Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Faith inspires magnificence


Never doubt what humans can accomplish 
 When inspired by faith: 
Belief in something greater than ourselves 
Makes possible magnificent response; 
Creativity beyond our wildest imagination.

Monday, May 30, 2022

Waiting for the world to change


The decision to change is never easy: 
It takes courage, because 
For something new to be born in us,
 Something old almost always must die — 
And then there is that dark space in between, 
While we wait for the new to take shape…

Sunday, May 29, 2022

Reflected love


As the water glows with reflected light, 
So, too, we glow, when we reflect 
 The love we’re given 
Back into the world

Saturday, May 28, 2022

Love, ever flowing


Breathe deep, and breathe again, and know 
That Love is like a fountain, ever flowing, 
Pouring through us without ever running dry: 
We only need to keep the channel clear; 
To trust the Source, and its infinitude.

Friday, May 27, 2022

Divine reassurance


Today I write in praise of serendipity: 
That inner prompting that draws me 
 To unexpected opportunities, 
Placing me where I need to be 
To see what I need to see. 
I’ll be forever grateful I was drawn to do my dishes 
At the precise moment when two orca whales 
Were breaching by my house. 
It feels like divine reassurance 
That all shall be well…

Thursday, May 26, 2022

Coping with overwhelm


And then there are the days 
When the world’s ugliness and cruelty 
Fills us with despair: it’s all we see, 
And all we can imagine, full of darkness, 
Void of light, coloring all our thoughts 
And poisoning good intentions. 
The only way out is through: 
 Finding ways to express what we feel; 
Sharing our sense of loss and grief; 
Continuing to take steps to heal the world.

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

The gift in our brokenness


How best to mitigate the hopelessness we feel 
In the face of current events whose remedies 
Appear to be beyond our control? 
One possible solution: find some way 
To make the world a gift out of our brokenness.

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Choose your shadow


Wherever there is light, 
You will cast a shadow. 
Only you can choose 
How the shadow you cast 
Will affect the world around you.

Monday, May 23, 2022

A hunger for beauty


Yesterday an artist sent a survey to me, 
And one of the questions was something like, 
“How would you like to describe or feel 
About the art you create?” 
And I had to face the fact that, at heart, 
I mostly just want it to be beautiful. 
Yes, there are other words — 
Contemplative, evocative, inviting, inspiring — 
And I always hope that I’m responding 
To a prompting outside myself, 
 That’s being expressed through me, 
But, most of all, I‘m embarrassed to admit,
 I hunger for beauty, 
 And my heart soars when I find it…

Sunday, May 22, 2022

Trust, but verify


Centuries — or decades — of experience 
Can make us wary of others’ generosity, 
And the voices of acceptance or rejection 
We hear coming from within 
Might be divine, but might also be triggered 
By egoic self interest or self protection. 
Discernment is an essential faculty: 
As my father used to say, “Trust, but verify.”

Saturday, May 21, 2022

Predictably amazing


Each night, the sunset blesses us 
With a new array of shapes and colors; 
A celestial artist whose originality - like love - 
Is both predictable and endlessly amazing, 
Two words that seem to contradict, 
Yet coexist in perfect - and delicious - harmony.

Friday, May 20, 2022

Choosing curiosity


I’m thinking this morning about curiosity; 
About the vulnerability it entails 
To respond to the unexpected or confusing 
With openness instead of frustration.
 Can we respond, like these plants, 
To the dark places in our lives 
By opening our hearts to let in more light?

Thursday, May 19, 2022

Grateful for awareness


Give thanks today 
 For that sense of awe within us 
That invites us to notice, stop, and appreciate 
 The simple moments of beauty 
In the world around us; 
That looks beyond the fence of routine actions 
And lifts our eyes to the joy that resides 
In awareness of our surroundings.

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

In praise of tenacity


How can we not be admire the tenacity 
 Of trees, who so determinedly place roots 
That will support them 
 And allow them to reach great heights 
Despite the difficult circumstances 
In which they started? 
And yet, how fortunate we humans are 
 To have the choice, the opportunity, the courage 
To pull up roots and plant anew elsewhere 
 When circumstances prove inhospitable. 
But still — the need for roots remains: 
Too many moves, and the lack of roots 
May stunt our growth…

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Where can we step?


This time of year, 
Despite, or perhaps because of, a rainy Spring, 
Every living thing appears to be blooming. 
Where can we step, if every step we take 
Appears to crush a blossom?

Monday, May 16, 2022

Stop and explore


Sometimes, like scientists, 
We make our most important discoveries 
 On the way to something or somewhere else. 
What is it that invites us to stop and explore? 
And what is it that puts the blinders on 
And drives us to keep pushing forward 
To the arbitrary goals we set for ourselves?

Sunday, May 15, 2022

From wariness to hope


What if that wariness we feel 
When something new or unexpected 
 Enters our horizon — 
Which stems from a longing to protect 
Who we are and what we have — 
Were transformed into hope:
 Expectation of opportunity
 For expansion and growth?

Saturday, May 14, 2022

The paths we follow


I so appreciate the ones 
Who take the time to guide us on our way. 
And I hope, with time, I’m leaving markers 
For other folks to follow. 
But the fact still remains that blindly following 
 The path others have laid for us 
May not be leading us where we are meant to go. 
We must raise our eyes; look up and out, 
And in the end must choose 
 The destination that’s right for us, 
 Even if it takes us off the path.

Friday, May 13, 2022

Open to the unexpected


After a windy day of clouds and rain, 
The sky began to clear, 
And though the wind was fierce and cold, 
I went outside to photograph the sunset. 
It was only when I turned around 
To walk back to my house 
That I realized true beauty 
 Could be found in facing east, not west; 
 A very simple lesson on many levels. 
I could name them all, but I’ll allow you 
To draw your own conclusions: 
Feel free to write them here…

Thursday, May 12, 2022

Invitation to healing


Welcome! 
Come into my garden, 
And breathe the sweet, enduring scent of peace. 
Whatever torments trouble your soul, 
Release them here, 
 And know that you are safe, and loved.

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Colored by experience


We who stand safely on land 
May contemplate the sea that lies beyond 
With fear or longing, depending on experience. 
When will we realize how our experience colors 
Everything we contemplate; 
 That our convictions of right and wrong 
Might subtly shift, were we to stand 
In another’s shoes 
 And breathe the life they’ve lived?

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

A Oneness rarely glimpsed


Like happiness, the mountains emerge in Spring 
From behind their wintry shroud of clouds, 
Only to disappear again; a tantalizing glimpse 
Of our foundational oneness, that uniting spirit, 
 Always present but rarely glimpsed 
 In these cold unfeeling seasons 
When so many of us are wrapped 
In our own protective cloaks of self-preservation.

Monday, May 9, 2022

Choose light


In art, as in life, 
We feel the darkness pressing in, 
Threatening to overwhelm us, 
But we can choose the light; 
Choose to let it shine through us 
And continue in our efforts 
To uphold and expose life’s truths.

Sunday, May 8, 2022

Grateful for your care


Feeling blessed by the profusion 
 Of Mother’s Day offerings,
 I share this gift of color 
To honor all those who’ve mothered me 
Through the years. 
For more than Valentines Day, this day 
Is a celebration of Love in all its kindest forms; 
Of all the ways men and women 
 Through the years have put others’ needs 
Before their own, that those for whom they care 
Might learn, and thrive, and grow, 
And in their blooming bless the world.

Saturday, May 7, 2022

Homage to Spring


Our aging Rhodie lifts her buds in prayer, 
An homage to the return of Spring, 
Of warmer days, 
And Light.

Friday, May 6, 2022

Passing in the night


A cruise ship passes, heading into night 
While we stand, watching from the shore, 
Sheltering from the rain beneath the trees, 
Breathing in the colors of the sky, 
Grateful for a brief glimpse of sun 
And sending our good wishes 
To the travelers across the water.

Thursday, May 5, 2022

Breathing peace


Apple blossoms, rosy in the morning light, 
Frame the horse that grazes 
Just beyond the fence 
While birdsongs fill the air. 
Breathe in this peace, 
 And breathe it out again to bless 
And heal a troubled world.

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Open to possibility


The invitation is always there: 
To step forward, and open up your heart; 
To welcome and appreciate 
 All that lies before you, near and far. 
Drink in this view: 
 A world aflame with possibilities.

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Ephemeral as happiness


Rejoice!
 A gaggle of goldfinches gilds our view:
A presence that delights. 
 Like happiness, welcomed though ephemeral, 
 As both departure and return 
 Are inevitable as the sun.

Monday, May 2, 2022

Blessed respite


Blessed are those who find or create 
Oases, areas of respite and peace: 
The quiet listeners among us, 
Who hear our tales of woe and do not judge 
 But simply offer invitations to change; 
To find new ways and reasons 
To love the world around us.

Sunday, May 1, 2022

The past is your foundation


Though we may ask forgiveness 
 For our thoughtlessness and mistakes, 
Do not regret the past, 
For it provides the foundation for future growth.