Matthew Lyle Landsman

Thanksgiving week. I have so much to be thankful for, but mostly for what I can give to others. I can give my support, my love, and incite prayers through my writings here and elsewhere. I can give smiles, and hope, and encourage faith. Through giving those things, I am gifted in return with a quiet air of gratitude through others having better days.
With all my toys, my new (to me) car, and my home…I would still have nothing without my wunnerful family, (including honorary kids and grand kids), pets…
But I think the thing I’m most thankful for is my gift with words. My perspective and ability to see light in the darkness, hope in sorrow, and love amidst the lonesome. These are all things one can’t see, but knows they all exist. I’m most grateful for my faith…not religion by denomination, but pure and simple; Faith. And knowing I will see my Momma and others gone on ahead. Matthew

just a letter…
“y”…it doesn’t seem like much at all. Just one of 26. But it makes my day, gives me hope, and enforces my faith in things. Not because it starts words like yes, or yesterday, or the color yellow. Nor does it have any secret meaning beyond the little ones you likely already know.
It is just the letter “y”. Even if you capitalize “Y”, it’s what it is.
But somewhere along the line over the last 55 years, someone added it to my name, and I thereafter became “Matty” to some. My Momma in particular.
She hasn’t uttered it in over 12 years…But on a regular basis someone else in my life will call me Matty, out of the blue. And then I smile, and sigh, and often get a bit teary eyed. Because I know Momma puts that simple letter out there, and it finds a soul and that name just comes out…
That’s when I know she’s out there watching over me, and putting that same warmth for me into the hearts of others. I nearly always ask what made that person suddenly call me Matty, and they say it felt right. I look at the sky, and into my heart, and thank the Lord for Momma’s continued presence in my life.
And I also thank Him, for the letter “y”. My favorite letter of all.
Love you Momma…see you somewhere down the road. In the meanwhile I’ll be here as you left me and flew off like a dove…I’ll be empty handed, with open arms. Matty

Some days its better to be a taker than a giver…
There are those that give headaches, give heartaches, give others a bad time. Give others fits, give reasons to cry, to lose sleep, to worry. Give others reasons to doubt…Not always best to give.
But there are times when it is best to take. Take heart, take away pain. Take a burden off of another’s shoulders. Take a minute to pray. Take a stroll, and take the others’ hand. Take time. Take trouble off another’s hands. Take the reins, take charge…take only what you need…Not always selfish to be a taker…

Some days one might be walking in unbroken sunshine, but see a dark ominous cloud off in the distance. And one can tell that distant cloud is delivering rain, harboring a fierce wind, and carrying misery in its wake.
Otherwise, all else is peaceful and near to perfect.
One can simply be grateful and feel blessed, and go on with the sunny day, or go to the cloud and wait out the storm with the friend ‘neath its wrath. Some souls haven’t the power to run from that cloud. But others have the power to go to it…and bring a bit of shelter with them. This is perhaps the best use of the term, “save it for a rainy day…” Matthew.

It’s not the bitter pill that’s so hard to swallow, but the lump in one’s throat that adds difficulty to such a simple act…MLL

A father is a father from the moment of conception until the last memory of him fades…which ought be never..MLL

If love be energy, and life be a dam, and passion be the water behind it…Then love is the gates that let the water flow through it. I have to say that if one were to open the flood gates all at once, there would be a spectacular moment and a flow, a rush, a torrent that rages uncontrolled…then nothing.
If one gives just a tiny bit freedom to trickle, there would be not enough flow to turn the generator, no notice of the intentions there…just a loss of potential and again, nothing.
But if one chooses to hold in reserve just enough to sustain a flow over time, to spin the veins into motion, and let the current flow…there would be light and another would notice. There would be heat and warmth would be a conduit for a bit of passion. There could be left a still and deep water behind that dam…enough to sustain a certain bit of mystery beneath the surface. There would be the essence of promise kept there for a future of the benefits of holding back just enough to keep things churning and certain…And surely there will always be enough desire to add a rainfall to the reserve there and keep life and love alive.
One should neither close nor fling open those locks. One needs to find a very happy and enticingly happy medium. Then there is scenery, a store of energy, promise, and the power of love to make it all worth while.
And too, a simple thankful air that faith is good and rewarded by all that comes from the will to hold enough in reserve to sustain a good and long life.
Have a great Wednesday all…and let a little extra out today, so others might water the garden that is their life and well being. Matthew

A tear on your cheek leaves a trail of a tale, that welled up there in your eyes. Be it love, joy, or a heart broken time. Be it pride of a vicarious moment, or just a quiet knowing of things, the eyes can’t hide the truth. There is scarcely anything more telling and beautiful than such a scene unfolding in the blink of an eye…Be alive, be genuine, and true in your soul friends…go ahead and cry. I may just join you.

A smile is the recollection of a moment, the reliving of a day, the re-tracing of a journey, the recurring gift of life’s miles. A smile is the conduit for laughter to follow, for love to blossom, to incite a spontaneous air of joy. I love the smiles that occur when I am on my own, because it means I am truly not alone. It means that I am capable of recalling the good times, and am being embraced from within, by family and friends  from afar…I love as well the smiles that come of spending time together. They are the unguarded result of joy shared, of bearing life well, of knowing you cared and gave of yourself.

A grin is the quiet and sheer joy of a proud moment shared in the life of your child…the piano recital he played, the problem solved, the hurdle scaled. A grin is silent applause for a moment lived aloud…The giving of thanks, without stealing the moment that another has earned the spotlight for. A grin is the culmination of efforts on the parts of many, and simply saying a prayer of thanks for what God has allowed. A silent saying of well done and tip of a proverbial hat…a beautiful thing nearly kept to yourself. Nearly, but still a partial secret within. Thank God for a grin.
And all three together, simply put; love of life.