Baby Steps

Isn't it interesting how we minimize our achievements?

"Like the ability to fumble and stand, fumble and stand 

doesn't take grit and courage?"

I just now realize, I use the phrase "baby steps" to

slow myself down. To pay added attention to what comes next. 

I've never associated it with "collecting a bouquet of bruises

and carrying them like medals, rising again, again, again." 

I think of all the baby steps contained in the ripening years.

The bruises involved in the physical adjustments of goldening.

The grit and courage it takes to absorb the stumbles...and keep going.

From now on, I will remember this "wish for reckless determination,

laughter in miscalculation, the humility to forgo perfection;" 

and whisper thanks to L.E. Bowman for the offering of these words.

We are in this together and the tides are turning.

I'm glad you're here.

Namaste'

 

Standing In the Dark

 

Winter Solstice Greetings

Wishing all a tender, thoughtful and slow Winter Solstice, 2025

 

In The Bleak Midwinter

"Belonging is knowing every one of us is flame."

This is good to remember if you find yourself feeling lonely.

There's always room for you in the circle.

Whenever I get to feeling like an outlier who doesn't fit,

Brene' Brown's words come to me.  

“Stop walking through the world looking for confirmation that you don't belong. You will always find it because you've made that your mission. Stop scouring people's faces for evidence that you're not enough. You will always find it because you've made that your goal. True belonging and self-worth are not goods; we don't negotiate their value with the world. The truth about who we are lives in our hearts. Our call to courage is to protect our wild heart against constant evaluation, especially our own. No one belongs here more than you.”

That's when the practice has to become habit. 

Activate your attention if you find yourself feeling like a misfit and remember to

shift the music in your head and nail that nonsense to the wall.

You belong and you matter.

We're in this together.

Namaste'

 

I've Heard It Whispered

 

Wintering

 "The time will come when you, too, have to drop all the ways

you've made yourself worth loving, and finally learn how to sit 

quietly right in the center of your own small life."

I'm feeling called to this even as the expectations of the season

pull in the exact opposite direction.  

I'm counting on this friction to create pearls.

Pearls of patience, kindness, tenderness and mercy...

for myself and all those who share this space and time with me.

We're in this together.

I'm grateful you are here.

Namaste'

Some Days Are Not Meant

I feel my body relax and my breath slow down as I read this.

She names the programming most of us receive, doesn't she?

"Some days are simply meant to be lived gently."

Ticking things off the To Do list can be addictive.

Especially when you're on a career path or 

working on a major project, like saving democracy.

It takes courage and discernment to navigate the waters.

It's helpful to pause and check in with yourself 

on how to spend your time wisely;

and dare I say, joyfully.

Things can happen in the process of doing ordinary tasks.

Inspiration can visit as you fold a load of clothes,

a reminder to call your representatives may ring 

as you tidy up the kitchen counter.

Perhaps this is more about having self judgment stand down?

Perhaps its about living your life with enjoyment

whether you're "accomplishing" anything or not?

Who gets to decide that anyway?

Turn the spotlights off, take off the public costume,

change into your comfy clothes and luxuriate 

in who you are, just as you are, right now.

You are you and you matter.

Thank you for being here.

Namaste'

 

Questions of Influence

"I have been living this life so long, yet I am only just

beginning to comprehend how the little streams feed into the big."

At this golden age, for the first time, my bones and bloodstream

actually feel the impact of these words.  I find myself pausing to let

them liquify, sink into and merge with the river inside this body

I tend to take for granted.  

Instead of rushing to move mindlessly to the next habitual task, I let this take hold.  

I consider all the amazing poets and writers whose work has influenced me  

throughout my life and realize what a mighty network of goodness this has been.

How profoundly grateful and humbled I am by their offerings.

I must also add a caveat here about those whose words cause wounds...

the pain and suffering they cause have also been influential.

Their impact causes a more vigorous appreciation and dedication for

those whose work spreads the enrichment of goodness;

 (ie: decency, equality and justice).

Thank you for your presence 

and the goodness you bring to this world.

We are in this together and we matter.

Namaste'

 

A New Mythology

"Trains poets instead of soldiers."

It's impossible to say how much I love this "mythology".

This is the kind of imagination I want to build on and

 hone to the kind of perfection that continuously evolves ...

never complete yet always better...for all creatures.

"explosion understood as a metaphor for awe:

war a state of self denial;

 dirt the reason for devotion."

I want these words and the thoughts they conjure

to invade my mind when I can't sleep...

so tossing and turning becomes a joyful occupation.

of imagining "rainfalls of seeds"; and

"routing rivers to parched villages";

perhaps embroider them unto my pillow.

I want a world where healing is an ongoing common occurance

involving every aspect and every layer of existence

from the furthest reaches above us to the deepest depths below...

to everything we think we know and everything we don't...

a mind, body, spirit environment;

a world where decency, equality and justice are taken for granted.

"one where the only deity worth worshiping is the ground we stand on;

and to become a hero, you must not leave on a journey, 

but surrender yourself a witness to the pulse within."

Yes. Yes. Yes. For ever and ever;

Amen, Awomen, Aallcreatures.

Thank you for being here.

We're creating this together.

Namaste'

 

A Quiet Kind of Violence

The irony here is a sharp blow.

How many times have I said those words,

or thought them?

How many times have I said them to myself?

I cringe when I think of saying them to others...

others going through tragedies 

I could only begin to imagine

and imagine insufficiently.

I appreciate the way these words

put those words in their place.

Reminding me to remember everyone

suffers in different ways.

It also reminds me of what a grief stricken mother

wrote after one of her children took their own life.

"I learned to translate everything people said to me into: 

"I love you and care about what you're going through."

Regardless of how awkward or presumptuous.

I was moved by her generous spirit and kind heartedness, 

by her lack of condemnation toward those

who really didn't know what to say but cared enough

to say something.

It's a worthy reminder for when Lady Judgement

enters the scene, isn't it?

Namaste'

 

Lines Written

How did I miss this beauty by M.O.?

"knowing as we must, how the vivacity of what was

is married to the vitality of what will be?

What a bequiling way to describe the descent into winter.

It reminds me to bow my head in gratitude and respect

to all the fading flowers and fallen leaves; 

to honor with my attention, however fleeting it might be.

"So let us go on, cheerfully enough. . .

though the sun be swinging east,

and the ponds be cold and black, 

and the sweets of the year be doomed.

I think of these lines as I encounter the 

brown and drooping skeletons

in my mini meadow...

remember with delight how

gorgeous they were a short time ago.

Then I take a minute to recognize what

these dull and drooping skeletons provide...

seed-holders, wind-catchers...there is dignity

in their quiet release, their slow crumble.

Look deeper, it seems to whisper.

Beneath their remnants, insects overwinter, 

fungi weave their intricate maze, 

and the soil absorbs their petals.

It was a fruitful minute, giving me

a wider field of vision and a deeper

understanding of what lies beneath.

Namaste'

 

Love What You Love

"when you stop trying to be something other,

when you settle here on this morning;"

and drink your tea or coffee, listen to the rain,

watch the sun reappear, relish the new day.

You are living your "one, precious life."

"you treat yourself as a treasure, nestle inside 

your own wintering bones--whole body opening, opening.

I sincerely hope you know how to treat yourself as treasure.

What a gift to cherish yourself ... not one single rejected component.

Recognize the divine creature living within your skin.

She matters greatly.

Treat her with utmost dignity.

Namaste' 

 

Trying To Transform

"You build from the ground up."

There is a paradox here and I love it.

Building from the ground up?

To me, the ground we are living on is 

one of the most powerful entities on Earth, if not the universe.

The soil that has absorbed centuries of harm,
the waters that have carried away what we could not bear,
the forests that have stood as quiet witnesses to our forgetting.

It matters greatly in the matter of

"people living in dignity and hope".

It matters in "transforming a brutalized society."

To contemplate that transforming our society

from the ground up means starting with

the ground we're living on, fits perfectly 

into my idea of what is necessary.

Millions of us understand that healing our earth is not separate 

from healing ourselves or our society. It is the same work.

Healing our Earth is a matter of utmost urgency for ALL of us

to be able to live in dignity and hope.

May we contiue the work of transformation—rooted, gently, determined.

May we see it in our minds eye so we can create it in physical reality.

The ground is our guide. Let it show us the way.

It matters.

We matter.

Namaste'

 

December Comes

"patiently waiting to be held before we move on"

It makes me smile that May thinks this might be the case.

Truth told, I would not have thought of that had she not mentioned it.

Nor would I have considered...

"all the selves I've been this year standing beside each other";

until now.

I might want to start paying more attention to my more pleasant selves.

The grumpy ones seem to hog the show.

"Let the tough moments teach you, not define you."

This idea bears strong and frequent consideration.

May your day be filled with goodness.

Namaste'

 

Trans As In Beyond

"Trans as in beyond, reaching for the possible."

This is what I love about words...

they can shift the meaning in a few short strokes.

This was a personal example of how hearing things

can lay down interpretations subconsciously and why

 being aware of how I'm being influenced by them invites contemplation.

I avoid using the word "God" because, for me, it does not adequately

describe the Force of Goodness alive and present in the world.

It's a trigger word that carries unnecessary divisions and misinterpretations.

It's interesting.  I just realized the word "trans" is following a similar path.

A bell sounds inside that announces conflict ahead.  

My first instinct is to take cover by skirting around it.

Today I am taking a different path and using words to navigate the discord.

It's why my attention was captured when I read; 

"trans as in beyond, as in reaching for the possible."

This post is unexpectedly providing a vivid example of the power of words...

how words can be used to:

 wreak havoc as well as assuage contention;

 invite curiosity and lead to avoiding complicated differences;

 expand understanding and increase alienation; 

 intensify conflict as well as take a step toward resolution.

As someone once said, "use your words wisely".

I would add, HEAR your words wisely.

Investigate those that cause you to turn toward them

and those that generate a turning away.

It matters.

We're in this together. I'm grateful you are here.

Namaste'

 

Same

Isn't this spot on?

"Maybe instead it needs us to reach those who feel alone

in their messy homes or difficult relationships or unresolved issues."

I resonate with all of the above.  I love my home but it does stay messy.

No matter how many times I tidy up.  

I won't let my life be about how neat my house was.

That's the rebel in me.

(Yet, I cringe in embarrassment at the thought 

of someone "dropping in". So rude.)

"To impress less and connect more."

Yes.  

Yes.  

Yes.

Let's do more of that!

Less judgment, especially of ourselves, and each other,

and more "same, same, same.

Namaste'

 

You Can Keep

Every line of this poem moves me with resoluteness.

Be. Who. You. Are. 

Be as our Earth is.

"I want skin intimate with the wind, the sun, the rain."

My most favorite line:

"Veins that flow like rivers to my ocean of a heart."

This is now embroidered unto my skin, into my heart.

I want to feel it deeply for the rest of my days and beyond.

I want it etched into my bones like the words on the stones at NewGrange.

I want my ashes to carry it on the wind to the ocean.

"I want bones trained to carry."

To carry gratitude, joy, and quiet rebellion.

To carry sorrow and heartbreak with tender devotion.

To carry each jarring incident as if a hidden treasure

 to be uncovered with curiosity and respect

To carry celebration of the seemingly insignificant,

and the majesty in the mundane.

"veins that flow like rivers to the ocean of my heart."

(I'm telling you; I love this line.)

Namaste'

 

May You Never Forget

"You kept going."

 This is one of those thoughts

that needs to be automatic,

most especially when you are in the midst

of hard, and overwhelmed, and afraid,

and alone and feeling invisible.

We need to have it at the ready...

as a loving reminder.

It matters.

You matter.

Namaste'

 

Gingko

 I've always been impressed by Gingko trees.

I was not aware of their longevity nor 

their ability to endure "drought, disease, pollution, pests."

One of the most beautiful sights I've seen

is a Gingko tree with a golden circle of light

around its base from its gorgeous fallen leaves.

"a golden fluttering, a radiant trembling on even the darkest streets."

"As if we are here to burn bright, to shine, to offer the world

every scrap of beauty we can."

Things are uncertain and distressing these days.

I am beyond grateful the natural world has

some ability to survive the lack of proper care

as it  still manages to provide us with 

a consistent offering of beauty and comfort.

 Namaste'