Like Me

July 17, 2019July 17, 2019 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

Like me,

I bet you don’t like to be

inconvenienced by illness or stress.

Like me,

you probably aim to control and manage

everything in front of you.

Like me,

sadness is not an option

you would choose.

Like me,

your busyness gets in the way

of your experience of peace and

even love.

Like me,

your striving and perfectionism

puts you in a box

which limits spontaneity and joy.

Like me,

your thoughts drive you

and mostly go unnoticed.

But also like me,

you are growing in awareness.

Like me,

you don’t give up.

Like me,

laughter and health

bubble forth, anyway.

Like me,

you are a Velveteen Rabbit,

and you are being loved

into being made more real.

Like me,

you are learning the

gift of surrender.

Like me,

grace finds you.

Like me,

you are grateful for it all.

In peace,

my spirit bows to your spirit.

We are one.

And you are like me.

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Our Larger Belonging

July 17, 2019 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

What the Trees Know

July 16, 2019July 18, 2019 becomingandbeholding7 Comments

Sometimes it is important to sit under a tree.

You can rest from

all the glare and heat.

God did not intend for us an endless panting –

nor a sweat which drains.

So drink in the breezes.

Stop yourself and rest.

Be.

For this is what the trees know…

they understand from their deepest root

that their shade is their best work –

and they are happy to share it.

Trees know what it feels like

to live as created to be.

There is no better peace

or joy.

Artwork by Martha Harris. To see more of her work, go to artisticflarings.blog.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Your Embrace

July 15, 2019July 15, 2019 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

No amount of coffee

can awaken this soul

to quicken its attention.

I am looking for you again, my God.

The mysteries of my path,

unfolding in excruciating ease.

I long for answers.

It helps when I remember

the times I have visited this landscape before.

You have always been next to me –

your hand in mine,

gently leading.

In rare glimpses you point the way –

but your respect for me usually

allows my own stumble forward.

Mostly, it helps to be held.

To embrace the mysteries

in the comfort of your arms

feels like the home

you made for me.

I am a baby looking for your eyes

as you love me.

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Look within in kindness.

July 13, 2019 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

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Morning Prayer II

July 11, 2019July 11, 2019 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

Loving Presence of the Holy One, my one and only God, I rest in the newness of this day. The birds call and invite me to sing a song to you. I lift my voice and speak your name out loud, offering myself as a vehicle of your love and grace this day and every day. I know profoundly and more and more clearly that when I enter a day with this intention, that I begin in freedom. For when I am aligned with your being, I am being authentically me. Challenges may come today. My prayer is that whatever they may be, that they may serve my awakening. Therefore, blessed be this day! For my heart is full of gratitude for this beautiful life and I intend to live it with joy and extend myself in love to those who cross my path. I am awake. As I sing my song, know that I am here for you, my God. With my whole being, body and soul, I sing your praises. Thank you for this day.

Amen and amen.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Catching Myself

July 10, 2019July 10, 2019 becomingandbeholding5 Comments

There you are.

I see you now in the burst of the flower,

the color yellow blessing my eyes

with new and fresh joy.

Instantly, the lift is back

and I rest in the wonder of Presence.

My heart quickens with the reminder that

you are everywhere…

ready to be seen with

a never-ending invitation to

wakefulness.

I am finally learning how

the one who leaves

is never you.

You are as close as my in breath –

that breath that gets neglected

in the constant pant

of unnecessary busyness.

When I catch my breath,

I catch you.

Life is always instructing me.

Just yesterday, I read these words:

Worry is a misuse of imagination.

It was just the right message at

just the right time.

I am glad I noticed it.

It could have just slipped past me…

and it made me question

what else I might have missed

along the way…

I thank you for these reminders.

So simple they are

once grasped.

I realize once again,

and repeatedly,

that you are never far away

and that the barriers

to my learning and freedom

are of my own creation.

There is no blame for this –

I do understand.

As blame is just another unhelpful distraction –

another layer blocking me from you.

To live this precious life,

I must stop piling on the layers

so I can unfold into the naked beauty

of a fully bloomed flower

basking in the glow of the sun.

And where you are,

so will I be.