Message From The Wind

I'm going to keep this close by for the days and nights ahead.

I wish it were easier to "stop the swirl."

This will serve as a reminder to imagine lying

"beneath a cathedral of oaks and watching leaves

float, twirl and land."

I will wait for "truth to find me"...

and "let myself be found."

my truth at this moment is, 

life goes on no matter what happens.

How we live it and what we do with it

is up to us.  Ours to choose.  

I am deeply grateful we have each other.

Namaste'

 

Butter

I get a kick out of this poem mostly because

I'm one of those people who got the notion approval was gratuitous.

"Mind your own business" and "don't call attention to yourself"

were deep seeded messages planted in my psyche early on.

I love "the power of sweetness is as great as the power of the river and the sun."

Isn't that marvelous to let soak into your bones?

I'm looking forward to "watching the moisture trickle down

to their roots and then rolling back up again to all four corners of the leaf."

Why can't we enjoy each other in a friendly, respectful manner?

It's easy and free so why not?

Especially with those curmudgeons, all grim and proper?

Note: (I've been known to fit that description.)

So, go on, force someone to feel good about themselves.

Watch them "start to flourish from the effect."

Namaste'

 

The Only Thing We Can Know For Sure

"attend not to what has arrived but what is being stitched."

This caught my attention immediately as "following threads"

has been a current running through my mind recently.

I love the idea of attending to what is being stitched.

I confess fear is giant in my bones right now, fear and disbelief.

That is why I was glad to run across this helpful thread:

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. 

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. 

I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. 

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. 

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” 

Frank Herbert, Dune

It does feel as if all this turmoil and nastiness has the potential of

creating something extraordinary as happens inside the oyster or clam.

Pearls are made "as a natural defence against an irritant

 such as a parasite entering their shell or damage to their fragile body." 

I can attest to the fact that it feels like a parasite has entered my shell!

Let's stitch together our many threads of pearls 

into a garment of dignity, decency 

and the continual reaching toward a true democracy.

Namaste'

.

 

On A Deep and Very Private Level

"Nature is our lifelong caregiver."

I know this has been true for me in my lifetime.

Of course, she has her moments...

nature can be furious as we all well know.

But even then, her resilience is remarkable.

She is "a mirror here to help us

when we have lost sight of ourselves."

How often has a walk in the woods or the garden

restored equilibrium to my spirit?

I cannot count the times.

May she bring us all to our senses...

our best senses...our innate goodness.

Namaste'

 

In Times Of Great Darkness

I send this with bone deep gratitude to Rosemerry

for her gift of words, 

her ability to articulate feelings I'm unable to describe.

Every line enchants.

I want to square, triple and quadruple each one infinitely.

Let us chew on this, slowly and thoughtfully.

Let us swallow with delight and vigorous hope.

Let its substance lodge in our hearts and

live in our minds no matter what occurs.

Let it soften our hard emotions

and bring us consolation.

Let it fill us to overflowing with joy.

Namaste'

 

Be Wild

This is quite a manifesto about creating.

"let loose, to stream, initially censoring nothing."

I'm struck by the thought that...

"The river does not flow in polluted, we manage that.

The river does not dry up, we block it.'

Using the river as a metaphor for creativity in this way is provocative 

given the real-life impacts rivers impose on our region right now.

I confess, my metaphorical river would never cause such violent devastation.

Yet, I ponder what lessons can be gleaned from it.

I'm also meditating on "being willing to be stone stupid"in order to create. 

I feel this whenever I encounter the blank screen or the blank page 

or the empty canvas.

And it settles deeper in following less-than-satisfactory experiments.

Nonetheless, I will continue to

"sit upon the throne on top of the jackass", 

because for better or worse, I believe in the river.

Namaste'

 

When You Wrap Your Arms

This brings to mind the "fragile" hummingbird.

Imagine our heart sipping nectar from every flower it encounters.

Imagine our "fragile" heart flying forward and backward.

Imagine our "fragile" heart covering over 500 miles,

 flying for 20 hours without rest during migration.

Don't you love the thought of a wildflower blooming in concrete?

That's the kind of love we each merit, each and every day.

It's no small wonder to bloom in concrete.

Namaste'

 

The Home Meant To Be Yours

When it feels as if we are deep in

"the shadows of our journey".

it's a comfort to consider 

the home meant to be ours 

is here waiting through all of it.

I believe goodness is our home

and goodness is where we find ourselves.

Namaste'

 

The World Feels A Little Less Lonely

I trust you know who you are.

If not, this is your reminder.

Your "ripples of kindness" matter.

You matter in ways you probably take for granted.

Please know how deeply you are regarded, 

how much you are loved.

What a treasure you are to this world.

Namaste"

 

In The Garden In October

I love the idea of eating the word yes.

"some evidence that life persists despite cold, despite exhaustion,

though the light itself seems to be failing."

 I'm now scanning the world

for my own particular version of sugar snap peas.

Reminding me that life (and love) persist 

even in the gravest circumstances.

Those miraculous somethings...

most likely small, and apparently insignificant somethings 

that are "small proofs of pleasure."

I will treasure them as "testaments to tenderness."

Namaste'

 

Subtraction

"be touched as if you are a tree. 

Let what you know of yourself break down."

Oh my goodness, what a delicous thought.

To break down in order to bring forth stunning beauty.

The stunning beauty of the third act of a human's story.

The autumn of life brings such astonishing loveliness.

It seems fitting that it should be so.

Namaste'

 

Time Heals

"You are a river, stubbornly carving your path

through the valley, defying the mountains."

We are seeing what this looks like in real time, aren't we?

It's not at all nice or pretty is it? 

Rather, a force to be reckoned with in no small fashion.

I deeply mourn for those suffering the consequences

from our lack of respect for the river.

"You're waiting for the sun to become you."

I'm having to sit with this thought.

In all my years, I've never considered 

the sun becoming me. 

Wow! What a concept!

That's all I can say.

However, I deeply appreciate the outcome:

radiating my own light, my own warmth.

Becoming the source for my own healing.

These thoughts cause vibrations within me.

May each and every one of us bloom

 in our own time, 

in our own way. 

Namaste'

 

Wildpeace

"let it be floating, like lazy white foam."

or the soft, delicate filaments carrying milkweed seeds.

A peace..."without the big noise"...

We are learning what power lies in silence.

The strength of tenderness and gentleness.

The force of quiet resolve and committment to truth.

"without words"...

(I believe we can find words for peace.

Words like forgive me; I understand;

tell me more; can I help?

Words like: I see you; I care about you;

We are in this together; Let's work this out,

We can find a way.)

"without the thud of the heavy rubber stamp."

Or the need for another's approval.

Who speaks of healing?

I want to speak of healing.

May we all speak of healing.

May we heal ourselves and in that process,

heal each other...so it's not "passed on

from [our] generation to the next."

"Let it come like wildflowers,

suddenly, because the field must have it;

wildpeace."

Let me/us be the field where

wildpeace grows in vigorous abundance,

overwhelming the world with 

unadorned beauty, charm and grace.

It may seem like a dream, yet

dreams are the seeds of deep rooted change.

Namaste'

 

I Get Tired

This is my kind of sentiment.

"We're not aging, we're unfolding.

We're growing...into who we are

under our own tutelage...

not who someone else has dictated we be.

It takes time...

How we're unfolding matters.

Namaste'

 

Every Bombed Village

I wish we could all wrap our heads 

and our hearts around this.

There is no them.  

"They" are us.

No matter how far away or how different we think "they" are.

It's the same for the other-than-human entities 

on this planet and in this universe.

I get a nudge of remembrance whenever I use the word "it".

Who am I referring to as it? 

We are one vast, magnificent tribe.  

Imagine what our world would be like

if we lived accordingly?

Namaste"

 

Again, The Chance

Each day to be given a new chance?

Another something I tend to take for granted.

To fall in love with the broken world?

I want to learn how to do that...

I'm not sure it's something we do...

It might be something we become.

It might require unbecoming first?

Letting go of all the preconceived expectations

and losing all the judgments and critiques?

I really have no idea.

I'm considering options...

exploring pathways...

experimenting.

With as much love as I can muster.

Isn't that being in the world?

Namaste'

 

Unable To Speak

 "love with the perfect skeleton key 

to enter every door of me."

I adore what this conjures for me.

I haven't thought about skeleton keys for years.

That being said, I find myself shying away from

something so powerful and unwanted.

It is infinitely awe-provoking to hear from someone

who has been there, is living there. 

To listen to how life's worst possible tragedy has transfigured her

in such a surprising and uplifting way.

I consider all this world contains

that I do not wish to see or know.

My coward's heart isn't brave enough to look

except maybe as a caring spectator and occasional helper.

Her words bolster my courage.

They lead me to trust love like this is there for each of us

when our heart and spirit is most shattered and broken.

May it be so.

Namaste'

Blooming II

"How we are brief lived in the scheme of things--

with what mattering most being, not longevity, 

so much as the measure of our blooming,

the grace we carry by raising an open face to...whatever may come."

It's helpful to remember this in times like these and always, really.

Life is so fragile and temporary.

I often catch myself falling into the rut of "taking it for granted",

forgetting that it could all vanish in a blink.

Magnolia blossoms are an excellent metaphor.

Many times I've marveled at their splendor one day

only to find brown husks the next after a cold snap.

May we each be bestowed with "grace to raise an open face to

whatever may come."

Namaste'

NOTE: This is an excerpt from a longer poem

With a photo of the tree she mentions, Michelia yunnanensis, now known as Magnolia laevifolia. 

 

Watching My Friend

Grief is being swallowed into countless bodies, isn't it?

The most intimate and personal kind, in our own hearts,

and the grief being carried by our cherished friends and neighbors.

If we're alive, it's a constant.

To be human means its inescapable.

"There are many reasons to treat each other with great tenderness."

I'm thinking we do well to remember everyone we encounter

is in the process of swallowing their grief.

Where the miracle appears is in the ability

to find joy and delight while bearing this weight.

To be kind and forgiving to ourselves and each other

knowing how heavy the burden of loss can be.

And to go on.

Rejoicing in the small and large wonders

even as we feel ourselves dissolving with the pain.

We are such amazing creatures.

I am awestruck by us over and over and over again.

Namaste'

 

You Aren't Aging

 I love the idea of unfolding.

Smoothing out the wrinkles.

Relaxing and releasing the creases.

Letting what's inside be revealed.

Letting it be read and reread.

Becoming softer and softer.

To our unfolding.

Namaste'

We Are Held

These few words express something vast...

something beyond words which can never be named

for to name is to confine, to draw borders and boundaries

around something impossible to contain.

Whatever name we designate diminishes.

We each form our own version of this entity.

It mirrors us.

To contemplate this is an exercise in mystery.

No matter how close we come, there is always more.

We cherish the clues nonetheless.

"We are held by what cannot be held."

Namaste'

 

It Takes The Right Rain

We need to be reminded of the right rain these days, don't we?

I'm exquisitely familiar with the first stanza.  

Many, many seeds have been planted that did not grow, much less bloom.

"Still, the magic lies in the hope, taking the risk."

I'm still hoping seeds planted years ago will somehow show up.

And I still mourn for those who have not appeared as anticipated and longed for.

"You plant anyway...

You wait,

You see what grows."

This has been my strategy all my life.

I forecast all kinds of seeds and see what grows.

It's how my inner voice speaks to me.

"The waiting is hard,

the risk is real,

so is the possibility."

Love, love, love this...

Think of all the idea seeds we plant.

Some come to fruition, some don't.

We still plant, we still hope, we still believe.

It matters.

Believe in your seeds.

Namaste

 

We All Carry

1. Definition of haunting 

   1. to visit habitually or appear to frequently as a spirit or ghost.

      to recur persistently to the consciousness of; remain with. 

      to visit frequently; go to often.

      to frequent the company of; be often with. 

      to disturb or distress; cause to have anxiety; trouble; worry.
   2. 
      

      In typical fashion, the first thought "haunting" brought to mind 

      was the last one listed here.  

      I'm glad I looked it up because I am delighted by the first four.

      The idea of my past and future self visiting frequently 

      brings me comfort as I know they are on my side,

      showing me the way, when I take the time to listen.

      I confess to some ambivalence about visiting my past self;

      even while coming to a place of compassion for the mistakes she made. 

      Those mistakes have served to humble me in a mostly helpful way,

      although that doesn't mean they aren't still cringe worthy.

      May we all enjoy our happy hauntings.

      Namaste'

      
      

      
      

      
      

      
      

      
      

   
   
2.