Caring for the unseen

Can you not see how connected we all are, 

And how we are all colored 

By those connections? 

Somewhere, someone you have not seen 

Or heard from in years 

Is worrying about you and sending up prayers 

For your health and safety. 

Today, make time to do the same 

For someone in your vast network of friends.

Embrace possibility!

We never really know 

What life has in store for us 

Until we get there. 

Until that new day comes, 

Embrace possibility!

Step outside

Step outside, if only for a moment. 

Breathe in the light, and let your heart 

Dance upon the wind. 

Let the harmonies of nature find their echoes 

In the tranquility of your soul.

Blessings on your day

May the worst of your troubles 

Wash away with the tide 

And the day before you be bright and clear.

Signs of wisdom

Don’t get trapped by a rising tide: 

Wise words in any situation...

Don’t miss the moon!

It’s easy to get distracted 

By the obstacles in our path, 

So focused on the objectives that lie ahead, 

That we fail to look up and sense 

The presence of the moon, 

Beaming warmly down upon our efforts...

Spiritual exercise

There is a path 

Through the turbulence of the world 

To the still place in your soul. 

Find it, and try to walk it daily: 

A vital exercise for the spirit.

You only need to be

Find for yourself some quiet time, 

And let the rhythms of the day 

Wash over you, like the waters of the sea. 

Just for a moment, be content and know 

You do not have to move or change, 

You only need to be: that is enough.

Grief is an empty house

Grief is an empty house, 

Leaching color from our world. 

Knowing our lives will never be the same, 

How can we go on? — and yet we do, 

Stepping into the barren spaces, 

Breathing in the loss 

 And breathing again.

Rusty but still linked

However rusty our skills may be 

At collaboration and cooperation, 

We are, nonetheless, still inextricably linked.

I hope we can find a way to work together.

One of those mornings

When you have one of those mornings 

When you wake up feeling cold and alone, 

Less aware of your successes than your failures; 

When you wonder what went wrong, 

And what it is about you 

That can’t seem to turn acquaintances into friends, 

Breathe in for all the other folks 

Who feel just as you’re feeling, 

Search your heart, and then breathe out

Whatever joy and comfort you can share.

Eternal changelessness

Whatever your concerns about this day, 

Whatever your fears or hopes, 

I entreat you and encourage you 

To step back from the moment and breathe: 

Breathe in the eternal changelessness 

Of the infinitely variable sky and sea 

And trust: all shall be well.

The heart will prevail

Many waters cannot quench love: 

The heart will prevail.

Watching events unfold

Trapped inside, we watch with some anxiety 

As events unfold beyond our walls...

In the stillness, a prayer

In the stillness of a quiet morning 

We lift our hearts in prayer 

For the health of those we love 

And the safety of a nation in turmoil: 

May kindness rule and sanity prevail.

The good ship Democracy

Don’t give up hope yet: 

She may be rusty but she still floats. 

True, it’s gonna take more 

Than a few coats of paint, 

But with all of us working together 

We can get this fine ship sailing again.

Life is good, and yet...

How much longer, I wonder, 

Will we be living so alone? 

How is it we still flourish, 

Faced with all these limitations? 

What is it about this picture 

That awakens these echoes of longing? 

Life is good, and we are fortunate, and yet...

Coloring our days

Today’s troubles, like striations on the sky, 

Will soon be gone, 

 But the sky itself, like the day, 

And like tomorrow, will remain 

To be painted on anew, 

Tinted always by perceptions 

And our willingness to look. 

What we see, and how we respond, 

Will continue coloring our days.

Stay attuned

There are those days 

When you can’t see or even imagine 

What the future might look like, 

Or how you’ll get there; 

When the obvious options are blocked. 

Now is the time to stay fully present: 

Staying attuned to what’s here, what’s now, 

Will help prepare you for whatever’s next.

Perfect in our imperfections

Take a walk in the forest, and observe 

How the trees are unafraid 

To flaunt their imperfections, 

And how what makes each tree imperfect 

Also makes it unique — 

And uniquely beautiful.

From a distance

Until we take a step back, a step away, 

It’s easy to forget how small a part we play, 

How fragile our fortifications; 

How vulnerable we are 

In the face of water, weather, and time; 

How quickly things can change; 

How sharp the blade of disappointment 

When it falls.

Not from us but through us

Do not be anxious, or compare 

The work you do with others. 

Whatever creativity we express 

Flows, not from us, but through us: 

Our job is just to keep that channel clear.

What’s been exposed

It’s inevitable: we see it every year, 

Yet still we are surprised. 

When the leaves fall, 

What lies behind them is exposed 

And things begin to look pretty gnarly. 

Now is a time for noticing, and fixing, 

So that when the leaves return in spring 

We don’t forget what lies beneath; 

What must be done, and what must change.

Crafting reassurance

It’s challenging, in times like these, 

To trust that all could possibly work out; 

That there’s still light at the tunnel’s end 

And angels looking after us. 

And so we craft and display angels of our own 

And photograph what rainbows we can find 

To remind ourselves that there’s still truth 

And goodness in the world.

Lifting a lamp

In the light of morning, 

What took place the day before 

Seems almost incomprehensible, and yet — 

Our awareness of the way these brave souls 

Worked together with our laws to keep us safe 

Will serve as a lamp to light the way 

If and when such darkness falls again. 

"I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

There is still hope

After a night of storms, we watch the rainbow, 

Tracing her gleam of hope across the horizon. 

How is it, that with all the setbacks, 

And knowing what the end must inevitably be, 

We still believe that someone watches over us, 

And cares?

Manifest complexity

We are, each of us, so much more 

Complex and interesting than we appear — 

Even to ourselves. 

May this be the year that you discover — 

And find a way to express — 

The glorious multi-faceted richness 

That is rooted deep within.

Let it go

If we make only one resolution this year, 

Let it be a determination to forgive. 

As long as we carry that fury within, 

We continue to be imprisoned 

In a jail of our own creation.

Projections

When you look at this circle, 

What do you see? 

A safe haven, from which to view 

Your beautiful surroundings, or a prison,

Keeping you from exploring possibilities?

How are your projections coloring your world?

Limit or blessing? You decide...

As we move into the new year, 

Let’s give some thought 

To what we perceive as current limitations. 

What grounds us, and what holds us back? 

What boundaries do we need to overstep, 

And which ones give us freedom 

To explore the life within?

Enough looking back

Look back and know that what’s behind us 

Has only made us stronger. 

Now it’s time to turn our heads to the future; 

To lift our wings and fly into the unknown, 

Buoyed by the certainty that we’re survivors.