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.

Welcome the light

Stand, strong and graceful as the tree, 

And welcome the golden light of the new day. 

Change is coming!

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?

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?

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?

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.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a peaceful 

and joy-filled holiday season.

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.

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?

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?

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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?

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...

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.

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.

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.

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...

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...

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.

Broken and alone

Cut off from friends and family, 

There are days when this is how it feels: 

Broken and alone.

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.

The shadow you project

Be careful who you choose 

To criticize or condemn: 

The shadow you project may be your own...

May our spirits soar

Help each of us to find a way 

To let our spirits soar 

 While trapped within these boundaries...

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?

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...

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?

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...