A blessed reciprocity

Say what you will about the current admonitions 

To maintain an “attitude of gratitude,” 

The fact of the matter is 

That when you’re determined to stay open 

To the blessings in the here and now, 

Eventually they will thank you in return:

 A blessed reciprocity at the root of being.

Bearers of light

May we all be bearers of light!

Feeling thankful

The setting sun tosses a final splash of color 

To ignite the night-blackened branches 

Of my neighbor’s trees: 

A perfect end to a perfect weekend, 

And yet another reason — one of many — 

To feel thankful.

A simpler life

There is, within, a part of us 

That hungers for a simpler life, 

Forgetting how much work goes in 

To maintaining fields and farms 

And how little recompense 

 There is for all that labor. 

With time, we learn to make space within 

The more complex lives we’ve chosen 

To appreciate what might have been 

And, driving by, to stop; drink in 

The beauty that we pass.

Projections

We put hummingbird stickers on our windows 

 To keep the birds from flying into them. 

Yesterday this little guy perched on the fence 

Five feet from one of those windows 

And stared steadily at the sticker 

For some ten minutes.

 Perhaps because my mother would 

Have turned 100 this month

 (She died a quarter century ago)

 I wondered if he might be missing his mom…

 Projection: it’s not just for movies.

Outside in

Crossing the bridge, 

 On our way back home after Thanksgiving,

 I am reminded of a lesson learned 

A long long time ago that bears repeating: 

Structures, organizations — even relationships 

 That look stable, and inviting from the outside 

Can have a very different feel 

 When you’re inside, and can actually see 

 What’s holding them together…

Giving Thanks

Perhaps today, unlike my cat, 

We can pause our endless search 

For what’s hidden, new, or different 

And make time to be not only grateful 

 But content with all the blessings of this life. 

Knowing that everything could change 

In a single moment, 

We appreciate what’s here; what’s now.

A Maxfield Parrish sky

Yesterday, when watching for the sunset 

(Which comes so early now 

I sometimes forget to look, 

 And then it’s dark)

 I remembered to look east 

Instead of just focusing on the west 

And this amazing sky 

Loomed over our neighbor’s farm. 

A Maxfield Parrish painting, 

It left me breathless: 

So grateful something prompted me to look!

A hidden opportunity

In every moment, there’s an invitation: 

A hidden door, through which —

 If we were brave or wise — 

We might, upon adventuring within, 

Discover that deep- buried well 

Of love and creativity 

 Which joins and fuels us all. 

Open your eyes and heart and seek that door, 

And pray you’ll have the wisdom 

 And the courage it may take to step within 

And find that boundless source of all that is.

Maintaining focus

This being human seems to be a matter 

Of constantly shifting focus 

Between what’s here and now 

 And what lies ahead: 

Like a camera, we can find it challenging 

 To achieve a satisfactory balance 

Between next and now, light and dark, 

Frequently losing sight of one 

While fixating on the other.

The textures of the Now

Where we are will always have its imperfections — 

Relationships patched or broken, 

A future partially obscured 

By echoes and reflections 

Of a past we cannot seem to leave behind — 

And yet, there is still beauty in this moment,

 If only we could pause, be fully present,

And appreciate the textures of the Now.

Thankful and mindful

The leaves are down and crisp with frost 

That sparkles in the morning sun 

As winter’s chill moves in. 

Be thankful for what warmth you’ve found, 

And mindful of those who shiver in the cold.

You’re an original

Judging by appearances, 

You might think this is a pumpkin 

Only a mother could love. 

But arranged with a bunch of “normal” pumpkins, 

She turns ordinary into extraordinary.

 

Don’t be afraid to be different: 

 That which sets you apart 

Might be exactly what is needed in this world.

Sharing our needs

To be thoughtful and kind does not have to mean 

 We carry our unvoiced needs to the grave,

 Hoping someone will notice. 

Those of us who find joy in caring for others 

May need to remember, as the old song says, 

“No one can fill those of your needs 

That you won’t let show.” 

Listen to your heart, and don’t be afraid 

 To let others know how you feel: 

Allow them to feel the joy of caring for you.

Inevitable imperfections

It’s important to remember 
That however perfect life may seem, 
There will always be imperfections. 
Yes, this town is fortunate 
To be blessed with views 
Of both water and mountains, 
But those beautiful plumes spewing forth 
Carry within them the distinctive scent
 Of a paper mill. 
Whatever you’re choosing — 
 A job, a mate, a home, a community— 
You’ll need to know what’s important to you 
And learn to accept and even appreciate 
The gifts contained in the inevitable imperfections.

Seek th blessings

There are the clouds that drift into our lives

 And the ones we make ourselves, 

When in our rush to achieve and acquire 

 We divide all our experiences 

 Into high and low, good and bad: 

Divisions insubstantial that can interfere 

With learning and growth. 

Seek, instead, the blessings 

 That reside in each moment, and be thankful.

Be the light

The morning sun gilds the trees 

And turns the bottom of the seagulls’ wings 

To gold as they surf the wind. 

May you find light today, 

And BE the light 

That brightens someone else’s morning.

Sunday’s invitation

Each week begins anew 

With Sunday’s invitation to recharge.

Setting aside our concerns, however briefly,

We find a way to rest out at the edge 

Of whatever challenges we face 

And turn our gaze to the peace that lies 

Just beyond our grasp, 

 Listening for its echoes deep within.

Challenges ahead

As the last bright colors of fall begin to fade, 

And winter’s chill belatedly creeps in, 

Our thoughts turn to the holidays ahead; 

Anticipating gatherings of family and friends, 

The days ahead are filled with plans — 

For food, for gifts, for traveling — 

But also with anxieties, with loneliness and loss. 

Conflicting expectations can easily drain energy: 

Be kind to yourself and others 

In the challenging months ahead.

Joy in Boundaries

Someone once asked why I added these stripes 

To the corners of this painting.

 I could have just said I liked their look, 

But instead I got philosophical: 

“I’ve learned,” I said, 

“That I’m much more comfortable 

 Working within clear boundaries; 

That there’s a lot more freedom 

When my edges are defined — 

I don’t waste so much time 

Trying to figure out where they are.”

With each breath, an opportunity

As we make each day’s journey into night, 

Our thoughts are always colored 

By the place in which we stand;

 By the urgencies of the moment, 

Where we’ve been, and where we’re headed.

 But with each breath 

We have an opportunity 

 To step back or to step in; 

 To see the larger picture 

Or to deepen our understanding 

 Of what is and who we are.

This arc of light

This lemon sliced moon, seen reflected here,

 Seems to have multiplied itself 

As it slowly slides down the arc of night

 And into the reddening sea. 

So, too, we glide through the arc of life, 

What light we bring into lives around us 

Reflecting, then fading as the new day dawns.

Bend with the wind

This tree still stands on her windy cliff 

Because she’s learned to bend 

And her roots go deep. 

We, too, will survive these trials 

If we stay rooted in community 

And gracefully adjust 

 To our changing circumstances: 

All shall be well, and all shall be well 

If we follow her example.

A gradual unfolding

Think of life and relationships 

 As a gradual unfolding, 

Slowly opening our hearts 

Til we reveal that inner core 

That both withstands and welcomes…

Blest be the ties that bind

We who are humans, 

Broken and scarred, 

Are bound together 

By fate and our faith. 

May the ancient and timeless 

Words of love 

Bind us together 

Both now and for always.

When you walk through a storm

What looks like fire behind those clouds 

Is actually just a sunrise, 

But at first glance, one might fear 

Disaster’s looming — a good reminder 

Not to leap to assumptions, 

And to stay calm in a storm — 

Don’t waste your energy worrying, 

But rather spend it in preparing 

 To care for one another 

 And be grateful for what beauty you may find.

Time to open the door

Perhaps it’s time to take another look: 

To open that door in your heart, 

The one you shut so long ago, 

That protects you from the pain 

Of the hurts and losses you’ve experienced. 

You’re older now, stronger, and wiser, too — 

Quite capable of converting those experiences 

To energize and fuel your creativity.

Underlying unity

For so long I’ve yearned for bolder shapes 

To emerge in my paintings, 

But I’m finally coming to understand 

 That that desire is almost always over ridden 

By the underlying sense of the unity of creation 

Which seems determined to express itself 

In my work.

Hampered by the past

We need only be limited by our past 

If we identify with it and get stuck. 

Why choose to sit, powerless; 

To linger beneath the clouds 

 Of anger, bitterness and regret, 

When we could take up our oars 

 And paddle away in hopes of landing 

On the sunny shores of gratitude?

The beauty of imperfections

It’s easy to become obsessed 

 With our imperfections; 

The many ways we fail to live up to 

Our expectations of ourselves. 

It sometimes takes a friend to point out 

That those very imperfections are 

What make us uniquely human,

 And that it is in wrestling with them 

That we find our path to healing.