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.