Lift thine eyes

Occasionally, through the branches —

 The distracting exigencies of life — 

We catch a glimpse of the benevolent spirit 

 That watches over us, inspires, guides, 

And keeps us safe — 

But only if we stop to breathe 

And lift our eyes above our current 

Occupations and obsessions…

No clear way out

And then there are the days 

When the forest of choices seems impenetrable, 

And the only one that stands out 

Is clearly a dead end. 

With no clear way forward, 

And no desire to return, 

It may be time to stop and breathe;

 To breathe and breathe again until 

The drive that presses forward subsides, 

And you can relax and look around you; 

Consider all the options that await you, 

 If only you are willing 

To contemplate a shift in direction.

Opening before you

Can you see it?

 There, before you, opening up, 

A broad way forward, lit from above? 

You’ve finally found your way! 

After having struggled 

 On this dark and narrow path for so long,

 A new year; a new era lies before you,

 Full of opportunity and promise; 

A new direction, to be sure,

 But no longer just a short cut: 

A clear, well traveled invitation 

To take your rightful place in the world.

 Let optimism abound: 

 You’ll finally be where you were meant to be.

Fog, like love

Fog, like love, has a way 

Of making all things beautiful — 

Magical, mystical, inviting … 

Reducing the distractions, 

Softening the boundaries, 

Opening and deepening, 

We focus on the essence of what’s there, 

And are suffused with delight.

How we spend our time

At first glance, seeing this, 

I thought it might depict two modes: 

Doing, and being. 

But the more I looked, 

 The more I began to chuckle, 

Because, like many people (Myself included),

 I was confusing the gathering of tools, 

The planning, the intention, 

With the actual work of doing. 

It’s really not enough to make a list, 

Or to add another task to an existing list: 

We need to actually do the work: 

To vacuum, dust, or wash the floors; 

To write that letter to your congressman; 

To add another chapter to your book; 

To weed the garden, shovel snow; 

To pay that debt you owe or call your mom — 

Whatever the task, it will not be accomplished 

By accumulating lists, or plans, how-to books, 

 The right clothes, or the best tools, 

Or imagining what rewards you might receive: 

None of that is either being or doing, 

And yet much of that is how we spend our time…

Why seek to improve?

Watching the waves 

Through the windshield of my car, 

Trying to avoid the icy wind,

 I shoot, and shoot, and shoot again,

 Trying to catch the biggest wave — 

But why? That question we must always ask: 

Are we doing this — whatever it might be—

 To impress, to win, to gain recognition?

 Or are we simply trying 

 To get better at our craft; to more fully express 

The spirit that flows through us;

 Doing our best to grow and to inspire?

Becoming a tree

Trees still seem to be on my mind today: 

As I looked up from my reading — 

 Which spoke of a tree’s inner commitment 

 To unfold a certain pattern, 

And thus to serve as a manifestation 

 Of the vital energy of life — 

I noticed this reflection in my window; 

Of a tree appearing to emerge 

From a complexity of influences, 

As we all do, pulling together all we learn 

Into a unique and hopefully coherent whole. 

There are days, of course, when we still live 

In that entangled, scattered place…