Everything Is Spiraling

The thought of everything spiraling (spiralling is the UK spelling)

has been a comfort to me for almost five decades.  

It "spirals" around and around reminding me frequently.

"I am on the journey, as are you."

"Embrace the Journey" is the title 

of the mixed media course I'm taking.

It seems fitting.  

Each of us, side by side, physically or energetically.

We're in this together.

May your journey be rich and fruitful.

Namaste'

 

Stillness Saves Me

Can you feel your body unclench as you read the words?

It may take a minute, but it happens, doesn't it?

There is a comfort in unclenching.

I'm also delighted by the thoughts of 

"blooming right here where I'm planted."

I don't always feel like I'm blooming,

yet I know I am growing toward 

my next blooming cycle.

May we all grow in decency, dignity

and finding beauty in the midst of uncertainty.

Namaste'

 

Grant Me The Serenity

https://susanvespoli.com/

 Love when someone freshens a well worn phrase.

Here's the rest of her poem.

Namaste'

Ode to the Modified Serenity Prayer

      “Grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change,

      the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it’s me.”

Your daughter camps near the methadone

clinic in a sea of bench and canal sleepers.

She’s lost another phone or charger or backpack,

wears a ball cap over her sunburnt face.

You could tell her to go back to the hospital

or sober living or Soul Surgery Treatment Center

or the 90-day rehab she left after four days.

You could drive her to Walmart, the Dollar Store,

buy her a phone charger, more clothes, shoes,

instant coffee, oatmeal, peanut butter, candy,

wring your hands, feel sick to your stomach

as she smiles, climbs out of your car, saying, “Yes,

I’d rather live on the street.” You could pretend

she’s gone to Woodstock, that it’s 1969, that addicts

are just kids passing through a phase where they drop

acid, wear tie-dye, dance in the rain to Canned Heat.

Or you could repeat the modified serenity prayer

            over and over and over and over,

then drive home, park your car, kiss your own

goddamn good life just as four geese fly over

your flowered front yard and honk.

How It Isn't Always Clear

The entire poem is worth a read.

The more I contemplate water, 

the more awe-inspiring it becomes.

It's so easy to take it for granted.

To forget how irreplaceable it is.

Even a short reverie on it 

gives me shivers of gratitude at its qualities

and its significance to life.

May we treasure it with reverence.

Namaste'

 

 

In The Meantime

"Landscaping the flood path" is a new term

for making beauty in the face of mayhem.

Recently, we were assigned the task of making an ugly painting.

I found myself asking the question, who decides what is ugly?  

I know, I know!  Certain things just beg for the label.

But that's what it is, a label and the result of 

what we're taught to think, isn't it?

I believe we can all agree 

that blooming flowers are beautiful.  

I also believe making your kind of beauty

in the face of mayhem is a worthy endeavor.

Namaste'

 

Dig Deep Within

Marcus again?!

Yesterday's and today's quotes are from separate sources.

I actually checked this one to verify 

as it does NOT sound (to me) like something coming 

from a Roman Emperor from the century 100,

even if he was a Stoic Philosopher.

That being said, keeping watch or paying rapt attention 

seems more fitting to me...

something less physically demanding than digging.

What grabbed me was the fountain of goodness.

I believe it is already flowing.

Our call is to soften and let it flow...

strong and free and brave.

Namaste'

 

Think Always Of The Universe

I chuckle at my naive assumption this idea was a contemporary one.

A Roman Emperor from 161-180 would not be considered a contemporary! 

"The Universe as living creature

with all absorbed into its consciousness."

They were discussing consciousness during the Roman Empire?

Why am I finding this so surprising?

If I'd paid better attention in school...I'd know this, right?

Nonetheless, this is potent thought material.

That being said, I struggle with an aspect of this belief.

That means all the nasty stuff going on 

is part of "one substance, one soul"?

That's painful to wrap my head around.

I so want to simplify things into good or bad.

Which is exactly the problem with humanity.

Centuries of dualistic thinking brought us here.

What is remarkable is we have the power to shift the tide.

We're witnessing the power of joy and optimism 

in the face of fear and hatred.

We're witnessing the power of working together 

toward bringing us all together.

Let us hold fast to this vision 

and bring it into full flower.

Namaste'