“morning meditation”
quietly
sit
begin to
listen
sounds from
far and near
coming and going
effortlessly
listen
listen
without expectation
or wishing it to be different
feel
feel
the quiet
returning
your natural wide
stillness
true
home
perfect circle
“right on time”
in this season
fog rises off the river
veiling the morning-sun
i see its perfect circle in the sky
a wonder all by itself
sun and moon - perfect circles
then, remembering
a total eclipse
two circles aligning
both exactly the same size
spectacular
design!
and the clockwork of it
happening “right on time”
another marvel
finely tuned mechanisms
that make our life possible
wonders
upon wonders
surround us
they will still be here
when current dramas deflate
to their true size
your inner voice
“listen …”
your inner voice
do you hear it now
as these words become sounds
in your mind’s ear
curious
isn’t it?
now,
listen ...
is it a gentle voice
that speaks to you?
is it patient with you
when it comments on your life?
is it kind?
does it love you?
why reserve resentment
for yourself…
keep encouraging
yourself
rediscover
tenderness
subtleness
the vast
quiet
star-fields
within
plop
“echoes of well-wishes”
imagine
a quiet and calm pond
then
plop
a stone falling
through its glassy surface
cast with good intentions,
well-wishes spreading with its ripples:
may you be happy
again
plop
may you be healthy
plop
may you be safe
plop, plop, plop, plop …
now adding your own
to the circling patterns
well-wishes rippling
out and inward, permeating all
may we be happy
may we be healthy
may we be safe
…
you and i
at low tide a young girl collects sea creatures on Zanzibar
we have so much in common
you and i
no matter when we were born
where we were born
we live under the same radiant sun
the shapeshifting moon
you and i supported by sacred earth
equally cleansed and refreshed by cool water
while air fills our lungs
no matter what color our feet are
how wonderful that earth,
air, water and fire are colorblind!
the very young still seem to know this
the old, having one foot in the grave
often remember it too…
that there is so much common ground
as we travel on this graced path
called: a human life
connected to the infinite
where is freedom
"the parade of my thoughts”
a continual waterfall
the parade of my thoughts
old thoughts,
newly combined thoughts
but
ever an original thought?
not to be thinking
the same old drivel
again
and again
how free
that must be
where is freedom . . .
if not in the mind?
it happens so quickly
"from sweet to sour””
it happens so quickly
the move from sweet to sour
judgement
closing off my bright eyed-senses
replacing all i hold dear
with convulsions of dislike and raging impatience
temporarily
disconnecting me from my chosen values
how good it is to witness this state of affairs within
brought on by decades of conditioning
and no longer hide in shame
or blame “the system” or another
but look closely and tenderly
at these moments of insanity
and
slowly
patiently
return
home
we get better
"another moment in time”
to love one another
in all of our brilliance and imperfect perfection
is an impressive task
a lifelong practical experiment
giving up on perfection in self
nor requiring it from others
what happens then,
when we open our hearts?
we get better
when we were young
"conductor of joy”
when we were young,
quite young
we were not afraid
to express what we were feeling
still open, soft
and unashamed
when joy touched us
we melted in its embrace
and we became pure joy
we could not conceive of hiding it
that came later . . .
yet, openness and softness
the state free of shame
is still
there
waiting
for our return
what does it take?
"bearing witness”
one of the challenging human experiences
is bearing witness
to the pains of humanity
to the waves of ignorance and obsession
in all their varied expressions
that agitate individual and collective alike
we all play our part
answering for ourselves,
for the duration of our human incarnation
what does it take to stay subtle in heart and mind?
to still care when old
holding the course, living by example,
giving grace a chance
you are . . .
"flowing”
you are unique as you are in this moment.
you are never the same.
you have never been what you are now.
you will never be the same again.
here and now awake to yourself you are free
the gift of the unfathomable
"bathed in marvel”
not only at night
are we surrounded by stars
moons above and below
galaxies to the left and right at all times
we find ourselves in a cosmic theater
too vast to comprehend
a beauty in twinkles
and precise orbits
reaching deep into the soul
shaking us loose from the humdrum
with the gift of the unfathomable
drunk on marveling
we tell each other
beautiful stories
living in a bubble
"living in a bubble”
i see you - i see me
you see me - you see you
we encounter each other
through the weather patterns of our own bubble
all we witness, all we perceive
is filtered
through the multicolored fogs
of our own making
for us to meet
we need to bypass our biases
seems like only patience,
humor and great love can heal us
pondering waves
"incoming and outgoing”
becoming aware of my breathing
following the steady in and out
arising, cresting and fading away
breath moving though me like waves
and i wonder and begin to experiment -
can emotions be sensed the same?
continual waves
arising, cresting and fading away
it would seem so
then follows the observation of thoughts
arising, cresting and fading away
a constant flow and flux
moving through
a liberating,
continuing
in-house
observation
current best reasoning
“living in the land of “It Would Seem So” what do i know for sure?”
after observing
on a Saturday night and a Monday morning
when satiated or hungry
in the spring of life and in the winter months
what is beneficial for one and all?
after contemplating and reasoning
continually
when well-rested or tired
what is beneficial for one and all?
what is worthy to be accepted,
practiced and lived in accordance with?
not because of traditions or personal habits,
not because it was adopted from sages or pundits,
not because it is the view of authority or the view of the masses
but because it agrees with my own current best reasoning
to the benefit of one and all
that is my living path
forgiveness
“a remedy in life’s medicine cabinet”
imagine,
holding no grudge, not even a tiny one
imagine,
no longer carrying the weight of resentments
imagine,
having forgiven enemies, loved ones and self
imagine,
having disentangled and tidied up the past
being free to meet this moment unobstructed
imagine,
forgiveness as a remedy in life’s medicine cabinet
always available to heal
imagine,
how it would feel to embody forgiveness
as a mental habit, an attitude, a way of life
imagine,
forgiveness as an agent of change
that seeks to create and maintain greater love
She, who keeps the rhythms
“of constancy and change”
on solstice morning my bare feet touch
the sacred ground of Mother Earth
She, Who Keeps the Rhythms
of our Wheel of Life
in faithful
regularity
spinning through space, never
in the same place twice
in harmony with Father Sun,
Moon Child and the Galaxies
what a wondrous paradox to behold seasons
of constancy and change
a wonder held tenderly
“when i meet death”
when i meet death
will i be trusting?
will i be curious
when the veil is drawn aside
and meet death
with the heart of a child?
can i approach my death
as a wonder held tenderly in the heart?
have i prepared myself?
time will tell
if i will cling and fight
or let go peacefully
for now let me practice making peace,
deepening the wonder, tending the garden of trust
abandon myself
“now”
wisdom tells me that life is a stream
of slow eddies and fast currents
that the weather within is
always on the move
yet how i observe the show
how i witness, frame and reframe
and tell the story to myself
that can be refined and honed
life can be viewed through many lenses
and i notice how i am still too scared
to fully embrace life in all its messy glory
to hold the sorrows and the joys
the world’s pains and generations of sweet laugher
and surrender to the Great Mystery
if i could travel back in time, i would tell myself
to abandon myself to love
to be still enough, to be open enough, to be vast enough
to hold the note of perpetual surrender
i would tell myself to remember now
and in the now that arrives just now
word clouds
“what if . . . ”
… today i witness my words
like billowing clouds
traversing the space between us
filled to the brim with nourishing rains
for our souls delight
simple, soft and spacious
irking neither you nor me
