CHAPTER TWO Nan Van Daalen-Sypkens

 

A BUNCH OF RECKLESS ANGELS

by Nan Van Daalen

At the feet of Jesus were always some Angels, not only glorifying Him, but together with Him gazing to the world. He was also listening in to the prayers, but they often only listened half, for they could not imagine the sorrows of a not perfect world like Heaven was.
And while He had not only time to help those, who needed Him most, He also had time to welcome the souls, that came back home.
That little bunch of Angels did not feel spoiled by being in His presents, no, it was the most normal to be so in Heaven, and what is normal, seldom is appreciated.
So one of the Angels got fascinated by the glitter and glance of the big city’s, the casino’s, the dancing girls and sighed: “Oh, I would like to experience a life like that!”
Another of them was fascinated by the work, a woman did by helping those, that had the most urgent prayers, but did not like the solitude of a convent. So she sighed: “Oh, how I would like to experience a life like that, it would feel like Heaven for me.”
A third of the bunch said: “No, I do see on the other side of this world a lot of pristine land, with plenty of room to roam free, work with the nature, I would be more happy there!”
Yet another and another did see places, their heart yearned to be on thatr places, and Jesus, in His wisdom said: “Did I not teach you, that each and all have its destined place in My plans? That some people have to learn from an experience. That other people do need many life’s to come to the wisdom, that their soul has been given by My Fathers Creation of the universe?”
The bunch of Angels, always sticking together and chatting, when Jesus was busy with something else, nodded yes, but the words did not fall in rich soil, so half of the meaning was lost.
The next time they spoke words like this, Jesus sais: “My lovely praising Angels, My Father did create you to sing His glory in Heaven, be satisfied with what He gave you. And remind yourself to be sure what you do ask for. You even can get it, and when it is not, what you thought it was, you stuck with it.”
The Angels again nodded yes, but had no idea, what Jesus was talking about, while looking at the outside was something different from seeing the inside of a humans mind and soul.
And they were not created as guardian Angels, so they did not got the wisdom. That does fit that job.
The third time Jesus said: “I did warn you, my lovely ones. There is only one cure to heal your yearning: I will send you to live a life on Earth. But nobody of you will meet each other, before you do recognize a kindred soul in the other. All of you will experience the troubles, you did overlook between all the beauty life also gives. Your life’s will be rough and hard ones. The troubles, you did overlook, when we together did look ate the world, you also will experience. All of you will keep the spark of recollection, how Heaven is, and have the urge to make life on Earth just like that.
I keep you Savior and hold my eyes on you, but you will have free will, like all humankind, so I cannot predict, when we are together here again. Do you still wish to go to Earth?”
Only one Angel did see, that the Creator placed her in the right place, the other ones were to curious and all said, they wanted to go.
So each of them got a different place of birth, a different fait to live through, according to their desires in Heaven. But each also was given a task to fulfill before their life should end and the lessons were learned.
Some, who did have the desire to help humankind, without being in a convent, got very hard lives, for they did need a sturdy base in their soul, from where they could do the job, they were yearning for.
For them the memory of Heaven was the only thing, that sometimes could help them through very hard times, and often the were on their knees, asking the Lord: “Why does this all happen to me Lord?”
They had to remember to be faithful, see how their experience could help others, before there was peace able in their hearts. Others had different, but equal hard life’s, sometimes by their own eagerness to live in glitter and glory going through the opposite: from the outside glorious, from the inside empty and hard.
They had to learn, that love is found in your own heart and multiplies by giving.
And there also were those, that did not loose their faith, they kept searching for the others to give them the love, they had still in their soul. Now a few of them have met, they only do not realize….
Lets keep in touch until our time to sit on His feet again!

A MERMAIDS DREAMS

by Nan Van Daalen

 In the sparkling, colorful waters of the warmer spots of our endless oceans she could float. The only visible movement was a soft up and down movement of her tail, and every now and than her hands made an elegant movement to counter balance an unexpected movement of the tides.

Of all the colorful fishes, the elegant weeds, the coral with the endless variation of form and community she did see nothing today. Not even the interwoven patterns, the sea did make between the species, that normally could hold her attention endlessly, now could not keep her attention going.
Why this all?

What could have disturbed her normal happy sea-life, where always was a playmate, merman or woman or the other species she communicated with her.

Was it the call for help of the great whale, that nearly suffocated in a mountain of whatever it was?

Was is the echo of the dolphin, who’s flipper was tangled in the line of a fisherman, who carelessly did cut it of, when tired of fishing, without thinking about the consequences?

Or was it the strange mountain of rubble, just above her favorite spot on the Great Ocean, where normally the currants made such wonderful round patterns, she could play her favorite game: just floating and dreaming, listening to the endless songs of the creatures around her.

Today she went there again.

But there was even less space to float as the last time.

And if things went further as they were before, tomorrow there would even be less space, would this mountain even be bigger than before

She had to think about her great, great, great aunt, who once did pay the ultimate price for the transformation from mermaid to human.

She did know, that her story was written down, whatever that did mean, in the tales of a mister Anderson, but they themselves kept doing it like always: tell from mother to daughter and never forget about it.

And now she was thinking of paying that price herself.

Even when she did know, there was no real return possible to her free, and normally happy life in the Ocean.

But she could not longer listen to the unhappy sound, the cries for help of her fellow creatures.

Sounds, that had their origin in what she wanted to oppose, make the land dwellers aware of: the slowly dying of her friends, of the whole environment of the ocean.

And one had to do so. But the price she had to pay...

Not only the pain with each step she was going to put on the ground, no, also the years of life, who were very long in the sea, than were going to be short lived.

And would anybody believe her, when she did not have her tail anymore?

What would happen to her fellow mermaids when she let herself be kept and learn the normal way to speak? Would it be gone with their peace and quiet, like the big beasts of Loch Ness and the Big lakes?

She still could not decide, what was the best option. 

But also she could not longer close her ears for the cries for help, for the mountain of waste, polluting more and more of their sea, by mankind, who without any consideration was busy to empty this anyway.

All she could wish was: waking up and finding this was a dream, not a reality.

But she had been woken up so many time, she had to admit it was no dream.

So there had to come a decision.

And perhaps she finally had to admit, it was her, who had to pay the price, while she was the oldest and could tell, how it should be.

She had to leave it to the younger generation, to bring order in the ocean, when her mission had been successfully ended.

So she prayed to the God of land and water, swam up and...

The challenge

By Nan Van Daalen-Sypkens

Here I stand, holding the lead of my dog. He can wag his tail; I cannot, not in reality, nor in my dreams.

Why? I stand here, on this special place for the challenge of my life.

This new, but not really new. How come?

The kids in my grade do tease me often, for they know, I have a high fever, so when we are doing gymnastics, I often do fall, and are last to be chosen in a team.

This is driving me crazy, for I cannot escape: the ones who have fun in teasing me are too much.

They do it very clever, always out of eyeside of the teachers, so how can I prove it?

And the remarks they make all sound very innocent, special when you do not know they call this things every day. Or in what spiteful tone it is done.

Each day it becomes harder to face this, and now my last resting place, they did not find before, and where I was feeling safe , also is gone: they followed me and found it.

That makes: there is no place to feel safe outside my home with my wagging dog, sitting on the porch, associating the view from there with rest and freedom of all this.

Untill today.

Today arrived this letter. It contains a challenge, and when I do not meet the conditions, they areteasing even more, they promised. What this challenge is?

I hardly can think of it, but I do not have a choice: on the carnival is an attraction, where you go very high up in the sky.

You have to climb the stairway yourself, stand on a plateau. There they put an armor on you, and you have to jump down.

I hate it to be harassed, to be afraid to go to school or sports, what Mommy and Daddy want me to do: to become a self-assured young lady.

So here I stand before the attraction. A few hundred meters away stands my Daddy with his camera, for he thinks I do this for fun, and to be freed of my high fever. He thinks I am a dapper girl.

But there is one thing that keeps me going: tonight I had a dream.

A miraculous dream: I did see my guardian Angel besides my bed. And she did speak to me: "You can do this challenge tomorrow. Our Lord has sent me to tell you, Him and me are watching over you.

And when you have done this, you make yourself a kind of hero, for none of the teasers dares to do what you are going to do. Do you trust me telling the truth?"

I only could nod my head, speechless for such a message, but then asked: "Why?"

"Well, the Lord has some important things in mind for you, but for that you have to find your inner strength. You do need to be brave and courageous to do, what He has in mind for you."

With these words she disappeared.

I was in awe: an Angel telling me I had a purpose in life?

Therefore I now climb this stairway, let me put in the breastplate and jump.

And during the jump I will think of my Angel: Angels have wings, so in case of emergency she can catch me.

But when our Lord did tell me He had something to do for me later in my life, that will not be necessary, I think.

So here I go, counting the steps, before I fly like the Angel I dreamed about tonight.

And tomorrow: that will be a brand new beginning: no more teasing.

Finally I will be able to be who I really am: ME.

Coming home in Rotterdam.

*
 
After a long watch I cannot

help myself to smoke

a last self rolled cigarette.

Searching out about the endlessly

magnificent wideness of the

continuously moving water

my legs do stand sturdy on deck.

The game of always during, never

stopping movement of the in

spectral colours falling apart

water-droplets, that seem to be

forever the same gives

rest to the feeling, but also exists

as radiating colours for my eyes.

Homesickness seems for one moment

Just as far away as the sound-play

of the water I do miss when

home ashore.

It does not seem to be important

what happens ashore:

the fluently movement

absorbs al my worries.

Until I finally am able to

entangle my eyes from the waves

and observe we are mooring

at the Wilhelminapier.

When I do see Hotel New York,

I realize I am home.

Home in Rotterdam, where it

Is just as important what does

happen ashore as

on the water.

Rotterdam does offer me a

reversed sailors-life

until I embark again,

aware of the fact, there

always be homesickness,

as well aboard my ship

as ashore in Rotterdam.

(This is a tribute to my father, a real sailor from Rotterdam.)

ANGELS IN DISGUISE

By Nan Van Daalen-Sypkens

One, who ever had the possibility to be one, will never forget.

And the extra effect is, one always recognizes another afterward, while in your heart and soul stays that memory, like etched in diamond, scratch free forever.
How come?
Well, once, without realizing, I was playing an Angel in disguise myself, with the help of some workmates.
In the last years I was working, did work for a cable communication firm, being responsible for delivering connection boxes at the right time and place.
(And with that controlling: had my workmates done the right appointment, did they look if a street, they did make that appointment for, had already cable laid, so the connection was possible.)
I had to work with several other firms and one special day there came a very sad call: “Nan, can you do me a favor? I do know the waiting list is 3 months but this is special…”
“How come, all want cable connection now, preferably even yesterday! So what does this one make so very special?”
“Cancer,” was the answer, “this girl has send home from children’s oncology ward to home, while there is nothing they can do anymore but sedate.”
Well, that makes it worth an extra fast step, where does she live, and what kind of PC does she have?”
“She does live there and has a laptop from the children’s hospital in loan, so she can connect with her school and the doctors.”
I did look on the map and what I was afraid of, was true: the main street had cable, the side streets not yet. “Well, do not promise anything, but I am afraid it will be nearly impossible in a short time. That street is not even connected yet.”
I did hear a disappointed sigh, and my friend on the other side of the line ended the conversation.
I could not get the little girl out of my head, and in 15 minutes I had to go to the storehouse, to ask for something. And by miracle the head of the outside crew was in. I could not stop myself and told about her, also telling, I did see on my personal map, that it was just around the corner of a connection box, which still had an open space… Could he for this time spare a man from another job to utilize that please?
And while the parents themselves had not a computer yet, and the team also was involved in the school pc project, could that man please look if all worked as it should?
If there was some overtime involved, I had some hours to spare… was prepared to give them away.
In short: the same day the cable was laid, my workmates re-programmed the laptop for the school project so that connection was not lost either, and a very happy girl had spoken with her friends on the wards in hospital before going to bed.
It really had been a team effort that only needed to be coordinated with willing mates.
The next morning my phone rang… nothing out of the ordinary you do think.
But it was: a nearly crying mom told me, that by all the setbacks and illnesses she had lost faith in human kind, while besides the teacher at school and the specialist, everybody did avoid her, was delaying things in a way that said: why bother for that few months. Nobody from counsel would help, nobody from former friends, even from the church came by to lent a helping hand while it was for years already.
Now she could believe there was kindness and compassion still. Would I be so kind to say thank to all, that made this possible?
Yes, I did. I went to the canteen after a special other call, and everybody had something delightful that day with his cup of coffee.
Some said, it did feel like wings grew on their back, so full of joy everybody was when the full story went known. Yes, I had to put everybody with both feet on the ground again to get some more work done that day, looking also to myself as well. I did feel an instrument of something bigger than us.
Christians would say: you did His work, Buddhists call that Karma, call it whatever you like.
But I am certain, once in your life, you get back, what you did willingly for another.
And today, after reading my e-mail, and finding someone doing a thing like that for me, I am even more certain: the old Dutch saying: ‘who does good, meets good’ is true!
Yes, some people have the possibility to be an Angel in disguise… even for one day.

 

SHARING TIME

Behind the silver-grey hair
still was shimmering
the dark, glistening glow
that the young man so proudly
combed into a flower-child hair-due.

Under the expanding hips
she still recognized that
slender, light footed step
that the young man so proudly
let walk towards her.

Behind the grumbling voice
she still did hear
the desire from the past
that the young man so proudly
stretched his arms toward her.

Under the lingering body on the couch
was still hiding silently
the curious mind
of the young man that so proudly
wanted to discover the whole world.

In the glistening eyes
was still gleaming the light
of the radiant love
that the young man so proudly
shared with his young bride.

In all her essential being
she realized that when she
so intensely looked at him,
that that old young man so proudly
still shared his life with her.