I Want To Tell All Women

"It's about owning the ocean of who you ARE."

Let's think about how vast and majestic the ocean is...

the landscapes existing deep within;

the amazing creatures living within the depths;

now apply those elements to yourself.

This is what I would call ripening.

Enjoy the gift...the present of your own presence.

It's everything.

Namaste'

 

There Are Things You Do

Something lighter today for balance.

I've come to enjoy being in the mystery of darkness;

however sitting in the midst of madness is a different story.

This requires strong measures of concentrated goodness 

for sanity and well being.

I hope with fierce intent that this regime will soon end.

In the meantime, let's remember to balance the work

of resistance with the joy of existance in a world filled with beauty

often found in unexpected places amidst unplanned happenings.

Many carry heavy backpacks of heartache...

let's continue being gentle with each other and with ourselves.

We've got this....we're doing it....together and we will prevail.

Namaste'

 

That Kind Of Hope

"It looks the world full on, it looks reality in the face,

and it refuses to accept that things have to be this way."

Easy to write these words, not so easy to act them out.

Its PAINFUL to look reality in the face and 

see all the NEEDLESS suffering and destruction 

caused by humans.  It's just full-stop HARD.

(I'm going to exercise my goodness muscle and say

hurt humans.  Humans who don't know any better.

Humans who don't care because they are deeply wounded.)

I want to make them monsters and demons;

I want to destroy them for their heartless greed

and need to dominate others but that 

takes me nowhere I want to be.  

And it doesn't work.

Now, my "intelligence, energy, persistence,

creativity and courage" must gather the power

to get behind and sustain this insistence...

this "refusal to accept that things have to be this way."

May the goodness from the universe and beyond

be the force that propels and sustains us.

We are in this together.

Namaste'

 

I'm Talking About Hope

"In the face of profound, reasonable despair,

hope is a calling."

This is something I can live with...

I've been adamantly refusing to use the word despair 

because it means giving up and I reject

giving up with every fiber of my being.

I can carry "reasonable" despair 

even as I detest its presence in my sphere.

Why is it some people feel the need and the right

to force their will upon others, 

and do so with impunity?

Why is that?

I wish humans had the capacity 

of trees to alter their chemical composition

in order to banish predators.

Perhaps we do in some way?

We need to employ whatever resources

we have with vigor and charisma.

I'm ok with casting spells if that's what it takes!

This is me, flexing and strengthening my hope muscle.

Namaste'

 

To River

If you give this some thought, we are  "rivering" constantly.

Our physical bodies contain enough water to make us a mini river...

flowing along...picking up and carrying things we encounter...

occasionally leaving them on the shore when we're done with them...

We carry microbiomes of life...bacteria, fungi and viruses...

similar to the habitats living in healthy rivers.

Our mind is like a river...

 currents, thoughts and energy of emotions 

moving through time and space.

I am enchanted by the idea of "rivering"!

Isn't it ironic that auto correct changes it to riveting?

Namaste'

Rivers Are Easily Wounded

It's a stretch to contemplate this right now as our river 

has so recently been ravaged.

However, I find hope in these words and

trust reality will follow in the healing of the river, with time.

"Remarkable speed" is a relative term, isn't it?

May the river respond with robust resilience 

and may we humans follow the lead 

as we find ourselves in the midst of a different kind of ravaging.

Human dignity, respect and decency being plundered before our eyes.

Kindness, fairness and empathy scoffed at, rejected, dismissed.

Truth kidnapped and held hostage.

We are resilient...we resist and persist and prevail.

This is us, together, healing ourselves.

Our goodness is pouring back.

Namaste'

 

We Read Each Name

The situation in Gaza has been haunting me, yet, I've 

stored it away where things I cannot control reside.

Two days ago, I read this story

about a doctor working in a hospital in Gaza

when the charred remains of 9 of her 10 children were brought in.

I learned about it via Nikita Gill's Instagram feed.

She asked what poetry can do in a world where this happens.

This poem is her response.

I am sharing it from the river of tears in my heart...

"This is all it means to be human.

To know the beating heart of the world

even when it is a wound."

We are all carrying the wounds of this world

and it is a torturously heavy burden...

May this be a catalyst for gathering our forces,

for showing us how we need each other,

to help carry this together.

It is the only path toward healing.

Namaste'