ALL AT ONCE

"Be ye therefore 'eloquent listeners.'" 

~ James Lendall Basford ~

If we can interact with others without an agenda,

And just be curious,

Genuinely curious,

About what it's like to be them, 

Then our connection exists at the level of authenticity,

And is vibrant and fresh

And relaxing

And solid

And loving

All at once. 

I listen, and in so doing, am somehow heard. 

MANAGING THE BEAST

"All sorrows are less with bread."

~ Miguel de Cervantes ~

When life requires an extra amount of effort,

Whether emotionally or physically,

Time careens us forward 

And we can inadvertently 

Go too long without eating,

And suddenly find ourselves a bit desperate,

And anxious,

And mis-emotional.

Food will fix it, but

It's so much better to not let it get that far.

I take care to eat at regular intervals, no matter what. 

THE ULTIMATE GIFT

"There is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers."

~ Seneca ~

Though we might not always see and experience it this way,

The truth is that freedom, above all, is a gift. 

It's not something we can earn,

Or achieve.

It's something we are given, often without even realizing it,

Something we have to open

To receive.

I am grateful. 

PITCH DARKNESS

"When you possess light within, you see it externally."

~ Anais Nin ~

Sometimes life feels like we're standing

In a cave in the pitch dark

And can't see anything at all-

Not even our hand in front of us-

And we have to take a step.

It requires blind (literally) 

Trust.

And we may have to grope and stumble for a bit,

But eventually....

Eventually,

We will see some kind of light somewhere

And be able 

to move 

in its direction.

I trust the light. 

STICKING SEEDS

"People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them." 

~ George Bernard Shaw~ 

I bought some lovely ornamental grass for the garden today, and when I loaded it into the car, I noticed that it shed its fluffy ends some. And when I unloaded it, I realized that the seeds were all over. They were stuck to a towel, and the floor rug, and the seat, and there was no blowing or shaking them out. They were lodged fast. I considered if that's what it did in my car, it would likely do that in the earth, so if these seeds were fertile, I may have just bought myself an invasive nightmare. 

I googled it to confirm, and yes indeed. There, online, were folks like me who had brought it home and planted it and now it was everywhere and impossible to control.

So-

I won't be planting this grass.

And I will remember the lesson, and notice all the ways it applies to life.

I watch for unwanted spreading of all kinds, and take care to stop it fast.

POSSIBILITY MEETS THE MIRACULOUS

"Things are only impossible until they're not."

~ Jean-Luc Picard ~

There are things we know,

And things that we know we don't know.

And then there is a whole other realm of 

Things that we don't know we don't know.

And that's where possibility meets the miraculous,

And synchronicity happens,

And all the dreams we didn't even know we had

Come true.

I stop thinking I have all the answers, and open to divine mystery. 

THE BEST WE CAN DO IS GOOD ENOUGH

"I used to worry about what other people think of me until I realized, they don't."

~ Colloquial Saying ~

I have to be vigilant at night when I'm tired

That my thoughts don't turn on me

And make me second guess every decision I've made during the day.

I seem to have this built in anxiety around 

What other people think,

Or might think,

About what I've said or done,

The world does not turn according to my plans and decisions. 

I am both smaller and larger than I think. 

OVER AND OVER AGAIN

"Little fears love to walk on stilts."

~ Henry Stanley Haskins ~

Every time we're faced with a new uncertainty,

The same old fears tend to come up-

That it won't work out,

That we are doomed,

Or whatever our favorite fears may be... 

And the truth is that

Maybe it won't work out in the way that we hope,

But life has shown us 

Over and over and over again,

That whatever it is, we get through it,

And it always works out somehow

And no matter what,

We're ok. 

I stop feeding my fears and live free. 

WELL-BEING AT THE DEEPEST LEVEL

"God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose. Take which you please- you can never have both."

~ RW Emerson ~

To be truly honest with ourselves and others takes courage

And trust.

It seems easier most of the time to pretend,

Or deny,

But in the long run,

And at the level of our 

Soul's well-being,

It's not. 

I have the courage to speak my truth.

MENTAL TRICKERY

"Watch it unfold live."

~Evan I. Schwartz ~

It goes both ways:

Sometimes we sweeten things in our minds in anticipation,

And when they actually happen, 

we feel jolted, 

and let down;

Or,

We expect the worst,

And end up delighted instead.

So what's the message?

Be the observer of it all.

I am the unassociated witness of life happening. 

WIPED OUT

"The vision must be followed by the venture."

~ Vance Havner ~

In some ways, mental activity can be more draining than physical activity,

And it doesn't feel as honest somehow,

Or as clean.

I balance figuring things out with moving my body. Otherwise, I go stale. 

HELP COMES

"We are all benefactors and beneficiaries, dependent upon each other."

~ James Lendall Basford ~

Help comes-

Not in the way we hope for,

Or expect,

But nonetheless.

We are stuck,

And can't see our way forward.

Someone shines a light

In the opposite direction

From where we were looking

And shows us that actually,

We're not stuck at all.

What freedom 

In knowing

That helps comes.

When we need it,

It comes. 

I breathe and relax and know that all is well. 

THE JOURNEY OF MOODS

"I will wear my heart upon my sleeve."

~ William Shakespeare ~

Sadness.

Anger.

Worry.

Trust.

Peace. 

Emotions rise and fall in me like the tides. 

NO MATTER WHAT

"We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.'

~ Marianne Williamson ~

No matter what we may have survived, 

or witnessed, 

or been ashamed of, 

We are not some tragic, cautionary tale.

We don't need to shrink and be afraid. 

We are pure, divine power experiencing manifest life, 

and we would do well to remember that 

as we go about our daily business.

I stand in my power. 

BEING AWARE

"Love. The indigenous nature of the soul."

~ Morris Hyman ~

Even after something has been created,

If it has been created with love,

The love lingers.

It can be felt.

Love leaves footsteps and fingerprints wherever it goes.

WALKING THE ROAD

"Life is the game that must be played."

~ Edwin Arlington Robinson ~

When facing complexities and seeming impossibilities

in the world

and in our lives,

There's nothing for it but to 

move forward

one little bit at a time;

to pause if we need to,

to stop if we must,

but to pick up the road again

when we're rested,

and take a small step,

and then another...

And that's the way it goes.

forever and ever,

Amen. 

I keep on keeping on.

BEAUTY FROM THE SOURCE

"A morning glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books."

~ Walt Whitman ~

I love candles 

and flowers.

Each so simple,

and so profound.

They change a space and make it sacred

And beautiful

And bright

And alive. 

I fill my environment with color and light.

DECISION BY INSTINCT

"Instinct is untaught ability."

~ Alexander Bain ~

More often than not, 

when a decision has to be made, 

we actually know what our choice is going to be intuitively before we choose it.

Sometimes, however, 

in spite of our knowing, 

we talk ourselves in to an alternative option for logic's sake, 

or some other mental reasoning.

And inevitably, 

when we go that route, 

we pay for it.

I trust my intuitive knowing.

THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

"My back is broken by the conflict of my thoughts."

~ Rumi ~

I imagine most of us have had the experience of 

waking up in the middle of the night 

with a "figure it all out right now" kind of mindset. 

I've had a few of those lately... 

and the other night, 

in particular, 

I felt overwhelmed with the thought that, "There's so much happening!" 

Which was followed immediately by the thought that's there's actually nothing happening.

I'm just lying here in my bed in the middle of the night

With the ceiling fan flapping away overhead.

I stay in the moment and breathe. 

THE RECIPE

"You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces- just good from fresh ingredients."

~ Julia Child ~

Life is cumulative.

We start raw and experience tenderizes us,

And the input of our community

Marinates us,

And clarity emerging out of chaos

Slow cooks us until

We become a delicacy.

And then begin raw 

yet again. 

I become deliciously sweet and savory through the slow process of life in small bits.

THE SHIFTING EXPERIENCE

"The fact that life is a grind is what sharpens many a man's wits."

~ Boston Transcript ~

As children, we like puzzles and riddles and things we can't figure out.

They're FUN!

So why, when we become adults,

Do we shift,

And experience puzzles as problems,

And grind our teeth over them,

And sweat nervously,

And fret?

I look at problems as challenges, and enjoy the process of seeking solutions.