Unnecessary losses

Prostrate with grief, 

We lie upon the ground and mourn 

Unnecessary losses; 

The ignorance and cruelty, 

The selfishness and greed which cut 

So many lives short before their time. 

When, O when, will we humans learn 

To see each life as part of a shared whole?

Singing your song

It becomes progressively easier 

To sing the song we were born to sing 

As we release the need to be 

Anything other than who we were born to be.

A touch of coolness

For all who suffer in the heat of summer, 

A touch of icy coolness. 

That for which we long 

Can be found within our hearts 

And made manifest in the work 

To which we’re born…

Morning has broken

“Morning has broken, like the first morning; 

Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird 

Praise for the singing, praise for the morning, 

Praise for them springing fresh from the world.”

Waves of peace

May peace flow over you, 

Sparkling with delight 

Like the waters of the sea…

Dark and light together

Just remember — 

It takes clouds to make a sunset truly spectacular, 

And the true magnificence happens 

Just as the light is going away. 

It’s the interaction of dark and light 

That brings such amazing color into our world.

When the heart soars

When in the presence 

Of the majesty of being, 

The heart soars.

Where is your attention?

In any given moment 

You can choose where you will place 

Your attention. What will you choose? 

And how will you maintain a healthy balance — 

Keep your distance and speed constant 

While admiring the moon and reading signs, 

And opening your camera while noticing 

Discomfort in your back or your knees 

And remembering the last time 

You were on this bridge 

 But someone else who is no more was driving…

Welcome healing energy

With hearts cupped open like flowers 

We welcome the healing energy of light.

The longing in our hearts

Do not bemoan that longing in your heart, 

But think of it as a hunger for Spirit, 

And trust that it will guide and fuel 

Both your search for connection 

And your unique expressions of your gifts.

May you find peace

May the wildness in your heart —

Always seeking, always wary —

Find some peace and calm and beauty 

This day.

Impermanence returns

Each June the daisies come again 

To lift their golden faces to the sun 

And dust the fields with white: 

Like joy or sorrow, passing with the days 

But sure to return in time…

See past the weeds

What are these weeds, 

These fears and defenses, likes and dislikes,

Expectations, opinions, and attitudes 

With which we become preoccupied; 

That keep us from our goals and destinations?

The path that beckons

There is a path that beckons;

An invitation to new life.

Will you refuse to follow,

Just because you cannot see where it leads?

Keep shining

It matters not how small a light you are; 

It only matters that you continue to shine.

A matter of perspective

Sometimes when things loom large in your life 

It’s simply a matter of perspective: 

You’re just too close to get a sense 

Of relative importance. 

Step back, and look again: 

What’s really happening?

Where lies Truth?

It’s hard to know, 

With all the data being thrown at us, 

Where Truth actually resides. 

We lost our trusted sources sometime back, 

And now it seems that facts are everywhere — 

Like water, water, everywhere — 

But not a drop to drink; nothing untainted 

By the ruthless salt of bias and opinion…

Thirst keeps us moving

We humans seem to need these periods 

When we feel longing but no satisfaction, 

When we seek but cannot seem to find. 

It is that thirst which keeps us moving forward; 

Without it we might be tempted by stagnation.

Balancing conflicting expectations

Whatever we’re doing; 

Whatever choices we make, 

There are always parts of us learning 

And other parts of us judging and wondering. 

How can we wisely juggle our own intuition, 

The expectations of others, and our need 

For both approval and improvement?

The light within

Carved and shaped by experience, 

We reveal the light within us.

Into each life…

Our days, a mix of sunshine and clouds, 

Are meant to nourish our souls: 

Drink deeply of the light…

Incubation

Don’t think of yourself as stuck; 

Think of yourself as incubating — 

Patiently waiting through the necessary darkness 

For your spirit and energy to be restored.

Imperfections as proof

I applaud how beautifully it’s been maintained, 

This vessel someone else was given, 

But where’s the wear and tear — 

Some sign it’s actually been used; 

That it’s carried out the purpose 

For which it was created... 

You look in the mirror 

And see only imperfections, 

But the scars I see, looking at you, 

Are proof that you’ve been working, being, 

Living into the promise of your birth.

Random happenstance

Sometimes it seems 

There’s no more rhyme or reason to events 

Than to this painting: random happenstance 

That pleases or displeases 

Depending on taste, appetite, or mood... 

And yet we still persist in trying to control, 

Or, failing that, in loudly judging good and bad 

Instead of simply saying, 

“Ah. So that’s what’s happening," 

Or "this is how the world seems today...”

Celestial artist

A late spring evening, 

And the world is alight with color, 

A gift that makes hearts soar 

And inspires artists everywhere.

Soaring into presence

We were born for this: 

Our hearts were born to soar above 

All thoughts of past or future 

Slights and promises; 

To catch the lift of love and hope 

And let it carry us into full presence; 

To that space where our awareness 

Is as broad and accepting as the sky; 

Where clouds and clarity combine 

To create a glorious and ever-changing 

 Paradigm of perfection.

When doubts come sneaking in

They come in the night, these doubts — 

Who am I? What am I doing here? 

What am I doing wrong? 

How can I be so self-serving? — 

Sneaky little creatures, making us question 

All our choices. It doesn’t hurt to listen, 

But don’t let them take up residence: 

That home within your heart is reserved 

For the Source that gently guides you 

On the path to greater good.

Time and the spirit flowing

I know: it’s not that beautiful. 

But I find it reassuring 

That just beneath the tangle and the muck 

Of life and in my mind, 

The River of the Spirit is still flowing; 

The light of wisdom still glancing off its ripples...

Opening doors to the future

At some point, with age, we come to realize 

Some doors — however appealing — 

Will always be closed to us, 

At which point we can choose 

To rage, complain, and push for ourselves, 

Or to quietly work with what we have and know 

To ensure they won’t be closed for those 

Who come along behind us.

Centering

We need to somehow find — or make — 

The time to get back to the center of things; 

To discover once again the deep connectedness,

The infinite wonder of oneness.