The World Asks

What are your thoughts on this?

I confess, my first response is resentment.

Why must we always be asked for more?

And who's asking for it?

Dignity?  Decency?  Goodness?

Ok, I get that. 

And I get that we have more strength than we realize.

And we do keep giving it because we are decent people.

At the same time, I wish for good people being replenished

and respected, and rewarded for all they continue to give.

That's where things become truly amazing 

because good people don't expect or request that.

They find them in the daily delights they learn to lean on

when things are hard and heavy. They find joy 

in their generosity and know how to care for themselves and each other.

That is the marvel...the magnificence.

I am so very grateful for those who answer the call for goodness

and spread their energy to others,

no matter who is making the call.

Namaste

 

Mum Is The Word

"the members seek implicit permission not to speak,

not to answer or to answer for, not to pose

chat, persuade or expound."

Can you imagine attending such a meeting?

I know I would want to chat...at least a little bit.

How else can we get to know each other?

By facial expressions and body language?

"Minutes are read silently and tacitly approved."

Reading silently together intrigues me .

I've heard there are clubs who do this.

Everyone brings their book and they sit

together reading silently.

I would find it nearly impossible not to speak

about what I was reading.  I love the 

process of sharing with others and

hearing their thoughts...up to a point.

That's where the practice of patience is pertinent.

"Podium and gavel have been banned,

indeed are viewed as weaponry.

 A microphone? The horror."

No one "in charge"?

No facilitator to guide the proceedings?

 I'd like to think this was possible, yet

I'm having a hard time imagining it.

I can think of so many settings where

it would be catastrophic.

My favorite line:

"After the tone, listen."

And the singular, most important word,

in my view is: LISTEN.

And with that I wish you

a quiet, listening namaste.

 

Baggage Claim

There is so much heart in this poem.

"Some of us worked harder, like your heart back then,

carried your case to Senators and secretaries,

anyone who'd listen, beating doors, spelling it out

until they let you in."

These lines choke me up...there are so many places

to direct this kind of energy, and together we

are doing it over and over and over again.

This whole poem chokes me up, over and over.

"Iran's gone dark, and you have long since vanished from the news.

4 months old then, you'd be 9 now if you'd thrived."

Things are much worse in Iran than what we are going through.

"If your heart fails yet again, and you dream of sanctuary,

any hint of a heart left in this country we once believed we knew,

you will find us next to the free lawyers in baggage claim...

our arms wide open."

Like I said earlier, this chokes me up.  

How can such an incredibly good group of citizens

 be at the mercy of such heartless leaders?

We cannot give up...we must recalibrate and

correct the wrongs being committed in our name.

We must recover from damaged hearts.

We are mighty in numbers and we are accomplishing this, together.

Namaste

 

Maybe Death Isn't Darkness

This is so deeply mystical, I'm not sure any commentary is necessary.

"Maybe death is an energetic tide rising

& rising to meet the sacred breath of the universe."

There is something appealing about 

merging our essence with the universe.

Similar to becoming soil.

"Maybe it is what meets us 

at our deepest depth,

an inteminable silence

illuminating the body from within...

I'd like to think this might be possible while alive.

Namaste

 

The Flourishing To Come

I've thought of this "planting seeds in Minnesota"

many times since reading it; trying to think of ways

I can do the same here in NC.

We can see the seeds growing and thriving can't we?

Personally, I welcome them becoming invasive.

Turning the bare spots in my heart into a lush green.

Supressing weeds of hate, cruelty, and hierarchical systems.

As the time to plant seeds comes closer, or has already

risen in indoor gardens, the metaphor becomes stronger 

and even more beautiful.

"Imagine the beauty if even half these seeds take."

More and more people planting seeds of kindness,

compassion, community, ferocity....filling our

homes, landscapes, streets, alleys, industrial parks,

and business centers, with generous jewelweed, 

with open-handed oranges, with lavish lilies,

 heartwarming hepatica, bountiful blood root 

and benevolent bluets.

Wouldn't that be something?

"Imagine all that goodness reseeding,

spreading like wildflowers.

It would be like a pandemic of plenty,

an epidemic of equality.

a jungle of true justice for all.

Namaste

 

 

Fact Checking

 "How many other stories do I trust every day

not thinking to look them up?"

My husband always double checks everything.

When he applies this to what I share on social media and

points out when it's wrong, it irritates me no end.

Mostly because he's correct which means I

made a mistake in passing along misinformation. 

It's an ego thing. I hate when I make mistakes.

"The world has never been swampier.

The need to check what we're told is great."

Isn't this the truth?  We are being invaded 

by numerous master manipulators. Rearranging

facts to suit their false narratives, gaslighting

and pointing fingers unaware that four of the five 

point back at them.

One in particular comes to mind.  

"Face him.  Raise your arms.  Back away slow.

Don't turn your back is you can help it.

They look more like people than you think."

I love the irony! Who's the gator?

What To Do In The Darkness

"Go slowly."

This is superb advice in almost any circumstance.

I'm finding, at this advanced juncture, that even when

I'm late and hurrying so as not to keep someone waiting,

 this counsel is most helpful.

"Consent to it

But don't wallow in it

(I'm holding myself back from adding punctuation)

Consent to it feels different from accept it, doesn't it?

It adds a sense of agency and openness to discovery of something unknown.

It naturally follows to. . .

"Know it as a place of germination 

and growth"

Personally, this is where patience appears 

and asks to be practiced.

"Remember the light"

May our memory be strong enough

to remind us of light filled moments throughout life.

"Take an outstretched hand 

if you find one"

And if you don't, trust yourself. 

Take care of your precious self.

"Exercise unused senses"

Listening comes to mind,

as does feeling what's happening

inside my body...something I tend to ignore.

Find the path by walking it

Feel your way...by touch

and by instinct.

"Practice trust

Watch for dawn"

From time spent lying awake at night,

I want to add patience to the practice of trust.

And watch for dawn like we're watching for goodness.

They are both dependable; dawn being predictable,

while goodness is random and often a surprise.

Namaste

NOTE: I had another post prepared for today and rejected it.Here is the link if you want to take a look. 

 Be forewarned...I would not consider it uplifting.