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.

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Honoring our veterans


On this gray day in November 
We remember all whose lives 
Were lost or changed forever 
On the battlefields of war; 
Who lie below the ground 
Or walk above it and alone, 
Forever haunted by their memories; 
The images, scents and sounds of the past.

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Taking comfort from the simple things


And in the end, the simple things: 
The buck beneath the holly tree, the rain, 
The sea and sky, the thistles tossing seeds 
To add more prickles to the lawn, 
The spiders in their webs, 
And the hummingbird whose ruby throat 
Still flashes at the feeder — 
The days come down to this, and so 
We learn to watch and wait for this 
Horrific year to pass, while taking comfort 
From the timelessness of that which seems 
Untouched by our catastrophes.

Monday, November 9, 2020

Look beyond your preconceptions


Take it today: one thing you think you know - 
One assumption you feel confident in making - 
And see if you can look beyond 
The structure it creates inside your thoughts, 
Through the window of your preconceptions 
To the possibilities that lie beneath; 
The potential for a new and broader 
Way of understanding.
Don't be afraid to turn things upside down.

Sunday, November 8, 2020

A brighter future


Though still the rain is falling, 
The sky offers a promise 
Of brighter days to come.

Saturday, November 7, 2020

A ray of light


Lost in contemplation of all the ways 
My world’s imperfect now, I chanced to look 
Outside my window, and this one 
Brief ray of light appeared (and left, 
Once I had set my camera down 
And started writing), as if to say 
Two things, or maybe three: 
That there is hope; this life, at heart, is good; 
And it’s my job, and yours as well, 
To see, and share, and be that ray of light; 
To glow with absolute conviction, and hope, 
That all this dark division and this waiting 
Will somehow bring us to a brighter place.

Friday, November 6, 2020

Hanging together


What will we do, now that we know 
We are two completely different kinds of fruit 
Hanging from the same tree; 
That, contrary to our expectations, 
It isn’t obvious to all 
That the path we’re on is completely wrong 
Or absolutely right? 
Despite our inclinations, we will need to find 
A way to hang together...

Thursday, November 5, 2020

Prism as prison


Buddha’s last words may have been 
"Make of yourselves a light,” 
But it won’t be enough, now, to simply shine: 
We must at last be willing to shine Through 
The prism of our assumptions and prejudices, 
Giving welcome invitation to the rainbow 
Of possibility that lies waiting beyond the edge 
Of what we believe or think we know; 
To bring, not just light, but color and variety 
To the darkness that has haunted us 
For longer than we know.

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Undecided


The sun is rising, the moon is setting, 
And still we have no way of knowing 
How our future will unfold — 
But do we ever? From one minute to the next 
All things might change, and so 
We go about our daily rounds: 
Feed the pets, water the plants, 
Stare unseeing at the cluttered closets, 
And wonder: how will it all end?

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Love what is close


Rather than curse the fog, through which 
We cannot find a way, simply notice: 
Release your need for clarity and observe 
How the simplest, most familiar things 
Take on a precious beauty all their own, 
Ignited in response to the dying light. 
Pay attention: love and appreciate 
What is close, what is personal, what is now.

Monday, November 2, 2020

The banner of justice


Looking beyond the beauty of the moment;
Hoping to see the banner of justice wave...

Sunday, November 1, 2020

Return to center


What we see will always be a reflection 
Of who we are, so today’s a good day 
To get centered, to sit quietly 
And let the feelings rise and float away, 
Revealing once again the trusting core; 
The ocean floor beneath the waves; 
The ground of being that sustains us 
Through the turbulence...

The end of daylight savings

It’s Sunday, and the sky is glowing pink again;
doesn't the sun realize it isn't time?
According to the automatic clock in my computer
(not the one in my kitchen, which apparently
got ahead of itself, somehow, in the night)
it's only 6 am. The moon knows -- she’s still hanging in the trees,
waiting for the branches to lower her to the sea
but they're confused: it's hard to pick her out
when the sky's so light, so early, and what if they forget
and leave her hanging there, resting in the eagle's nest,
vulnerable to his claws should he return and find her
cluttering his space -- oh, wait,
I see her slide into the sea all by herself,
all pink with effort to escape and yet still fading,
overpowered by the dawn...