You, Darkness

"But the dark embraces everything:

shapes and shadows, creatures and me..."

Asleep is the only time I'm truly able to embrace everything.

In my dreams, I can even kiss my enemy 

who isn't really my enemy even though he's on the "other" side.

I guess that's what the dark does.

It blurs all the biased boundaries 

I carry within, and reveals how arbitrary they are.

Was the world created with the war between "good" and "evil"?

If you believe in a God, doesn't that mean "S/He created evil?

Or have we flawed humans made it so?

I'm thinking its the latter which means we're stuck with it.

Well, at least for now, we're stuck with it.

What if we could change that? 

Don't ask me how, I have no idea.

How I'd love to wave a magic wand and remove all cruelty.

Recently I heard a quote that said, 

"my hope is to shorten the distance between what if? and why not?

I'm focused on living that hope...

why not?

Namaste'

 

 

In The End

This one leveled me.

I don't feel like I stretch 

my heart much, if at all.

That's some unnerving activity, I'm thinking.

Yet, it's exactly what being alive and attentive

is all about, isn't it?

How do you stretch your heart?

I'm going to be giving this much consideration

from now on. 

The question for me now is:

how can I stretch my heart with my art?

I think its time to let "playing it safe"

have a vacation.

Namaste'

 

You Carry The Earth

Every line in this poem enchants me.

To think of myself "carrying the earth inside me";

that 60% of me is water "borrowed from a hurricane",

or the Little Tennesse River, or Cartoogecheye Creek;

that the oak tree planted 20 years ago on my birthday

and all the trees in the forest I walk through each day

are "made from the bones of the same star"?

It is the same for you and every one of us!

These are wonders to ponder deeply.

Keep them close as you move through your life.

Namaste'

 

Art Doesn't Have To Make Sense

"Art is like a birdsong:...inflections, shadings, shifts - 

all things that have emotional and perceptual impact."

  I am drawn to the idea that art doesn't have to make sense.  

I get a giant sigh of relief with that thought.

And, I love thinking of art as birdsong. 

"Every work is a culturescape of you, your memories...your hopes,

your energies, your neuroses, the times you live in, and your ambitions."

I would change this up a tiny bit.  First of all, I would not call it work.

For me, art is play.  Every "piece" is a culturescape.

Actually, now that I'm deeper into this, 

I'm reminded of this quote which seems more complete.

The two of them,  together are like left/right brain, aren't they?

 I could also say masculine/feminine energy?

They make a thoughtful combo on the topic of art, in my view.

". . .stop trying to make something new and start making something you."

THAT is art that makes sense, even if no one gets it...including the artist.

Namaste'

 

I Think We Make Gods

Having to sit with this for a minute or more.

Yes, we make our own version of god.

Which gets complicated quickly, doesn't it?

We have wanna be kings who believe they're a god.

And scores of humans who believe they are unworthy;

leading them to worship someone else.

Look at all the supposedly supreme beings

throwing their supposed weight around.

If there's one thing I do believe in, its that

human's create god...not the other way around.

Every single version of every single diety 

comes to us through humans.

The trusting part comes from the idea that

each and every one of us is divine.

Not to lord it over others,

but to be a sacred creator of goodness...

decency, fairness and stewardship of the

resources we've been given.

To treat each other and ourselves as if we are holy.

Think how different our world would be if all humans

could act like humble divine creators and treat each other

and our world accordingly.

Namaste'

 

Instead of Depression

Oh my goodness, isn't it tempting to want to hibernate right now?

Trouble is, we are needed awake.  Our country is being stolen right before our eyes.

All of us, together, are needed to stay aware and stand strong.

The only thing preventing a complete collapse of democracy

 is us...in massive numbers.

Maybe we could do some mini hibernations?

Take power naps instead of "sleeping through the alarm of the world"?

I so get where Andrea is coming from.  

I love, love, love the idea of it.

Perhaps metaphorically?  

Even in the midst of depression, we can change perspective...

by seeing this as a rough recalibration? 

Like reentry from outer space

with damage to our vessel? 

We each are necessary to get our team landed

and home in one piece.

We can do this.  

Namaste'

 

Sometimes You Look

Regardless of how I look, I can tell you,

I am familiar with feeling like 

"a human scribble a two year old has colored in" way outside the lines.

Until reading these words, 

I would never have considered that to be a masterpiece.

Recently, when I described the whirlwind

that was going on inside of me with all the things

I want to do spinning, feeling like a sort of madness,

someone said, "let the whirlwind whirl,

it's a resource not a to-do list."

And with that, it became something I 

wasn't required to control or manage.

What a relief!

I hope you can let yourself be the masterpiece you are!

Namaste'

 

Beauty Caught Me

This is a line from Acceptance Speech After Setting the World Record in Goosebumps.

"Beauty caught me and never let me go."

This is a practice worth every single bit of work it takes.

I may be late to the contest but I hope to catch up.

Finding beauty everywhere I look?

What better use of my time could there be?

And the enchanting thing is, we'll find it!

All we need to do is open our eyes and see.

Namaste'

 

All My Prayers

Even if you don't pray...this is pertinent, I think.

It's something that has changed my life considerably.

Rather than focusing on all the things I want and wish for,

or don't like and wish were different; 

embracing what is, right here, right now, 

pleasant or unpleasant, changes everything.

Opening myself to my own reality and the potential and possibility it offers 

provides something organic and, dare I say, profound, to create an actual life with.

I find myself focusing on and appreciating the ordinary, formerly mundane

aspects and elements I used to take for granted. 

The simple act of breathing becomes precious and holy from this angle.

Nothing becomes something... thick and rich and chocolatey.

Dark places, once scary, can become mysterious and interesting,

beckoning with adventure and promising opportunities to enrich and enliven.

My former wishes have become a quiet refrain of thanksgiving.

May you find your own treasure chest of answered prayers/wishes come true 

already present in your one precious life. 

Namaste'

 

To Whom It Definitely Concerns

 TO WHOM IT DEFINITELY CONCERNS, please accept this letter as formal notification that I am resigning from the position of My Own Worst Enemy. I’ve appreciated the opportunity to lower my standards so far they could win a limbo contest against a crumb. I’ve been honored to serve as the server at the banquet where I eat myself alive. The day I was hired I could never have imagined how many employee-of-the-month plaques I’d acquire from breaking the standing record for standing in my own way. In this position I’ve grown continuously, like bacteria in a staph infetion. I had no idea that holding myself back would be contagious. I would like to have a different kind of impact on the future company I keep. The scene I made during our last team building exercise woke me to the need for a change. I know the young people in the office are still shaken by my refusal to catch myself in the trust fall. I apologize for that gory display. Moving forward, I’ll be pursuing opportunities in another field, preferably one where break rooms are for resting and not for breaking promises to the person I hope to become. I fully intend to replace whatever dreams I shattered when I was beating myself up. I have no idea where I learned “punching in” was a literal term. If I had known better, I would have called in sick in the head. I accepted this position initially because I believed it came with the very best insurance plan. How could I fall to my death from the ground floor? Over the years, however, I’ve gotten increasingly familiar with the fine print of the benefits. Turns out, there are no benefits when the co-pay is your life. I understand it’s customary to give two weeks’ notice, but I’ve only got two minutes, and in those minutes I will: 1) Fire my inner critic, or at least demote it to part time. 2) Assure my passions have the tools they need to unionize with my actions. 3) Sit naked on the photocopy machine so there are one hundred copies of my ass to kiss when I’m gone. Though I suspect it won’t bode well for acquiring a positive referral letter, it’s important I state that I’m unwilling to train a replacement in this position. It is my suggestion that the job be eliminated altogether and that no future person take on the task. If I can aid in the transition, please let me know. Sincerely, __________________________

Andrea Gibson. You Better Be Lightning (Button Poetry) (pp. 39-40). (Function). Kindle Edition. 

Follow Your Doubt

ossified:1. having turned into bone ...  2. having become rigid or fixed in attitude or position.

This may take more than one read to absorb all that's being said.

I have to pause and contemplate each time I reread it.

I love the thought of our heart unossified.

Supple and resilient; tender and fierce;

forever shifting, adjusting, expanding...

our stomata fine tuning our inner environment

for optimal well being.

Aren't we the most incredible creatures?

Namaste'

1. 
   

 

Written On The Wall of the Psych Ward

"Find someone in this world ... 

who hears your life's great chaos as a song."

While I get the writer's point,

I truly believe that someone needs to be you.

We need to hear our chaos as a song.

And then play that song with 

everything in us.

Some of you may be familiar with Andrea Gibson.

If not, you might want to take a look.

She died this week at 49. 

I'm sharing these in honor of her.

"I don't think there's anything that you can do 

to love somebody better 

than to unknow them in every moment; 

to relate to them as if they're a mystery; 

and to understand they are a mystery. 

...to unknow people  you can really look 

at each other the way we are here;

 not the way we carry each other's 

filters and memories and bias."

and

"Dying is the opposite of leaving. 

When I left my body, I did not go away. 

That portal of light was not a portal to elsewhere, 

but a portal to here. 

I am more here than I ever was before.

 I am more with you than I ever could have imagined."

— Andrea Gibson

Namaste'

 

The World Will Take Your Joy

"So DON'T."

We can't let the brutal in this world steal our joy.

This is our daily purpose...find our joy...

pay attention to the delights no matter how

ordinary and familiar. 

Play in any way that pleases.

Appreciate with our entire being

whatever brings comfort, solace, a smile.

Make our one precious life a river of gratitude.

Namaste'

 

Seeking Shelter

This one is gut wrenching and I want to turn away...

distract myself from the heartbreak.

There is so much pain for our soft hearts to bear/bare these days.

It's so tempting to bury our heads; to numb ourselves in any number of ways.

Fibre Arts Take Two is where I saw this piece by Ute Schroder: 

Humanity - for Hind Rajab

'HUMANITY' IS AN installation piece that uses embroidery and threads to honour the life of six year old Hind Rajab. On January 29, six year old Hind Rajab from Gaza was travelling in a car with her family trying to escape the invading forces.

Their car came under fire and all but Hind were killed. For three hours, amongst the bodies of her dead relatives, Hind talked to emergency services, pleading for help. She was killed while on the phone, along with the two paramedics who were sent to rescue her. The car was riddled with 335 bullet holes. "All children are our children." My time is well spent standing up for humanity using my artistic skills. Ute Schroder

This has been a part of me since I first saw it.

It came to the surface when I read Julia's poem.

It occurs to me as I write this that NOT 

finding a way to carry the grief and sadness can be

more harmful than letting it in.

I confess, I envy those with artistic skills

to metamorphose tragedy into healing balm.

In these days of terrible burdens for soft hearts,

may we each find our own particular way

to transmute the madness.

May we each find our holy way to sanity.

And may our tender hearts stay liquid with care

for ourselves and each other.

Namaste'

 

In A Time

"You are not alone.  You are holding the line and

fighting for millions upons millions of people by 

keeping your heart soft and bearing witness,

by refusing to become apathetic 

in the face of all this injustice."

All of the despair, confusion and powerlessness

we are feeling is by design.  

We will not lose our hearts in the madness.

Do what you must to take care of yourself

so you can continue to push back.

Hate and lies and heaps of dollars

cannot vanquish decency, dignity and truth.

We're in this together.

Namaste'

The Trees Need Our Breath

This description of one person's God caught my attention:

"the natural consequences of our connections to each other";

is a remarkable way to convey what it means to be alive 

and human in this amazing world.

I believe we are all in the process of creating

 our own unique version of this entity

called by many different names...one of them being God.

"I also believe in it because I want to believe in it."

This too, strikes me as an amazing statement because

it underscores the truth of belief, doesn't it?

We believe what we want to believe.

It's when we attempt to impose our version on 

others that things go off kilter in tragic ways.

If only we could be taught this from the beginning

instead of the other way around.

So often, someone's version of God 

is imposed on us as children;

most often with the best of intentions,

most often by a well meaning community.

A sense of belonging and security is instilled

as if it depended on this exact belief.

What if, as children, we were taught that we 

are in the process of creating our own version

of a supreme being; that a benevolent creator

lives inside of us, bringing us the powers of goodness

and a source of comfort and solace when things are hard?

That any path we choose is sacred?

That we are holy beings as is everyone around us?

What would this world look like then?

Namaste'

 

I Want To Spend My Energy

"how my actions affect every living and non-living thing around me."

Whoa baby, cause for a pause for certain.

That changes the nature of giving something 

a kick when it gets in your way;

or cursing with vigor and swatting or squashing

when a creature invades your dwelling place.

Our lives are tied to each other and every thing in this universe.

It's easy to lose sight of this from our silos of self focus.

But that's the wonder of it, isn't it?

We are not alone.

We have each other and this entire universe.

How can we not be enchanted by this?

How can we not want to make it even better?

Namaste'

 

I Would Go So Far As

This bears significant pondering.

The same air as our ancesters breathed????

We really are made up of star material.

Isn't life a marvel?

Seemingly simple things feel miraculous

when no longer taken for granted.

Namaste'

 

Those Stars Are Immovable

There is something poignant and consoling about this fact.

It caused me to go and look up at the Summer Triangle

 to reassure myself there are things in this world

we can rely on.  The bloodroot will bloom next spring

along with the trillium, crocus and daffodils.

It's why the mistreatment of earth feels so painful.

The stars have been there, doing their thing

for billions of years. 

Let's not let a handful of billionaires defeat us.

Namaste'

 

Bravery and Courage

Courage is no small matter.

We are seeing what lack of it can do to an entire country

and perhaps to an entire world although I refuse to give up

on the belief that goodness and decency will triumph.

I confess I am one who leans heavily toward cowardice.

I can understand why terrorizing people works when

those we love are threatened.

It's why I want to applaud and support those who stand up

and speak out against the current regime.

We are in this together and all of us are needed 

in whatever way we choose to resist. 

Tyranny cannot survive in America.

We can and we will take a U turn

on the path this country is on

and return to improving the principles

our democracy was founded on.

Namaste'

 

 

A Reflection for a Wounded and Loved Country

A Reflection for a Wounded and Loved Country

I love this country. 

Not the version sold on bumper stickers

 or shouted through megaphones, 

but the one I grew up believing in. 

The one built on decency, courage, and sacrifice. 

The one my father served with pride. 

The one so many gave their lives to protect—

not just its soil, but its soul.

And yet today, I feel distant from it. 

Not because I’ve stopped loving it, but because I still do. 

I see a nation adrift, led by ambition instead of wisdom, 

power instead of principle, greed instead of grace.

The values that once guided us—truth, compassion, responsibility—

feel buried beneath noise and cruelty. 

But I will not let that harden my heart. 

I will not let anger turn to apathy. 

Because love—real love—

doesn’t walk away when things get dark. 

It stays. 

It grieves. 

It remembers what once was possible. 

 I honor the quiet patriots who still care. 

The neighbor who helps without being asked. 

The veteran who still believes in service.

The child who sees injustice and asks why.

I pray—not to a distant God who picks sides,

but to the quiet wisdom that lives in conscience:

That this nation might still remember who it is.

That we might choose mercy over might.

That those in power might remember 

the people they were meant to serve.

I still love this country.

Enough to be disappointed.

Enough to speak up.

Enough to believe we are capable of better—

because we must be.

And on this day, I plant that love 

in the soil of truth, 

and trust it will grow again. 

 

Tom C. Stilwell

July 4, 2025

No Matter Where You Go

I'm deeply familiar with "living with an enemy that knows [me] best,"
I say ruefully with chagrin; although the voice in my head
has gotten much, much more supportive and friendlier in recent years.  

Ripening has its perks although I sincerely wish she'd showed up sooner.

"It's ok, I'm here now, she says quietly"

May the voice in your head be kind, friendly, and encouraging.

May she show you your magnificence.

Namaste'

 

There Are Parts Of You

This quote has been shadowing me for some time.

I feel sadness creep closer and quickly shift direction;

diverting my attention to something less fraught.

I've avoided sharing it numerous times.

What better way to ignore the "parts of me that want the sadness"?

Trouble is, it doesn't banish it. There is only one way to do that.

Today, I'm stepping up and stepping in to the experience.

Baby steps is how I will proceed because its the best I can manage.

There is an over abundance of things to feel sad about.

I remind myself although sadness is painful, and really hard,

it is not fatal and it is worth the encounter.  

It's the only way to let it loose.

I will survive and thrive by

acknowledging its presence and its preciousness.

Namaste'

PS:  An extreme amount of waffling has gone in to sharing this quote!! 

 

You Are The Author

"Who needs preservation when the moment was never meant to last?"

I can't help but be reminded of why preservation is important.

Especially when it comes to the abundance of the summer garden

feeding us in the depth of winter.

How we long for moments of beauty to last!

Because they help us get through the ugly ones.

This is why we press flowers to pages,

take photos of loved ones,

put art on our walls, music in our rooms,

plant seeds and bulbs in our gardens.

We are the author of our lives...

we understand the momentary.

Breathing in the blooming is vital.

So is preserving and remembering.

It's all a glorious mishmash of appreciation.

Namaste'