Family challenges

In this post-holiday time I’m thinking of families: 

Folks grouped together with broad commonalities 

But subtle differences,

And how easy it is to celebrate the first 

Yet struggle with the second: 

The choices, the personalities, the styles and beliefs 

That make sense to one but not to another; 

The ways we revert to old patterns 

And listen without hearing, 

And how we manage to co-exist over time…

Gratitude

A gray day on an island, and a pond, 

With water lilies, and a boat — 

Peace, and a brief abatement 

From the worries of the world: 

Another reason to give thanks.

Gratitude demands response

There’s so much to be grateful for: 

Why, even the trees are gifted 

With glorious fall dresses 

And draped with liquid pearls. 

How can we not empathize 

With all who suffer 

 Heartbreak, loss, and loneliness, 

Famine, fear, disease, and pain? 

How can we not share with those 

Less fortunate than ourselves?

Learning from plants’ diversity

I wonder if those who oppose diversity 

Have boring gardens? 

Plants come in so many amazing varieties, 

And each seems so quite unafraid 

 To flaunt its individuality; 

Why wouldn’t we include 

 As many different kinds as we could find 

To coexist and fit in with each other?

Lift thine eyes

It’s all too easy to become distracted 

By the dailiness of life — 

All the demands and complexity 

Of that which is close to us — 

And miss that which calls us 

Into mystery, into silence; 

Into the future and beyond. 

Look up, lift thine eyes, 

And know the peace that lies waiting, 

Just beyond your grasp.

What does this say to you?

If you turn this picture on its side, 

It looks like one of those Mt. Rushmore faces 

Blowing out smoke; I was tempted 

To show it that way. 

But something tells me to leave it as I found it, 

And let you draw your own conclusions…

Invitation to mystery

Sundays are for mystery, 

For getting in touch 

With that which cannot be explained: 

With the wisdom of the ages 

And that inner voice that wisdom planted 

Deep within our souls 

To help us find our way to truth and light. 

Stop, look, and listen 

 To what calls us to new heights and smoothes 

New paths for undertaking 

New adventures.