Morning Prayer II

July 11, 2019March 11, 2020 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.

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.

Poem · Poetry

Divine Utterances

June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

It amazes me sometimes

how close You are.

All that is needed is

a moment

to leap out of myself

and into your breath.

I breathe in

and there You are –

and I am suddenly larger…

kinder –

to self

and beyond self.

You whisper… “See?”

And then, “Settle yourself.”

And then, “No worries.”

Finally, “Be the Love you are.”

Oh, for the presence of mind and heart

to remember this!

You are never far away

and I belong to You –

like a bird belongs to its song,

and the moon belongs

to the sky.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

A Breath That is Free

March 9, 2019 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

If our moments are forgotten,

did we really live them?

If our thoughts are in charge,

are we present at all?

If our breath is held,

is it really a breath?

I pause with these questions

and my ears open to the hum of my home,

and the song of the birds outside.

My vision is sparked by

the morning light filtering through the trees.

The glow is beautiful.

I notice that as I write,

my posture is hunched,

and I am tight in all the usual places.

I release the usual.

Relaxing and deepening awareness

of my breath,

and my gratitude for it all,

I begin again.

I am present and I live this moment.

Grace and peace find me

in the movement of my breath.

I am ready for the gift of another day.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Enough Already

February 25, 2019February 25, 2019 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

Don’t worry about the direction

ahead, or the matters of the day.

Simply place your hand

on your own heart

and feel the love there – love

that was given long ago

that you may have forgotten.

Don’t be the person who

allows busyness to run

over your life, squashing it

with good intentions, and

all that learned stupidness which

pulls us away from

this preciousness given.

Remember those moments

when God has broken through –

those glimpses when you

knew beyond a doubt that

you are made of the same stuff

as the flowers and trees, and

forever is possible – that

Love is You, and

You are Love.

Let yourself glow, please.

For those who do, are

born in true freedom.

For in stepping aside from

the pettiness of all our

misdirected ways, we can

float like a feather

on the breath of God.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

In the Deep Blue

January 26, 2019January 26, 2019 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

With eyes closed

and distractions put away,

I settle and still.

Muscles release and

gradually, breathing deepens.

I am quiet.

Sensing an opportunity to connect

in silence,

my cat curls into my lap.

I look inward and notice things and

gradually release the grip –

that way of being

which contracts me.

I let go.

Soon, the colors arrive –

they move about in my awareness

and before my mind’s eye.

I see red and green,

purple – and finally blue.

When I get to the deepening blue,

I am touching awareness and

I disappear for some time.

It does not scare me to disappear…

but feels like freedom.

The deep blue teaches me

in ways that soothe.

In its presence, I become one with

the breath of creation.

I flow with the ocean waves,

glow with the trees,

and share the song of the birds.

I see the eyes of Love

looking back at me.

The wisdom of the ages finds me

and its touch heals.

In the deep blue,

I learn that God is real, and

in my very being.

In the deep blue,

there is peace.

I bring it with me.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

In the Chill of Winter

January 19, 2019March 1, 2019 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

In the chill of winter,

build a fire big enough

to warm

your fingers and toes.

Allow the warmth

to travel to

your center –

let the grip of

cold and contraction

relax.

As you loosen and warm,

release your fear

of harsh winds

and insidious ice

which, in its blackness,

sneaks up on you

and threatens to knock you down.

In the chill of winter,

burn with awareness.

Let go of complaining

and resistance,

for they hasten the cold

to root in your being.

Instead, look to creation.

Honor the season.

What can the cold teach us?

The trees do not argue.

The squirrels settle in.

The birds accept the change

and move southward.

The plants rest.

All of nature flows with the seasons.

So, in the chill of winter,

build a fire,

rest and be warm,

discover wonder and joy

at the coating of the white –

a pure dusting

which baptizes in beauty,

reflecting the light.

Let this inspire you, and

when you are ready,

learn to play with the cold.

Build a snowman.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Another Year

January 1, 2019January 1, 2019 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

As in a game that stacks,

each brick a year in length,

we add them to the pile,

observing how they stay.

Some years there is more wobble,

stability stressed by balance.

Some years the heights are awesome,

our vision stretched and soaring.

The years they come so swiftly…

we sing this song together.

Life has a way of moving

each moment easily lost.

We long to learn the secret…

Who builds this life we live?

We look at its construction,

our gratitude gives us vision.

Uncategorized

Deep Connection

December 22, 2018 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

Uncategorized

This Is It!

December 17, 2018 becomingandbeholding3 Comments