OVERGROWTH

"Don't water your weeds."

~ Proverb ~

Virginia is a warm and humid environment, and plants grow aggressively-

So much so, in fact, that there's an issue of OVER growth which

Requires great effort to keep in check.

Without any kind of pruning, it's a jungle in no time.

And it's a good reminder for us as well.

Rapid growth unchecked,

Growth for growth's sake,

Will overtake all the delicacy and subtlety of life as we enjoy it.

We must carefully prune and shape our new life learning,

Or it will smother us like vines. 

I take time to integrate the things I learn.

OVERWHELM

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot, hang on, and swing."

~  Leo Buscaglia ~

The definition of the word, "overwhelm" is 

To bury or drown beneath a huge mass, or

Defeat completely. 

We often use that word in today's vernacular which makes me wonder... 

Why are we drowning? Why so defeated?

Is it expectations we have of ourselves or others that can't be met?

Too much to do and too little time in which to do it? 

Is it a mindset? An attitude that can be shifted?

Or some kind of general malaise related to feelings of powerlessness?

I challenge us to consider the question,

And determine for ourselves if the state of overwhelm is a choice we somehow inadvertently make,

Or an absolute truth that is locked fast.

I give myself permission to stop and make adjustments if I can't breathe. 

MAKING ROOM

"Never think too much to act."

~ Arthur Guiterman ~

We spend a lot of time and invest precious energy

Trying to

Figure things out.

"I need to figure it out," we tell ourselves, and everyone around us...

"If I could just figure it out! 

Then everything would be ok."

But the joke's on us.

The solution doesn't come through figuring

It comes through dropping it, whatever "it" is,

And making room for spontaneous action

To arise and move,

Without any figuring at all.

I stop insisting on logic and let life move freely through me. 

FILTERING LIGHT

"And your very flesh shall be a great poem."

~ Walt Whitman ~

I've been observing lately how completely lovely

Light is when it's filtered through tree leaves:

Dapply. 

Luminescent.

Soft.

And 

Isn't it the same 

With the light

That filters through

Us?

I observe the physical details of ever-changing humanity with great love and delight. 

WOKING OUT

"It's all going to be ok in the end, and if it isn't ok, then it isn't the end."

~ Saying from The Exotic Marigold Hotel Movie ~

Things have a way of working out.

I don't know how exactly,

And sometimes it most definitely doesn't seem like they will,

But then,

They just

Do.

I trust the process.

CITY DOGS

"They are the role model for being alive."

~ Gilda Radner ~

I celebrate the dogs of the city!

Leashed, but not discouraged,

They are as authentic as any beings can be-

Completely adapted to their people and their routines:

Some of them speedy on short legs,

Some of them endlessly pulled this way and that,

Some of them checking on the faces of their owners,

And checking again, "We ok?"

And some of them- the ones I love the most-

Just cruising along, tails lifted and wagging...

Just happy, happy.

Maybe their walkers are serious and engaged in conversation with walking companions

Or distracted by phones.

These dogs don't care.

They are just delighted to be out and about,

And seeing them being so delighted brings great joy to the world.

I am grateful for the happiness of dogs!

ROCK A BYE

"I too have been a mourner."

~ Mary Ann H. Dodd Shutts ~

Trauma is defined as a deeply distressing or disturbing experience.

And sometimes, our response to this chaos can be surprisingly calm and clear.

We see the situation as if from a distance, and effectively do exactly what's required in the moment,

And then shed a few sobbing tears after the fact.

We feel self-congratulatory- over it- check the box complete.

But stack a handful of traumatic experiences one on top of the other

And the effect cannot be over and done with like closing a door.

Our bodies acknowledge what we've been through even if our hearts and minds

Can't.

Maybe not immediately, but eventually...

A creeping physical tension that won't depart,

A chronic discomfort,

An inexplicable pain.

Out traumas demand acknowledgement,

Forgiveness if necessary,

And grief.

When trauma cries, I rock it in my arms like a baby.