Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Letting go when the time is ripe


Just as the tree releases its fruit
when it’s reached its nutritional peak,
we need to be willing to let things go
when the time is ripe,
and trust that our work is done...

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Listen to your deeper self


Even on the most glorious summer days,
it’s good to step inside and sit with yourself;
to listen to your deeper self, and pay attention
to where you’re being called today...

Monday, July 29, 2019

On the noble path


However pleased I am to see my noble visitor,
I’m still annoyed that he’s eating all my roses.
and isn’t that always the way?
We long to follow the noble path
until it necessitates giving up something we love...

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Treasure your differences


Don’t worry that you’re a little different
from those around you:
that which makes you unique
may be exactly what is needed
to make the picture perfect,
and life so much more interesting.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Everything you need is here


We live so much of our lives
in a fog of wanting and fearing.
But oh, when that fog lifts, we see
that everything we could possibly need
is already here.

Friday, July 26, 2019

The reservoir of love


There is, deep within us,
a rich resource welling up and flowing through.
It’s what’s enabled us to survive thus far
and will continue to support us
in the joys and trials to come.
When will we learn to trust this infinite
reservoir of love?

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Dance lightly


Dance lightly as the flowers,
cradled gently by their leaves,
bring grace and color out of the dark earth
from which they’ve sprung.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Your mission


Hidden within each of us
there lies a treasure. Your mission —
should you choose to accept it —
is to bring it to light and let it flow into the world.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

To everything there is a season...


There are times when we need
to rest in the harbor,
and times when we need to unfurl our sails
and race before the wind.
Which is it that you’re called to do today?

Monday, July 22, 2019

Quilted in unity


Today let us celebrate the glorious quilt
that is all creation — all stitches, all colors,
all fabrics and textures — a nurturing whole,
pieced together in humbling complexity
to bless us with comfort, beauty, and warmth.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Beneath the surface


In the stillness of reflection,
even the most mundane can reveal
the magic, the precious mettle,
that lies beneath the surface...

Saturday, July 20, 2019

From pain to gain


Often the things that sting the most
are the very ones most likely to lead to growth...

Friday, July 19, 2019

In nature's embrace


However alone you may be feeling,
know that you are always held
in the gentle, gravitational embrace
of the natural world...

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Drinking in the Now


Yes, night is coming;
Yes, the darkness is falling fast.
But the gift of now, in the sunset time,
has a beauty beyond imagining.
I don’t want to miss a minute of it,
and am determined to keep drinking it in
til the last sunset leaves the sky.

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

The roots of mysterious choices


The decisions others make
are often far more complex
than may be immediately apparent.
Instead of assuming there’s an obvious right or wrong,
spend some time exploring
the roots that inform mysterious choices.

Monday, July 15, 2019

The garden in which we grow


All of life lies at our feet:
That which feeds us, that which impedes us...
How can we begin to accept and even bless
this life; these opportunities that shape
the garden in which we grow?

Sunday, July 14, 2019

Enjoy your summer


I hope you find some time today
to relax and enjoy the sounds and signs
of summer.

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Keep climbing


We may not know where these steps lead,
But for now we’ll just keep climbing.

Friday, July 12, 2019

Give your difference a voice


Love works through each of us,
adding our own unique colors and textures
to the bouquet of life.
Try not to silence that which makes you different,
but rather give it voice, that it may speak,
complete and complement the totality of being.

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Infinite gifts


Some days the generosity, the sheer abundance 
of the natural world, just overwhelms me.
Infinite gifts, for those who take the time to look...

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

The images that haunt us


When there are no words,
Art still insists on speaking.
The images that haunt us all
seep through onto the page...

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

A deep source of love


Look closely: see how the clouds
have turned the water gray?
The water hasn’t changed; it’s only colored
by events in the moment.
Your life, your soul, are like the sea:
Below the waves and clouds,
a deep and rich resource of love,
welling up within you.

Monday, July 8, 2019

Lessons from the dark


However barren your internal landscape
may be feeling at this moment;
Whatever darkness may have taken root
and spread its tendrils into your soul, know this:
the clarity that comes in these dark times,
the lessons that you learn, will continue
to bless you when the clouds are gone
And the grass is green again.

Sunday, July 7, 2019

What love feels like


Today I hope you find a moment
to delight in the sheer exuberance of nature:
This is what it feels like
to love, and to be loved...

Saturday, July 6, 2019

Dancing with the unpredictable


However challenging uncertainty may be,
without the unexpected life would lack vitality.
Somehow, with time, we hope to learn
to stop hovering anxiously on the sidelines;
to step boldly forth and dance with the unpredictable...

Friday, July 5, 2019

Keeping hope alive


Try to remember this:
that those times when all you can see
are the seemingly endless obstacles in your future
are often immediately followed
by an opportunity to change direction
which will set you free...

Thursday, July 4, 2019

Bright aspirations


Today we don’t just celebrate our country’s birth,
but also we remember its aspirations:
Those goals we hoped to reach
by enshrining them in documents and pledges
whose words still lie engraved upon our hearts:
still hoping to become a nation indivisible;
still longing for liberty, equality,
and ultimately justice for all.
May the darkness of this night
make our aspirations shine all the brighter...

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

No need to be perfect


Nature, in her gentle way, reminds us:
we don’t have to be perfect to be beautiful...

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Truth at the heart of being


Like the grass and the trees,
the daily texture of our lives
may shift and vary with the seasons,
or even disappear in the wake
of our destructions and constructions.
But the mountains will remain:
immutable, unchanging,
though hidden by the clouds;
the inimitable truths at the heart of our being...

Monday, July 1, 2019

Listening in the stillness


The gift of meditation is not so much 
that it brings calm and order to our lives,
but rather that it raises our awareness
of the chaos and disorder
our own thoughts are introducing.
Listening in the stillness, we learn...