May 19th, 2026
- I am grateful for sunshine.
- I appreciate trees and greenery.
- I am thankful for fresh air.
- I am blessed to witness ocean waves and mountain views.
- I am thankful for Kiva, our dog, who brings me joy.
Daily Gratitude 5-19-26
Day: May 19, 2026
My Musical Life 5-19-26
May 19th, 2026
#35 In the Ghetto (Elvis Presley) 👍🏼
As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)
And his mama cries
‘Cause if there’s one thing that she don’t need
It is another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)
People, don’t you understand
The child needs a helping hand
Or he’ll grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me
Are we too blind to see?
Do we simply turn our heads
And look the other way
Well, the world turns
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)
And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)
Then one night in desperation
The young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car
Tries to run, but he don’t get far
And his mama cries
As a crowd gathers ’round an angry young man
Face down on the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)
And as her young man dies
(In the ghetto)
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)
And his mama cries
(In the ghetto)
(In the ghetto)
(Ah)
My Abundant Life 5-19-26
May 19th, 2026
Order Within
“What a gift of grace to be able to take the chaos from within and from it create some semblance of order.”
Katherine Peterson (American Writer; October 31st, 1932)
“Spring cleaning can also be psychological, a time-out to confront the emotional clutter that has accumulated in your mental closet. It’s a pause for introspection—a midcourse correction for ordinary people in ordinarily stressful lives.”
Abigail Trafford (Journalist)
“One way to begin seeking order within is to come to grips with what drives you crazy but what you’ve been too distracted to do anything about.”
“There is a better way to live. It begins when we establish order within so that order will become a visible reality in our daily round. Start seeking order within by book-ending your day with reflection first thing in the morning and last thing at night. This quietude will remind you that you can make the choice every morning to live in the world but not be caught up in the frenzy of it, especially a frenzy of your own devising.”
“Quiet your mind, lift up your heart, muse, mull over, make discoveries. Consider, conceive, create, connect, concede that it all starts within.”
“Think about the day ahead and how it might unfold more smoothly. Invoke Divine Order, asking Spirit to take charge of your life today and every day. Visualize yourself at the end of a happy, stress-free, productive day, relaxing and enjoying the well-deserved leisure of the evening.”
“Book-ending your day by nurturing your Spirit means rousing your body earlier when you’re so exhausted from yesterday that you can barely crawl out of bed, or spending an extra moment with yourself at night when you’re ready to fall asleep like a stone.”
“Today, seek order within, so that Divine Order may be manifest outwardly in your daily round.”
“Today will be reviewing what I need and want in my life. My homework with my therapist was to create a list of 5 each. WOW, much harder than I expected.”
–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 166 to 167 of 501.
I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.
My Distilled Life 