Tag: personal growth

The Gift of Love

The Power of Love In Helping Us To Improve Our Lives

These poems are about the power of love in changing our lives for the better by encouraging us to follow our hearts and dreams in guiding us to find our unique destiny. Love also enables us to reach our full human potential by cultivating compassion for all the living beings on our great planet thus expanding our consciousness and appreciating the true miracle that all life is.

Mother and Child by Chris O’Malley

Today I Say A Prayer For The Gift of Love

Today, I see a lovely flower
and look at it as if for the first time.
I see how beautiful is my child
and thank God for the most precious gift
which he has given me.
I look at her soft, radiant eyes and
her sweet little face;
I feel her little body wrapped in my arms…
so grateful to have her to love and to hold.
Let me realize just how valuable is today…
to explore my talents,
no matter how they may be judged;
free me from restraint to tell those that I love,
to fully experience the breadth
of my humanity…
not to cower in a corner-
always afraid to reach out
or speak what I believe to be true.
Awaken my spirituality,
let me experience what it is like
to stand on a mountain top-
filled with a moment of eternity,
to feel part of what was before…
now… and will be.
Let something of me remain after I’m gone-
to reveal that I lived and had something to say.
Give me insight to see before I act
so as not to cause another pain or injury.
Let me have empathy for all sentient beings…
to realize there’s a sanctity about all life,
and let not money or power corrupt my soul…
help me today to stop excusing my limitations
by accepting the challenge to
change and become a better person.

~ Lora Hollings

“I Choose Love”
~ Shawn Gallaway

This is a video which shows how we can choose to live our lives with love and create a more peaceful world uniting us all as one people who can tackle important challenges of the future such as climate change, saving our wildlife, and our planet. We have the choice to create a brighter tomorrow for our children and future generations- a world where there’s no place for hatred or violence toward any living being. A world where we all learn to respect each other for the special gifts that we have and where all people have a chance to contribute these gifts and lead rewarding lives.

To Feel The Miracle of Love

Surely This Must Be Heaven

Surely this must be heaven…
when I can look up into the treetops
and see the light rays streaming
through gently swaying leaves.
Surely this must be heaven…
when you hold me in your arms
with such tenderness,
and I hear the beating of your heart
so close to mine.
Surely this must be heaven…
when my little dog
with his calming presence
helps to relieve the burden of my worries
and loves me so devotedly.
Surely this must be heaven,
when I feel my child
in the grasp of an embrace…
and I thank God
for the precious gift of life-
to feel the miracle of love.

~ Lora Hollings

Let’s be Friends –
Dolphin and Dog Become True Friends

Animals also show an amazing capacity to form deep bonds of affection with each other even with members from another species enriching their lives as well. We see in this video of a true friendship between a dolphin and a dog that these animals’ affection for each other not only parallels our own but that they have the capacity for empathy or the ability to understand and share the feelings of others too. Thus we cannot limit the capacity to feel love only to human beings.

Cute Cat Befriends Dolphins –
We Don’t Have To Be Alike to Be Friends

Cat befriends dolphins in this charming video which shows that animals, once again, can develop bonds of friendship with each other even crossing the boundaries between species. Maybe animals can teach us to be more tolerant of our differences, and instead connect with others on a deeper, more spiritual level.

Live your Life With Love and Treasure the Beauty of the Moment

Quotes About Life and Love

“The love we give away is the only love we keep.”
-Elbert Hubbard

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.”
-Siddhartha Buddha

Love does not dominate. It cultivates.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes

“Compassion is the chief law of human existence.”
-Fyodor Dostoevsky

“Work like you don’t need the money, love like you’ve never been hurt and dance like no one is watching.”-Randall G. Leighton

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”
-Ashley Smith

“Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.”
-James Dean

“The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.”
-Flora Whittemore

“I put all my genius into my life; I put only my talent into my works.”
-Oscar Wilde

“Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.”
-Maria Robinson

Looking back, I have this to regret: that too often when I loved, I did not say so.
-David Grayson

Love does not dominate. It cultivates.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Love does not die easily. It is a living thing. It thrives in the face of all life’s hazards, save one: neglect.
-James Bryden

Insights About These Poems

These two poems reveal a deeply grounded spirituality that is not found in abstraction, but in presence, love, and conscious living. Rather than seeking heaven or holiness as distant ideals, the poems suggest that sacredness exists in ordinary moments—when attention, gratitude, and empathy are fully engaged.

Today I Say a Prayer for the Gift of Love is an inward-looking invocation, a moral and spiritual reckoning. It recognizes love as both a gift and a responsibility. The speaker asks not only to feel gratitude for a child, but to live more truthfully, courageously, and compassionately. There is a call to self-awareness: to act with foresight, to avoid causing harm, to resist corruption by power or fear, and to grow beyond self-imposed limitations. Love here becomes transformative—it demands integrity, empathy for all life, and a willingness to leave something meaningful behind.

Surely This Must Be Heaven offers the lived fulfillment of that prayer. Heaven is not elsewhere; it is found in sensory and emotional immediacy—sunlight through leaves, a tender embrace, the quiet devotion of a dog, the warmth of a child held close. These moments affirm that love is the miracle itself, not a reward deferred.

Together, the poems suggest that heaven is created through awareness and care. When we slow down, cherish connection, and choose kindness, life reveals its sacred dimension. Love, when fully seen and honored, becomes both the path and the destination.

From the quiet noticing invited by The Ladybug Poem, a thread of awareness weaves its way through A New Day Has Come and the tender offering found in The Gift of Love, where love and hope unfold in simple moments. That thread continues through Inspiring Poems About Daughters and the enduring guidance reflected in Mothers Guide Us Throughout Life, each honoring connection, care, and presence across generations. Together, these reflections lead naturally to The Magic of Being and A Ladybug of Culture, where small moments and gentle observations are gathered into deeper meditations on awareness, perspective, and the meaning we find in simply noticing life as it unfolds.

Additional Poems by Lora Hollings

In the simple delight of The Ladybug Poem, we are reminded that awareness often begins with noticing the smallest details. That same awareness unfolds through the quiet optimism of A New Day Has Come and the gentle reflection found in The Gift of Love, where love reveals itself in everyday moments. It deepens further in Inspiring Poems About Daughters and the lasting wisdom shared in Mothers Guide Us Throughout Life, each emphasizing guidance, presence, and care. Together, these reflections naturally lead to The Magic of Being, where these themes converge into a meditation on living with intention, gratitude, and heart.

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Angels as Guides for Living

Angels Can Show Us Our Path in Life

This article is about how angels can offer us guidance in living. Whether we see them depicted in art or read stories about angels coming to the aid of people, we feel comforted by their presence. However, angels can also become our teachers as they show us a path in life which seeks to bring healing, comfort, and love to the lives of others. In following their example, we develop a sense of purpose and meaning in our lives and a greater sense of our spiritual selves.

A Poem About an Angel Who Inspires Us to Care About Others

The Messenger

One day,
I went inside a museum
and a mural hung on the wall of
a glorious angel…
a vision of celestial grace
cloaked in her draping gown
with soft curls framing a lovely face.

Through the large glass windows
as the sun’s rays gently fell on this seraph,
she became bathed in light…
adding to her ethereal presence,
and making me feel
as though I were close to heaven.

Then her eyes met mine,
and something was communicated
in the silence of a moment…

Hearing a soft cry,
I looked to my right
and saw a woman with a little child.

The child was crying for
he was hungry and had no food;
the mother was trying to console him.

Moved by a sense of pity,
I walked over to them
and offered them some fruit
that I had taken
with me…

then I asked if they had
a place to go,
and the mother answered no-
so I asked them if I
could give them shelter.

As I left there,
turning to look at that beautiful angel
one more time…

still feeling the warmth of her light
and seeing her penetrating eye…

I could have sworn I saw her smile
and I thought, yes you do live within me

as I am empowered by the goodness in me
to illuminate the darkest places…

by your divine inspiration
to alleviate suffering and bring hope
to those who walk in fear,
and use my gifts to help make this world
a better place for all God’s creation.

~ Lora Hollings

“We are like children, who stand in need of masters to enlighten us and direct us; and God has provided for this, by appointing his angels to be our teachers and guides.” — Saint Thomas Aquinas

In Giving, We Receive

One day, I heard a little bird chirping loudly.
He seemed to be in much distress;
it appeared, he had tumbled from his nest…
so I gently put him back.

One day, as I was walking down a street,
I saw a stray dog-
frantically searching for someone
or something…

He would go up to people,
but everyone passed him by-
his appearance showing
he had long suffered from neglect.

With coat so shabby
and bones showing,
a look of desperation in his eyes…

I couldn’t pass him by-
I stopped to give him food,
which he freely took,
and he followed me home.

Now, with his faithful companionship,
I do not feel so alone.

One day, I found a child who was lost
and stopped to help her home, again.

She gave me a little picture
that she had drawn of herself
with the sweetest smile
and a little bouquet of violets.

I still hear an echo of her voice…
saying thank you.

One day, I heard a heart cry out from one
who felt abandoned and alone…

so I stopped to listen to a tale of loneliness
and despair.

I offered my friendship
and shared with her my heartfelt wounds,
relieving a burden that I was
not alone in my suffering…

I have begun the process to heal
as now I have a close friend
with whom I can share-
both my joy and my sorrow.

I often think, if I never stopped
as I went on my way
to help those in need-
and chose to go alone…

that my life would not be as rich
for it truly is in giving that we receive.

~ Lora Hollings

God Has Entrusted Us With His Greatest Gifts — Our Children Can Become as Angels Creating a Heaven on Earth

“A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men.” — Martin Fraquhar Tupper

Children Are Gifts From God

You are a gift from God.
Born into this world,
so innocent and pure…
as an angel.
Your beauty reflects His love,
and He has entrusted me with your care.
How blessed am I
to be your loving guardian throughout your life,
to teach you right from wrong,
guiding you always to walk toward His light,
sometimes down an uncertain path…
but strengthening your resolve
to bring light into the lives of others.

~ Lora Hollings

We Are Inspired by Angels to Love and Protect Animals

Our responsibility in being stewards of the earth includes taking care of our animal brothers and sisters too. When we show compassion and save animals from cruelty, we are acting out of the highest realm of our spirituality and thus we become angels to our animal brethren who are so deserving of our concern for their welfare and the right to live without being harmed or abused by anyone.

“God made all the creatures and gave them our love and our fear, to give sign, we and they are His children, one family here.” — Robert Browning

“Nature is the art of God.” ~ Dante Alighieri

“The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship.” — Ralph Waldo Emerso

If I can stop one heart from breaking

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

~ Emily Dickinson

“All God’s angels come to us disguised.” — James Russell Lowell

We Can Only Live Up to Our Full Potential By Helping Others

“We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.” — Luciano de Crescenzo

“When we do kind deeds for our fellow man we become as angels.”

“I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.” ~ William Penn

“If you live for love you spread kindness and compassion everywhere you go. When you stop believing in your heart you are but a sterile vessel wandering in the wilderness.” ~ Francis Hegmeyer

Flowers Are the Words of Angels

“Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell in written words. They are the hieroglyphics of angels, loved by all men for the beauty of the character, though few can decipher even fragments of their meaning.” ~Lydia M. Child

Angels Are With Us in Spirit

“Make yourself familiar with the angels, and behold them frequently in spirit; for without being seen, they are present with you.” — St. Francis De Sales

Nature is an Angel’s Favorite Hiding Place

“Ever felt an angel’s breath in the gentle breeze? A teardrop in the falling rain? Hear a whisper amongst the rustle of leaves? Or been kissed by a lone snowflake? Nature is an angel’s favorite hiding place.” — Terri Guillemets

Be an Angel to Someone Else Whenever You Can

“Be an angel to someone else whenever you can, as a way of thanking God for the help your angel has given you.” — Eileen Elias Freeman

” By following in the footsteps of Angels, We can Bring Peace to Our World – If we were all like angels, the world would be a heavenly place.”— Author Unknown

Insights from these poems

“Angels as Guides for Living” explores the powerful role of spiritual guidance, compassion, and divine inspiration through a collection of reflective poems that encourage readers to live with purpose, kindness, and moral awareness. Each poem presents a unique perspective on how angelic influence can shape human behavior and inspire meaningful acts of service.

In “The Messenger,” the image of a radiant angel in a museum becomes a symbol of divine inspiration and inner transformation. The encounter awakens a sense of compassion in the speaker, motivating acts of kindness toward those in need. The poem illustrates how spiritual awareness can guide individuals to alleviate suffering and bring hope to others, reinforcing the idea that goodness within us reflects higher guidance.

“In Giving, We Receive” emphasizes the importance of selfless service and compassion in everyday life. Through a series of encounters — helping an injured bird, caring for a neglected animal, assisting a lost child, and offering friendship to someone in despair — the poem demonstrates that acts of kindness enrich both the giver and the receiver. It highlights the spiritual principle that fulfillment and healing often come through helping others.

In “Children Are Gifts From God,” the focus shifts to the sacred responsibility of nurturing and guiding the next generation. The poem portrays children as divine blessings entrusted to our care, emphasizing themes of love, protection, moral guidance, and spiritual stewardship. It reflects the role of parents and guardians in shaping character and inspiring future compassion.

Together, these poems present a unified message about living with faith, empathy, and purpose. They suggest that spiritual growth is expressed through compassion, service, and love for others. Ultimately, “Angels as Guides for Living” encourages readers to embrace kindness, act with moral responsibility, and become sources of light in the world through everyday acts of goodness.

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