Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Dancing in the shallows


After the rain, 
We'll be dancing in the shallows,
Laughing and splashing
As the clouds roll away.

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

This dark tangle


Somewhere in the midst of this dark tangle,
some kind providence is watching, 
honoring our struggles 
and waiting for our eyes to see the light.

Monday, February 26, 2018

Bleak


Things may be looking bleak,
but at least we're not alone...

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Determined to bloom


Once again, I am inspired by the flowers,
by their determination to bloom
in the harshest of circumstances.
Surely we can learn to do the same?

Saturday, February 24, 2018

When things look dark


Sometimes, when things are looking really dark,
it's best to take the long view, to remember
that ultimately, dawn will come again...

Friday, February 23, 2018

A fence, not a wall


Instead of walling in -- or walling out -- 
those difficult emotions, build a fence: 
something more permeable, to let the feelings through,
to touch your heart, or share into the unknown and receptive air.

Thursday, February 22, 2018

The beauty of the unexpected


Sometimes, in the face of unusual weather,
it's best to abandon your previous plans;
to settle back and take some time 
to appreciate the beauty of the unexpected.

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Always underwater


We can detect the land beneath the waves,
but not the point where sea becomes the sky.
Is that because we're always looking down,
or is it just we're always under water?

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Multiplicity


So many buildings, so many windows,
so many lives, and so many stories --
how can we continue thinking
ours is the only way of being in the world?

Monday, February 19, 2018

Difficult advice

 
Perhaps the most difficult piece of advice to take to heart...

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Tradeoffs


You say you're longing for the simple life,
the way things used to be, a hard day's labor,
and the rising with the sun, but are you willing to forego
the ease with which you shop, communicate, and learn
with today's technology?

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Building community


The blending of differing shades, from light to dark,
adds beauty to the piecing, strip by strip,
to construct a stable resting place --
building a boat's like building a community...

Friday, February 16, 2018

Walking on water


I can see there is some sort of bridge
between your side and mine,
I just can't seem to get to it:
must I learn to walk on water?

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Shadows on my soul


Today the shadows on my soul 
are simply the reflections of someone else's clouds --
but that doesn't seem to make them any less dark.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

The nature of love


Our love of nature
teaches us in turn
the nature of love...

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

The overall magnificence of life


One of nature's gifts is to remind us 
just how small a part we play
in the overall magnificence of life...

Monday, February 12, 2018

Van Gogh's other ear

You talk with me, a sharing of your day,
and while I listen with one ear, the other's busy,
listening to the creative ferment in my brain;
I'm beginning to understand why Van Gogh
needed to cut it off...

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Nigredo


Standing in the vineyard
staring at the barren vines,
it's hard to trust that spring will come again.

Saturday, February 10, 2018

When to cut your losses


When do we keep going,
not knowing where the road may end,
and when do we give up, turn back,
and try a different route to satisfaction?

Friday, February 9, 2018

Prepared to risk failure


If you're determined to strive for success,
you'll need to be prepared to risk failure.

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Confessions of an Empath



I am a wind chime, trembling
in the breeze of distant sighs.

(I don't even know if people read this blog but I thought I would explain that this image/poem is a short form of the poem you will find here: https://contemplativephotographer.blogspot.com/2018/02/affetuoso.html  and both were written because there was a shooting on our island yesterday, which happened while my husband was driving his school bus full of children. I knew his bus route went by the shooting only minutes after it happened, so I knew he'd have to take steps to protect the kids, and would have some adrenaline rushing through him by the time he got home, but I hadn't anticipated how my own levels would elevate in response as he told his story. 

We are so deeply affected by what happens in the world around us -- butterflies in one hemisphere causing typhoons in another -- and sometimes, if you allow yourself to listen to your body, you can feel that responsive trembling. If only we could attune ourselves to the trembling of the world, perhaps we would protect it more tenderly...

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Differing perspectives


Though you and I may see the world
from differing perspectives,
we're more alike than you might think,
and need to share our truths.

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Hungry for light


Pale harbingers of spring, the tulips in my living room
are hungry for more light -- and so am I.

Monday, February 5, 2018

Safety


May all who are alone 
rest calm in the knowledge
that should anything go wrong
there is rescue close at hand.

Sunday, February 4, 2018

Recovery


Be gentle with yourself, after a storm,
and let the light pour slowly in;
no harsh demands or darkening shoulds
to interrupt the healing flow of Spring...

Saturday, February 3, 2018

The path to wholeness


The path to wholeness may not always
prove to be this clear,
but the light at the end never wavers.

Friday, February 2, 2018

The fog of expectations


You've been searching all your life
for a place you could call home,
but will you know it when you find it,
or will you pass it by,
lost in a fog of expectations?

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Rarity


A single red tulip in a field of daffodils 
is as welcome to the artist 
as a single daffodil in a bank of red tulips.
What is it about rarity that gives us so much pleasure?