The Heavy

"We are carrying the heaviest things these days."

Everyone has their own brands of heavies,

 debilitated siblings in need of our care,

growing children requiring constant attention,

demanding jobs depleting our energy banks,

volunteers filling in the gaps others can't manage,

distruptions to our well laid plans,

our own illnesses or those of family members,

unforeseen calamities that must be addressed.

The list goes on.

"All of us staggered by the weight of cruelty

and meanness of a corrupt leader and his

minions in what we used to think of as

our country, the land of the free,

the home of the brave."

We don't know how long it will be

before a strong recalibration occurs.

It might be wise to condition ourselves

in case its a longer struggle than we foresee.

So let us, just for a moment, put down

the heavy, rest our arms, take a load off.

Let us write. . . today will be my peaceful day.

Then breathe mindfully, sending

kindness and compassion into the world.

Today will be my peaceful day...

belly breathe and relax the tight muscles

on guard against the barrage.

Concentrate on kindness and compassion.

Wherever we go, breathe it into the atmosphere.

It will feel like so little. It may look

like nothing. But, the monks would

tell you, it is everything to awaken

the peace that lives within us all.

May it be so...peace like a mighty river

moving anything obstructing its path 

with gentleness and determination.

We are moving this river with our 

neighborliness, our self care, 

and our big-heartedness.

Namaste'

 

Currents

"There is, even now, a rising flood of love. 

It will move anything that tries to impede it."

I draw this thought close wrapping it around myself.

We are seeing it happen...driven by so many small, 

unheralded acts of kindness and compassion.

"When I can't hear the flood of love,

that's when I know it is up to me to share

love so someone else hears the currents I'm listening for."

So many of us sharing our love in a myriad of ways

that others can't help but hear the currents.

Can't help but feel the waves and be moved by them.

"Together we make unstoppable waves--how they roar."

May we continue to create little whirlpools and see them grow

and expand becoming the mighty thunderous flood of love 

that will move anything standing in its way.

Namaste

 

Love Big

Some of us love big....quietly, 

some of us love with heaps of complaining.

Every time I read this, I think what a gift it is

to know that loving doesn't always feel 

intoxicatingly wonderful.

Sometimes it can feel heavy and almost unbearable.

That's when the whole hearted part kicks in 

and you love anyway.

You stay and love through the hard, hard parts.

That's the wonder of it, isn't it?

It's intricate and inscrutable.

Thank you for your big love.

Namaste

 

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