You!
unbelievable
     undeniable
it was always you
   you know how to make it
           not fake it
                and shake it
cause you rock my world
i cant believe I didnt see it before
cause it was always you
          angel of my days

     Author Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul) recommends writing a Victory Log. 
To start you choose five things that are small (or big) victories from the past day and today. This helps to celebrate achievements and create positive feelings.  Try to find your five!  It's not hard and chances are you will come up many more than five in a day.  My five are:


1. Hiked up a challenging mountain! 
2. Went to feed and give clothes and shoes to the homeless.  It feels so good to spread love and hope.
3. Met a new friend who likes to help people like I do.
4. Packed up a birthday gift for my friend's daughter
5. Told my son I love him and appreciate him

Postcards from Libya

     It was almost noon and it had been a fairly productive day.  Living and working in Libya was not always easy.  He missed home and family.  At times it was difficult understanding the culture and the people.  They were hospitable but tough and aggressive at the same time.   He had made friends though and become fond of his coworkers even though he did not speak much to them.

     Today was different.  He could feel it in his bones.  When the phone rang he was only a little bit surprised.  In those days there was no internet and phone calls from abroad were really rare.   "Emad, it's a call for you from Egypt", his manager Kareem said.  Immediately he felt worried, his family rarely called. 

     It was his brother.  "Emad I wanted to tell you that Dad is sick", he's in the hospital".  "Can I speak to him?"  "No he is resting but he wanted you to know he's ok".  The conversation didn't last long and after Emad hung up he sat at his desk for a long time just thinking.  It would be impossible to get a visa to leave Libya until his contract was up but he felt like he had to see his Dad.

     That night he couldn't get to sleep.  When he finally did feel asleep his dreams were swirling and tormenting him.  He woke up once in the middle of the night and stopped a few minutes to pray.  After that he felt better and went back to sleep.  He dreamed of his Dad.  In his dream his Dad came to him and said "Don't worry Emad I will always be there for you.  I will be ok.  I love you".

     When he woke up he knew something was different.  He could feel it.   He had to call home and talk to his Dad.  It took a while to get through but he finally got through to his Mom after a few tries.  "Emad", she said "How did you know?" "Your father passed away peacefully last night.  But before he passed he said he looked to the West and saw an angel and a light.  I think it was you!"   For a long time he sat with his head in his hands.  Then he looked out into the courtyard at the trees and flowers and felt a sense of peace like he had never felt before. 

      

Grateful Thankful Blessed

Today I feel blessed

I look around and see

So many beautiful things around me

I see your smiling face

Your kind heart

Full of grace

It's the little things

That make me smile

Make me want to

Stop and stay a while

Feeling thankful

Feeling blessed

I am grateful

It's the best

Written by L. Zaki 9/22/19

LOVE

Elusive shining Love

I remember the first time we met

You made me laugh

And I fell for you

Through the years

Our love shone through

Always steady always true

Now you're gone

and I don't know what to do

I know love will find a way

I'm waiting for that day

Feeling hopeful

How about you?

By L. Zaki 9/12/19

POSTCARDS FROM TRIPOLI

     On the edge of the Mediterranean, Emad smiled as he thought of his day ahead.  He looked around the café in Tripoli and as always enjoyed watching the interesting people around him.  Libya was a study in contrasts, the people fascinated him.   The old city was somewhat like his native Egypt but with a strong Italian influence.  He swirled his caffe' macchiato in the cup and looked up to see a group of women chatting and laughing. 

They wore bright headscarves and fashionable clothing.  They might be university students, he thought, from the University of Tripoli.  Or work colleagues on a coffee break.

     Not too long ago cafes in Tripoli were a man's only club.  After Ghaddafi outlawed coffee in the 1970's in an attempt to eradicate the influence of what he termed the "fascist occupiers" things were bleak for a while on the coffee scene.  Only Arabic coffee was served in very dim unappealing cafes and women certainly did not make an appearance.   Now in 2011 things had changed completely.  Italian cafes were to be found throughout Tripoli and many were quite stylish.   More women than men frequented them and the culture had changed to allow women more freedom to go out and socialize. 

    

 She caught his eye from across the room, her long dark hair shining .  She sat alone and he wondered was she waiting for a friend or for her husband?  He thought of poor Fatima his work colleague.  They had worked together for two years now and she refused to accept the fact that he did not want to marry her!  He liked Fatima with her gentle smiling face and sweet voice.   But there were no sparks and he couldn't imagine being attracted to her.  She was from a wealthy Libyan family and was more confident than the women he knew in Egypt. 

Libyans were always surprising him.  They had their roots in Berber and African culture and while they were sophisticated due to the oil wealth in the country, they were never far from the desert and were extremely aggressive in their behavior.   You certainly wouldn't want to get into a fight with a Libyan!  In time he learned to appreciate their history and culture as well as the Bedouin traditions. 

      

 

BLUE SKY OCEAN

Be patient I tell myself

You ebb and flow

like the ocean

I see myself in you

Yet different somehow

It seems like so long

You've been away

How you've changed

But still remained the same

I look in the deep blue ocean

For reflections of you

But only see myself

Waiting and watching

Looking for you

I see me and wait for a time

To see you back again

By L. Zaki 9/9/19

MEET ME IN THE GARDEN

A little patch of sunshine

A happy place

Meet me in the garden

Smell the roses

Pick some flowers

We can laugh

And talk for hours

I missed you so much my dear

But now you are here

Back with me

In the garden

By L. Zaki 9/9/19

Watching the World Go By

Watching the World Go By

I sit here watching the world go by

And I think

Will it ever be me?

Will I love and be loved?

It's time

To start living again

To take the risk of loving again

I don't want to watch and wait anymore

I jump

Therefore I am

Time to seize the day

Written by L. Zaki 9/5/19

 

Requiem Crashing

Requiem crashing
I don't feel broken or scared anymore
So free
     waves crashing
       my brain chasing
I can see
I breathe
I feel

By L. Zaki circa 2016

These powerful images come to us from author and artist Sam Higginbotham.

His book can be found on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/November-Honeypeppers-Journal-Broken-Delusions/dp/1367711479/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=Sam+Higginbotham+Jr.&qid=1567455716&s=gateway&sr=8-1

This beautiful peaceful artwork was shared with us by Brittany Bearg.  Check out her page https://m.facebook.com/TheDaBrittz/

Never give up!

It will get better

You can do it!

Baby steps

Live

Love

Laugh

You can do it!

Don't lose HOPE

My Fairy Garden by Mary Kate King 2019

A poem shared with us written by Kristin Stakland 

Here's a fun and inexpensive party decoration idea from artist Veronica Costill.

Sunflower decorations made from coffee filters!

DONT LIE TO ME

That is what hope looks like

Is it floating or flowing?

Streaming or shining?

So elusive

I try to grab it

I reach out my hand

Outstretched

I am more than this

I tell myself

Why have I become this

shadow version of myself?

I catch a glimmer

of light

Like a gem

It blankets throwing light

I can dream again!

I can sing again!

I can love again!

I can live again!

Hope

I tell myself

Still lives here

Don't lie to me

Darkness that you are

Written by L. Zaki  8/19/19

 

 

Shine down

on me

When I couldn't see

you were right there

for me

Maybe I was lost

Like you told me

It's a day to rejoice

I'm here with you again

Shine down

and let it be

I never could be

Who you wanted me to be

But I'm me

Is that enough?

Let me

Shine down

Throw your light on me

by L. Zaki  7/28/19

http://www.loitaadventuresandsafaris.com/arusha-national-park/

MEET OUR FRIEND EDDO MUNKA OWNER OF Loita Safaris

Love his amazing photos

Give Me

By Leah Auma Okeyo Otieno

Give me the knowledge to know
That my suffering may be fairer
That I would not easily swap.
If I was given a chance.

Give me the light to shed
On the dark corners so dark
And give me the wisdom to know
Where the darkness is.

Give me the stage to shout out
My voice for ages drowned
And give me the ears to hear
My wants and feel with me.

Give me the power to transform
The societies that need change
And give me the power to avail
The tools that do the job.

Give me the joy of life, let me see it as a privilege
Open my eyes to see, for sight is a privilege too
Guide my hands to reach out, and hold who grope in darkness
For touch is a privilege too, that can mend broken hearts

Leah Auma Okeyo Otieno is the founder of PACHO (Positive and Active Towards Change Organization).  She is a community leader, inspirational speaker, poet and more!

For more information visit her website at http://leahokeyo.weebly.com/pacho.html

WAKE UP

Time

to wake up

Where were you?

I thought I saw you

In the shadows

But it was only my reflection

Time to live again

To dream again

by L. Zaki  7/23/19

A poem by Mary Kate King

STRANGE DAYS, BETTER DAYS

A short story by Laura Frances Zaki

     The strange days were over or so she chose to believe. They came back to her in pieces, bits of memories here and there.   Her dreams were so real and vivid she almost believed she was back then again.  Back home with her family.  Traveling again to Egypt and Italy as she had always done.

     She was in a café in Milano just four years ago eating a pizza margherita.  Post divorce she had gone to Italy to try to forget.  After thirty years together how does one just forget?  If anything could make her happy it would be Italy. 

     What great memories she had of Italy before she met him.  In college she had spent time in Italy with two different host families.  She had found summer love with a young Italian banker named Giuseppe who she met on the beach and kissed in a vineyard.     

     It was time for new memories she thought as she turned to look at her son lying asleep in bed.  She promised herself she wouldn't cry in the daytime, he deserved a fun vacation.  It wasn't easy when your parents divorced in middle school.  Her older son hadn't taken it very hard but he wasn't the emotional type.  Yes, she would eat pizza in Milano and pesto Genovese in the Cinque Terre during the day and cry herself silently to sleep at night.  

New York City

    "How could he have done that?  she thought.  Just giving up after a lifetime together.  She wasn't the type to quit easily but he always had.  No matter what it was a business, a friend or now her marriage he always bailed when the going got rough.  It wasn't another woman as she briefly suspected after they separated.  She even thought for a moment that he might be gay.  But it seemed it was neither.   He had explained that they were no longer compatible.  That they grew apart.

     They were always very different from the first day they met.  True they came from different worlds.  He was from a modest family in Cairo and had come to the US to study ancient languages in New York City.  The son of a tailor with ambitions to do more.  She was from a middle class family in New Jersey.  She was in graduate school in New York studying international politics and was fascinated by the Middle East.  It was exotic she thought and just foreign enough to be intriguing.  And so was he!     

     He was charming.  She told him her mother had always wanted to visit Egypt and see the pyramids.  He joked and laughed easily.  He said "here is my number give me a call and I don't want to be disappointed".   That line worked with her and she called him.  Their first date was ice cream and a walk over the Brooklyn bridge.  From then on it was a whirlwind. 

Cairo, Egypt

     They were engaged in Paris.  On her first trip to Egypt, she was amazed by Cairo.  A huge city with endless traffic, crowded and bustling, exciting and exotic.  From the spice shops to the bazaars with all types of trinkets to the gold shops and hawkers near to pyramids it was all fascinating to her.  Her ears buzzed with the sounds of the lilting Arabic language and the calls to prayer by the muezzin echoing throughout the city. In a mix of modern and ancient, children rode donkey carts through the street while modern cars buzzed by leaning heavily on their horns in the Cairo cacophony of sounds. 

     She loved it all and she loved him.  They were different but they made it work.  When they first met they discussed music tastes.   He laughed as she told him what music she loved.  They never did see eye to eye on that or many other things.  But they made it work for 30 years. 

     Now he was gone and she was devastated.  Her children had told her to move on.  Her family said he wasn't any good for her.  True in the last few years of the marriage things had been strained.  But she thought they were in it for good.  She really should have known better!

Agriturismo in Piedmont Italy

     She didn't buy a home in Tuscany or in her grandmother's region Piedmont.  She just drove through the rolling hills and castles and vineyards spread out before her.  She talked and laughed and stayed up late at night discussing life with the owners of the agriturismo or little bed and breakfast where she stayed.  The food was delicious and all grown locally and home cooked.  The innkeepers were used to people coming to Italy to start their lives over.  No one really cared that she sat alone in the dining room after her son had gone outside to play with the cat and her kittens.  She sipped her espresso coffee and tried to think that someday she would be again like the laughing couples she saw before her.  She didn't really believe it, her pain was so strong and raw at the time.

     Italy did help.  The food, the people, the sites were wonderful and therapeutic.  Her son skateboarded through piazzas in Florence, Rome and Pisa.  They took in all the historic sites, ancient churches and squares, fountains and monuments to the past.  How many others had found solace in the charming Italian landscapes and cities?  They walked through the heat in Rome and stopped to drink at all the fountains.  Eventually it was time to come home.  Her Dad had major heart surgery when she was away and it was time to get back to real life.

(NEXT UP:  Crazy days, strange days through the purple haze)....

 

Purple haze, all in my brain
Lately things they don't seem the same
Actin' funny, but I don't know why
Excuse me while I kiss the sky

Purple haze, all around
Don't know if I'm comin' up or down
Am I happy or in misery?

(Jimi Hendrix)

 

    

      

ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER WAY

I dreamed of you for so long

I never wanted it to be that way

I know I hurt you

I'm sorry for the pain

But now we have another chance

To try to make it right again

We have another day

Let's find another way

Another day

Another way

Walking in the sunshine

Another day

Another way

Back together again

I know it's not easy

For you to trust me again

But I know I can do better

Let's find a way

Let's start to live again

Another day

Another way

Dreaming of better days

Another day

Another way

Walk with me my love

Remember those trips we used to go on?

Walking along the beach

Smiling laughing on the way

Life can be good again

Smile with me now

Through the pain

Life is beginning new again

We'll find

Another day

Another way

Written by L Zaki 7/22/19

 

DREAMING OF PEACE

Slowly she turns

Out of the corner of her eye

It's been a long time coming

She breathes deeply

Sighing as she silently cries

Numbness fills her body

Once she dreamed of peace

like a long train coming around

It was there within reach

Faded hope

Like blue jeans

Gather yourself up

And move to the light again

Written by :  L. Zaki 7/21/19

Loving You by Morning Tea

Check out our friends at Morning Tea with an original song called Loving You

Flying Free

This inspirational poem by Mary Kate King shows that there is always hope to be that star again Or as Pearl Jam said in Thumbing My Way "no matter how cold the winter there's a springtime ahead".

GLOW

by Mary Kate King

Bending to the Light

DO YOU SEE?

How they bend to the light?

You have the light

Can you see it?

It flows through you

Find your peace

in the sunshine of your heart

Then you will know love

Written by L Zaki

YOUR TIME IS NEAR

Uplifting towards

the SUN

Jewels of nature

Shining bright in their glory

Cast your heavy thoughts to the wind

and REJOICE

Your time to sing and dance is near

You just can't feel it yet

Peace surrounds you in a cloudy envelope

whispering thoughts of true love

Written by :  L Zaki, 2019

💛SUNSHINE STORIES
Find inspiration from the poet Kahlil Gibran!

💛💗😍 SUNSHINE FOR BETTER DAYS


Q. Sometimes I just can't get moving!  I want to change my life and start a new career and also get my finances in order. It just seems so overwhelming!!


A. Baby steps, baby steps!  All change starts with good intentions and an action plan.  You don't have to do everything overnight.  Start with a large notebook or two.  One for each project is the best.  Pick something with a cover that inspires you! Many notebooks are available on Amazon for under $5 or your local dollar store.   Write down all of your ideas for your projects. 


If you want to start a new career do some investigating first. Investigating starts by asking the experts. One great resource is SCORE, retired business executives who can assist you if your dream is to be on the entrepreneurial path and start a new business.  If you prefer to work for someone else in your career seek out the help of a job coach or life coach. They can be extremely helpful in giving your thoughts direction and a clear plan.  Depending on what industry you want to work in seek out advice of someone who works in the that industry currently.  Plan to attend some industry events and do some networking for ideas and contacts.


Getting your finances in order is also a matter of getting organized!  If you have debt set up a schedule to start paying off the debt.  Too much debt will leave your finances a mess.  There are two options to finances, owe less or make more income.  Budgeting properly will also help you to keep things in check.  Sometimes we don't realize how much we're spending on small items that add up.  Can you make coffee at home instead of stopping by your favorite Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts?  The savings will really add up over time. 


Change takes time so be patient and kind with yourself.  Reward yourself with small treats for difficult things you accomplish.  Take a warm bubble bath, make yourself a special cup of tea or coffee, watch a show you love on Netflix.  Don't overwhelm yourself by taking on too much at once. Make a list of all the things you need to do and tackle two or three at a time.  Cross off each item completed or put an X if you started but are waiting for a reply and a checkmark if you completed it.  That way you can see your progress.


And don't give up hope!!!  YOU are amazing, you have got this!!! 

SUNSHINE PROJECTS
Seeds of hope in Kenya

This year we started a new project to help women living in poverty in Kenya.

We sent packets of heirloom seeds to Kenya and in collaboration with POSITIVE AND ACTIVE TOWARDS CHANGE ORGANIZATION a local women's empowerment group in Kenya the ladies will be planting the seeds shortly!  we can't wait to see what they grow!

WELCOME TO SUNSHINE FOR A BETTER WORLD!

We are supported by the Peace Love Hope Foundation dedicated to making the world a better place!

Join us for 

SUNSHINE STORIES 

inspiring stories of finding hope told by ordinary people who have faced extraordinary odds

told through short stories, artwork, poetry & music 

SUNSHINE PROJECTS

Connecting the world and doing good. Our projects are sustainable and easy to finance

Some require no investment only your time

SUNSHINE FOR A BETTER DAY 

Uplifting advice to get you through the toughest days! Ask us your questions just email peacelovehopefoundation@gmail.com