Commit to attend and maintain

Relationships, organizations, 

 And communities, like buildings, 

 Require a commitment, 

To attention and to maintenance. 

Left to their own devices, they decay, 

And our efforts to restore 

Damage caused by neglect 

 May prove more costly than a decision 

To simply destroy or discard and rebuild…

Inspired by the past

The efforts of past artists, 

However dated or degraded 

By time, storms, or neglect, 

Continue to inspire us: how marvelous 

That someone took the time to express 

Their talent, and their appreciation 

For the blessings of this life…

The road before us

Seen through a rainswept windshield, 

There appears an invitation. 

Just what is it you’ll focus on? 

That brief upcoming stop, 

Or the long and winding path 

That is your future? 

How can we be both fully present now, 

And still be wholly conscious 

 Of the rain, the road, and the adventure 

That lies before us?

True colors

In the quiet and the dark, 

Our true colors emerge, 

Tossed into iridescence 

 By the sadness and the sorrow. 

Here’s where we discover 

What we, and our true friends, 

Are made of.

Lay your oars aside

Today’s the day 

We lay our oars aside; 

Stop paddling against the tide, and rest.

 Breathe deep, and let the peace return; 

The stillness that resides 

 In the depths below the drive to keep on striving.

The allure of mystery

The camera teaches me, over and over, 

The allure of mystery: 

That there’s a magic in not-knowing; 

An invitation in the dark and unexpected 

 To wonder, to be curious. 

A tiny taste of mystery draws us in; 

 Makes us pause, and encourages 

Exploration, connection, and even intimacy…

Calming rituals

Evening: the cows are back in the barn, 

Bedded down for the night, munching hay; 

Murmuring contentedly in the distance. 

The frogs have begun their nightly serenade, 

Chanting loudly til we get close, 

Then taking up their songs again, 

Their voices echoing off the still pond 

Once we’ve passed by on our nightly walk. 

These simple rituals, restoring peace, 

Give calm and comfort in times of stress: 

We store them up in our hearts 

And let them steep, then later 

 Offer them back in prayer to a troubled world.

Are you listening?

Are you listening? 

And what are you listening for?

 Can you hear the changes in the wind,

 Or the ache in a stranger’s heart? 

The battle cries of a conscripted soldier 

Who never wanted to fight, 

Or the tears of his mother, 

Worried he won’t make it home? 

Do you listen to the stories of the elderly 

And hear the loneliness, the wisdom, 

And the longing for respect; for engagement? 

Are you really paying attention 

To your friend, to your mate, or to your soul? 

Can you hear the wounds of the child within, 

Who longs to express her long-buried fears? 

Are you listening, and what are you hearing?

Opening our hearts

Just as our hearts sing each spring 

When the first daffodils open their hearts

Unfurling faces to the sun, 

So must heaven sing each time 

We step beyond self-interest, 

Opening our hearts in compassion 

For the troubles of another…

A life well-lived

She may be a little rusty, 

But her bones are still good, 

And those stains on her cheeks 

Are the marks of experience; 

Scars emblematic of a life fully lived 

And a rest well-earned…

Attention reveals complexity

The unremitting dullness 

 Of the unexamined life will be relieved 

If we choose to be fully present. 

When we pay close attention, 

 We begin to see the many layers;

 To observe the thrilling textures; 

The complexity and ambiguity revealed

In even the simplest circumstances...

Let the waters still

Let this day be a day of rest; 

An opportunity to sit 

Beside your stream of consciousness 

And let the waters still; 

To find again that quiet place within 

From which compassion, generosity, 

 And hope originate, 

 And let them flow with your outbreath, 

That the tempers and the troubles of the world 

 Might soften,and feel a gentle healing 

In the breeze.

Plant peace

Plant peace, 

And wait for hope to flower; 

Bridge differences, 

 Cross lines of demarcation, 

And knit communities back together…

Outdated structures

Perhaps it’s time to take a look 

At those old structures in our lives; 

Defenses of the heart, outdated assumptions 

 That no longer serve their purpose, 

But serve simply as a roost 

 For fleeting thoughts and expectations 

 Of rejection, whether ours or others; 

No longer launching sites, 

Propelling us to new adventures, 

 But now specious barricades 

Against a world that has moved on…

No chance to duck and cover

We live these relatively peaceful lives 

Haunted by the shadows of war. 

Though much is hidden, the stark reality 

Keeps peeking through the clouds 

Of our resistance, and we wonder: 

How can we protect those under attack 

Without endangering the world, 

Now that we understand 

The option to duck and cover 

Is only an illusion…

An offering of faith

Evening, and as shadows fall, 

The daffodils turn their faces to the east: 

An offering of faith 

In confident expectation 

Of the sun’s return.

A sense of purpose

There are days when life is full — 

A beehive, humming with activity, 

Energy and sweetness 

 Flying out in all directions 

 With a gratifying sense of purpose at the helm. 

What, then, do we do on the other days, 

When the chaos is uncontrolled, 

Or when the emptiness becomes profound 

And there’s no structure to give meaning: 

How, then, do we maintain a sense of self; 

Feel centered, connected, and productive? 

What gifts can we unearth within ourselves 

To bless the world and bring focus 

 To our lives?

A time for action

Like cats, we are happy to find 

 Our place in the sun, 

And not all that eager 

To have our peace interrupted, 

But there are times when we must respond 

To the promptings of our hearts 

And take action on behalf 

 Of those we love and serve.

Breathing peace into the world

Though we may be powerless 

To end this war, we can increase the peace 

Which flows between us and the conflict. 

Breathe deep, and find the stillness 

That lies deep within your soul, 

Then breathe it out into the world, and trust 

That someone somewhere else 

Is breathing easier.

The promise in resting

Even in winter, beneath the gathered clouds, 

The garden glows with promise; 

An invitation to a future filled 

With subtle scents and flavors: 

We, too, find our potential rising

In times of rest…

Sheltering the young

We, the old, are here to help the young: 

To nurture and protect; 

 To guide them into fullness 

While welcoming their bright differences 

Into our shared, evolving world 

And bending down to listen for 

What new insights they bring to us 

From our shared, distant, origins.

Awakening

Awakened in the night 

By the prompting of the moon, 

Who dips her hand and pours 

Her gift of light across the sea 

For the trees to sip, 

I move to my window, 

 Breathe in the cool night air, 

 And bless again the spirits 

That brought me to this place…

Morning invitation

From within my darkened room I watch 

As the morning sun invites the clouds 

Into her rosy arms: such generosity of light; 

A welcoming of each and every 

Branch and bud; ongoing invitation 

To bear our fruit again into the world.

Share your peace

On those gray days, 

When life seems perilously empty 

And any possible undertaking looks 

Like another bridge to nowhere, 

Allow yourself to rest 

In the sameness of what you’re seeing; 

Fill your heart with all that quiet peace 

And send it like a prayer 

To all who desperately need 

 A break from, and an end to, 

War.

Calming structure

It helps, 

When life is making you crazy, 

To create some sort of structure 

To contain the chaos: 

 Perhaps a morning ritual, 

Or an evening walk; 

Something to restore a sense of calm…

Imaginative fear

O fearful ones, be not ashamed; 

Don’t fault yourselves for worrying. 

Worry and fear are the inevitable side effects 

Of a healthy imagination: let them serve 

As fuel for some creative venture 

That might awaken or express 

Awareness, hope, and compassion, 

Igniting each to serve the common good.

The future trap

It’s easy to get so focused 

On the traps we’ll set for future gains 

That we fail to appreciate 

The gentle charm of the present….

Simple pleasures

The simple pleasures 

 Of a morning nearing spring —

 A bird, even if it’s a crow,

 A birdbath filled by the evening rain, 

A lawn beginning to lengthen again, 

And the daffodils raising their happy heads, 

Watching for the sun.

Avoidance

It’s so quintessentially human of us, 

To avoid, or wish to work around 

The dark textures of life; 

The obstacles and challenges, 

The weedy undergrowth of dailiness… 

We keep forgetting they provide 

A necessary scaffolding 

 For beauty, for appreciation, 

For gratitude and growth.

Showering with love

Like a child, spinning 

In circles of delight, 

May we be filled with exuberance, 

Showering everything around us with love…

Dark places in the heart

There are ruins within each of us, 

Dark places in the heart we fear to enter, 

Rooms haunted by what was, 

And shadowed by what might have been; 

Walls scarred by unshed tears 

 And grief unshared… 

Yet these, the brokenness and loss, 

Can prove the opportunity, the soil, 

For new growth to break through, 

When we take courage and explore 

Those caverns hidden deep within the soul.