How To End A Year

In honor of New Year's Eve 2022.

"a time flows into another like a dazzling river

beckoning you to drink."

Samuel A. Betiku: “During a class, a lecturer I greatly admire said: ‘It’s a dangerous thing to live in the past; don’t allow yourself to be left behind.’ This poem was the aftermath of the impression those words had on me.”

 

They Tell Us The Design of the World Says:

"Becoming Elder" 

was not a conscious plan

for a theme this week yet,

it seems to have presented itself.

This quote has been waiting in the wings

for several weeks.

We must write new myths

and shift our own thinking

about our own and others aging.

One thought at a time,

with unconditional love

for ourselves.

No matter how blasphemous it may feel.  

Each one of us deserves

the reverence and regard

befitting royalty. . . from ourself.

Think of ourselves as whole and holy.

This is where the ripples originate.

The ripples that form the river of goodness.

This is how we change the world.

kastilwell

Pro-aging

I had not heard the word "anti-aging" 

before reading this quote.  

However, I am intimately familiar

with the thought process.

How it permeates our world

and seeps into our cells.

There are societies where elders

are actually revered and honored.

Here, we must provide the

reverence and honor 

for ourselves and each other.

Let those ripples spread!

kastilwell

 

Saying Goodbye

I'm still recovering from

having the wind knocked out of me

reading this poem.

(Some of you receive

Rosemerry's daily poems.

I'm curious if it affects you like it does me?)

The thought behind this

is the kind of beautiful 

that makes me weep 

with an incredulous delight,

a dumbfounded wonder.

I want to wrap it around me

like a forever shawl,

 a new skin.

"it's dark and it's sweet

and it's terrifying,

this thread that reminds us

just how much we belong

to the rest of the world, 

this thread we can't untie

even if we wanted to."

I would add the fervent hope

and the enigmatic belief

that this thread can be healed,

rewoven even, in the 

frayed places where human frailties 

cause harm and suffering to others?

kastilwell

 

The World Is A Tree

Douglas-Klotz is a "friend",

from a different time in my life.

His books changed my life.

I was delighted to run across this quote.

How well it describes the state of things.

So many years were spent

seeking the "rotten apples" of

a "success" that doesn't exist,

 a perfection that isn't real.

Once I turned around and

noticed the trees,

really noticed them,

everything changed.

kastilwell

 

Everything Ripples Outward

 https://www.juliafehrenbacher.com/

This quote landed with a strong thud

over the weekend and I'm taking note.

My ripples are not always as loving

as I'd like them to be.

I hope they can be spiffed up a bit

through the movement?

Treating myself with love and respect

is a surprisingly (or not so surprising)

awkward and clumsy enterprise.

The tracks for self censure,

chiseled deeply over years,

require serious sweat equity

in the sweeping away.

Thankfully, there is grace in the water

magnifying small efforts;

and generosity in the air

amplifying even weak intentions.

"Be mindful of my ripples"

is my mantra.

kastilwell

No Matter How Dark

 This felt like exactly the right thought

for this "dark" week.

I hope everyone is safe and warm with 

their power functioning.

The wind is fierce and there's snow on the ground.

Giving myself over to transformation

is a humbling thought.

One I sincerely want to control.

However, still growing and still living

are exquisitely worthwhile pursuits.

I'm willing to loosen the reins, as

letting go of them seems overly passive;

and ride the river.

kastilwell

Dark Praise

 This poem has cultivated much thought for me.

With a start, I realized my entire insides 

have been operating their stunning processes

in the dark for all the years I've lived.

Bones, muscles, organs, 

blood flowing steadily through veins…

tributaries of life reaching into the sky of my skin 

to bring essential nourishment and oxygen 

to wee cells doing the work of mighty engines...

all this happening in the dark throughout my body.

The sperm and ovum which became me

came from the separate darkness

of my parents and met in the dark.

 I grew in the dark of my mother's womb.

I'm no longer giving preference to the light.

I'm seeing the dark as equally essential,

and just as beautiful and complex as light.

kastilwell

Solstice

 "To touch with tremulous light, 

interior places it has not lit before."

There's something 

mysterious and beguiling

about what is revealed in darkness.

I'm including another poem today in honor

of our darkest day of the year.

kastilwell

Walking into Winter Solstice Because it is dark I walk in the dark, walk with no moon, walk with the chill of the measureless dark. There is peace that comes from letting the self be with the world as it is, and tonight, it’s a dark world, a world where I cannot see far ahead, a world of silhouette and suggestion, a world that seems to cherish whispers and relish mystery, a world where the invitation is to walk in the dark without wishing it away, without championing its opposite, the invitation is to be one who learns how to live with the dark. Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer ordwoman.com

To Work In The Dark

How to be intimate with the dark

while holding my own light?

That is the question gently

humming through my bones today.

kastilwell

 

If Each Day Falls Inside Each Night

 I cannot explain exactly how this thought moves me;

only that it does.

To contemplate a well imprisoning clarity

is more than enough of a meditation.

"To sit on the rim of the well of darkness

fishing for fallen light with patience." ?

What is fallen light other than darkness itself?

Isn't it possible that inky, utter darkness can be light as well?

kastilwell

The Incremental Nature of Change

 This is such a powerful thought.

To recognize the "small victories" 

contribute to significant change

in ourselves and in our world.

"The incremental nature of change".

Each stitch, each row, each section

is a victory...

repeat, repeat, repeat

and you have a garment.

Each breath,

each thought,

each shift of perspective,

each softening of armor,

repeat, repeat, repeat;

and you have a better life,

a better neighborhood,

a better world.

kastilwell

No One Person

As an introvert who has always

leaned toward a few deep friendships

gathering more friends sounds complicated.

Friendship is a treasure

not to be taken lightly.

I like the idea of 

making room at my table.

It just occurred to me 

how many poets and writers

have taken a place at my table 

recently and over the years.

I'd like to think that counts 

as friendships?

Perhaps its best to relax,

continue to treasure the friends I have,

and be open to new ones as they appear.

kastilwell

Gladness is Nourishing

Such a simple gesture...

to smile and greet someone

even if we see them everyday

and aren't feeling especially effusive.

It leaves a mark...

for you and for them...

one to be carried with us

making the glow stronger

as it ripples.

An invisible river of light.

kastilwell

 

The Power of the Light We Carry

"One light feeds another."

Thinking about this truth

as I've witnessed it often 

renews my intention to

focus on the light 

of love and compassion.

It inspires me to be that light.

It inspires me to look for the light in others.

It makes me endlessly grateful

for those people and places

that glow quietly and consistently,

generously passing their light to me

so I can carry it onward.

kastilwell

 

 

 

 

 

Each of us Carries

This is such a potent thought.

In reading the book, 

I was struck to realize

I'm so focused 

on finding my own light,

I neglect to look for it in others.

That's a game changer for me.

Consider the thought

you also carry the love light 

of your dear ones who have

left this earth. 

Our light glows brighter

as we meet up with other's.

kastilwell

 

A Forest is a Sacred Place

The necessity of trees and forests to life on earth

is the key message of this beautifully written book.

The author shares her journey of discovery

in a story that inspires me

to see the majesty of the forest 

and the exquisite offerings

trees provide.

kastilwell

 

The Oak is a Metropolis

 Even though comparative thinking 

is one of those things we're encouraged NOT to do,

comparing my human lifetime to the lifetime of an Oak,

is a lesson in humility and awe.

One half the design for a complex human

implanted in a sperm is marvel enough.

It's astonishing to consider what is embedded

in one acorn!

kastilwell

The Trees Comfort

Her feelings for the trees

led her to learn more and the learning

led to observing and experiencing

a life with trees.

It's a remarkable story of how

science can enhance and expand one's knowledge

and how one's own observations

and experience accentuate academics.

She demonstrates a life lived

in connection with the Earth.

We're all richer for it.

kastilwell

 

Trees Offer Solutions

What if humans could learn to relate 

to the forest rather than exploit? 

To actually listen and watch?

To treat ki with respect as a living entity.

(I was using the pronoun it again.

Changed it to ki.)

That feels better.

As someone who was taught

to see trees and plants as objects,

things change when I view them this way.

There's a shift inside that feels 

so much more connected to my surroundings.

kastilwell

PS: Walking in the rain yesterday,

I was treated to a view of this creature.

Isn't it beautiful?

Marbled Orbweaver 

Araneus marmoreus

--sometimes called 

the Pumpkin Spider.

A Way To Save Our World

 I'm dedicating this week's quotes 

to "To Speak for the Trees" by Diana B-Kroeger.

Her story fascinates me as much as Beryl Markham's.

I confess to more than a spot of envy at her experience.

Beginning with her being brought up in the ancient Celtic way.

I'm grateful she shares it with us through her story.

"the majesty of nature calls to us

in a voice beyond our imaginations."

I am listening to her call.

kastilwell

You Are The Stranger

"You are the stranger."

You don't have to be alone 

in the cockpit of an aeroplane

to encounter this stranger.

kastilwell

 

Inspiration and Impulse

As soon as I began to write something about this quote,

I began to see it's not as straightforward as I originally thought.

It certainly speaks to the ambiguity in making some choices.

When the outcome proves "bad", might there be 

cause to consider one's intention and be merciful?

kastilwell