Instructions For Perseverance

"I can sing through anything."

How I delight in this ode to chickadee.

This tribute to determination,

to perseverance,

to persistence.

The climate is frigid right now,

despite the delightful spring weather,

especially for those targeted by discrimination.

We must emulate the chickadee

protecting and defending 

everyone's right to dignity.

kastilwell

 

Safety Net

What a beautiful image--

this net to catch us all.

"Believing only in the fall.

But the net is just as real."

The programming of the fall is deep...

How different would the world be

if we'd been taught as diligently about the net?

Taught to believe that together, we make it 

tangible, strong, long lasting and unbreakable?

And no one has to pay for it in any way

other than being themselves and doing their best?

"the net is there for us as

we walk the days tightrope."

I'm grateful to Rosemerry for

giving me this image so I can

"notice how every tie matters."

kastilwell

 

The Awakening

What an excellent description 

of the River of Goodness.

To remember "we are more each other

and still somehow ourselves."

"Trusting our uniting currents"

is key, I believe.

kastilwell

 

Seeking Purpose

 For someone who constantly searches for purpose...

this poem goes right to the heart of it.

It's not laid out in clear, unmistakeable terms.

In my experience, it comes through paying attention

and being open to surprises and unexpected situations.

Some of the most enduring meaning comes when things are wretched.

There are many invitations to turn dross into gold.

Everything carries the potential for transformation.

A Different Holding Pattern

"If I am to hold the world in my heart,

let me hold it the way leaves hold sunshine,

trapping the energy not for the sake of holding it,

but to transform it into nourishment."

Let the bitters do their part,

providing contrast and tension,

But let the light lead the parade,

its spice provide the scintillating taste,

the deep, dark sustenance.

And, the sugar, 

be generous with the sugar,

throw in another handful,

there's always room for sweetness.

Fold it gently into the batter,

let the fragrance fill the landscape,

inviting all the neighbors.

Bake at infinite degrees,

distribute lavishly.

Gather the leftovers

and repeat.

kastilwell

 

The Bailiff Of The Heart

While doing mediation,

I spent some time in courtrooms.

Perhaps that's why this poem 

impresses me so much.

Finding love in the courtroom,

especially in the stern faced bailiff,

stretches your powers of imagination.

But isn't that what love does?

Stretching your assumptions

into seeing something differently,

more spaciously, 

with a more generous perspective?

It somersaults the storyline.

"She long ago gave up believe in justice.

Still, she believes in love."

kastilwell

 

The Plant People Have Taught Me

I am immensely grateful

for the plant people in my world.

They are an exquisite variety 

whom I cherish with all my heart.

I love the idea of all of us

"in a field ablaze with dignity and beauty

together."

kastilwell

 

Believe In A Love

I say spend your inheritance

while you live.

The more you spend,

the more it increases.

The returns on this investment

are astronomical.

kastilwell

 

Our Job In This Life

Who are you today?

During yesterday's launch for her new book,

Rosemerry W. Trommer read her poem "Losing It"

ticking off all the different "selves"

she's been throughout her life.

The different identities she'd taken on

and let go of, or lost along the way.

How we think those labels are who we are.

She suggests we shed those roles,

and think about who would be

left to witness the sunset

or the new birds at the feeder,

or the first fragile blooms of spring

appearing on the forest floor.

This quote calls it a job.

I call it an adventure,

an exploration,

a discovery.

Who are you now?

kastilwell

The Object We Call A Book

This made me pause and ponder.

There's a string of books in my life

that significantly expanded my perspective.

However, it wasn't until the "seed" of Sand Talk

that it germinated. --  

Where along the trajectory of my life

did I get the idea that books

held some higher authority?

Echos of parochial school?

Can any book be considered 

a static repository of truth?

(I include holy books of religions.) 

Aren't they more like photos?

A record of a moment in time?

Maybe a photo album is a better metaphor

-- moments across time like in the bible or history books. 

Aren't even textbooks temporary records?

I love the metaphor of the seed or the musical score.

Both contain an invitation to something more--

engagement, attention and a "bringing to life"

of those marks on the page.

kastilwell

 

So Easy To Forget We Are Treasure

Words by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Collage by Rashina Rea "Beneath All Appearances"

Encouraging words to begin a new week.

A brief glimpse of spring for some in the North

returns to snowfall and winter this morning.

For us further South,

its cooler but sans snow. 

"Amazing how easily

we are fooled into believing

we're paupers."

I am creaking open,

pressing my hand to your heart.

kastilwell

A Life's Work

 My one change to this 

would be to omit the word "work".

kastilwell

The World Has Never Needed Beauty More

 "there is a thing called joy, 

 it dances with small pleasures, 

both of them are tender weapons, 

 they build bridges, 

and stand on top of the ugly things 

that try to steal and to destroy."

Where is your joy seeded today?

What small pleasures feed its roots?

The path to your patch of delight

may contain thorny branches

tearing at your clothes and skin,

Suit up and forge a trail,

negotiate your way over poison ivy,

let your footsteps be gentle and attentive,

you may discover companion plants,

coexisting and collaborating

harmonizing with your joy.

Leading you where you

did not know you could go.

kastilwell

I Need A Kind of Spiritual Inhalation

How grateful I am for these words this morning.

 After a long, long County Commissioner's meeting,

"searching for the preciousness of small things" is essential.

How to see a divisive and decidedly difficult situation

with a more spacious perspective?

I'm holding tiny blooms on the goldenseal 

thriving in a substantial patch as my "ordinary miracle".

I planted seeds years ago and gave up on them

after seeing nothing grow year after year.

A distinct antidote to the distress of discord.

So many well-intentioned and good hearted people

struggling to find the right steps going forward.

There for those long hours because they care

in their own particular way, for this community.

Some, on both sides of the issue,

were stunningly beautiful with their words.

May we continue to cultivate joy

with an eye toward tiny and spectacular.

kastilwell

Perhaps what we need more than anything

www.liezelgraham.com

"how the earth was a rich Mother, 

wearing lichen on her eyelids..."

A rich symphony of 

thoughts and words, 

along with the images they evoke,

to cradle us through our days.

"how love leaves her signature all around us."

I'm honing my focus on finding her signature.

kastilwell

 

The Supreme Vital Force of Life

If I could change only one thing,

this would be it...

collaboration over combat.

There could still be opposing views

and vigorous debates,

but no blood shed,

 no "othering".

There would be mutual respect

between and among parties.

We would have true equality.

Justice would actually be fair for all.

Imagine it!  

kastilwell

 

We Are In A Cultural Moment

This feels almost too large to absorb

but it feels significant and worthwhile to ponder.

It's agonizing to witness what is happening to our Earth,

and its encouraging to see and hear ways humans

are working to restore Her to health.

It's agonizing to witness the strife across the globe

and its promising to witness victories for the Good.

Bringing our attention close-in

to the ground beneath our feet,

to the minute,

the small, 

to wee creatures, insects and plants,

to mycelium filaments beneath the soil,

to exquisite ephemeral wildflower blooms,

to the ruby throated hummingbird, 

to our own vital aliveness in this vast universe;

is a way to steady us and guide us.

They guide us into being 

the light and the river...

the best possible version of ourself.

We have each other and we have

signs of the River of Goodness everywhere.

We're rewriting the stories and myths as we go,

contributing traces of ourself along the way.

kaslisten

 

 

 

When Things Get Hard

Even with the good news from Wisconsin,

news from TN and NC reminds us "things get hard".

I am grateful to Asia Suler for articulating

a way of being in the world through healing

both ourselves and our Earth with

brave self compassion.

kastilwell

Obsession With Largeness

"Learn how to cherish what is so preciously little."

Something to remember in a world

where large is revered.

Where competition to be "on top"

blinds us to common decency and dignity.

The trick, for me, is navigating

respect and compassion for myself

as I advance the same toward others.

Especially when I abhor their actions.

It helps to recall how powerful 

tiny things...like atoms and DNA and seeds are.

What small thing can I do today to advance goodness?

kastilwell

 

It Was Never A Given

 While its quite possible I missed it,

this is the first time trauma was presented

as a potential gift in a person's life.

I've always viewed it as a wound

that requires healing and

moving past.

To view it as fortunate

shifts the perspective dramatically for me.

The message of regeneration

and renewal is gratifying.

To see us and the world in

universe time gives a spaciousness

and generosity that takes

away some of the distress

of the view from close in.

kastilwell

Every Day We Are Handed Messages

 The messages from this book

are providing a balm for my spirit;

While reminding me to see

quiet beauty and small treasures

wherever I take time to look.

What is happening to our Earth

is a gigantic heartache most of us

are carrying with us, consciously or not.

Combine that with the 

trials and tribulations of daily life

and voices of hope and inspiration

become ever more cherished.

kastilwell