to lift us all out of anger and hatred and even mend our souls.
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Yes, I think to myself.
What a wonderful world.
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Oh, yeah.
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I welcome you all, My Dear Readers, to 2014. I welcome you to a place where new voices will be shared, every day. A place, so very near, that you need not travel far. To reach inside each other, to reach inside ourselves. To leave behind the; fear, and anger and hatred that has marred too many years before… and in so doing, we will be reborn.
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I will work so very hard, each and every day. To share with you voices… to chase away the pain. To erase the harm of division, to unite us once again. To share a special knowledge that will free us, one and all. For in case you have forgotten? This is a Wonderful World.
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[youtube=http://youtu.be/7gBj-mMEQPc]
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As always I am deeply honored that you come here and read my words.
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Thank you!
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[…] What a Wonderful World : “When I was a boy, this song was popular in my home. As a boy of six and seven I used to sing this song, to my Mom, doing by best to mimic Louis Armstrong. Even at that young age, I prided myself on being able to mimic the voices and tonal qualities of famous people. I did a mean John Kennedy, until 1963… when I stopped doing his voice.(At the bottom of this post is a link to this song… being sung by Louis Armstrong, himself)”I woke up in the morning, the day I wrote this article, with this tune playing in my head.It just seemed, to me, logical to write an homage to this Louis Armstrong hit. Further, My Dear Readers, I know that all too often my articles reflect the pain and suffering that IS every waking day of my life… now. I just wanted everyone, that reads my blog, to know that there is still light in my mind, heart and soul. I still have faith in the goodness of my fellow man.. and especially you, My Dear Readers. I have the conviction of my beliefs, and I believe that mankind can and will make our nation and our world into a “Wonderful World”. I hope that you enjoyed the ‘Trip down memory lane’ that playing this song invokes. ENJOY! […]
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