Author: stevehaarman

A meditation by Steve Haarman

A new February day finds us

in the gray days again. They

are not a stranger to us. The

snow has weighted on the

branches in some areas while

the wind has blown others bare

and green. Valentine’s Day has

passed, and now we prepare for

lent, which leads up to the

passion and death of Jesus on

the cross. When we think that

our sins were the reason for this,

we are sickened and sorry. We

should reform and establish new

goals for ourselves. In a commercial

world, this is not the easiest thing

to do, but still worth doing. If Jesus

died for us, what can we do for Him?

He told us to go to the fringes and

help those in need. We should

double down in prayer and good

works. We can judge ourselves and

constantly set new challenges so

we can feel part of His passion and

helped to some degree the carrying

of the cross.

Standki

February 21, 2023, ^

Our faith must not be just about

ourselves and the good we do

but about all of us and the joint

Improvement of conditions. Free will

allows us to stray, but our purpose

stays strong. We are all living on the

foundation built for us by Jesus. But

even still, we do not all walk together.

Some will stray, only to return. Their

evil deeds are forgotten, and like the

Prodigal son, their return is cause for

a celebration, and they are welcomed

as though they had never left. When

we are personally offended and the

offender returns for forgiveness, we

should be ready to forgive and celebrate.

This is the spirit of love that Christ

taught us. It is a lesson worth learning.

Stanski

February 20, 2023, ^

.

This day is another gift to us and

We may be filled with joy and

At the same time, many will make it

Throughout the day, with a struggle

And a quiet joy. There is a purpose

to everything, and we may not know

for sure what it is, but we do know

from what we believe that we are to

go to the fringes to help. Many times

it will be with money to support those

who make the journey. We are useful

in this endeavor. We know we must

continue on today, tomorrow and

forever if we are to be called followers.

There are many fans; many are called,

But few choose to follow. I pray for

Their enlightenment and my continual

Growth.

Stanski

February 17, 2023, ^

The phone rings

A call from Joe

An adopted son

From Eastern Europe

Now an American

A fighting Marine

Recent involvement

In awful wars

Left him injured

Mentally and physically

He was crying now

Explaining that another soldier,

His friend had committed suicide

Will this ever end?

The consequences of war

Are never understood

Stand up and be counted

Lay down your life for your country

They are promised the moon, but

Settle on the gutter

Stanski

February 16, 2023, ^

Alone

At night with

Day sounds gone

Comfort is found

   Sitting alone

Wearing no crown

Ambition waning

Preparation for sleep

You think of life

People you knew

Many now laid to rest

Left with just a few

Can’t show them much

They wouldn’t understand

Different language

   Or maybe

Just a different plan

Life is that

Draws us apart

Something not known

   At the start

Many paths taken

From there to here

Dreams have been forsaken

Reality’s tender tug

   Makes things clear

Reflection takes place

Happy with your bets

You think about the

   Game called life

Played it the right way

    You think

There are no regrets

Stanski

February 15, 2023, ^

Flat screen on a flat wall

Sitting on a flat chair

Suddenly feeling flat

With laughter coming

Out of a flat can

I wonder about my blood

Is the flow flat and

What am I doing?

My iron level is flat

Blood pressure is low

Where am I going?

That is my question

Do I have a purpose?

Am I on a detour?

Will time wait for me?

I feel very flat

I ache

Not with pain

Witnessing the waste

Has me this way

There are answers

Can we come together?

Leave our ego at the door

Get back to basics

Would that be good?

I want to lie down

Flat on my back

Think about life

With all its hope

All of its promise

We have the tools

They were left with us

A constant instructor, too

Shall I remain flat or

Should we go to work?

Stansberry McKricken aka Stanski

February 14, 2023, ^

….

Promise of spring

    Still early

No way to hedge bets

Hope replaces reason

What we want

   Supersedes

Recognition of possibilities

One man’s cheer

    Another’s sorrow

New life imminent as

    We lay who is lost

         Into the ground

Not soon enough

   Too soon

As hearts

   Heavy

      Barely endure

Selfish wishes

   Tempered by profound need

To help sooth aching hearts

This full moon brought pain

   We were looking

      For something else

Playing with dreams

   Facing harsh reality

Lost for now

   Unimportant desires

Facing us is

   Realization of life

      As a precious gift

Abandon idle ways

   Live every moment

Aware of need

   Aware of wonder

Sorrow for loss

   Gratitude for life

By Steve Haarman

03/13/12

So many words recorded to choose from

is daunting, and then the enchantment of

finding the right ones to express

the emotions of grief are precious. 

Loss is profound and often not singular. 

My mind’s eye can remember

the picture of John-John Kennedy

saluting at his father’s funeral. 

It was not just his father, but

also our father, our president and

the sense of loss at the time was

powerful to some higher degree. 

It was big time – star quality and

still personal as we each

measured our sorrow and

the impact of emptiness. 

How strong our heart has to be

to pump in such a way that

we are able to keep our equilibrium

during times like these. 

Personally, I have seen how a loss

can grip, in a fervent way,

the emotions of an old man

standing by the grave of a lost friend. 

There are words that have to be spoken,

news to be caught up on, and

questions asked that will

not be answered except in

the self-acclaimed assurance

that this dear friend felt

the same of you as you do now of him. 

I watch the old man exit in a slow gait. 

I walk to the grave and examine the stone.

I have no words to say, but

cry unashamedly because I am

moved by the beauty of friendship

just witnessed and felt a sense of loss.

I feel diminished and can only

take solace in the knowing

that new bonds are forming

even as old ones are lost.

stanski

February 11, 2023, ^

…

The day is cold, with a few flurries of snow

It is what you expect in the middle of winter

There are several weeks to go before

Warm weather is here to stay

Snow mountains go out one hundred yards

The spindrift is made up of snow particles

Swirling like an upside-down tornado

There is beauty if you are willing to kiij

The woods seem neutral. There is little wind

The world is in an uproar with earthquakes

In Turkey and Syria. The death toll is in the

Thousands, and the damage is unbelievable

The communists send a balloon across our

Country gathering as much intelligence as

Possible before Joe-Joe bravely says shoot

It down. Our southern border is open to 

Everyone. Fentanyl is killing 100 thousand

Of our addicted citizens each year, and we do

Nothing. Those in charge are not investigated

The FBI and the CIA, along with the very fake news

Are covering up not only Hunter Biden, but the

Role, they played in changing the outcome of

The last election. Joe-Joe spared us from the

Fight he had with Corn-pop and how the kids

Laughed when the hairs on his legs curled up

When he was a lifeguard. Now he must be laughing

At the unemployment, he brought about by

Shutting down oil exploration, the pipeline

That would safely take the oil to Nebraska

For refining. He was booed, hissed, and called

Out as a liar a few times bus mostly his side

Of the isle nearly broke their ankles while

Standing to applaud his lies. We had to wait a

Long time to hear the rebuttal by the governor

Of Arkansas, because Joe was shaking hands,

Hugging and sniffing for what seemed like an

Eternity. The mainstream media couldn’t get over

The heroic job that Joe did while reading his

Composition of falsehoods. Sarah Huckabee

Sanders gave a precise state of the union and

Offered solutions and encouragement. It was

Well received and so the night ended.

Stanski

February 10, 2023, ^

This is not new!  Fabrications by the anchors

on-network broadcasts are commonplace.   

When there was still a semblance of journalism,

it was often embellished by adding

elaborate adjectives and adverbs.

They did not actually apply, except in the mind of

the announcer, who felt akin to the rich, the ambitious,

the poets, the pirates, and the kings. 

Truth blows holes through their accounts. 

People actually died, in one way or another,

because of their presence on the scene of a disaster,

protest-march, parade, war front or

other shock scene of the day.

They, in their suits, ties, coiffured hair, and bronzed skin,

sit in the majestic studios selling whatever narrative

they can get away with to advance their agenda. 

They read stories prepared for this expressed reason,

often interjecting a personal affirmation, giving it that

“we’re all in this together” feeling.  This is not journalism,

still, they receive awards for journalistic excellence and

are applauded by their peers who are also narrative readers.

Lies are repeated, the story grows, then more lies are added,

all to shine a favorable light on the liar.

The anchor, exposed recently lied about being in a helicopter

downed in Iraq by a rocket-propelled grenade. 

He lied about seeing a body floating face down in the floodwater

outside his hotel room in New Orleans at the time of Katrina.

Pictures showed that the whole area was dry. 

He lied about events in the Houston Astrodome during his

discourse of declaring who was responsible for this act of Nature. 

He lied about being sick with dysentery caused by

drinking flood waters accidentally. 

He saw fear, death, depravity, firearms being brandished,

looting and other nasty things, apparently from some room

in a five-star hotel in the French Quarter. 

All claims have been refuted by police,

hospital personnel, health directors and the like. 

Still, because of this outstanding work on Katrina,

he earned an anchor position, which was being vacated

at a network, by another myth raconteur.

Unfortunate as it is, that is the way it was.

STANSKI

FEB 9, 2023, ^