A moment’s panic

What is it, 

 Those clouds and fire in the distance? 

Are we meant to run and hide, 

Or is it just the sun, 

 With her daily wake-up call? 

Must we be on high alert, 

Or can we stop, breathe, 

And listen for the guidance of the moment?

In the heat of war

This one painted itself yesterday, 

A heartfelt symphony in blue and gold, 

Melted together into a military green 

 By the heat of war; hearts ache 

For all the suffering and fear.

Your ship will come in

Feeling stymied? Stuck? Blocked? 

 No worries: it’s just that your ship’s running late. You’ll know when it’s arrived, 

And yes, you’re still first in line.

The peace of inactivity

There is much joy 

To be found in prayerful hibernation; 

In resting in the quiet chill 

And watching as the sun warms the sky,

While holding others’ struggles in your heart;

In knowing, even as you mourn,

That each branch will soon 

Be blessed with fruit again; 

In giving yourself permission 

To occupy this quiet space

As an offering to a world trembling with fear.

The watched pot

See? The watched pot DOES boil! 

I suspect it’s not the watching,

 But the impatience that interferes 

With our sense of completion and satisfaction. 

Once we get better at acceptance of what’s now; 

Better at appreciation, 

 Not just of the promise inherent in the boiling, 

But also of the joy in anticipation, 

Pleasure will prove a more constant companion.

The journey shared

No matter where you are,

 Someone else is having 

 A completely different experience: 

Dancing at a wedding, 

 Or inventing some new plaything; 

Being held at gunpoint, 

Or kneeling at the bedside of a parent or a child… Think of them as you pass by; 

Open your heart, and remember 

Life’s a journey we all share.

When two become One

Thinking, today, Tuesday, 2/22/22, 

Of all the ways two become one — 

In marriages and conceptions, 

In body and spirit, 

In a two-party system — when it works — 

We are born out of unity, 

And we live our lives longing to return…

Your wildest imaginings

What could your life be like, 

If you just let your imagination run wild?

A boost in brokenness

On those days, 

When the brokenness within rises up 

And threatens to overwhelm you, 

Don’t run away, or sink into the sand, 

But step forward; take a closer look:

 It’s possible that in crumbling 

Your ego may have exposed 

 Your inner strength, 

 And those crevasses might prove footholds, 

Offering a boost to a brighter future.

Brilliant reminders

As the day begins and ends, 

Nature reminds us with displays of brilliance 

 To take stock; to ascertain what tasks 

Remain before us; to ask how will you — 

Or have you — blessed and brightened 

The world around us?

Offer hospitality

Whatever good we do, 

Whatever kindness or hospitality we provide, 

Will cast a larger shadow 

 Than we may ever see or realize.

Who can embrace the moon?

Who does not long, like the trees, 

To embrace the moon; that mystery 

That lies deep in our core 

And fuels the tides of fantasy and desire, 

Of creativity and passion 

As they wax and wane, always returning…

As the road turns…

Inevitably the path of life 

Will take some unexpected turns, 

Just as we think we’re nearing our destination; 

Just as we thought we were almost there, 

Or had finally made it home. 

Don’t focus on what you’re missing, 

 Or you’ll lose your way — 

 Which might be taking you 

To something even better!

A greater love

Love comes into our lives

In many and often surprising guises,

But each one offers a tantalizing hint

Of the greater love 

That surrounds and birthed us all…

Longing for Spring

Oh, how our hearts 

Hunger for and respond to 

The glorious colors of Spring…

Blame it on the moon

This morning I happened to wake just as 

The wild red moon was sliding into the sea. 

I went outside with my camera 

But of course it got things backward, 

Painting the moon white and the sky red. 

We humans do that, too, I think: 

Picture ourselves moon-white, while letting

Our emotions color everything around us; 

Blaming them and not ourselves...

Finding our way

Sometimes the best way forward 

Is to go around; to find another way. 

We can become so focused on our goals 

That we fixate upon our obstacles 

 And fail to see the opportunities 

 Awaiting us at every turn…

The mother-well of hope

Standing on the bridge 

Looking out on eternity, 

I sing a song in praise 

Of that earth-deep mother-well of wonder 

That fuels both creativity and compassion, 

And spills her passion, purity, and fire 

 Into our dreams, replenishing our hope.

What needs to shift?

What is it that you’ll need to leave behind 

To move ahead? What childhood doors 

Must finally close in order for others to open?

 What images of yourself; what masks 

Have you assumed that you now need to shed?

Lost concentration

I close my eyes to meditate,

 Hoping to slide into that empty mirror, 

And thoughts, like clouds, come drifting 

Across the horizon of my mind. 

Like the sea, I get caught up, 

Trying to reflect on them, 

And my lost concentration 

 Washes up upon the beach.

Celebrate connectedness

Our connections — 

 To the earth, and to each other — 

 Keep us grounded when our institutions fail, 

Offer solace and safety in the storms, 

And inspire us to new heights 

Of compassion and creativity: 

Celebrate them!

Appreciate complexity

Surely the complexity of nature 

 Echoes the complexity 

 Of human minds and relationships: 

Why do we insist on reducing all we see 

To black and white when there are so many 

Shades of gray?

Gaining perspective

That is, of course, the gift of perspective: 

When we step back a bit, we begin to see 

Both the larger picture and the shadows 

Old decisions and restrictions may be casting…

Hidden in the shadows

Sometimes, hidden in the darkness, 

Masked by the threat of storms, 

There exists a door, hiding in the shadows, 

Waiting to be opened. 

 Move through this and keep breathing; 

New light and life await on the other side.

Righteous flocking

I watch as a flock of starlings, startled, 

Take shelter in my neighbor’s tree, 

Moving as one to fly to safety, 

Triggered by the sound of an opening door. 

It was just my husband, going out to feed them. 

Humans, too, are quick to assume the worst, 

Joining the unquestioning surge 

 Of righteous indignation, 

 Triggered by an act or word 

 Uttered with the best of intentions…

The earth can bear your weight

Those days when you feel sinking; lost? 

It may just be an illusion: touch the ground.

 Trust that you are still connected; 

That the earth can bear the weight 

Of your troubles, and those illusions 

Are neither as convincing or as terrifying 

As they appear.

Healing the divisions

We cannot hope to heal 

The divisions between us 

Until we begin to heal 

The divisions within us.