Pic and a Poem #27

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 form gives way to form

 symbols and woven pattern

 empty spaces a remembrance

 and a foretelling

 what came before

 and what lies beyond

 the blessing of space

 into which beauty is born

 without emptiness

 there can be no fullness

 consciousness holds thought

 clouds moving through the sky

 fingers chisel shapes that speak

 a primal language

 as a body waits patiently

 to be moved

 and not only moved, danced 

 all things moving toward expression

 turning back toward origin

 thoughts and clouds dissolve

 a dance returns to stillness

 carved stone tapestries

 one day return to earth
 the time is now

 seek out your spaces

 fill them with

 your signature
 to honor the emptiness

 that holds all things

I was looking at this image and appreciating the symmetry and how each shape relied upon the other for its very existence. Then I noticed the empty spaces. What was carved away allows one to see what lies behind, or what lies ahead depending on perspective. I started to write about that and it flowed into this poem about the coming and going of all things. I come back time and time again to this urgency, that the time to live is now, look for the spaces longing to be filled with your unique expression and fill them! What could be more imperative in life than giving your brilliance to the world? Life is so short, it can not wait. Honor the emptiness by decorating it with what you love.  

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Pic and a Poem #26

let's go to the river

we can sing on the way

i have found singing is

the best way to pray

we can get in the water

it will join in our song

dance a watery chorus 

as we float along

feel your hair spread

like seaweed

tangled and free

just like we are mermaids

queens of the sea

look up to the blue sky

the heavens above

put your hand out to find mine

linked fingers of love

we can stay all day long here

there is no place to go

let's be one with this river

its ebb and its flow

 

 

I sat down to write today feeling quite empty and unsure of what would show up.

As I let words bubble to the surface I found my inner little girl stepping forward,

and so I just made space for her. I have felt quite drawn to watery images lately,

the beauty and power of water to soothe and transform. My nine year old daughter Harper drew a picture of a mermaid just a few days ago, and I was not thinking of that when I wrote this, but perhaps subconsciously my little girl made a connection there. I imagined two young girls going to swim in this gentle river, singing, splashing and floating along without a care in the world.

 

 

I feel it is healing to give the inner child a voice, to keep a connection with that part of who we are. Great shift and transformation can come from listening to and feeling the little one within.

Pic and Poem #25

 

 

 

 

 

 

  there is a path being

  set out before me

  twisting and turning

  through space and time

 

  i sometimes stop and wonder

  how i arrived here,

  dizzy with the dancing of

  mysterious synchronicity,

  what yes's and no's brought me this far 

 

  i believe in miracles

  i have held them in my own hands,

  and yet so often

  i am afraid 

 

  my faith sometimes falters

  my feet frozen beneath me

  wanting to stay here,

  relieved of risk and

  not knowing the way,

  but there is a brave heart

  a jewel given to me,

  that has guided me onward, 

  through night and through day

 

  i follow my path, 

  from the depths of my feeling

  toward what lies ahead,

  great joy or deep sorrow,
  elation or heartbreak, 

  all roads lead to

  freedom and ultimate truth

 

  life needs bravery,

  faith and surrender

  the path is before us,

  we forge a destiny,

  all this experience

  calling us home

  

 

 

 

 

   

 

     

 

 

   

Pic and a Poem #24

 

 

 

 

 

    the will of the earth is strong

    to bring life to itself

    even through the roughest rock

    see it root and rise,

    and such is the manner of love

    in the human heart

    even the hardest terrain

    seeming barren and void

    has a seed deeply planted

 

    the heart is always

    looking for the space,

    for the moment,

    to let love root and rise

 

 

  

Pic and a Poem #23

 

 

 

 

       when two worlds collide

       where will you set up camp

       in the storefront of illusion

       or in the temple of your soul?

 

 

 

 

    This question figures so prominently in my life. Where do I want to focus my energy, and what I am I living into? It is easy to get swept up by all the external data that tends to pull me away from myself. I feel like there are all these messages telling me to look outside, to fixate on the external trappings and an image, but that always ends up being hollow. If there is any happiness or contentment in that, it is always fleeting, that is my experience anyway. I do my best to keep my camp in the temple of my soul, that is in my spiritual practice, in contemplation and creativity, and in relationship with those who I love and who love me.

 

I took this photo here in Shanghai. The Jing'an Temple is the most well known temple in Shanghai and has been in this location since about 1200, but has recently been surrounded by high rise luxury shopping as Shanghai becomes more modern and focused on material abundance. As you stand in this place of reverence and devotion, you look up and see these huge billboards looming overhead. It is startling and, to me, so telling. It begs the question above.  

Pic and a Poem #22

 

 

 

 

 

 

     dreams of pink petals

     and soft whispers of

     green leaves

     the intersection of

     exacting intelligence

     and vivid strokes of beauty

 

     could there be greater

     evidence of the divine spark

     than this blossom of brilliance

     unwaveringly becoming itself

     wide open and free?

 

     oh to live like a flower

     rising to this life with

     no hesitation

     to burst forth boldly

     no doubting, no hiding

     sitting powerfully in the center

     of what is meant to be,

     pouring out color, scent, flavor

     surrendering it fully,

     perfectly,

     until it's done

 

 

     I aspire to this, this way of being. That was what really started me on this poetry project, a deep thirst to express, expand and be seen. I don't mean be seen in a seeking glory sort of way, but to risk revealing deep parts of myself and trusting that in creating outwardly, showing up and opening out that there will be a corresponding opening inward. My experience so far is that this is true but it can also be quite tender and even achy, growing pains I guess. Shine on everyone, be bold and bright!

    

 

 

 

 

       

Pic and a Poem #21

 

 

 

 

  occupy this moment

  touch it with your tenderness,

  bring it to your lips,

  listen for its song
 

  see every side of it

  each subtle dimension 

  all the curves and angles,

  the center moving out

  meet this moment fully
  expansion and contraction
  expressing through shadow
  the way it catches light
 

  occupy this moment

  ride it like a wave,
  and in the next instant
  a tide of rising and falling
  the world is made again


 The present moment is the only place we can ever really know anything, connect to anything, be fully alive. Every moment is full of  potential, the potential to experience, but the the thing is we have to actually be there to experience the world in front of us, or the one within us. I often find myself lost in my thoughts, lost in my mind, somewhere other than experiencing the present moment, but I have practices like yoga, dance, meditation and writing that help me to come back to now, what is happening now, what I am feeling, seeing, touching. It is worth showing up for.