This is a song for Memorial Day.I remember going to the cemetery with my parents and sisters on memorial day to honor our grandparents and my parent's grandparents.I have not done that as an adult.But I think of mother and father and my sister Rita and friends who have passed away often. At this point in my life I'm of the strong belief that we are all souls on a journey and that we leave a part of us when we move on, a part that is always present in the hearts of people we have known and loved.

For the official memorial day celebration, I also think of spiritual and non-viloent warriors who gave their lives for their beliefs and for others.


Memorial Day Meditation

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This is a song about the choice between love and fear."Love is but a song we sing,
fear's the way we die" says a few lines in the Youngblood's song" Get Together. I have thought about those lines from time to time since I first heard them in 1971 or so. 

Can we choose love and let it flow today. Somedays we can!

May you let your love flow today.



Let Love Flow Today

I do not meditate as much as I want to.But the clearest moments of my life, moments when I've felt the most connected to some sense of higher power, have come in some form of meditation, often a meditative walk.I want to have more of those moments. I need to go deeper to do that.


Going Deeper

Ma the moose still makes me laugh

This song was written for the dedication of a memorial plaque at a cemetery in Wassaic, NY, on the former grounds of an institution, where over the years many people with developmental disabilities lived and died.  Some (over 1200) were buried in numbered but unnamed graves in two wooded sites near the facility. A group called the 1033 Group, along with the Self-Advocacy Association of New York State, Inc., successfully advocated for the provision of Memorial Plaque, which listed all of the names of the people who are buried there in acknowledgment of the lives they lived.  Over 600 people are buried in the North Cemetery, in a beautiful field of grass, with bountiful oaks and maples on the periphery. It's a beautiful and soulful place spot.  
I sat among the numbered graves and wrote most of the words of this song one afternoon. I found myself writing from the perspective of the people buried there. So the second part of the song (see words below) was written first.
Some say, that we were restoring dignity to the people who are buried there by what we did, and there may be some truth to that.  But I believe, the real dignity restored that day was that of those of us who still live, symbolically, for the inhumane treatment that some lived through and that all received when buried in an unacknowledged grave.

The Lives you lived

Part 1:  The Dedication

What’s in a name?
A lot if it’s you
Today we give your names back
It’s all we can do

This plaque is a symbol
Of our deep regret
We’re here to tell you
We will never forget

	We will never forget
	We will never forget
	The lives you lived
	The dreams you had

	We will never forget
	We will never forget
	The lives you lived
	The dreams you had

Part 2:  The response

Thanks for what you’ve done
Our memories survive
We can feel your presence 
Across space and time

Your thoughtful memorial
Means so much to us all
And to those who still live
May the world hear your call

In the light of endless love
Please know that we’re fine
It’s hard to describe in words
But you’ll find out in time

Be well dear friends, be well
Be well dear friends, be well

© Words and music by Steve Holmes 10/06


The Lives You Lived

This is a troubled world at times and it helps to remember we are all connected and that ultimately everything will be all right. With the line "you're with me tonight"think of a loved one or think of the way you relate to your spiritual source or God.
Everything is Going to be All Right
copyright (c) 2010 Steve Holmes


Ha Ha and Soul