Moments

our moments march

forever facing forward

some pretty, others less endearing

each one passing

politely yielding to the next

then silently surrendering

their own original fibers

into the fabric of the whole

a fabric rich and colorful

and utterly unique

 some are woven

of intense and vibrant hues

full of texture, enticing and inviting

 though others are dark,

irregular in weave,

even filled with holes

or unraveling,

their stories are no less compelling

 when the moments cease

the fabric remains

bathed in buoyant nostalgia

and dripping with dreams

fulfilled (or not),

a lasting legacy to

the finite parade of moments

 

 

I'm not Waiting for Anything...

i’m not waiting for anything.  this thought hit me out of the blue the other day.  during all those years of teaching i was always waiting for the weekend.  or spring break. or, best of all, summer vacation.  often counting the days.  even when i liked what i was doing.  why?  well, apparently i liked what i did more when i wasn’t at work.  and… i had very little insight or practice into living in the moment.

it’s been almost 2 years since i’ve had to deal with the rigors of getting up in the morning and heading out the door to work.  it’s been a time of transition for sure. with many ups and downs.  one of the biggest ups has been the opportunity to soak up the wisdom of so many fabulous books and blogs and  to connect with so many very wise women (thank you!!!)

a steady diet of inspiration can have a powerful effect!  it doesn’t happen overnight, but in looking back over these last couple of years, i can see a shift occurring.   at this particular time in my life, i’m enjoying each day as it comes, learning, growing and attempting to create a little goodness to put back out into the universe.  sure, i look forward to upcoming events, but they are not the reference point of my life.  today.  right now.  that’s where it’s at.

Opening up

i’ve observed a tendency for some people to close down a bit with aging.  to become more entrenched in ideas and behavior patterns that have served them throughout their lives. 
 to view the world from within the confines of those ideas and to view those with different beliefs (be they cultural, political, religious, artistic, psycho-social, whatever…) or life-styles as less informed, incorrect or simply “less than”.

not only do i NOT want to fall prey to this tendency, i want to go in the other direction as i age.  becoming MORE open to new ideas, MORE open to reality as it presents itself
(whether or not it meets my expectations),
MORE accepting of others, MORE non-judgmental, MORE compassionate.  we are ALL connected, all “cut from the same cloth”.  we have many more similarities than differences.  

 i want to breathe more,

notice more,

feel more,

share more,

give more.

 it’s not easy.  but i feel that stating the intention is the first
 step.  we can learn SO much from each other.   

we just need to listen with an OPEN heart.

  i’m keeping all of this in mind as i prepare for the next space between retreat, 

which has been time-shifted to NEXT weekend due to SNOW

(like i said, reality presenting itself, not necessarily according to my expectations!)

Words

i love words

words with muscles

strong enough

to bear gifts on their backs

 that become conduits

into the soul

direct flight

the next best thing

to reality

sometimes just

one

can have a more

powerful voice than

one hundred

they visit me

unannounced

and uninvited

but usually when

i’ve been able to clear

the brain clutter

and give them

a little corner in there…

what would we ever do

without them??

Baby Steps

Mystery

growing up, i was taught that life was pretty much black and white.  cut and dried.  that the answers to any and all questions about life and the universe were contained between the covers of one book.  i tried really hard to believe that, but i had a lot of trouble.  i eventually found it too confining and have since stepped beyond those confines and opened myself up to mystery.

 there are a lot of people who think they have life all figured out and i can’t fault them for that.  obviously, it’s comforting and maybe they know something i don’t.   but personally, not only do i feel that i don’t know the answers to life’s “big questions”, but i feel that they are “unknowable”.  

 we humans have not been so gifted with definitive answers and i believe that’s a good thing - therein lies the mystery!  look up at the night sky (or at some of the landscapes here) and you can’t help but be struck by it.  i love it – the total sense of awe and wonder.

 maybe it’s just me, but i would find a life in which i thought i knew all the answers to be on the boring side.  i love exploring new ideas, searching, learning and staying open to new experiences.  it’s such a rich and wondrous life, filled with treasures, lessons and, yes, mystery.  i embrace it!!