Friday, August 31, 2018

As summer fades...


As the deep green leaves of summer
Fade to gold, we take this one last opportunity
To celebrate the pleasure of a day
When all that’s asked of us
Is simply to appreciate what is.

Thursday, August 30, 2018

The song in the stillness


Listen for the voice, the song,
singing in the stillness:
the voice that sings of home, and safety,
and love.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Nourished by the ruins


Yes, you have been burned -- haven't we all? --
but look at all the new growth springing up,
nourished by the ruins of the past...

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Reflecting you


Whatever light you see in me
Is a reflection of your own amazing brilliance.

Monday, August 27, 2018

Autumn on its way


Though I am fed by the greenness of things,
I still can sense the creeping inevitability
Of Autumn...

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Our thirst for hope


However frustrated we may be
We have to trust that change is in the wind;
That beneath this dry surface
Opportunities are ripening
And our thirst for hope will finally be assuaged.

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Calm reflections


The calmer the waters around you,
the clearer your own reflections will be.

Friday, August 24, 2018

We dream of clearer skies


Reddened by the smoke 
from all the late summer wildfires,
the sun burrows down into the darkness,
leaving us to dream through the night
of clearer, cooler skies to come...

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Keep on grumbling



What is this urge that drives us to create, or shop,
to write, or drink, or snack, or run away --
and how do we know whether to listen and obey
or just ignore and keep on grumbling at the world?

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

First step to forgiveness


The first step to forgiving
The dark shadows in others’ souls
Is accepting the dark shadows in our own...

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Dreaming of a brighter, kinder future


Though life keeps throwing rocks into their path,
The waves of hope continue their relentless rush,
And still we look to the blue horizon
And dream of a brighter, kinder future.

Monday, August 20, 2018

Hop to it!


“Hop to it!” My mom used to say
If I was avoiding some task she’d assigned me;
“Hop to it!” As if I were some sort of frog
With no other demands on my time...

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Humbling awarenesses



They come, like thieves, with the moon,
In the wee hours of the morning,
These humbling awarenesses of imperfection,
Masking the radiance of our souls
With shoulds, and should-have-dones,
And - worst of all - the never-shoulda-saids.

Saturday, August 18, 2018

From the same stalk...


However different you and I appear to be —
You in the golden bud of youth
While I am blowsy with age —
Let’s not forget we share the same roots;
Together we’re both reaching for the sun.

Friday, August 17, 2018

The clutter in my brain


The clutter in my brain
reveals itself in silence,
then empties itself onto the page...

Thursday, August 16, 2018

Heart of compassion


What is it you desire most,
And what could you do today
To help others achieve that goal?

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Smoke-reddened


The smoke-reddened sun has set 
our whole world aflame...

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

What compassionate act?


Whatever culture or religion you espouse,
I suspect compassion is still a primary value.
What compassionate act
will you perform today?

Monday, August 13, 2018

Above the fray


Though it looks like a wild and crazy day,
see if you can find a way
to stay above the fray --
you won't regret it!

Sunday, August 12, 2018

Gratitude for beauty


Take a moment today
To say a prayer of gratitude
For all the people who make the time
To add a touch of beauty to our world.

Saturday, August 11, 2018

Drink deeply in the silence


The love and acceptance for which you thirst
Lies waiting, sparkling, deep within
The well of the body, sourced by the river
Of spirit that flows through all.
Drink deeply in the silence, and be healed.

Friday, August 10, 2018

Finding my way home


However thick the fog may be —
The infinite distractions
that keep cluttering up my mind and time —
I know I’ll always find my way home to You.

Thursday, August 9, 2018

The web of connection


And finally, as the day draws to a close,
The late afternoon sun highlights
The web of connection we always suspected
That binds us all together, each to each...

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

It won't be long


In the heat of summer, the pine cone’s sap —
A not-so-subtle reminder that
It won’t be all that long before
Winter coats her needles with ice...

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

The nature of prayer


What is it that we're doing,
when we isolate ourselves
and stand here with our arms outstretched,
trying to catch the wind?

Monday, August 6, 2018

The road to compassion


The road to compassion is paved with kinder words
Than I have spoken yet today.
Help me to step more carefully between the lines...

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Appreciate the past and the path


Pausing for a moment
on our path to the future,
We appreciate the beauty
of the past we left behind...

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Broadening compassion


Whatever you feel compassion for —
These animals in the cold? —
Can you extend that feeling broader,
To include the lost, the ill, the refugee,
The rich, the poor, the powerful? Yourself?

Friday, August 3, 2018

When we stand together


Sometimes it’s hard to tell
Where you end and I begin,
But when we stand together
What beauty we create!

Thursday, August 2, 2018

You are not your suffering


Trapped inside your own head?
You are not your suffering, but so much more.
Focus on the world beyond your pain,
And feel the tension slip away...

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

A light in the darkness


Do your best to be a light in the darkness,
And trust that the world around you
Will reflect and multiply
the light you choose to share.