Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Outpouring


Each life a cup of spirit, born to pour 
Compassion, love, respect onto 
 A world in need of healing…

Monday, November 29, 2021

In times of loss


Though our lives no longer touch, 
Our spirits reach across the rivers of time, 
Surrounded by the echoes 
 Of shared love and laughter. 
Those whom we have lost remain, 
Engraved upon the chambers of our hearts…

Sunday, November 28, 2021

A quiet place


Whatever your temple, I hope you find 
A place of quiet to breathe in today, 
And a taste of light in the cold and gray.

Saturday, November 27, 2021

Friday, November 26, 2021

Peace be with you


How can we avoid getting caught 
In the whirlwind that Christmas has become? 
How can we protect what quiet time we have 
From the thoughts of preparations 
 That insist upon intruding? 
Let peace and silence be your oxygen mask, 
And keep breathing…

Thursday, November 25, 2021

In gratitude


Looking back along the road 
We’ve walked so far this year, 
Hearts overflow with gratitude 
 To see how far we’ve come, 
And that we have survived, and found 
New ways to cope and bless the world 
Around us. And, looking forward, 
 We can dream of finding ways 
 To bridge the gap between 
 Our neighbors and ourselves; 
To open hearts, dismantle walls, 
And build community.

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Those golden moments


Like the sun, 
The spotlight of spiritual well-being 
 Is always moving. 
For every day the light seems to hit just right; 
For every day we know we’re in the zone, 
Following the path we were born to follow, 
There will be many more where we feel 
Lost or confused, 
 Abandoned by the very hope 
That brought us to this place, 
Yet still we bow our heads 
And lean into that silent space, 
Knowing those golden moments 
Are worth the wait.

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

The roots are more complex


When the roots of our issues are exposed, 
We find they’re often far more complex 
Than we might have anticipated; 
Complexities often triggered 
By a determination to survive 
Despite overwhelming obstacles…

Monday, November 22, 2021

For all who travel alone


In a week designed to celebrate 
 Community and family and survival, 
We remember all of those who travel alone…

Sunday, November 21, 2021

Make time for silence


Make time today for silence. 
Set aside your phone and your computer, 
Turn off your tv, 
Lay down the books that you’ve been using 
To distract, explain, or justify, 
And listen for the quiet peace 
From which all earth has sprung.

Saturday, November 20, 2021

Good times and bad


I know I’ve said this before, 
But just as it takes a mix 
Of dark and light to make a pleasing image, 
It takes all sorts of good and bad days 
To make a life rich and vibrant. 
The bleak periods we experience help us 
To appreciate the good times more, 
And a moment or memory 
 Of sweetness or kindness, given or received — 
Even a small taste of joy and laughter — 
Can brighten our gloomiest days.

Thursday, November 18, 2021

Beautiful world


Some days, 
The beauty of this world 
Just overwhelms me….

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Creatively responding


I realized I could complain 
About my missing windows 
And the view I cannot see,
 Or I could create some reflections of my own— 
Which teaches me: how often 
Do I whine instead calling forth 
Creative responses to trying situations?

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Insulated from the truth


Seeing the world from a safe enclosure 
Is not the same as being in the world: 
We may be blessed with a certain objectivity, 
But if we don’t engage, 
If we never step outside the insulated 
Walls that we’ve erected; 
Never engage in dialog with the Other, 
We will never fully understand 
The challenges of being human, 
Nor can we dare to proclaim 
 We know the Truth.

Monday, November 15, 2021

To burn or to enlighten


Though your fire of your anger 
 Or your venom may be small, 
The smoke it generates 
Can pollute an entire community — 
 And yet — 
 Your acts of kindness may be small, 
But they, too, can inspire 
 A whole community to love: 
 You get to choose whether to burn 
Or to enlighten…

Sunday, November 14, 2021

We gather together


We gather together, despite our differences, 
To share, not only hopes and dreams, 
But our differing perspectives. 
In peace we fold our wings and bow our heads 
And contemplate the tasks that lie before us.

Saturday, November 13, 2021

Chugging along


And then there are the days 
Where we’re just chugging along, 
Carrying what we’ve been asked or told to carry; 
Gray days, when the colors of our lives 
Have been leached out 
 And everything’s dominated by routine — 
And yet, there is still air, and light, 
And as we work we breathe, and breathe again, 
And look around us and within; 
Seek out what light there is and know 
This,too, shall pass, 
 And tomorrow will be new again.

Friday, November 12, 2021

Compassionate listening


Worried about our country’s divisions? 
Confrontation rarely results in transformation: 
Compassionate listening may well be 
The only choice we have left. 
Perhaps in the silence offered by another 
We will finally be able to hear 
The waves of truth lapping 
At each other’s souls…

Thursday, November 11, 2021

More than one way


No matter how powerful the voices 
 That tell you there is only one way, 
Know that there are always alternatives; 
Other ways of being and believing, 
Ways that are equally acceptable, 
 Generous and respectful.

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Projections


I call this one Projections: 
So much of what we see 
Is what we are projecting 
 That’s reflecting back at us — 
And then, how much of how we see ourselves 
Results from the projections of others? 
I aspire to be neither the mirrored surface, 
Reflecting on the right 
Nor the prickly one projecting on the left, 
But instead to find some natural balance,
 Centered, grounded, open to the light.

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Gratefully reminded


I’m grateful today for rainbows: 
However trite, they’re beautiful reminders 
That every storm carries within it a gift, 
And every loss presages a gain — 
Even if it’s only a renewed appreciation 
 For the simple pleasures inherent 
 In calm and boredom…

Monday, November 8, 2021

Let it shine


Whenever you do whatever it is that you do — 
That thing that truly expresses you — 
I believe the light of spirit will shine through.

Sunday, November 7, 2021

Adapting to change


These clouds, which earlier in the year 
Were painted by the setting sun 
Now draw their colors from the sun that rises. 
It feels like a gentle reminder, 
That when circumstances change 
There will still be light and inspiration— 
It might just have to come 
 From another direction…

Saturday, November 6, 2021

Those gray days


Those gray days, when the sameness 
Of our lives or work reminds us 
Of all the things and places 
We haven’t been or done, 
Are perfect opportunities to choose 
To do something to brighten someone else’s life...

Friday, November 5, 2021

In appreciation of others’ gifts


How clever, to have planned a yard 
That blooms with so much color in the fall! 
Not having a green thumb of my own, 
I so appreciate the efforts 
Of those who excel at landscape design…

Thursday, November 4, 2021

And what remains is love


Looking back across the span of a lifetime, 
There can be so many mountains 
That we saw but failed to climb; 
So many journeys anticipated 
But never realized; so many oceans 
We could have crossed but didn’t — 
Yet here we stand, on the solid ground 
Of our own unique experiences, 
Secure in the awareness 
 That what life we’ve lived, we’ve done our best 
To live as thoughtfully and graciously 
As we were capable at the time, 
And trusting that we’ll fill what years are left 
With as much love and grace 
As our overflowing hearts will allow.

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Fueled by the Source


Creativity takes many forms, and who’s to say 
Which is the most creative, the most valuable, 
The most fueled by a connection to spirit. 
 The art in the galleries; 
 The galleries themselves; 
The building in which the galleries are housed; 
The van, designed for service; 
The three-dimensional map 
 With which it’s covered; 
The buildings and the community 
 The map represents; 
The photograph which captures them all — 
Each speaks to that connection; 
Each is fueled by and then honors 
The Source of all creation, 
 And moves me to rejoice.

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Vestiges of the past


So much of what we see and do is shaped; 
Colored by what we’ve seen and done before. 
The roots of our decisions 
 May bear very little resemblance 
To the final image we portray, 
With only tiny inklings peeking through 
To suggest what might have happened 
 In the depths of our past…

Monday, November 1, 2021

Open to insight


The gifts we long for — 
Insight, discernment, connection, healing — 
Are far more likely to arrive 
If we make the time to stop; 
 To make our hopes and expectations clear; 
And then to wait, hearts open in anticipation 
 Of what might get sent our way.