There Are Mornings

"Some mornings in summer, I step outside

and the sky opens and pours itself into me..."

Isn't it interesting?  

Even if its raining, the sky is pouring itself into me...

"But the plot calls for me to live, be ordinary, 

This resonates like a quiet gong with me.

It's everything to "live and be ordinary."

"...say nothing to anyone."

Hmmm...how can one manage this?

It seems ironic to hear a poet recommend saying nothing.

Plus, don't we all speak whether we say anything or not?

Doesn't our body, our presence, speak constantly?

The energy we carry may be silent, 

yet isn't it still telling its own story?

This makes me want to listen more carefully.

Why are the "mirrors burning"?

 

Hope

"in the spaciousness of uncertainty is room to act."

The question for each of us is: what is mine to do?

"you may be able to influence the outcome --

you alone or in concert with a few dozen or

several million others."

Every Friday, when my daughter calls me

on her way home from work in MO,

she toots her horn at the No Kings folks

who are rallying along her route.

This comes to mind as I read these words.

I am so grateful and inspired to know this 

is happening miles and miles away and 

in so many places across our country.

In big ways and small, people are resisting tyranny.

"It's the belief that what we do matters

even though how and when it may matter,

who and what it may impact, are not things

we can know beforehand.

So don't judge or compare your mattering!

Go about your particular business knowing

you are making an impact for the good.

 

The First Great Thing

"deliverance will not come from

the rushing noisy centers of civilization."

I had some questions around the word deliverance

when I considered sharing this quote.

It brought up some unsavory thoughts in my mind.

However, when I saw Miriam Webster's 

first definition was "liberation", I proceeded.

There are other associations I'm going to dismiss.

"It will come from the lonely places."

It's hard to admit I have lonely places.

Not solitude as in happily engaged with

my own adventures; which is where I'm drawn to,

but lonely as in forlorn, missing out, blue.

Is that where liberation comes from?

I know my appreciation for the medicine

I receive from going outside 

when feeling lonely, blue, confused, 

undecided and/or overwhelmed 

grows as the years stack up.

I’m thinking Mother Earth 

could be the best path to deliverance.

 

All That's Required Of You

"In the end, isn't this all that's required of you?

To drink in what you love,  to concentrate it

in the crucible of your body, 

and, finally, to bloom."

Drinking in what we love...

isn't this the easiest of occupations?

Drinking in the majesty of  

dandelions and mosses,

 earthworms and fungi,

 honeybees, ants and ladybugs,

slugs, spiders, and lichens...

contributing their often overlooked

elegance to our world.

I haven't even gotten to the flowers, trees,

rivers, mountains, ocean and sky yet.

And then there's outer space.

Isn't this intoxicating?

 

When Days Feel Heavy

"Joy that sits beside our sorrow and doesn't walk away."

This is the line that touched my heart and drew me in.

". . .not to erase grief, or answer every question,

but to hold us season after season."

When grief and sorrow take hold of me,

 my strongest inclination is to put as much distance

between us as possible.  To shout NO, NO, NO!

Now I'm asking myself what if I turned toward them?

What if instead of running away, I entered into their space and 

spent some time in their painful presence? 

I can hear the inner voices chiding me for "being negative".

I think I'll ignore them the next time they show up

and see what happens.  It's not negative to be human...fully human.

I realize there are many who are intimately familiar

with their painful, excruciating presence and have no choice

but to show up and live what is happening. 

I bend my knee to you and what you're going through.

Thank you for being here.

May joy find you, always.

 

The Air I Am Breathing

"The elements of the universe are engaged

in their ceremony of delight."

Isn't this delicious?  

"This is my religion."

It cannot be contained inside any building. 

It cannot be contained within a set of beliefs... 

a holy book, 

a closed heart,

or a made-up mind.

They can contribute but not contain...

They can participate but not complete.

 

Listen, I Want To Tell You Something

"I can't tell you what prayer is, but I can 

take the breath of the meadow

into my mouth and I can release it 

for the leaves' green need."

My favorite line, 

a poet's description of photosynthesis. 

in this exuberant cheer

for the countless contributions,

strewn throughout an ordinary day

in this amazing world we live in...