What have we learned

As we embark on this, the year's last day,

what will we celebrate?

What have we learned from this year past;

what darkness will we gladly leave behind;

what losses ache, and what bright new hope

will we be carrying into tomorrow's dawn?

A lesson from your pupils

Observe this: how your pupils, in a darkened room,

Will open wide, and wider still,

In their struggle to find light.

Let your heart follow their example:

When everything seems too dark to bear,

Let it open wide, and wider still,

Until, at last, it encompasses the light.

Seeking a peaceful night

As we come to the end of a stressful year

and face into the challenges of the year to come,

help us all to trust that things are happening as they should;

and to sleep in peace, understanding 

that rest will solve more problems

than worrying ever could.

Softening the barriers

Somewhere above, below, beyond -- or perhaps 

within -- the harried pace of daily life

there exists a centered calmness, a quiet peace.

Breathe, my friend; breathe deep:

find that serenity, and let it spread 

and soften all the barriers you thought stood firm

between what is and what could be.

What can we share?

And now, today, when we who had so much already

have just a little more, what can we share,

and what can we give away?

Honoring our inner gifts

And now we've welcomed the manger's light

as warmly as we're able,

Let's learn to love those other ones

who populate our inner stable:

the ox, the lamb, the mom, the dad,

the shepherd and the king.

Each has come to honor the light;

each has a gift to bring.

Merry Christmas!

There's a manger, deep within us,

Glowing with the promise of 

a new beginning; gentle echo

Of the star that shines above.

May that spirit of peace and kindness

Grow to fill the world with love.

Clouds of wonder

As dark descends, the moon is on the rise,

and in the chill night air we wait,

our breath soft clouds of wonder

as we contemplate the joys in store

for all the world to share...

Follow the path of light

Whatever dreams your future may hold,

the fact is: now is now.

Take off your shoes,

feel the sand beneath your feet,

and follow the path of light that lies before you.

Light has returned!

The sun sets slowly,

with a corresponding splash 

of brightness on the rocks,

and now we know that when it sets again,

it will be later in the day. Light has returned:

let all the world rejoice!

Solstice

 

And now it has arrived, this darkest night --
and the rain, which cuts the sky and faces
like a knife designed to part the short day from the sun
(what ends from what's begun, my life from yours) --
and all the endings of the world run screaming
across the horizon trailing ragged flags
in all the bitter colors loss assumes
until, to save us, in that blackest, bleakest moment -- 3 am,
when all those worries gather in your throat,
silent sentries, standing helpless
as the multitudes of fear surge forth in waves --
sleep finally arrives to hold us in her arms
and rock us gently toward a newer, brighter day.

The sacred darkness

Wait patiently. These long dark nights are sacred space

where something old is dying, and something new

is struggling to be born.

Other eyes than yours are gazing tenderly upon you,

holding you, and breathing 

your inner flame back into light.

Surely we can find a way

Though differently constructed,

we drift in the same universe.

Surely we can find a way

to learn from one another...

... and still we wait

... and still we wait: for peace, for hope,

for an end to the cries of grief and pain

that echo in the night.

Tethered to our stories,

we're longing to break free...

Each an angel

How glorious life would be, if we remembered -- or believed --

that each person we meet is an angel (and so are we):

that whether dressed in white or black, each carries deep within 

that divine light that ignites us all; each offers us some truth

that rounds out our understanding of the world...

The season of waiting

It has begun: the season of waiting,

that deep sense of anticipation 

for what life has yet to bring:

for light, for love, or for some perfect gift

as yet unknown, some unspeakable generosity

to fill our hearts and all our hours with joy...

Part of a larger whole

As technology continues to propel us

toward an ever more integrated world,

it seems only natural that our egos would resist.

If we are to survive this fundamental shift,

we must come to accept that we are part of a larger whole

in which our individual differences are invaluable:

a resource to be cherished, not defended or attacked.

The peace between

Come, my love: let's travel 

to that wide flat plain that lies between

the hunger and the fear.

Together we can build a cabin there,

and live and breathe the peace between...

The flutter and the flurry

How do we stop these constant fluctuations;

the aggravating bounce of thoughts

from pleasure to pain, from praise to blame,

from loss to gain, from disgrace to fame?

The hope of one vies with the fear of the other

to send us soaring up or plummeting down.

Breathe now: sink deep into the center of your soul

and find the still calm peace that lies 

beneath the ebb and flow, the flutter and the flurry.

Divine Alchemy

With each breath, we can participate in some Divine Alchemy:

whatever suffering touches us, whatever pain or anger, 

fear or loss can be gently held, 

and then transformed from darkness into light, 

to finally spill out again as love.

The path that leads us back

You breathe us into being,

filling us with the sweet scent of growth,

then breathe through us

as we seek, or find, or travel down

the path that leads us back to that first breath.

A multitude of colors

When will we realize

a multitude of colors

makes the world a brighter place?

Be wary of assumptions

We are so quick, when we see one cloud,

to imagine others soon to come,

and lightning not far behind.

Best to accept the cloud that's here, and now,

and not to assume it's a harbinger of doom.

Yes, we might be wary,

but we need not sink into gloom.

So many opportunities

Rain, rain, and still more rain:

water spilling over every gutter, ditch and stream --

like the thoughts that flood my mind

when I'm trying to be quiet --

so many opportunities for reflections!

What lies beyond?

This web of preconceptions through which we view the world,

colored by genetics and experience,

has a way of tinting everything we see. When will we

thrust aside this curtain and step forth into the blue beyond?

What will it take to cut through to the truth that lies beneath?

Divine innocence

Honor your own sweet incandescent star,

that spark of divine innocence within

that longs, that seeks, that strives to bring

some brightness into being;

that hopes, that loves, that dreams

of a better world.

What falls will rise again

Weep not, to learn the end of days is near:

what falls will feed the earth, and rise again.

A little white space

Time, our hearts, our brains, our art --

each benefits when we allow or consciously create

a little white space.

Stop. Breathe. Let all that could distract you 

slip away, if only for a moment,

to expose and set apart what's real; what's true.

Dress and dismiss

This baggage we all carry is full of tired old thoughts

with which we clothe our new experiences and adventures.

The fit may be a little tight, but then we needn't look

at the naked  potential and energy beneath.

We can recognize and easily dismiss all possibility,

of hope, of creativity, of growth, or of change.

Life as an experiment

What if we saw all life as an experiment?

Yes, we'd draw conclusions along the way,

but if we could stay open, present, focused on the now,

new data points might surface; 

new patterns might emerge 

to guide us to a broader, 

more compassionate understanding of our world.

Lessons from the earth

Place your hand upon a stone, warmed in the afternoon sun,
and listen to the secrets coursing beneath its lichen-laced skin:
all paths lead to the heart of being;
all paths lead to the heart.