Thursday, December 31, 2020

Blessings in the darkness


Looking back over the darkness 
That was this challenging year, 
I still see there were gifts 
That shone forth like the moon: 
A raising of awareness; 
A new appreciation of my family and friends... 
But mostly I’m just glad we made it through 
And hoping for a kinder year to come.

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Welcome the light


Stand, strong and graceful as the tree, 
And welcome the golden light of the new day. 
Change is coming!

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Were it not for fear


There’s something so appealing 
About this level of freedom, 
And at the same time I imagine 
It could — it must! — be terrifying. 
Where else, I wonder, have I allowed 
My fear to imprison me? 
What would I do, where would I go, 
And who might I become 
Were it not for fear?

Monday, December 28, 2020

What have we learned?


Taking a minute to look back 
Over this horrific year, 
What stands out for you? 
What have we learned, 
And what will we do differently 
As we move into our still uncertain future?

Sunday, December 27, 2020

White space


Whether we make time for emptiness and silence 
Or life and loss carve that out for us, 
The white space in our lives helps to reveal 
The beauty of what we had and what remains. 
What are you grateful for today 
That you might not have given thought to a year ago?

Saturday, December 26, 2020

Heading into the season of light


The moon’s still hanging in there 
And the sun is on the rise. 
Here begins a new season of light: 
Can’t wait to see where it leads next.

Friday, December 25, 2020

Merry Christmas!


Wishing you a peaceful 
and joy-filled holiday season.

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Lost innocence


Left behind on a cement road block, 
This simple childhood toy 
Makes my heart break: an echo, I suspect, 
Of all the losses sustained this year: 
So many lives, so many livelihoods, 
So much division; so few illusions left. 
May Christmas and the New Year bring 
New hope and a new determination 
To find new and better ways 
To care for and support one another.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

What shall we do?


It’s been that sort of year, 
And as it draws to a close and we look back, 
Life’s been somewhat colorless, 
And many of us feel beached; 
Boats out of water, purposeless, 
Wondering what new disaster awaits us, 
And how—or even if— we might survive. 
What shall we do today to cheer each other up 
And bring color and light back into life?

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Planting small seeds of change




Lasting change and improvement in the world 
Are most often brought about 
By the cumulative effect of small actions, 
Small decisions; small choices. 
What small things might you say or do 
Differently today; what tiny seeds of change 
Could you plant that could contribute 
To a more peaceful, more collaborative community?

Monday, December 21, 2020

A beacon of hope


And now the final week begins, 
The fevered preparations muted 
By our changing circumstances, 
Yet still we hope to celebrate 
The familiar beacon of hope: 
The shift in expectations 
From ever-lessening light to lengthened days; 
From endings to beginnings and new life.

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Breathe your way back into light


Whatever your belief, 
I hope you’ll find some time today 
To find or create a sacred space 
In which to breathe your way back into light.

Saturday, December 19, 2020

Make time for play


What could we be doing 
With all the time that’s been freed up 
By our lack of socializing? 
Let’s do something playful and creative today!

Friday, December 18, 2020

Beyond the fog


Though whatever lies before us is not clear, 
It is sure to contain both dark and light: 
Some moments full of mystery 
And others that reek of the mundane. 
Be patient, be kind, keep moving through the fog, 
And trust that each day is guiding us 
Toward a deeper understanding of what’s true.

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Christmas can be prickly


Like the holly we so often see 
At this time of year, 
Thoughts of Christmas have always had 
A bit of a prickly edge: 
All that romance and glamour, 
And the expectations they create 
Can serve to emphasize both loss and loneliness: 
The snow that doesn’t fall, 
The hoped for gifts that don’t arrive, 
The loved ones who are absent from the feast, 
The drama of family issues unresolved — 
Yet still we dream, and celebrate 
The birth of hope and light 
 Into a world that hungers for their sweetness.

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

What can we change?


We have only to look at the clouds to see 
That variety adds spice to any picture. 
So why is it we’re so afraid of change? 
What tiny thing might we do differently today 
To brighten up our world, or someone else’s?

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Who will we become?


May our enforced isolation serve as a frame 
To capture and enhance 
Our understanding and respect 
For the world beyond ourselves — 
A world which watches and hopes to see 
Who we finally become when we’re set free...

Monday, December 14, 2020

Don’t be afraid to dream


Here, in the depths of winter, 
The memories of summer assail us. 
Thoughts of lazy rivers and warm afternoons 
Spent in the company of friends 
Carry us through the cold and dark. 
Don’t be afraid to dream of better times: 
They’re sure to come again.

Sunday, December 13, 2020

The infinite assurance of belonging


Stop. Just stop. 
Now close your eyes and breathe. 
Just breathe. 
Take a moment to be fully present 
To all that is, right here; right now. 
Now breathe again; release; 
 And go about your day, carrying with you 
The infinite assurance of belonging.

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Laboring through darkness


Nothing new is born without laboring 
Through difficulty and darkness. 
May all who struggle in the current darkness 
Keep striving toward the light, 
Trusting that something wonderful and new 
Is being born.

Friday, December 11, 2020

No escaping reality


Looking at this painting, 
Trying to hear what it wants to tell me, 
I'm suddenly hearing Jimi Hendrix: 
“There must be some kind of way out of here, 
Said the joker to the thief. 
There’s too much confusion; 
I can’t get no relief...” 
It somehow seems to capture 
The emotions of this year and this transition...

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Missing your stories


One of the great losses of this time 
Has been the lost opportunity 
To listen to each other’s stories— 
The kinds of truth we’re only likely to reveal 
In person; not so much by phone or Zoom; 
The kinds of stories that when shared 
Remind us just how much alike we are. 
These days the deepest truths I hear 
Are only whispered through the trees, 
The song of birds, the murmur of the waves...

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

The immensity that sleeps in your heart


Make time today to look within: 
Look deep below the surface of your thoughts 
And awaken the immensity 
That lies sleeping in your heart.

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Broken and alone


Cut off from friends and family, 
There are days when this is how it feels: 
Broken and alone.

Monday, December 7, 2020

The golden hour


Think of this as the golden hour — 
The last gasp of light, 
The last leg of the journey into night, 
When the restorative powers 
Of hearth and home and darkness 
Work their magic, so by morning 
We’ll be rejuvenated and ready 
To embark again on the journey into wholeness.

Sunday, December 6, 2020

The shadow you project


Be careful who you choose 
To criticize or condemn: 
The shadow you project may be your own...

Saturday, December 5, 2020

May our spirits soar


Help each of us to find a way 
To let our spirits soar 
 While trapped within these boundaries...

Friday, December 4, 2020

Growing beyond limitations


Home — whatever it looks like — 
Is where we are born and how we are formed; 
The source of both our power and our blindness. 
What might we release today 
Of who we thought we were 
And what we were led to believe 
In order to lay claim to our potential 
And bring new vision to unseeing eyes?

Thursday, December 3, 2020

Moving toward revelation


What would be the point 
Of going through a year like this together 
If it didn’t teach us some important lesson? 
There must be some important truth 
At the end of this trek we’ve taken: 
If only we could find a way to agree 
On what that truth might be...

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

What is life-giving, for you?


Forget, for a moment, all the shoulds, 
The expectations that you carry, 
The hope for some grand purpose to your life. 
Sink, instead, into the ground of your being, 
And ask your deepest self: What is true? 
What is possible? What is life-giving?

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Care for the weak


It’s good to be reminded 
That such innocence exists; 
Good to be taking time to care 
For the small, the weak; 
The vulnerable and frightened...

Monday, November 30, 2020

The sun is on the rise


Planning to write about the times 
When thoughts and hopes once lost in fog 
Can suddenly appear, 
I happened to look up and see the moon, 
Just there in front of me, despite the rain. 
I took a shot, and now I see 
It’s sunk back into clouds, as if to say 
“Keep watch, my friends, keep watch: 
Though the times are gray there is still hope. 
Keep watch, and know: 
Though the moon is setting, the sun is on the rise.

Sunday, November 29, 2020

Grace in perseverance


I know. 
There are days when prayer and meditation 
Feel empty; like a mailbox that’s been waiting 
For a letter to arrive, but don’t give up; 
You wouldn’t take the mailbox down — 
Keep coming back, keep checking in: 
Don’t be afraid to sit or kneel, but trust — 
There is a blessing in the silence 
And a grace in perseverance.

Saturday, November 28, 2020

Each gift has its shadow


When we come to accept that we are imperfect; 
That each of us has extraordinary gifts, 
And that each of those gifts comes
With its own unique shadow; 
Then and only then will we able 
To serve the world to the best of our capacity.

Friday, November 27, 2020

Time to go outside


May you find a way today 
To explore, appreciate, and be nourished by 
The silent divinity of wild spaces...

Thursday, November 26, 2020

Thankfulness in a time of loss


It’s hard to feel awash in gratitude 
When the house is empty, table’s bare, 
And chairs that once held family and friends 
Sit empty, harsh reminders of the losses, 
Seen and unseen, of this year. 
Yet still we raise a song of thanks, 
And pray that in the year to come 
We will make wiser choices,
Break through the misperceptions that divide us, 
And find our way back home 
To shared compassion and respect.

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Breathe in the light


The future stretching before us 
May be dark and full of clouds, 
But there, in the distance, will be light. 
Breathe that flame into your heart, 
And trust that it will serve 
As fuel for the journey that lies before us.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

A quiet space within


We can create — or find — within ourselves 
A garden space where souls may visit often 
To restore our faith and courage for the journey.

Monday, November 23, 2020

Renewed hunger for connection


Perhaps what we might learn 
From this enforced isolation 
Is how much we need connection: 
Could our attempts to separate, 
To judge and exclude have led to this? 
If we continue to reject all that differs, 
Will we be left with no one but ourselves? 
Perhaps we’ll learn to reach across the divide; 
To collaborate, cooperate, and connect; 
To find an end to our divisions 
And build together a more unified society...

Sunday, November 22, 2020

A promise of recovery


I’m grateful today for the occasional reminders 
That there is hope and possibility 
Still awaiting us: 
Beyond the ever present clouds, a promise, 
Like the pot of gold at the rainbow’s end, 
If we can just keep focused and moving forward.

Saturday, November 21, 2020

The gift of variety


When will we finally come to realize 
That it takes both similarities and differences 
To create a healthy and sound society; 
That each of our unique 
Imperfections and perspectives 
Can add beauty and complexity to the whole?

Friday, November 20, 2020

Time to listen to your soul


Deep below the surface of our lives 
Churns a hunger for belonging, once assuaged 
By social contacts and commitments 
To groups, to causes and shared tasks 
Now much harder to achieve in isolation. 
But we can take this opportunity 
To listen to the voice of that hunger; 
To hear more clearly what it might now 
Be calling us to become, and find new ways 
To address and express the truth of being.

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Awaiting change


And now we wait, 
Awash in fear and expectation, 
For whatever change must inevitably come.

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

We hold these truths


Grasp lightly what you hold to be the truth, 
And employ it, not as weapon, 
But a means of reaching out, 
An invitation to inclusion, not exclusion; 
A way to build a shared communion of belief 
Founded on understanding and acceptance 
Of a broader range of possibilities...

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

The challenge of aloneness


And now, after a brief respite from aloneness, 
We must step back into our solitude 
To save our lives and the lives of those we love, 
Reducing the celebration of gratitude 
To its simplest common denominator: 
To be grateful for continuing existence, 
When that existence can't be shared...

Monday, November 16, 2020

Prepared to be


When that day comes — 
The moment when I’m called upon 
To do what I was born to do — 
I pray that I’ll be ready, with my oars 
To move me forward, and a bucket 
To help bale me out 
 When seas get rough and I’m awash in fear...

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Seeking peace


May all who’ve been forced to navigate 
The challenges of this pandemic 
Find moments of peace, calm, and comfort 
Somewhere in their days...

Saturday, November 14, 2020

Wisdom in our scars


Yet another lesson from the trees: 
We can survive our wounds and still go on; 
Still bloom, still offer shade, solace, and shelter; 
Still find beauty in the scars 
And the wisdom we have learned in the struggle.

Friday, November 13, 2020

Respecting the Other


What if, though we stand on opposite sides, 
I honor the unquenchable radiance in you, 
And you honor the luminosity of spirit in me?


Thursday, November 12, 2020

Cold seas ahead


Sailing into the season of cold and wet, 
We know what lies ahead will be a slog 
But yet push on, because we know 
To set our course for spring we must 
First navigate the icy shoals of winter.