Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Dancing on the wind


We are but seeds, freed by the wind
and carried upon the breeze, 
obeying laws we cannot see or know.
Trust the wind, my friend --
one day you will understand.

-- from Dorothy Gilman

Monday, June 29, 2015

Stages on the journey



For every journey, there's a beginning and an end:
a time to plan, and pack, and load,
a time to cut your ties to the past,
a time to feel at sea, and carve your path;
a time to rest, and breathe, and celebrate
the distance that you've traveled.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

The dying of the light


"Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
-- Dylan Thomas

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Colorful blessings


In a monochromatic garden,
a touch of color is always welcome.
Some might call these weeds,
but I see them as blessings...

Friday, June 26, 2015

Mist-ifying

The chief blessing of contemplative meditation (when it works) is this: 
however fiery or impassioned your thoughts may be when you begin, 
as you drop deeper into your practice they slowly cool and melt away, 
until at last you find the mist-ifying fullness that emptiness can bring...

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Beneath the ordinary


Today I vow to be less critical:
to look beyond life's obvious imperfections
to the splendid dappled majesty 
that simmers just beneath the ordinary.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Transitioning



Though we were born to soar, it's good
to stop, and rest, and breathe the scent of Now;
to feel the way our feathers ruffle,
the invitation in the breeze
that lifts our wings and carries us to Next.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Meditation


The air is fresh, the wind is still,
the clouds are balanced with the sun:
what better time to release the ropes
and drift -- if only for 20 minutes --
into the great unknown?

Monday, June 22, 2015

Over time


The years roll by like hills --
some up, some down, some rough, some smooth --
and still we dream of reaching some perfect plateau,
not realizing how boring that landscape would be...

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Full circle

 
The hydrangeas in my new yard evoke past summers with my grandmother:
the magnolia tree whose lowest branch was a perfect height to climb;
the gardenias by her brick steps sending up their sweet perfume;
the way the Virginia breeze would lift lace curtains to reveal
the blue hydrangeas slumbering just beyond her rose-striped walls;
those steamy summer nights, their peace disturbed each quarter hour 
by the reassuring toll of my grandfather's wooden clock,
which now hangs here, its aged pendulum stilled.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Like the flowers


Like these flowers, we may lean
in different directions as we gather up the light,
and we may be in different stages of development.
But like these flowers, we're all blooms of the same bush:
rooted in the same earth, drinking and fed 
by the same green, thirsty leaves...

Friday, June 19, 2015

Listen to your heart


The more we understand our shared Unity,
the more difficult it becomes to assess
where my being ends and yours begins.
As the boundaries between us begin to fade,
the distinction between self-CARE and self-ISH
can become more challenging to define and live:
another opportunity to listen to your heart.


Thursday, June 18, 2015

Then, and now, and yet to come


How easy it is, to get caught up in regret
for the beauty -- our own, or others --
that we left behind, and miss
the pleasure that is now, and to forget
to wonder at all the glory that's yet to come..

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Enlightenment


There are moments when the veil lifts, or the basket tips,
and all our ugly thoughts slide out
to lie exposed upon the sand,
and O, we think, how manipulative we've been,
or O, how greedy, or O, how cruel -- 
but all too soon the vision passes, and we fall back 
into old hoarding habits, crying "Mine, all mine!"

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

What are we hiding/from?


We surround our windows to the world
with such magnificence,
but then we close the shutters,
determined not to see, or be seen.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Come, clarity


Come, clarity: cut through the fog
that hides me from my true purpose today.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

What thoughts are these?


What thoughts are these, that constantly co-opt
my morning's meditation?
Why can't I sit, like the heron,
in patient stillness, feasting on the light?

Saturday, June 13, 2015

The splash of time


The splash of time, the crash of the sea,
and we like the rocks are smoothed and softened,
rough edges worn away by the constant flux and surge
of suffering, and love.

Friday, June 12, 2015

Our thoughts are not the moon


Whatever illumination we create with our images and our words
can only begin to approximate the power of True Light.
Our thoughts are not the moon, but only point in its direction:
its mystery can never be fully contained or expressed...

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Morning stillness


In stillness 
we await your call --
where should our travels take us
today?

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Radiant with love


Watch where you step today:
it's raining light,
and even the lowliest plants in the forest
are radiant with love.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Come glide with me


Come, glide with me:
step out into my poem and let me paddle for a while.
Trail your hands in my current of thought,
bump up against the edges of the real,
then drift again into the sea of wonder, 
and trust that I will bring you safely back to shore.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Congregation


We cluster here with others of our kind,
some looking out, some looking back, some hiding, 
and some waiting to bloom more.
Grant us the courage we need 
to share the light that glows through us
with those who walk
beyond these carefully tended borders.

Sunday, June 7, 2015

The problem of evil


If we understand that selfishness --
to value one's own needs above others --
lies at the root of evil,
can we also understand 
that naming a person or act as evil
arises out of selfishness?
With each act we have a choice:
to decide for our common good,
or just one's own.
Which will you choose today?

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Close your eyes


Feeling cluttered? Overwhelmed?
Close your eyes and take a minute 
to rest and return to a place or a space in time
where you could feel serene and calm.
Now let that peace wash over you
as the waves caress the sand...

Friday, June 5, 2015

We need each other


However monumental our differences might be,
the fact remains: 
we need each other to survive this journey...

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Reflective and absorbent


Like much we find in nature,
we humans are both reflective and absorbent;
taking in and offering back all that touches us,
both sun and rain, both nourishment and poison.
So -- knowing this -- where will you stand today?

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Humans, becoming

 

How different might the world be,
if we all understood that we're not human beings,
but human becomings: always influencing --
and being influenced by --
the people, events and places that surround us?
What choices would we make differently,
if we could truly comprehend that mystery?

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Outmoded defenses


With time, your defenses --
the ones you put in place to cushion you 
from the dark side of your assumptions -- 
begin to fail.
What if -- instead of replacing them,
you cut loose, and allow yourself
to experience the freedom of openness?

Monday, June 1, 2015

Explore some new horizon


Though you're not sure where the path will lead,
it's wide, and quite inviting.
Why not follow for a while,
and explore some new horizon?