there is a constant coming an going
a mixing and a mingling
of matter and energy
flowing though my body
the outside rushes in
the inside rushes out
and in this fluid state
life balances itself in harmony
as i drink the clouds
and eat the seasons
i remember that
we all belong to life
that this fortress of selfhood
really has not such defined borders
fresh harvest
if you could travel back in time
to meet a seven year old you
what counsel would you have for her?
sitting with yourself
sharing wisdom
and warmth
bringing, your freshest harvest
your truest views on being,
what insights would you offer?
gratitude
there is a gate
that when open
beauty is seen
and the path becomes one
of manyfold blessings
it is gratitude
unassuming and always near
that makes visible
the harmony and sweetness of life
kindred reader
dear reader, six years ago this week
the first musing was published
and for however long
you have been part of this journey
of receiving, reading and giving
room within yourself to these ponders
i would like to thank you
for your kind attention,
your comments and shared insights
thank you!
these musings are written each week
as a self-alignment process
they are perennial wonders on life,
they are paths of surrendering and letting go,
of learning to love
shared with you
with this intention and wish:
may they be useful to you, kindred reader,
on your own contemplative inner journey
with gratitude and endearment,
💛 lenis
seeking truth
after all your seeking,
your studies and travels
to find the truth
somewhere
out there on the wind
from wise lips, or in sacred texts
when you have exhausted yourself
and have used up all
that needed to be used up
yet still there is the urge to try
to answer the call
that brought you here
one road remains
that is walked inward
shedding all you thought you knew,
welcoming the unimagined
the always near
you are warm
your skin, your breath,
your beating heart
all tell the story of Life
of being connected
to great and vital forces
through it all
this is always so
you are
in its presence
pause and sense
the always near
little grudges
on a fine day,
while i was unaware,
it arrived, a little grudge
and it just would not let go
of it’s peevishness
now, like all “little grudges”
this one was not choosy
any topic, anytime, anywhere
would do for it to flare
in discontent
directing ire at loved ones
or world events alike
so what to do with such a “little grudge”
as a traveling companion through life?
best to get to know it well
watching it in the bright light of awareness
as it moves and what it causes inside the body,
the emotions and the world of thought
respecting it,
yet not letting it assume the driver’s seat
one more thing
let’s not add
one more thing
to the impossibly long
string of tasks
that your mind has imagined
it should achieve today
for awhile rest
in the calm state
of nothing to do
and nowhere to be
just fully present
in this moment
your pilgrimage
to inner peace
is never as far
as the mind makes it out to be
we need both
we experience life
in human form, in a body
where matter and spirit
braid together
and it can be quite confusing
finding balance
between our worldly life
and our spiritual pursuits
not favoring one over the other
but to hold both
with equal endearment
in our physical daily life
we need sound, skillful ways
to live harmoniously
equally we need to give time
to the spirit of stillness
letting go
into the Loving Mystery
brilliant mistakes
our mistakes arrive
like unexpected guests
be they little or large, public, private,
mundane or monumentally messy
they are visiting
divine messengers
teaching us about our lingering shadows
of criticism and shame
and about the light that enters us
when we forgive and let go
these brilliant mistakes
that humble us
that bring self-knowledge
and compassion
when i get lost
a morning alignment,
asking myself…
when you are tender
and it is easy to forgive
when generosity comes freely
and you receive without fear or favor
when your eyes look upon
the world with trusting kindness
would this not make living
more wonderful for all?
then this is the home
of the heart
the hearth to return to
when i get lost
love story
why are you here
on this beautiful Blue Earth?
may marveling at Life
be your love story
a fresh flowering
each dawn
may yours be a tale
of loving Life.
visiting the mystery
visiting the mystery
walking into stillness
each breath an opening
pondering that which has no name
a time before body,
before birth
once we all
have been formless
the oak, the dove,
the clouds and you and me
condensing and dissolving
here, but not for long
a constant coming and returning
from and into formlessness
a kind wind
may a kind wind dwell with us
opening even our forgotten knots
to gratitude
may each experience
soften and gentle us
until yielding
to the flow of life
becomes the way
when blame and praise,
loss and gain are welcomed equally
what can disturb the peace?
one third of your life
suspended…
back up
oh, still a little further back
from what has become familiar
and enter the land of wonder
each night, getting cozy in bed
sleep will arrive
for hours you are suspended
moving through dreamless
and dreaming realms
one third of your life
is being lived in the world of sleep
may wonder reawaken
when contemplating this mystery
once upon a time…
once upon a time…
a question arrived
on the spring wind
blowing open
unnoticed doors
by simply asking:
are your memories
using you?
or are you using
your memories?
now, watching the mind
launch itself into reliving
its favorite stories and tales of woe
what great productions it makes
endlessly intoxicating itself
what unfamiliar freedom
to observe,
rather than be snared
by memories.
puppy mind
each day
insights and joys
reveal themselves
in quiet, curious moments
i marvel while watching a puppy
how swiftly his attention flits
from here, to there, to everywhere
how much it resembles our mind
the wandering thoughts, in constant motion
chasing flotsam and jetsam
we have much in common, puppy and mind
both thrive with loving, dedicated attention
how sweet it is to learn
when forgiveness comes with our next breath
and praise is generously given
oh, may we be kind
to puppies and our puppy minds
weaver of tales
the mind tells
magnificent stories
and like children
we still believe
these tales to be true
rarely questioning our thoughts
and the worlds they create
leaving us in a constant fog
of befuddled intoxication
by watching the storyteller at work
so smooth, so skilled
in the art of redirection
our gullibility lifts
like the morning mist
a most excellent adventure
sailing with the tide
ready for the wind
casting our net
into the infinite ocean
of loving-presence
aware of the flow
of giving and receiving
of our indivisible
interconnectedness
melting the differences
our endlessly fearful
minds dream up
here we are
learning to love again
on a most excellent adventure!
beyond words
some understandings can live quite comfortably in our head
yet are much more difficult to put into daily practice,
this is one of them:
you don’t have to agree with another’s words
and still hold the other person lovingly in your heart
we get so befuddled by words,
by opinions,
including our own
instantly forgetting that we are kin,
born equally and together into
this immense mystery of life
forgetting that
we really don’t know
all that much,
even our own selves
can we listen and perceive
that which lies beyond all words
beyond our opinions?
receiving and giving to each other
from light to light, from love to love
