Too many times—too much of the time—we wander through our days, feeling only the pain, seeing only the bad things, when there is so much beauty, and so much to be thankful for. Even I, as positive about life as I’ve become, find myself grumbling and blind at times. Forgive me.
A Gentle Nudge
It sometimes seems we’re never satisfied
Grumbling and groaning, we go
Head and lips pulled down
Avoiding cracks in the sidewalk
Not remembering why
Around the corner, side of the house 
Rarely seen, except on trash day
When the bin gets dragged to the curb
I wonder what kind of flowers they are
But don’t really care
Life draining me; pulling me to the ground
My problems blinding me to the beauty
Depression consuming my joy
Deaf to the sound of birds singing
In a colorless world
Tunnel vision; a prison of sorts 
Strips of sunlight unseen
Road to nowhere goes two ways
Neither direction one I want to travel
Too busy today; wallowing in my misery
A gentle nudge from somewhere; then looking down
I see the beauty and smell the fragrance 
Then hear His voice… a touch of pain within it
As He whispers to my soul
What do you want from Me?
Copyright © 2012 C. Mashburn
Sharing this with dVerse Poets Pub’s Open Link Night, Week 47
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Sherry Mashburn said
How sad that so many of us are blind to the beauty of His creation . . . it is all around us. We become too focused on our own thougths/pain and forget to open our eyes and our hearts to Him.
charlesmashburn said
So true.
Pats Devotions said
Charles; what can i say! “Just plane good” Hows that!… Blessings my friend… Bro pat.
charlesmashburn said
That’s awesome, Bro Pat! I appreciate the kind words very much!
brian miller said
we def allow gravity and pinholes to narrow our view and we miss the bits of beauty like those flowers…unless we intentionally look…beauty surely surrounds us…smiles.
charlesmashburn said
Thanks, Brian! I appreciate the visit and comment!
Daydreamertoo said
Yes, we can tend to focus in on the small stuff around us and yet if we looked at the bigger picture we’d see things are not nearly as bad as we think they are.
Lovely pics and words Charles.
charlesmashburn said
Thank you for the visit and nice comment, Daydreamer!
www.karenglennpoetry.wordpress.com said
So true for so many people, well-captured.
charlesmashburn said
Thank you! I appreciate the visit and comment!
Audrey Howitt said
I relate to this piece so much–sometimes, I just have to listen closely to someone else’s voice –Nice write!
charlesmashburn said
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Audrey!
Thanks for stopping by!
ordinarylifelessordinary said
Avoiding the cracks, not remembering why… Ah yes, been there. It can at times feel like hard work to be in the moment, pick the good from the bad and hold it up to the light rather than scratching around in the dirt. Nice write Charles.
charlesmashburn said
Thank you very much, Vanessa!
markwindham said
Excellent, poignant. The latter part reminds of the song In The Garden
charlesmashburn said
I wasn’t thinking of that song when I wrote this, Mark, but it’s one of my favorites!
Thanks for the visit and comment!
pandamoniumcat said
We all need a gentle nudge from time to time, to remember the miracle of beauty around us…love the flowers and that gorgeous bike!
charlesmashburn said
Yes we do, and I love the flowers, too!
Thanks for the visit and comment, Dianne!
Susie Clevenger (@wingsobutterfly) said
We look but don’t see…we rush by thinking we are living…beautiful reminder to stop and take in the wonder around us.
http://susiessentences.blogspot.com/2012/06/when-you-find-me.html
charlesmashburn said
In our world today, we would do well to simply slow down and see the things we are passing by.
Thanks for the visit and comment, Susie!
Kristina said
It’s hard to see the beautiful when you’re down.
charlesmashburn said
it all depends on what you want to see.
Sharp Little Pencil said
Charles, as a manic depressive with accent on depressed, I can truly appreciate those days when I forget to focus on the Creator by focusing on creation… this was a good reminder to keep things in perspective. Sometimes when I’m down, I get the most inspired, thanks to the Spirit, the Divine Sofia… Peace, Amy
http://sharplittlepencil.com/2012/05/28/military-schooling-the-sunday-whirl/
charlesmashburn said
it’s good that you are able to turn the situation around by focusing on the good things.
Thank you for the visit and comment!