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Posts from the ‘Poetry’ Category

Sep 11

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Crisp

“Clarity affords focus.” – Thomas Leonard

“Clarity affords focus.” – Thomas Leonard

“Simplicity, clarity, singleness: These are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy as they are also the marks of great art. They seem to be the purpose of God for his whole creation.” – Richard Holloway

As crisp as a Fall morning, may you be acutely aware of , , ,

the beauty that surrounds you;
the peace that can only come from God;
the voice deep within that invites you to unfold;
the longing in your soul to be more, not do more;
the steady pull that slows you down while moving you forward;
the call that quietly brings you back to center of what’s true;
the hope and joy that remain steady amidst difficulty;
the brevity of this life that reminds us to let go of the minuscule;
the beating of the hearts of those who are on this journey too:
the laughter of the child that is your own;
the delight that’s hiding in plain sight to be captured daily.

May gratitude lure you back again and again to all that is in this very moment.
Crisp and clear, freely enter the mystery and gift of each day.

May 16

10 Comments

Restored

“Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.” – Hippocrates

“Not in achievement, but in endurance, of the human soul, does it show its divine grandeur and its alliance with the infinite.” – Edwin Hubbel Chapin

“Not in achievement, but in endurance, of the human soul, does it show its divine grandeur and its alliance with the infinite.” – Edwin Hubbel Chapin

It looks like a resort but it’s actually Woodwinds Hospital in Woodbury, Minnesota. Mom’s hip replacement that’s been up and down, left and right finally happened yesterday. When her leg turned purple on Wednesday night, we got her to the hospital where the x-ray and CT scan indicated that the hip was broken. Who knows how long she’s been walking around in sheer pain with a broken hip. A new hip “installed” yesterday. The healing, the restoration begins.

On Thursday, a nurse came in and offered a hand massage to relax her. She spent 20 minutes rubbing oil on her hands and arms in gentle conversation. Healing. While piano music plays in the background, the windows feature a beautiful view of the trees, a walking path and labyrinth. Healing.

Nature, music, art, faith, patience and kindness all promote and propel healing. And we need not wait to land in the hospital to start and foster the healing within ourselves and with others aound us. For when we heal, we move further and deeper into our potential – that which we are called to unfold and share with the world.

Mar 29

4 Comments

In-between

“Life is one big transition.” – Willie Stargell

“Life is one big transition.” – Willie Stargell

Not still winter yet not quite spring.
In-between.
On the edge.
The grip of winter slowly releases allowing hints of spring to appear.
Moments gather to days and transition time prepares us for transformation.
Releasing what was for what is to be, to the new, the next.

The sun and the rain do their job melting the ice’s resolve.
Blue breaks through the white and the frozen evolves into water.
Gently giving way for the next season.
That which occurs does so in the right time.
Not hurried, prodded or pushed.
In due time, not our time.

Feb 3

1 Comment

See the Flower in the Tree

“No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.” – Helen Keller

See the flower in the tree. Forget what has been, look with new eyes, a softer heart and a gentle touch. There is beauty and wonder everywhere and in everyone, hidden deep down, longing to be invited out, to be found, to be seen.

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Choose to be optimistic, enthusiastic and excited about the promise of each day and your place in it. Life is overflowing with goodness and light, just behind the thin shadows and hollow cynicism. Finding the worst case scenario is a short trip. We find what we are looking for so look longer and deeper.

Cast light today and discover that life is more than your limited thoughts or limited to you. See the world as it should be and then make it that way, one smile, prayer, hug, word at a time. See the flower in the tree.

Aug 12

11 Comments

Arise

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius

Morning welcomes and invites us to begin anew, leaving yesterday to rest and tomorrow to rise in its own time. Completely present and alive, ready to be fully awake to each moment’s beauty.

“To live in this world, you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.” – Mary Oliver

“To live in this world, you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.” – Mary Oliver

The sun rises and so must I. To greet the day welcoming the work to be done in us and around us, for promises to be fulfilled. We are called to rise fully to shine our light that is but ours alone. To absorb, reflect and cast light. Anything less is not meant to be, so do not hesitate, hide or ponder any longer. Breathe, think, enjoy and love. Ah, the promise of morning and for the fortitude to carry it through to sunset.

Jul 29

8 Comments

Rise and Set

“The sun is new each day.” – Heraclitus

May you rise and set as easy and sure as the sun. Grateful for the day that has passed, moving softly into rest to prepare for the next. Renewed and ready to receive the gifts of a new day. Deep and steady in each moment, each day, confident that it is enough, more than enough.

“To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.” – David Viscott

“To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.” – David Viscott

Jun 15

14 Comments

Composition

“In the language of poetry, where every word is weighed, nothing is usual or normal. Not a single stone and not a single cloud above it. Not a single day and not a single night after it. And above all, not a single existence, not anyone’s existence in this world.” – Wislawa Szymborska

Be the poet of your life. Make each word count. Weigh each moment, filled with gratitude and awe. See the extraordinary in the ordinary. Light always overcomes shadow. Be light. A beautiful composition of light.

“When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Mar 25

9 Comments

Attention

“When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.” – Mary Oliver

As I waited for my oil to be changed and tires to be rotated, a gentleman sat down next to me on the bench. My head was down looking at my phone. He started a conversation about his son and football. I had the sense to put my phone aside and engage in the conversation for 10 minutes, even though he was a Packer fan (Viking jealousy). Small talk really, but he kept the conversation going, so I did as well.

A simple human exchange that makes you feel human again. What we pay attention to becomes our life, creating depth or mere speed, sometimes a mix of both. If we bring our head up long enough to pay attention, we find a world overflowing with vibrant color and filled with simple conversations that mean more than we know. Be amazed and embrace your life today, for that is all we are promised.

“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.” – Mary Oliver

“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.” – Mary Oliver

Feb 9

2 Comments

Welcome Home

Love After Love by Derek Walcott

“The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.”

We search far and wide to find ourselves. In others, in work, across the globe, outside ourselves. Only to find that home is within us and it has been there the entire time. We are complete. Welcome home.

Dec 3

4 Comments

Quiet

quiet

Today by Mary Oliver, A Thousand Mornings

“Today I’m flying low and I’m
not saying a word.
I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.

The world goes on as it must,
the bees in the garden rumbling a little,
the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten
And so forth.

But I’m taking the day off,
Quiet as a feather.
I hardly move though really I’m traveling
a terrific distance.

Stillness. One of the doors
into the temple.”

In this festive, busy season of high expectations, create internal quiet amidst the chaos to prepare, reflect, be still. Quiet to hear the soft whisper of peace, guided by the compass of your soul, breathing in the crisp air to be restored and gently pulled toward purpose and depth.

On a foundation of gratitude, awe and silence, be ready to take it in. All of it. And then go back out and be a blessing to your world.

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