“morning dew”
listen to the caress of the wind
to sunlight and dew
to the great harmonies
of this beautifully balanced world
it all is here for you
the web of fire, air, water and earth
right now it loves you
into being
mistaken identity
“liminal”
often have i mistaken
the act of thinking
as the true nature of myself
mistakenly
have i identified with
the narrator within
that curates
the world
for me
the endless chatter
of daydreams and analytical thoughts,
of likes and dislikes
recurring by pure habit of mind
would it not be wise
to take a good look
at the nature of thinking
to behold the comings and goings
and quality of thoughts
now on to the “chicken and the egg”
do i create my thoughts
or do thoughts create me?
can you predict what next
will occupy your mind?
wings
“wings”
does my heart have to harden with fear and pain
when meeting the violent and vile?
the poor, or the wretched?
outcasts of society can be found far and near
whether face to face,
or by mere hearsay
every time i witness darkness
does my mind and have to recoil?
how narrow, ever shrinking
life then becomes, cutting myself off from kin
building the cage of self confinement
who holds the keys to the
responses of my heart and mind?
who has my wings…
hello hands...
“side by side”
here you are
both of you, side by side,
working and playing
your daily activities - innumerable
be it pulling on a sock,
washing a teacup, petting the dog
watching you i am awed,
as you skillfully anticipate
each other’s next move
always in support, never in competition
how curious that an example of
harmony and purposeful togetherness
can be found right at my fingertips…
thank you
hands!
healing and loving
“out of practice”
when we meet again
let’s not talk too much
about the town’s gossip
or our hurt egos
we are out of practice
having conversations
that nurture the soul
of the world
let us talk about
about the Path
of beauty and stillness,
the mysteries of life
let us sit
together
in companionable silence
healing and loving
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
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
one of us
“wholly deserving”
on her beautiful skin i walk
my feet touching the ground
and Earth whispers: i am here . . .
for you
in her cool waters i wash
and splash - quenching my thirst
again i hear:
i am here for you
and as the wind brushes against my face
the ocean of air echoes:
we are here for you,
we are here for you . . .
the moon, the sun,
the seasons too declare how
wholly deserving they find me
to joke with them
how loved i am!
my oasis
“nurtured by the rains of presence”
what do they have in common?
the genuine smile
and moment of sincere patience…
the giving thanks before a meal,
wholehearted listening,
and wishing another well…
these acts - and their kin,
bring me home again
into the freshness of being present
they are the nurturing rains
that water the seeds,
sprouts and budding plants
in my oasis
don’t be afraid
“at the threshold”
don’t be afraid
of yourself
for a while put away
the toys that glitter and excite the senses
allow the quiet, still times
even the slight boredom
they are only the threshold to be crossed
to meet yourself again
bleep
“advocating wellness”
there is a four letter word
i am advocating to bleep
out of my vocabulary
no, no
not the sailor mouth words
that add occasional emphasis
this little word i have in my gaze
it is more insidious, destructive and
soul sucking
so, give me a B
give me a U
and an S
have you guessed it yet?
finish off, this little insult to happiness,
with a Y
and voilà, - we have busy
often: too busy to listen,
to play, to rest and to live well
may i replace busy with
another four letter word:
well
so that when asked: how are you?
the answer shifts from a slightly irritated: I am busy!
to an honest: I am well . . . Thank you!
How are you?
“wholehearted”
“How are you?”
three short words
so often spoken
usually directed outward
often asked in passing
but what if, we turned
these words inward?
asking them with warmth
and wholehearted interest:
How are you . . . body of mine?
How are you . . . my heart and feeling life?
How are you . . . my thoughts and mental processes?
and paused and patiently listened . . .
then these three words
could become the opening
to a fine internal conversation
bringing ourselves back
into the here and now
make of yourself a light
“. . . seems to be the answer”
Yes, there is suffering
and pain
in the world and within
( . . . and, are they not both the same?)
often have i pondered
alone and with others
what my response should be
to these tidal waves of suffering
to fall into the bog of despair,
hide in the cave of avoidance and forgetting,
or succumb to the blindness of
self-righteous know-it-better attitudes
is easy
make of yourself a light
seems to be the answer
no blame, no shame
no excuses
just the path
to take the light of peace
and kindheartedness,
of wisdom and patience,
of neutral witnessing wherever i go
to tend this light
of joy and gratitude
for this wondrous gift
we call human life
slivers
“senses sensing”
imagine
all the humans and their senses
perceiving life right now
all the ears listening, all the eyes witnessing
all the tasting, all the touching
all the senses
cast like a vast net over planet Earth
observing life
each a uniquely colored lens
filtering experiences in their own way
each a fractal, a gem, a sliver of the whole
then,
imagine more senses sensing
all the birds perceiving life
all the elephants and the Lilies of the Valley . . .
and how about grains of sand?
do they sense life in their crystalline way?
where does it all begin and end, this living net of awareness?
“a sliver of the whole”
gratitude
“gratitude tanka”
the body, my friend,
and life all around - nurtured
by cycles supreme
what can my only response
and prayer be, but: thank you!
“giving thanks”
sky salutations
“up and up”
autumn sky above
this vast blue sheltering dome
home to every breath
a constant, fresh - give and take
may i be as welcoming
“12 answers to the wheel of change”
many worlds
on our daily journey
we travel through fantastic worlds
moving between
dreaming
waking
being
arriving from our dream worlds
waking up to the in-between states
to being - more or less - mindful
slipping from awareness to awareness
observing
watching restlessness
watching boredom
watching the fantastic follies
watching expectations
watching pleasure
watching agony
watching words
watching words dissolve
until silence speaks
stay
before me
glitter
endless distractions
endless entertainments
endless ways to exhaust
the daily dollop of energy
nothing wrong
with the sparkly stuff
it can fill many lifetimes
with satisfaction
yet,
there is also the call
to stay
with inner wonderlands
