Everything, Anything

"that imagining, 

is a starting place."

What would a world of

true liberty and true justice for all

look like?  

What would it feel like,

in my bones?

What would we be hearing?

I'm trying to imagine it.

Floating on a river of goodness

where everyone and everything

is treated with respect.

Where no one is ever considered

"less than" or undeserving.

This is what I'm imagining.

kastilwell

 

If We Want To Have A Sense of Belonging

My mind has been chewing on this

since I heard it this weekend.

Listening to someone 

from an indigenous lineage

describe the impact of colonization

and the subsequent healing from

recovering their sense of belonging

and cultural identity was moving.

It seems to me, so many threads weave

us back to the land...

to the ground beneath our feet...

our actual barefoot feet,

and our relationship with our

physical body interdependent with

this earth, each other, and with all 

who live upon it with us.

Entanglement indeed.

kastilwell

There is Something Infinitely Healing

Oh, this thought

induced a deep release in me

when I read it this morning;

in light of my keen anticipation 

of high octane days ahead.

Instead of armoring myself up,

I am letting go and trusting

in the flow whether it be 

 choppy or slow or all speeds in between.

It brought me back to roots.

Reminding me there is room

for all of it. 

kastilwell

Evening

I've read this several times and still need to pause and absorb the word evening

"for the balance it implies". The "end of the day" is so deeply embedded in my brain,

thinking of it as evening, as in evening things out, as in equilibrium...

takes somewhat fierce concentration.  Even so, I love the way this contemplation

has changed the way I see evening and will from now on.  

"Surrendering with grace to the evening"...no matter what time of day it is.  

kastilwell

 

Trust

It makes sense to rejoice in

all the things we often take for granted.

Waking up in the morning, for example.

Lights coming on, hot beverage in your cup,

legs to walk on, eyes to see...

the list is long.

Ticking these off is a grand way

to brighten your mood anytime.

I love the thought that my

"life is delivered even though I can't read the address."

kastilwell

 

Hush

"The faces that you love are chalices."

What an exquisite way to describe those faces.

Even when far away, their voices and photos of them

provide a sip of wine.

"Belief is as hard as a hickory nut that cracked, 

holds many mansions."

What mansions does my belief hold?

I explore the many rooms within.

They continue to offer solace 

as well as tender encouragement

to rearrange and freshen up in places.

"Hush.  Slow down."

Let yourself feel. 

Let yourself luxuriate

in the wonder of your existence.

kastilwell

 

Good Bones

https://maggiesmithpoet.com/

We have good bones...they are meant to

 "provide shape and support for the body, 

as well as protection for some organs".

I'm concentrating on 

making this place beautiful.

Turning my gaze to the good.

Silently encouraging all decent folks

to push wherever they can

in whatever way they can

to root this world into dignity.

If each of us made one small, brave gesture

toward big kindness and honest truth,

couldn't we restore balance?

Couldn't we ignite a chain reaction

that spread throughout the lands?

A small seed of mutual respect

growing and spreading into

a giant forest of common sense

and reasonable collaboration?

We have good bones.

Let's realize (real eyes) our fullest potential.

kastilwell

Geraniums

I'm enchanted by this.

"Even imprisoned, they open

. . .exploding, wanting out. . ."

"Set off the alarm."

Many of us are seeking

to "break the glass"

and free ourselves from

the grooming we're receiving

making us compliant and

domesticated.

We are venturing into the wilderness

with courage enough to be weird and wonderful.

Brave enough to burn softly 

wherever we are in whatever way we choose.

kastilwell

 

Feeding the Worms

Delicious is the word that

comes to mind when reading this poem.

I didn't know worms have taste buds

all over their bodies.

Suddenly, I'm wondering

if they taste the fish that catches them

as they go down the throat?

Seems disrespectful until

I recall all of life is a cycle

of creatures passing through...

literally...coming in and going out.

I rather enjoy the thought of 

becoming a feast for worms.

kastilwell

 

Breathe

May the breathing,

the mindfulness,

the meditation,

the Yoga,

the gardening, hiking, photographing;

the writing, painting, cooking, quilting...

every creative, nourishing thing

so many of us are doing

to bring beauty into this world,

to bring love and dignity and equity into this world;

may it bring a hurricane,

an outpouring, an avalanche of change 

for the good of our planet, each other,

and the non human world living with us.

kastilwell

 

Does the Story Make Sense?

 I love this explanation of making sense.

It brought a worn out phrase to life...

made it sensual, gave it breath.

Not only stories need to make sense.

Wouldn't our life be enhanced by it as well?

Shifting awareness from mental to physical.

Letting the body take the lead

rather than the mind.

Let them be equal partners.

Playing a duet.

Although, if you take each sense 

into consideration,

it would be at least a septet!

A sensual septet.

kastilwell

Allow

http://dannafaulds.com/#

As lovely as this is, 

it propels me into some disagreement.

I believe there are times resistance is required.

For example when you see someone 

abusing themselves or another. 

Or grave injustice is being visited upon others.

Discernment is required.

We are not without agency.

As a famous saying goes,

there are times when we need

"the wisdom to know the difference". See Note

kastilwell

NOTE: The Original Serenity Prayer*God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
courage to change the things that should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. Reinhold Neibuhr

We Are Cups

 Noticing the 

constant and quiet

filling up 

easily gets overlooked.

 It's like playing

Hide and Seek.

I am the Seeker.

Funny how finding the hider

is best achieved while being very still

and listening.

Next comes the tipping over

which often calls for

a delicate dance of revealing yourself

minus a makeup artist session.

kastilwell

The Intuitive Mind is a Sacred Gift

I love the idea of the intuitive mind

being "faithfully" served by the rational mind.

It is comforting to know 

they are working as a team.

I only wish Intuition would 

speak with more clarity...

(like I'm a fourth grader!)

Or maybe it has to do with my listening skills?

kastilwell

I Invite You to Redirect Your Awareness

"No content and no container",

I've never thought of space in this way.

It's a "trip" to step out of deeply entrenched ruts

and move into "spaciousness".

It's like seeing the light as in the opposite of dark,

AND seeing the light as in the opposite of heavy.

I didn't realize how much

my judgments and assumptions

were weighing me down

and keeping me confined.  

kastilwell

 

Your Mind Is Making Judgments

 I'm discovering how challenging it can be

to distill pages of words down to succinct phrases.

My judgmental mind is booming in the background.

"No one has time to read all this!"

I'm practicing my "I don't know" mind

and sharing it despite all the objections. 

The more I tiptoe into this,

the more interesting and provocative it becomes.

kastilwell

You Are Not The Story In Your Head

I am someone who most definitely

feels at home in my thinking mind

where mostly everything is how I

assume it's going to be; and

 everything unfolds as expected.

(Could we call this a rut?)

Where things get unsettling 

is when I am faced with something

that doesn't fit my expectations

or my assumptions 

and I am required to deviate

from the comfortable

story line running inside. 

 

The story line I'm composing unconsciously

so I can remain comfortable.

"Comfortably numb"* 

This is my edge...my delta...

my ecotone...my wilderness.

kastilwell

* David Waters for Pink Floyd

Living In A World of Abstraction

The thoughts from this book

are proving to be quite helpful

in managing the programming

laid down from various sources

throughout my lifetime.

It's helping me see how

amazingly skillful my "mindless"

thinking affects reality.

It's also renewing my desire

to practice mindful breathing

as a way to experience 

the absence of abstraction

however briefly.

I know my thoughts matter,

what I didn't fully recognize

is how they can also be lying to me.

kastilwell

 

Glimmers

 Here is a catchy name

for our practice. 

It's about giving ample attention to

what is small and awe-full.

Noticing the wee delights,

the quiet chorus,

the tiny treasures tucked 

into shadowed corners.

Keeping a running list,

carving new brain pathways,

rewiring our mind from 

surviving to thriving.

Seeking out what is humbly arresting,

or previously unnoticed,

hidden in plain sight

and oh so worthy of attention.

I love to know so many of us

are connecting invisible threads

into a mighty web...

from rivulets to brooks,

to creeks, to streams.

Each of us tributaries

moving relentlessly

into the River of Goodness.

kastilwell

 

Not A Day Goes By

"The Gift of an Ordinary Day"

"When I am able simply to be with things as they are."

In a world, with its often relentless hounding

for your attention, these words are

helpful reminders.

"able to accept the day's challenges

without judging, reaching or wishing for something else."

This took almost no effort to type onto this page.

Meeting those challenges with awareness and grace

calls for a lifetime of practice to put into action.

Most days, I would call my "ordinary" 

a sloppy mess of scared and sacred humanity.

kastilwell

 

Falling In

 "feel how naturally the body softens,

how simple it is in this moment to forgive myself

for thinking I should be anything but what I am."

This so beautifully follows yesterday's thought.

"To say yes to the body". . .

even when it's irrationally irritable,

and embarrassing to be connected to.

What does the mind know anyway?

It's operating on its own programmed

set of assumptions and judgements.

Churning expectations, motives and conclusions 

out of simple, mostly innocent circumstances.

I choose to stick close to the heart...

even when it feels heavily guarded,

even when its skipping beats, or racing.

It's movement is poetry.

kastilwell

It Is Possible

 I was in a mood shortly after I woke up,

frustrated with myself for not

welcoming each moment with cheerful curiosity.

I'm grateful I'd left my screen open 

and found this there when I sat down.

Facebook has its usefulness. 

This poet is from Scotland.

Chances are I wouldn't 

meet her walking in the woods

I continue to "plant the seeds

deep inside my head".

May they naturalize to my heart.

Now, I "water them with words

from inside other's mouths".

May I find them within my own.

I'm now going "to prepare the table 

for what has not yet arrived."

Or consider that its already here.

kastilwell

May

This seems to sound just the right note

for welcoming May 2023.

"yet theirs is the deepest certainty

. . . that everything . . .

is as good as a poem or prayer;

can also make luminous

any dark place on earth."

May your dark places become luminous.

kastilwell