The colors of winter

As we cross the bridge into winter, 

Leaving behind the glorious sunsets 

And heading into months of clouds and rain 

(Yes, that’s what passes for winter 

In the Pacific Northwest) 

I look forward to the restful grays and wonder: 

What colors will emerge in my life 

To fill the days til sunsets flower again?

Enlarge your sense of what’s possible

Patient observation teaches me 

Persistence and determination can overcome 

Seemingly insurmountable obstacles — 

But it also helps to be able 

To leap tall things at a single bound!

In praise of clouds

A sunset without clouds 

Is just an orange sky: 

It is the darks and lights, the highs and lows, 

And the reflections that they trigger, 

That give life character.

A new way to serve

Though you can no longer do the tasks 

You thought you were created for, 

That doesn’t mean you cannot find 

Some new way to serve; 

Some way to nurture life and beauty 

And in so doing bless the world!

A vastness to fill your soul

Some days, it’s good to be reminded 

How very small we are, 

And how magnificent the world 

In which we live. 

Breathe deep, and let that vastness 

Fill your soul…

Considering change

Be careful, when contemplating change: 

What looks picturesque, 

Appealing from a distance, 

May prove, on closer encounters, 

To be every bit as challenging 

As the life you’re living now. 

That grass that’s looking greener 

May be just as full of weeds 

As the grass you’re mowing. 

That said — a carefully considered change 

Might be exactly what you need…

Postcards of a life

Why assume that we can fully comprehend 

The complexities of a life that’s been distilled 

Like postcards into the surface we encounter; 

A collection of experiences, memories, 

Grievances, and opinions — some our own; 

Others sent to us and treasured 

For reasons now obscured — 

And yet we persist in judging, 

Based only on what we see: so much easier 

Than taking time to explore what lies beneath.