Author: becomingandbeholding
As a hospice chaplain and a menopausal woman, I find myself on a journey of awakening to who I really am. My writing is my personal and deep exploration of what I notice along the way.
Calming the Outer Storm
It is a slow creep –
the way the stress of life builds.
We live bombarded
by the need to rush,
bending over backwards
to meet the demands.
The expectations given
feed our perfectionistic patterns
and we get lost
by the constant doing.
That is what living from the outside
is like.
It exhausts and
makes us into fools
who think we are being productive.
To live from within,
one must commit to
slowing the pace, and
nix the needy drive
that cares too much
what others think and believe –
that invests in having
and holding
all the things
that make us look good.
True peace resides
where inner knowing lives –
blanketed by what is true,
and by the power
of the unseen.
Living from the inside
means listening to
the whispers underneath –
the voice that beckons
and seeks to heal us –
Take a walk on the beach.
Let your feet crunch a wooden path.
Allow a cat to rest in your lap.
Bow your head and offer a prayer.
Observe and honor a compassionate moment.
These are places where the whispers await…
To live from the outside
is to get lost
in the whirlwind of
the superficial.
But to live from the inside
is to be fueled by
purpose and
to be connected to
a larger dimension –
a place that
too few find.
Love is the main thing, of course.
It is the thread that connects us
at the soul
to God’s heart.
The only way to find peace
on this weary planet of ours
is to realize
that each one of us
is born to be free.
Our job and journey
is to discover that.
When we do,
the peace within
which passes all understanding
will bless us
and enable us to be a blessing
for others.
Copyright© Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2018
I Can See Who You Are
We hustle.
We bustle.
We cover up.
We avoid.
In the constant press forward,
the moments are lost.
When able to still ourselves,
we can catch glimpses of
what is real.
I sat with a patient,
one of the sweet ones
with dementia.
Her eyes alive
with love and openness…
Her speech cute and senseless
most of the time.
I am present to her
and focus on being –
instead of doing.
When the time for goodbye comes,
I touch her shoulder
and lean in.
Her eyes widen
as these words spill forth
in clarity and affection:
“I can see who you are!”
Grace finds me
and I am blessed by her glimpse.
I am reminded…
I am Love.
Copyright@ Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2018
In the Right Light
My Love points the camera
towards me
and I playfully resist…
“Take my picture outside
and from that preferred angle, my dear.
It makes a more flattering picture.”
I look in the mirror
and the bathroom light is on dimmer…
All I can see are wrinkles!
I change the brightness in the room
and my image improves.
I find my smile.
My Love, the Artist,
paints a lovely picture.
He uses reflective paints that
need the right angle and intensity
of illumination.
He tilts his creation my way –
in the right light –
its beauty deepens.
All these are glimpses
of an important lesson:
How we see things
is shaped by
the type of light we shine on
what is before us.
To see clearly,
be aware of your beam.
For life is dimmed
and perception is affected
by gloom.
To brighten,
simply flick the switch
and tilt towards it.
Observe the changes.
Copyright© Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2018
Start with you…
Pearls
Oh, the precious lessons
along the way!
They seem so hidden
at first –
but when they arrive,
or get uncovered,
they shine with brilliance.
We trudge and troll –
weary of the path,
tripping in the same old ways…
but when our eyes
dare to look anew,
we may spot a pearl.
Its presence
is grace revealed.
Its beauty
releasing us
of our misdirected ways.
A pocket full of pearls
is the treasure of
transcendence.
Keep your pearls close you.
They whisper and lift
as you continue on.
Copyright© Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2018
Be Lifted
I sometimes like to watch
the float of a feather.
It can show up unannounced
and bless me
with fresh lightness.
Watching its flowing movement
with no steering wheel
to direct
or engine powering it –
Well, it looks like freedom.
Most of us
tend to be weighted
by our day to day.
We load up our minds
with fiction
that keeps us from
the float of grace
intended for us.
Watch the feather,
I tell myself.
It has no need to
drive or direct,
no agenda to meet,
no cares to protect.
It simply rests
on the unseen flow of life.
It rises above beautifully.
The feather’s lift
is a wonder to behold –
the mystery and gift
of grace realized.
Copyright© Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2018
