I walk upon the earth
and seek the hidden jewels
planted in the rich soil
not so long ago
The garden of my heart seeks
solace, comfort and belonging
The wildflowers dance in the breeze
a uniform wave of colorful heads and stalks
swaying to and fro
They greet me and the days to come
Companions on this wild-at-times journey
to seek that jewel in my chest
When it’s not really a hidden treasure to be found;
where you need maps and intricate paths,
booby traps, and X marks the spots
It’s a seed of intention that opens the heart
the light that shines was always there
a part of me has always been aglow
Tag: heart
Come back – Don’t fall asleep
Come back
Don’t fall asleep
The world needs your stories
You can solve what troubles you
The antedote is in your chest
In your heart
In your very breath
Even when it feels like it’s breaking apart
and shattered at the core
There is the jewel of what is you
that takes these pieces
that makes meaning in the chaos
The shards are not terrifying
a new mosaic is taking shape
and you are the sculptor
Come back
Don’t fall asleep
The world needs you
I need you
In my arms - all is at peace -
A steady rhythm of heart and breath
To hold and be held
to walk upon this earth
supported with ease and connection
to spirit
to love
to bliss
Come back
Don’t fall asleep
The beauty is you all along
[ This is my birthday gift and to celebrate the month of October ]
Our blue green planet
Ball of energy
and life,
You swim through the ether
My heart, my mind
plays its part
in the whole scheme
of the cosmos
whole and apart
I am breath and heart
Breath is my life force
my heart alchemizes that
force into fresh blood that
sustains me
It makes me light up
from the inside
Even in its natural course,
I can take the reins
- so to speak –
I can open up my lungs
with deep, mindful breaths
It may seem like it’s
automatic
a response
a reaction
The process is not that
complicated
Try it now.
Inhale slow and full.
Do you feel fulfilled
if not just for this moment?
Exhale even more s-l-o-w-l-y
like exhaling through a straw
Extend that breath
and empty your lungs
Trust that you are safe
another breath is on its way
- for the lucky ones -
Put your hand on your heart
and feel that beating jewel
in your chest
It is your life force
your birthright to this body
Today comes fast
tomorrow uncertain
Feel your light
It is your gift.
Happy trails lay ahead
A future I can see as clear as day:
It’s filled my lungs with fragrant lilies
and bold bright violets
that blanket the earth and soften under my feet
Each one precious and beholden to me
My heart no longer a stranger
a beast banging on my chest
shouting its replay of gripes
They can’t reach me here.
In the meadow, in the valley
I fasten a fallen flower to my chest
and we wander down
this happy trail together
The way in
Do you believe in magic?
fairy wings that sparkle true,
birdsong that calls for my attention,
What turns the tide in the ocean,
and whispers "grow" to the trees'
invisible blossoms?
I refuse to look for evidence
of the contrary or a
second opinion.
Instead, I hold tight to this truth.
There is magic inside of me
Inside of you
The way in starts with the heart
the beat uniquely yours.
a jewel in your chest
sees the sparkle of another.
The way in starts with what inspires you,
where do you find your footing,
what uplifts and grounds you
deep like tree roots.
The answer can seem fleeing
and almost imperceivable
like a slight movement in the
corner of my eye
I saw it! I felt it.
I know it deep in my bones.
And I have the authority
to choose to see the magic
in a blossom, in a leaf,
in a snowflake, in a branch
now brittle but once full of life
coursing through sweet nectar.
A perch, a safe place to land.
We all want safety.
What brings you home
to your heart, to your own sense
of belonging?
There is magic there too
in your strands of hair
down to your toes
life courses through
your veins, your breath.
The magic of atoms and elements
made of stardust to make you.
Now
Do you believe in magic?
The Kindness Coupon
More than just a gift
or a flight of whimsy,
Kindness is a feeling
that can be shared
and carried on.
We live in an inter-
dependent world
and kindness is powerful medicine.
a heartfelt-message
without request or reciprocation
makes a hard day just a bit more bearable.
a smile forms across my face.
I feel a little lighter
as I hold that pencil-scrawled note
from your heart to mine.
Today
I draw the curtain back
and allow the sunlight to
fill the room and all its
edges and corners with light
– sweet blessed light –
to chase away the darkness
of the night.
I was afraid of the dark
as a child I saw the shadows
dance across the walls and
I was filled with terror.
As a child I was powerless
the world loomed large and I
so small, too small to make a difference
to be heard.
The curtain clears the cobwebs
of my mind and I greet the day
counting my blessings to be alive
today is the only one that counts
Today I can make a difference and I do.
I can steer and guide that light
– that inner light intermingled with dark –
and shine a flashlight on all that was
– and is –
filled with fear and unknowing.
I can manipulate and warp the light
like a prism broken into all its colorful
rays of light.
Today I make finger puppets with the shadow
We play and walk,
morphing our shadows into one.
Fear still grips at me sometimes
even in full daylight
Shocks and anxieties aglow
I breathe
And as I do, I steady my heart.
The tick tock of a clock
mimics my heartbeat and I
find that connection once more
to be grateful to be alive.
Today, this moment
I cherish the lessons
even those not faint of heart
that grew and morphed and shaped me
into me
And I smile and greet the day.
The present moment
Right now I know this
Despite the sorrow and the fear
– or in spite of sorrow and the fear –
Now is all there is
Often it is not front and center
with a proper view of what This is
Sometimes I think I can find it
and Embody this now that is
I return to my center
no longer lost in the tumultuous thoughts,
strings of notions and ideas
whether original or not
That weighs heavy on my mind
I just let it go
And I can feel the now
Glimpses of gladness arrive
My heart feels the light
there’s Goodness, nourishment
Rooted in the here and now.
California and Coffee
Yosemite
I didn’t know it could be like this.
Towering ancient beings
shaped and warped by time
by water, brook and pine.
They spill and topple over.
A waterfall so powerful
you could lose your place
or a misty rainbow catching the light.
I never knew such magnificence.
Now the fires are raging.
The Andes winds howl and roar
through angles of valley and stone.
Fear pierces into all our hearts.
Helpless to change and put out the embers.
We watch attached to our screens
a tether to destruction unseen
over here in the quiet of winter.
For once the winds have softened.
For once the sky looks pale blue
hovering above the trees’ branches.
All life hangs on a delicate balance.
What seems so certain and steady.
– a fabric of time –
Now worn and bare with use and misuse.
I pour my mug of coffee and taste its flavor
gathered by hungry hands
from other lands around the globe.
Here, the steam starts to rise
and I am no less for the weary.
My heart goes out to the bean gatherers
who climb treetop and limb.
Their work is not unseen.
Not knowing their hardships and woes
Just to give my morning meaning
and energy to face the day.
My heart goes out to those that are burning,
whose lives and all they hold dear
so fragile and near.
Near to loss, near to fierce blazing embers
who hangs on by a thread of safety,
neither real nor imagined.