Posted in Uncategorized, tagged choices, poem, poetry, presence, tree, wind on January 8, 2020| Leave a Comment »
The day dares me to become a tree,
dares me to root, to stay in one place,
to choose this here, to plant myself in this now,
to stretch down even as I reach up.
But there are gusts in me, and wild squalls,
whirling impulses that swirl and spin
and whisper to me to be current, be flow.
Winds in me that says go, darling, go.
And the day says stay to me. The day
says, find evergreen in the moment.
The day offers me its ground, its generous soil.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged choices, kindess, opportunity, poem, poetry, wayne muller on September 4, 2018| 3 Comments »
To live a day, to care for a single day, is to shape a life. Each day is an opportunity to choose where to place our care. What shall we do today? What simple acts of remembrance will we use to punctuate our time and enrich our walk upon the earth this single day?
—Wayne Muller, How, Then, Shall We Live?
How many kindnesses did I miss today?
How many chances to help another
did I walk past, my eyes somehow fixed
already around the corner? How much beauty
went unnoticed? How much joy left
unspent? I am like the hiker at the foot
of the mountain who wanders in the fog,
not noticing the fog circles only the base. If I chose
to climb just a little, I’d see how red cliffs reflect
afternoon sun, see how new snow
catches in the trees and makes of each limb
a masterpiece. How is it I am not in
a constant state of wonder? Even
the fog gathers the pink of morning,
makes a practice of softening each
surface it touches. So simple,
the art of choosing to pay attention,
a sidewalk not so different in this regard
from a mountain. Every face a chance
to fall in love. Every human story
an opportunity to listen, to place our care.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged choices, poem, poetry, risk, safety on May 7, 2017| Leave a Comment »
When you walk along a cliff
and look over the edge,
a bit of the cliff will find its way
into your thoughts
and there, that place where
you were feeling quite safe
just a moment ago, now feels
charged with exposure.
Just today, a cliff said to me
that if I only would jump
then perhaps I would find my wings,
or perhaps then a tender angel
would deliver me—
you will never know,
said the cliff, if you keep walking
in that same direction you always walk—
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged choices, poem, poetry on January 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged 84, brian swimme, choices, transmutation on October 25, 2011| 2 Comments »
at the splitting of paths
there is no sign
transform
or die
tough choice
till we realize
we must do both
*This is the first in a series of 84-character poems about transmutation, Brian Swimme’s seventh power of the universe. In EnlightenNext, he writes, “This is the way in which the universe sometimes insists that something new come forth. … When Earth finally emerged and brought forth bacteria, why didn’t the universe just call it a day? Isn’t it enough that tiny pieces of Earth jump with life? Apparently not. Our universe is a self-transcending community of beings, and transcendence is often a necessity.”
