All Is Well

March 2, 2018March 2, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

How I wonder at

the many ways of getting it wrong –

the things that pull us away,

derail and distract us from

the truth of who we are

and how we were made

from the beginning.

Life continues to instruct –

through discomfort and pain.

It seems the most effective tool

to bring us to the necessary surrender.

I am not a fan of the process –

the reshaping and chiseling away…

but the revelations that come

reassure in ways

unmeasurable.

I yield to the master craftsman,

offering myself up for true fashioning,

despite the necessary struggles,

that the me that has always been

can be seen –

and true freedom,

finally mine.

Taking Notes

February 21, 2018February 21, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

Every morning a new lesson

with the dawning of the sun

remembering this and that from

the moments of yesterday –

the stubborn resistance

to change, to growth

that dares to color the new morning.

Oh, the many ways

my spirit settles!

It hides from the possible

underneath a blanket of

supposed comfort.

I lean towards the sun

like a rested sunflower

daring to rise.

Poem · Poetry

Begin With the Ending

February 18, 2018 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

You have already started your curtain call

and now we show up

with our unpunched tickets in hand.

Meeting you at this point

is like being presented with a gift

that has already been opened –

loved and appreciated for years –

and ready to be tucked away

for safe keeping.

All our hellos

have built in goodbyes to them.

The door to you opens

and begins closing

all at once.

We know this going in.

Time is short

and momentous.

It forces an instant connection

that is felt both ways.

We understand the courage it takes

for you at this point,

to drop your guard so quickly

for a bunch of strangers

who want to help.

And you do.

And we do.

In a way, it is kind of magical.

The delicate intimacy

that comes with sharing your ending

teaches us.

Teaches you to let go

in a meaningful way,

and teaches us what

letting go looks like.

We love this about

being with you.

Thank you for allowing us

to cut in

and share your final dance.

We promise to help you

finish it well.

Please take the lead

and show us your steps.

We will follow you

and share your curtain call.

Poem · Poetry

The Poems

February 17, 2018March 8, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

You arrive as whispers

calling sweetly in my ear,

causing me to pause and ponder –

leading me forward.

It is like the dawning of hunger

when, no matter what I am doing,

I can think of nothing else.

The urgency must be addressed.

Words must be shaped,

voiced –

labored over and delivered.

Inspiration has called to me.

Each time she visits,

I come alive a little more.

I am born

again and again –

in a blanket of words.

Why me?

I sometimes wonder…

but I open to her, anyway –

and learn to surrender again

to her message

and to what is real.

The whole dance we do

creates a hunger

that builds.

I want more.

In the meantime,

I live the poems I have.

I hold them close to me –

with pregnant anticipation,

I wait for the others.

Poem · Poetry

Be a Branch

February 17, 2018February 17, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

You come to me with searching eyes,

your shoulders slumped,

your breathing shallow.

“I need help,” you say.

I open my arms

and reach for you,

taking you into the Love,

ever-present.

Comfort flowers.

An elderly woman drops her grocery bag

and oranges and potatoes scatter

all over the road –

I run to her.

My hands get busy gathering her food.

Our eyes connect and

together we laugh.

There is no problem, anymore.

We are connected.

Everyday, situations show up

to wake us up to

who we are

and why we are here.

Most of the time,

we don’t notice.

We are too busy with ourselves,

living as if

we are on our own.

We forget that God needs us

in order to be seen,

to be realized –

and we need God.

“I am the vine.

You are the branches.”

The instruction is given:

We are deeply connected to God

and when we extend ourselves

in Love,

life blossoms as it should –

and God is at work

with us.

Nothing else makes more sense

or is as beautiful.

Be a branch.

Poem · Poetry

Long Story Short

February 10, 2018February 11, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

Loving, but imperfect parents

unwittingly teach the young girl

the wrong lesson

about who she is

and what she can do.

Years pass,

the little girl grows up

with some success,

but with the wrong idea

now settled deep within –

still unknown to her,

dictating her experiences.

Suffering comes.

Suffering goes,

Suffering comes again.

The unhappy pattern

is set in place.

One beautiful day,

an opening begins.

Light and Truth show up –

along with Love and Grace –

and the little girl,

now a grown woman,

blossoms.

Healing arrives,

as insights dawn

over time.

Life begins to unfold ever more

beautifully.

Now the woman understands

who she is,

and can see what life is all about.

Gratitude opens her heart.

She understands her purpose

and she begins

to let go of the old

and allow herself

to heal

and to glow,

knowing that Love and God

are One

and woven into her.

She learns in her healing,

to get out of her own way,

and share this GodLove –

to use her new-found voice

and be Present for others,

and all is well.

She now dwells

in the land of Grace.

Nothing is a problem anymore

and Joy abounds.

The woman welcomes the whispers of Inspiration

and learns Trust.

Freedom arrives

and pain is but a memory.

She lived happily ever after

with GodLove as her guide.

Blessed be!

Poem · Poetry

The Turn

February 9, 2018February 9, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

Today when I drove to work,

a window opened.

Instead of racing in my thoughts

about the day

and all the angst about

getting things done,

I took a breath.

Not a mindless one,

but a deep, conscious,

life-giving one.

And then I took another,

and a few more after that.

Then I could see again.

I could see how much tension

lived in me.

I could feel the tightness

loosen.

I looked out around me,

and I noticed the trees,

the smiles of others,

the beauty of the day.

All this,

from remembering to breathe!

Oh, I grieve the patterns and traps

of the mind

and its constant power

to distract from the good of life-

its endless power

to keep us busy and off track.

Grant me breath, O God,

and gleaming windows.

Help me to turn my attention

and see!

Poem · Poetry

Count It All Joy

February 7, 2018February 19, 2018 becomingandbeholding10 Comments

He laid in his hospital bed

set up next to his wife’s bed –

his hands contracted

and useless,

his body dependent

on the help of others –

just to move at all,

or eat, or even

brush his teeth.

This bed has been his dwelling place

for over five years,

his disease shrinking and stiffening his body,

rendering his muscles

unworkable –

keeping him confined,

and stuck.

He is one of my favorite patients.

His eyes always sparkle,

his mind is unfailingly engaged,

his words ever generous.

“I am a lucky guy.”

This is the song he sings

no matter what pain may be present

or loss on the forefront.

“I have no complaints.”

Before him,

on his bookcase,

are about 50 journal books

he has filled

with reflections and illustrations

of his weekly walks in the woods

as he observed and gloried

in the wonders of nature.

“Nature used to be my religion.

And then I found God.”

This was life pre-diagnosis.

When I look at him,

a prisoner in his bed and so small,

I am grateful

he had a former life

of movement and joy

in Nature and beyond this room.

“I am a lucky guy,”

he states again and again,

and I marvel at

how he glows.

He has an understanding

that I hope is within reach for me.

He knows

that everyone has “something”

and this is his.

“The way I figure it,” he states,

“God put me here for a reason.

And when anyone comes to see me,

I hope I can be a light for them.

I hope I can make them happy.”

He radiates

effortlessly and profoundly

and I cannot help

but be changed.

He shows me the way

to what is real.

I begin to understand

the gift of joy

in all circumstances

and the suffering that comes

with resisting

what lies before us.

As I say goodbye,

He says,

“I hope I will see you again.”

I smile.

Oh, you will.

You will.

Poem · Poetry

Bit by Bit

February 3, 2018February 3, 2018 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

Her vision widens a bit

this time

as she enters her day

in the same old way.

Perhaps something new will dawn.

His heart dares to stretch

and open a bit wider.

A new kind of surrender

peeks through the song of pain

on constant rewind.

Life itself can open us

to what is real and true,

if allowed.

We discover this

when we trust enough

to peek

from under the many covers

we have pulled over our head.

With each new glimpse,

we allow the Creator

to fashion us more artfully

beyond the many ways

we have allowed our clay

to harden.

Soften or harden?

Open or close?

Yield or tighten the grip?

Ignore or listen?

These are the daily choices

in finding the path

to Grace.

Pay attention.

Poem · Poetry

Talking to Pain

January 24, 2018January 26, 2018 becomingandbeholding4 Comments

I have become too familiar

with your presence.

It is as if you belong to me

and I am stuck with you.

But my soul calls out

in gentle whispers

and questions that lie.

I am separate from you.

You hang around

as a distraction and a restraint

which holds me back.

When you show up,

you have my full attention.

I am lost.

But as I grow,

I now realize the Truth

that you and I? Well,

we are not friends.

I do not need you anymore.

And yet, you do have a role

as a Teacher and a tool

to remind me to get Present.

I shake you off like a bad dream

and begin to question you.

What are you trying to tell me?

Now when you show up

I pause and breathe

and get interested in my thoughts.

My mind becomes a classroom

with you as

the unpopular teacher

who forces me to blossom.

I begin to listen to you

and turn my attention

to the Truth of

who I am.

Everything opens up

and I am free.