A pastoral scene to soothe your soul

I’m not sure why pastoral scenes 

Like this one seem to feed my soul, 

But since they do, I’ll share this one 

In hopes it brings a sense of calm 

And peace into your day…

Welcome the new day

Welcome the new day, 

Whatever it brings — 

The light and the dark, 

The colors and the gray, 

The rain and the sun, 

The highs and the lows … 

Even the weeds have lessons to share, 

If only we watch, 

And listen.

Where we spend our love

How is it that we who are capable 

Of investing the inanimate 

With so much tender care and affection 

Can so easily ignore the plight 

Of humans, plants, and animals 

Endowed with life?

Seek out the source

“Sunlight fell upon the wall; 

The wall received a borrowed splendor. 

Why set your heart on a piece of earth? 

Seek out the source which shines forever.” (Rumi)

The truth of our connectedness

When we are at odds with one another, 

It becomes more difficult to see 

The fragile pearls of connection 

That bind us to each other and the world. 

Step apart; step into the light 

And let the truth of our connectedness 

 Be illuminated.

Remnants of the past

The structures we created 

To deal with the challenges of childhood 

May no longer be relevant or functional, 

But some trace of them will always remain 

To remind us of where we’ve been 

And what we’ve overcome…

Closer to the divine

The closer the sun, 

The clearer the path 

She carves across the waters 

Just as the closer we come to the divine, 

The more clearly we are marked as its own.

You were made for this

Remember this: that you have been created 

With a unique ability to meet your own 

Specific needs; designed, and given tools 

To achieve a special purpose 

And to sip of the sweetness of existence.

A productive entanglement

However tangled our relationships might be, 

We are, nonetheless, 

Securely tied to one another, 

Red states and blue inextricably linked 

And needing each other 

To maintain a steady course.

Step into possibility

Each day we are born anew into wonder; 

Each day that we are fortunate enough 

To awaken, we have, once again, that chance; 

That opportunity to step through 

The narrow confines of the known 

And into the wide and golden field 

 Of infinite possibility.

Courage and exposure

We tend to forget 

That courage and vulnerability 

Are inseparably linked; 

That it’s when we take a stand 

Apart from the crowd; 

When we allow our uniqueness and our quirks 

To become most visible; 

That to be brave always means to risk 

Exposure.

Forgetting our mission

We humans are so easily distracted 

By the splashy promises of color and light 

That it’s easy to miss the truth 

That stands before us. 

As if in Oz, we allow ourselves 

To be entertained by special effects 

And forget we came here hoping for a heart.

The handwriting on the wall

There are those who say 

The handwriting was on the wall, and yet — 

Where was this wall, 

And what did the writing say? 

There’s so much we don’t know — can’t know; 

And always the hope of divine intervention… 

Instead of hoping to say “I told you so,” 

Let’s focus on making Now a kinder place.

Grateful for guides

I know. 

It’s hard to keep on going 

When your destination’s so unclear. 

Luckily there are others who’ve gone before you; 

You’re not traveling alone. 

Be grateful for the guides along your path…

So much alike

You and I may not be exactly alike, 

But there’s no denying: 

The two of us are tethered to the same — 

The same earth, the same air, 

The same hopes for health and happiness, 

The same needs for food, shelter, clothing; 

The same desire for respect, and for love;

For a chance to share our gifts, and for 

A safe and comfortable place to rest. 

When we have so much in common, 

Why insist on focusing solely 

 On our differences?

Old patterns

Now that we’re set free again, 

How will we choose to spend our time? 

What will we do, where will we go, 

And whom do we long to see? 

After so many months of isolation, 

Will we revert to our old patterns; 

Return to business as usual? 

What have we learned in silence 

About our formerly frenetic lives?

Viewing differences

Whether you see yourself 

As inside looking out or outside looking in, 

The fact remains that each of us 

Is different from the other, 

And how we see those differences — 

As opportunities to learn or to exclude — 

Will contribute to our overall sense 

Of connection or isolation.

Appreciate this moment

Does it matter if the moon 

Is waxing or waning; 

If there’s fullness or emptiness to come? 

Instead of worrying which direction 

Things are heading, 

Can we just take this moment 

To appreciate where we are?

The heart as a camera

Let my heart be a camera, 

Fully conscious of the beauty in each moment:

Undistracted by past regrets or future worries, 

Honoring both light and shadow, 

Steady and sure while listening 

For promptings of both promise and possibility 

Yet aware of my resistance and reservations…

Silencing your voice

Success is never truly success 

If you had to silence your own unique voice 

In order to achieve it.

Mastery vs. Mystery

The challenge we face as people of Spirit, 

Is to somehow continue moving forward; 

To carry out the tasks we bear 

While remaining conscious, not only of Now, 

But of the larger sphere of connectedness 

In which we live and move and have our being: 

It is the tension between mastery and mystery.

Conflicting desires

What is it in us, that hunger to be seen,

To be the one pink poppy in a field of red

While at the same time longing

For the comfort of being

Just like everyone else?

That constant battling of desires

Between individuality and community —

So much a part of being human…

Stay safe

I find it so encouraging, 

That, mixed in with the egoic attempts 

To brand this environment 

With imprints of the self, 

Someone has thought of others 

Who might be passing by. 

Stay safe, my friends, my fellow humans, 

Whoever you might be; stay safe.

Reach for it!

Sometimes it’s not enough 

To just hope for the sweetest things in life 

To fall into your lap. 

Sometimes you need to exert that extra effort, 

And reach for it!

Heading home

However full your day has been, 

However thrilling your adventures, 

There’s nothing quite so comforting 

As knowing that you’re finally heading home…

Such beauty in a droplet

Like droplets framing a leaf 

Born to sparkle in the morning dew, 

We shine all too briefly: illuminate,

Enlighten and then fade or fall 

To nourish the ground 

From which such beauty springs, 

And who’s to say that moment’s gift of wonder 

Might not have changed the world?

Everything belongs

Perhaps life is like a painting: 

Everything that went before — 

All the mistakes, 

All the experiments that failed, 

All the things that worked 

And those that didn’t — 

Only serve to enhance and enrich 

The depth and beauty of the present… 

We just keep going until, by some miracle, 

It comes out right.

A blessed Independence Day

May the the light of the Divine 

Brighten the way before you; 

May your path be smooth and clear, 

And the wind gentle upon your back…

Refreshing abundance

When in doubt, I find myself refreshed 

By the sheer abundance of the natural world:

Mine, and yet not mine;

Meant to be shared…

Seeking cooperation

Why, instead of locking horns, 

Can we not learn to share — 

Or even to back off 

So we give someone else a chance?

Be patient; keep climbing

Out of the hard rock of transitions 

Growth will inevitably emerge. 

Be patient, keep climbing; 

Joy is simply waiting for you to arrive.