Pic and Poem #13

 

 

       make a pilgrimage,
       one that will truly
       change you

       not the one to the
       pretty place,
       the temple that has
       been well tended
   
       go past that one
       out into the wilds
       far beyond

       all the way to the
       lonely edge
       of shadow and decay,
       to the temple that echos
       of heartbreak and tears
    
       kneel there amidst
       the dirt and debris,
       sit beside despair,
       hold her in your arms
       like a mother holds
       her child

       utter the prayers
       that have waited,
       once forgotten,
       and in the holy
       emptiness be heard


I have shared before on my blog about my life long struggle with depression and anxiety. Today is gloomy and rainy here in Shanghai, and I woke today in a bit of a depressive mood, and it is alright. I have learned how to be with these waves that come through me, how to sit in visitation, knowing that they pass. Some days that comes easier than others, but I know I have grown most in my life by being willing to go there. I can not heal what I am not willing to be with. I know when I make the pilgrmage into these dark places with the light of faith and practice to guide me, the prayers I give to the emptiness are heard. That does not mean there is no more struggle, it simply means I am held in the journey of what is. We all have such struggles in one form or another and this poem is my offering to that.
       
      
 This picture was taken in Delhi, India.    
      
      
        

Pic and a Poem #12

 

 

 

 

 

 

be generous

in uplifting others,

nothing extraordinary

is of necessity

meet another

truly look at them 

and smile

 

a thing so simple

is enough

to put the sun back

in someones sky,

or breathe joy

into a lonely heart,

invisible no longer

 

see each face

not with judging eyes

but with the eyes of love,

give freely these

offerings of beholding,

blissful recognition

to see each other

through those eyes is

to see ourselves

and know we are divine

 

this love needs no language

it has no limits or borders

it comes to gently shake us,

to wake us up from the illusion

that we could be separate from each other

 

we belong to each other, truly

holding hands and hearts

walking this path called life

 

 

 This picture was taken on a tour I did to a tea plantation here in China. I wish I had a picture of myself smiling at her to accompany the photo of the beautiful smile she gave to me. We could not stop to chat with each other because of the language barrier, but her smile alone touched me deeply. China gets a lot of bad press in the world and some of it is valid. I just hope that we can always remember that people everywhere around the world are the same, people living, working, caring for families, seeking fulfillment, longing for connection. Namaste.
 

Pic and a Poem #11

 

 

 

 

            rest here at the feet of the earth

              plant your own deep roots

                  find the will to stay

 

              the way is to meet stillness

 

           where do you have to get to anyway?

              what could be more important

            than listening to the rustle of  leaves

          or communing with a slow unfolding fern?

 

         the fern and the leaves know more about living

           than you can hope to discover somewhere

            out in the wide populous lonely world

             here you can live into the big space
              the one your soul longs to occupy
               the one beyond ideas and stories
             with no words like could or should

              rest here at the feet of the earth
                 plant your own deep roots
                 give yourself to the grace
              of what rises from within you
         
               these roots will give you wings
                              to fly


I am a nature girl, always have been. I have said many times that the things I miss most living in Shanghai are my family, my friends and the forest. I find the forest to be magical and healing. When I am in nature I feel renewed and reconnected to myself.  Even if I can't get out into pure nature, just feeling my feet on the ground helps me regain my center.
 
             
                          
 

           

 

 

Pic and a Poem # 10

 

 

 

 

     simplicity is

     freedom

     spacious and pure,

     ruthlessly peel back

     all these layers of life,

     keep what is true

     release what is false,

     distill it down to it's

     bare essence,

     the bones of being,

     empty each moment

     to the bottom

     of it's deep well, 

     chisel experience

     down to small pebbles

     that you drop in

     marked with the question

     "who am i?"

     seek the answer

     at the center of stillness

     formless and wordless,

     the simplicity of what

     is known and not learned,

     bring it back,

     paint it on the walls of

     your life,

     wisdom comes in few words

     awareness

     feeling

     love

 

 

This one came as a total stream of consciousness, and I have left it as is.

I do know that I have been contemplating simplicity a lot lately. Craving it in my life.

Would love to hear how you think about simplicity.  

       

       

      

           

 

Pic and a Poem # 9

 

 

 

 

 

      this world is shocking
       in her capacity to be     

       limitlessly beautiful
 

      all her manifestations

        perfectly designed

    with breathtaking intensity
      she shows you her heart
             on her sleeve,
      holding nothing back
     letting every stroke fall to
              the canvass
   without the slightest hesitation

        even a city street
       ringing with chaos

        and painted with
       collisions of color
     is such grace to behold

       the lines and curves
       of wires and wheels
        are the geometry
       for the movement
              of life

    like blood through veins
      waves on the ocean
            her rhythm
             the pulse
      and drum beat dance
         of the universe

    anywhere you might be
   she is trying to show you
    the wonder of existence,
  the miracles large and small
   that she lays out before you

if you don't see beauty in front of you
try looking again with different sight
          and when you see it
   there will be no more denying
  the magnificence that you live in
    
     showing you the beauty
              that you are
 
 

 

                       

Pic and a Poem #8

 

 

 

 

 

 

                        there is a city of light 

                           deep within you

 

                        the way to get there

                        is to get lost

                 

                        lost from any identity

                        lost from all attachment

                        returning to the simple 

                        state of being and presence

                        in a moment,

                        this very moment

                        you are already there

 

 

 

 

   I will confess, this one had to struggle to get through as I am a bit off balance energetically and emotionally today. The words speak to this state. At the heart of this experiment is my quest to create by faith , to be vulnerable and to make an offering no matter what shows up. So today I got the very challenge that I asked for. For now I am off to my cushion, to consider these words, it is needed. xos for today.                            

                          

Pic and a Poem #7

let's go to our attics and basements
haul out all our old baggage and the
dusty relics we have stored away
these things we said we never wanted
to look at, touch, or visit again

i will open all my bags and boxes,
hold up all my forgotten pieces,
i will show them to you,
will you show me yours?

not so we can wallow in what they once were,
not to revisit their brokenness
or linger in the neglect that they have endured
but to perform an alchemy
as children who know
that magic and miracles happen
all around us
if we believe in them
if we believe in ourselves

these things will be made beautiful
we will hold them close to know
their very essence
we will shape them with
our hands and hearts
into royal robes and jeweled crowns

lets put them on and
run barefoot through the back door
straight to the field of long grass and sunshine
where we will play and dance
skip and run
and let our laughter swell and echo
all the way to heaven and back