A Morning Walk and Deep Thoughts

forgiveness, Imperfection, Observation, Peace 1 Minute

It’s a typical weekday. I’m walking the street behind my home before 8 am. On a two-story, brick house, a colorful flag, rainbow-striped, lifts in the breeze. I haven’t noticed it before. “NUMAH,” it reads. At least, that’s how I sound it out before realization dawns. I see the flag’s backside, the word backwards. “How often do we see things backwards? Misunderstand? Fail to notice?” I say to myself.

With the upcoming school year, I ponder these thoughts for days. “We’re all HUMAN–I think that’s the point–just trying to make our way. Not one in 7.9 billion is perfect.”

I remember a billboard I once saw.

I remember a saying I’ve heard.

Tag. You’re it. Pass it on.

Published by Crystal Byers

When I was young, my dad would always say, "Crystal, you can choose your attitude." One day I chose to believe him.

Published

61 thoughts on “A Morning Walk and Deep Thoughts”

  3. I once met a clown with a peculiar name tag. It said IYQ-YQR. I don’t speak “clown-lish” so I asked him what it meant. He slowly pointed to each letter as he said, “I like you like you are.”
    For me, one of the biggest parts about being human is showing tolerance. We aren’t all alike, and that’s OK. You can be you and I can be me AND we can live together in harmony. The alternative to peaceful coexistence is a no go.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  9. These days, many people are struggling with the human and kind parts and have moved on to proving they are right. Learning that we can only control our actions and reactions, rather than those of others does help. Stay well Crystal and have a Kind day. Allan

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Priscilla! It’s my teaching mission—even more than proper English and love of literature—that the only person you have to be better than is the person you were before. There a little more to this, but I’m still trying to simplify the message.

      Like

      Reply

  12. Thank you for this, Crystal. The question: How often do we see things backwards? Fail to see? Misunderstand? Too often, I’m afraid, unless we pause and think and work at understanding. Thanks for this moment of reflection.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  16. Just like that, Crystal became a flag-waver. The rest of us too, soon enough.

    The message you’ve gathered is a good one. We should include ourselves among the recipients of that tolerance and patience. After all, life is an ongoing project, constant improvements enriching it. That it is, as long as we don’t get frustrated and curse ourselves to inertia. Nope. Instead, we should be grateful for the continued opportunity to make things better.

    Oh, you decided “NUMAH” is “HUMAN” backwards? How sure are you of this? Maybe you should ring the doorbell, flag bunched in your hands, and hiss, “Just what is THIS supposed to mean?” A pretty good idea, don’t you think?

    Even more effervescent is anticipation of the approaching school year. Your excitement is obvious – and contagious. A recent TV ad asserted, “Everyone can’t wait to get back to school.” Not most students, I’d wager.

    Unless they’re Crystal’s students. That particular case is extraordinary!

    Like

    Reply

  20. FAITH + GRATITUDE = PEACE + HOPE !!!
    What an equation
    Life changing.
    I have seen your website full of highly intellectual contents. You are crystal. We say crystal clear generally when we see some truth. You have mentioned about your dad’s advice.
    You have given importance to faith and gratitude.
    My kind regards to you.
    namaskar.
    Arun

    Like

    Reply

      1. Thank you so much for your beautiful reply. I can imagine that period you undergone when you lost your home in hurricane 🌀
        However you have gained Wisdom. For that you have made such an equation which is nothing but the absolute truth in the form of mathematics. Faith and Gratitude. Both combined brings devotion and one becomes Divine. That’s what I understand. Keep well.
        Stay blessed always 🙏🙏

        Liked by 1 person

  21. Thank you for sharing!!… think most people probably wouldn’t even look at the flag, too busy to take in what is around them, and there are those that are closed minded and only with to see what they wish to… as Ray Stevens said; “there is none so blind as he who will not see”… 🙂 as for me “I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief.” (Gerry Spence)… 🙂

    Until we meet again..
    May the sun shine all day long
    Everything go right, nothing go wrong
    May those you love bring love back to you
    And may all the wishes you wish come true
    (Irish Saying)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  25. “How often do we see things backward? Misunderstand? Fail to notice?” The question cuts deep, Crystal. We are different individuals, all unique with individual peculiarities. Tolerance is what is truly needed.
    Glad your morning walk sparked this deep thoughts.😊🌹

    Like

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s