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Monday, August 31, 2020

KEEPING QUIET

"If I had to do it again, I'd ask more questions and interrupt fewer answers."
~ Robert Brault ~

Opinions are endless, prejudiced, eagerly offered, and generally
Not very helpful.
They reflect a personal,
Limited perspective. 
Sharing personal experience,
On the other hand,
Tends to land more gently,
but even then... 
It's not always appreciated.
Perhaps we might learn to
Keep quiet,
To watch,
To be aware of our inner desire
To know it all,
And fix it,
And puff out our chests and be 
Important....
And simply 
Listen instead. 

Sometimes silence is the most generous offering of all. 

Sunday, August 30, 2020

CARE TAKING

"The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play."
~ Arnold Toynbee ~

One of the things that I love about gardens is that they evolve with age-
They mature.
Houses and fences and foundations and paint,
On the other hand,
Deteriorate.
Both, however, suffer over time 
without regular maintenance.
Gardens choke with overgrowth
And structures collapse.

Maintenance is the key to longevity. 

Thursday, August 27, 2020

THE MONKEY TRAP

"Don't look where you fall, but where you slipped."
~ African Proverb ~


There's a story about a monkey trap.
The trap is a hollow coconut with a rope tied to one end,

A hole at the other end,
And a banana inside.
The monkey sees the banana and reaches in for it.
His hand slips easily through the hole.
But when he grabs the banana and wants to pull it out,
His fist won't fit,
And he's trapped...
Unless he's smart enough to let go.

I relax my grip on things. 

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

EMPATHY

"There is one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all of one's life- reciprocity."
~ Confucius ~

Empathy is a skill lacking some in most of us.
We tend to be so consumed with our own sense of righteous indignation
That we are incapable of considering what it might be like for someone else,
And this is a sadness,
Because it makes us miss the exchange journey of the human heart.

I catch myself being consumed with my personal perspective and flip the script. 

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

LIFTED LIKE A FEATHER

"The truth is simple."
~ Mooji ~

When we stop anxiously trying to control outcomes and give ourselves over to the process at hand, we will be carried- by people, by serendipitous happenings, and by the calling of our own inner knowing. It's uncanny how it works. The minute we let go and relax, rather than crashing in a pile on the ground, we are lifted like a feather into the beautiful journey of the unknown.

I surrender. 

Monday, August 24, 2020

LIFE CHANGES

"My head is bursting with the joy of the unknown."
~ Rumi ~

Life changes.
And life changes us.

I'm living the journey.

Sunday, August 23, 2020

NOTHING LEFT TO INVENT

"I admit to having an imagination feverish enough to melt good judgment."
~ Dean R. Koontz ~

It's often easier to start things than to finish them. 
The idea of what could be drives us onward.
When imagination's part has run its course, though,
Interest tends to wane.
The creative part is largely over.
There's nothing left to invent,
And we feel the pull to
Move on. 

The creative urge leads us forever onward. 

Thursday, August 20, 2020

SIMPLE SOLUTIONS

"'Go back to bed,' said the omniscient voice, because you don't need to know the final answer right now, at three o'clock in the morning."

~ Elizabeth Gilbert ~

No matter the intensity of the emotional storm within us,
It abates with 
A good meal, 
A good sleep,
and a walk around the block.

I am grateful for simple solutions to seemingly impossible problems.

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

WIPED OUT

"Maybe I think too much..."
~ Paul Simon ~

So much of what we spend our hours thinking about-
Future problems that we aim to solve in advance-
Never happen.
A different path in a completely alternate direction
Opens up
And all those hours,
All that "productive" thinking,
Is wiped out
in a flash.

I let life come and go in a gentle stream and stop trying to push the river by thinking I know what's ahead.

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

THE HUMAN ELEMENT

"Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all."
~ JFK ~

Computers serve their purpose, but they can only take us so far.
The human element cannot be duplicated.
Some things we simply have to do in person, live. 

I use my computer for leads, and follow them in the flesh. 

Monday, August 17, 2020

LIFE!

"One day at a time."
~ Bill Wilson ~

Sometimes life is small and unexceptional and mundane.

And sometimes it's so BIG that the only way through it is with
small steady steps and
Deep breathing,
And it still knots the stomach and
clenches the throat.

Life demands to be be lived!

Sunday, August 16, 2020

FACING DIFFICULT TRUTHS

"Who pays the piper calls the tune."
~ English Phrase ~

Facing difficult truths we have skillfully learned to sidestep and work around isn't easy, but there comes a time, when it's just what we have to do. 

I answer when the piper calls. 

Thursday, August 13, 2020

THE WAY IT IS

"Que sera, sera."
~ Jay Livingston and Ray Evans ~

Maybe,
or
Maybe not.
Who knows?

It will be what it will be.

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

HEAD OUT THE WINDOW

"I may not overcome the inevitable, but O, it is mine 
to see that the inevitable does not overcome me."
~ Muriel Strode ~

I can't control the wind or the rain;
Can't control other people's moods,
Opinions,
Life lessons;
Can't control traffic,
The stock market,
Politics,
Accidents,
Or even, sometimes
My own thoughts.

The older I get, 
the more I realize,
Life is not about what I can control,
It's about what I can experience,
And underneath the surface noise,
Who I really am. 

I let go of control and enjoy the ride!




Tuesday, August 11, 2020

ON AND ON WE GO

"From here to eternity."
~ James Jones ~

Each action, each RE-action,
Each decision, 
Each move,
Leads us through a door
And opens a space
For the next move,
And the next decision.
And on and on we go forever.

I am patient with the process of life.

Monday, August 10, 2020

TALKING WITH TEXT

"Once upon a time we were just plain people."
~ Ellen Goodman ~

Sometimes we send our messages into a cyber vacuum.
There's no response and we wonder why-
Gives opportunity to the story making mind... 
And then, often,
Responses to everything we've sent out all come at once in a rush,
And we find ourselves hustling to juggle the information.
It's the rhythm of life, I guess-
Sporadic and choppy
And percussive
And smooth. 

I accept the ebb and flow of what sometimes are, and sometimes are not instantaneous communications. 

Sunday, August 9, 2020

LIGHT AND EASY

"The little prince broke into a lovely peal of laughter, 
which irritated me very much. 
I like my misfortunes to be taken seriously."
~ Antoine De Saint Exupery ~

We can go through the day with a "put upon" kind of feeling,
That spreads all over everything and everyone we encounter like melting butter,
And be triggered to go "off" like a cocked gun,
Or not.

It's more enjoyable 
When we stop taking ourselves and our lives so seriously
And remember that it's all a kind of play
And that no matter what we're doing,
We can be light and easy and relaxed
And laugh.

I create the reality in which I live. 

Thursday, August 6, 2020

HINT OF FALL

"There was... jubilee in that annual autumnal beginning."
~ Wallace Stegner ~

Just when summer heat starts to wear a little thin-
Another day of sweating-
Here it comes-
The tiniest hint of a fall feeling,
And I rejoice in that!
I love the fall. 

Change happens right on time. 

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

SURROUND SOUND LOUD

"True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes."
~ Edward Frederick Halifax ~

The ego finds plenty to complain about
And all kinds of ways to compare
And feel scared.

The ego trips us up
And creates stories
And worry.

The ego is surround sound loud
And hard to pin down
And full of frowning misery. 

It rules the day
Until we say
ENOUGH!

And become quiet,
And breathe,
And remember who we really are.

Surface noise is just that. 

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

CERTAINTY

"Judge not lest ye be judged."
~ Jesus ~

Certainty does not equal correctness.
We can be 100% certain about something-
Feel SURE, 
totally sure, 
that we're SPOT ON,
And be completely wrong.
It happens.
Frequently.
So perhaps, 
a bit of tenderness
Towards ourselves and others,
And this whole sea of opinions in which we live
Might be
Helpful,
And compassionate,
and
  Kind. 

I honor and appreciate all the world's perspectives.

Monday, August 3, 2020

STILLNESS

"Cultivate quietness."
~ Elbert Hubbard ~

Action, hard work, movement, ambition,
All of these have their place,
their time- 
their use.
And so does
Silence, and 
so does
Stillness, and
so does
inner peace.

Every so often, I retreat. 

Sunday, August 2, 2020

THE STATE OF CORONA

"To live is so startling, it leaves little time for anything else."
~Emily Dickinson ~

Whether we are living in a state of Corona Virus or not,
Life is still life-
Cycling ups and downs,
Sorrows and pleasures,
Fear and trust,
Confusion and certainty,
Anger and calm.
It's the way of the living experience.

This is just what's happening now.