A Quiet Kind of Violence

The irony here is a sharp blow.

How many times have I said those words,

or thought them?

How many times have I said them to myself?

I cringe when I think of saying them to others...

others going through tragedies 

I could only begin to imagine

and imagine insufficiently.

I appreciate the way these words

put those words in their place.

Reminding me to remember everyone

suffers in different ways.

It also reminds me of what a grief stricken mother

wrote after one of her children took their own life.

"I learned to translate everything people said to me into: 

"I love you and care about what you're going through."

Regardless of how awkward or presumptuous.

I was moved by her generous spirit and kind heartedness, 

by her lack of condemnation toward those

who really didn't know what to say but cared enough

to say something.

It's a worthy reminder for when Lady Judgement

enters the scene, isn't it?

Namaste'

 

Lines Written

How did I miss this beauty by M.O.?

"knowing as we must, how the vivacity of what was

is married to the vitality of what will be?

What a bequiling way to describe the descent into winter.

It reminds me to bow my head in gratitude and respect

to all the fading flowers and fallen leaves; 

to honor with my attention, however fleeting it might be.

"So let us go on, cheerfully enough. . .

though the sun be swinging east,

and the ponds be cold and black, 

and the sweets of the year be doomed.

I think of these lines as I encounter the 

brown and drooping skeletons

in my mini meadow...

remember with delight how

gorgeous they were a short time ago.

Then I take a minute to recognize what

these dull and drooping skeletons provide...

seed-holders, wind-catchers...there is dignity

in their quiet release, their slow crumble.

Look deeper, it seems to whisper.

Beneath their remnants, insects overwinter, 

fungi weave their intricate maze, 

and the soil absorbs their petals.

It was a fruitful minute, giving me

a wider field of vision and a deeper

understanding of what lies beneath.

Namaste'

 

Love What You Love

"when you stop trying to be something other,

when you settle here on this morning;"

and drink your tea or coffee, listen to the rain,

watch the sun reappear, relish the new day.

You are living your "one, precious life."

"you treat yourself as a treasure, nestle inside 

your own wintering bones--whole body opening, opening.

I sincerely hope you know how to treat yourself as treasure.

What a gift to cherish yourself ... not one single rejected component.

Recognize the divine creature living within your skin.

She matters greatly.

Treat her with utmost dignity.

Namaste' 

 

Trying To Transform

"You build from the ground up."

There is a paradox here and I love it.

Building from the ground up?

To me, the ground we are living on is 

one of the most powerful entities on Earth, if not the universe.

The soil that has absorbed centuries of harm,
the waters that have carried away what we could not bear,
the forests that have stood as quiet witnesses to our forgetting.

It matters greatly in the matter of

"people living in dignity and hope".

It matters in "transforming a brutalized society."

To contemplate that transforming our society

from the ground up means starting with

the ground we're living on, fits perfectly 

into my idea of what is necessary.

Millions of us understand that healing our earth is not separate 

from healing ourselves or our society. It is the same work.

Healing our Earth is a matter of utmost urgency for ALL of us

to be able to live in dignity and hope.

May we contiue the work of transformation—rooted, gently, determined.

May we see it in our minds eye so we can create it in physical reality.

The ground is our guide. Let it show us the way.

It matters.

We matter.

Namaste'

 

December Comes

"patiently waiting to be held before we move on"

It makes me smile that May thinks this might be the case.

Truth told, I would not have thought of that had she not mentioned it.

Nor would I have considered...

"all the selves I've been this year standing beside each other";

until now.

I might want to start paying more attention to my more pleasant selves.

The grumpy ones seem to hog the show.

"Let the tough moments teach you, not define you."

This idea bears strong and frequent consideration.

May your day be filled with goodness.

Namaste'

 

Trans As In Beyond

"Trans as in beyond, reaching for the possible."

This is what I love about words...

they can shift the meaning in a few short strokes.

This was a personal example of how hearing things

can lay down interpretations subconsciously and why

 being aware of how I'm being influenced by them invites contemplation.

I avoid using the word "God" because, for me, it does not adequately

describe the Force of Goodness alive and present in the world.

It's a trigger word that carries unnecessary divisions and misinterpretations.

It's interesting.  I just realized the word "trans" is following a similar path.

A bell sounds inside that announces conflict ahead.  

My first instinct is to take cover by skirting around it.

Today I am taking a different path and using words to navigate the discord.

It's why my attention was captured when I read; 

"trans as in beyond, as in reaching for the possible."

This post is unexpectedly providing a vivid example of the power of words...

how words can be used to:

 wreak havoc as well as assuage contention;

 invite curiosity and lead to avoiding complicated differences;

 expand understanding and increase alienation; 

 intensify conflict as well as take a step toward resolution.

As someone once said, "use your words wisely".

I would add, HEAR your words wisely.

Investigate those that cause you to turn toward them

and those that generate a turning away.

It matters.

We're in this together. I'm grateful you are here.

Namaste'

 

Same

Isn't this spot on?

"Maybe instead it needs us to reach those who feel alone

in their messy homes or difficult relationships or unresolved issues."

I resonate with all of the above.  I love my home but it does stay messy.

No matter how many times I tidy up.  

I won't let my life be about how neat my house was.

That's the rebel in me.

(Yet, I cringe in embarrassment at the thought 

of someone "dropping in". So rude.)

"To impress less and connect more."

Yes.  

Yes.  

Yes.

Let's do more of that!

Less judgment, especially of ourselves, and each other,

and more "same, same, same.

Namaste'