What Lies Beneath

December 7, 2019December 7, 2019 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

The deeper I go

into understanding all

that is,

the more

I appreciate this

gift of life.

Working with the dying

is a visual lesson

of the peeling away of

the layers.

It is also a heart lesson.

For when the exterior is finished,

what is left?

This is the ever-present question.

To live from heart and soul,

and to avoid the outward distractions,

means to leave

your presence and love behind

when the body is gone.

So, I am learning the lessons

of letting go now.

I let go of everything

that is not connected to Truth and Love.

Because when my body is gone,

I want those who knew me

to know that my love was real

and that I lived with an open

and generous heart.

For it is the Love that lies beneath

that lingers after we leave.

This is the miracle of

eternal life.

We live on in the hearts of others

and in the memory of time.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Holding Hands

October 22, 2019June 6, 2021 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

Like trees sharing the same forest,

we reach for one another

as we bask in the light of life.

In moments of ease

and in times of stress,

it really does not matter which –

I love when our fingers are entwined

and I can feel the warmth of you.

No words need to be spoken

so we can do this lovely action

even in public.

All that is needed is the touch of skin

and the wrapping of fingers

to affirm our connection.

We are in this together,

you and I.

We have journeyed together enough now that

my soul has memorized the

contours of your hand

and how sweetly mine fits within it.

I shall carry you with me always

though all kinds of weather

and even when we are apart.

For your hand is now imprinted

on my heart.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

The Heart of It All

May 12, 2019May 12, 2019 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

The hand that grasps and controls

is the same hand

that lets go.

The mind that sorts and decides

is the same mind

that can be opened by mystery

or pain.

The eyes that do not really see

but look past,

are the same ones

that can catch the vision

of truth.

We are but soft clay

yet we act as if cast in stone –

armored in our ways.

But life is not done shaping us.

Changes always come to

meet us where we are

and show us another way.

The time for invocation is here.

So lift up your sad, stiff heart –

mistakenly broken by you alone –

and ask Life to soften it.

For the heart of it all,

it seems,

is to be anchored in softness –

so you can be ready for anything.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

This Journey

December 5, 2018December 5, 2018 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

On the other side

and over the hump,

I catch a vision of the new

before me,

and within me.

It was a rough season –

all the falling and stumbling

behind me.

I look back –

and though I do not want

to go back again,

my heart sings –

for I am grateful.

The lessons have arrived –

some like a ton of bricks…

but after getting knocked down,

I got up –

again and again.

You assisted –

helping my legs remember their strength

and teaching me to rest, too.

I surrendered to the season –

reluctantly at first…

but as I let go,

healing arrived.

Now here I stand.

I am firmly grounded

in a whole new way of being.

Thank you.

Thank you from the bottom of my feet

through my heart and

radiating upward

and outward

from every pore of life in me.

May the lessons gained

root deeply in my soul.

Understanding has blessed me, and

I am fashioned anew.

Thanks be to the One

who gives beyond measure!

Holy is your name.

Your creation of me continues

with deepening grace.

I am in awe.

Uncategorized

Way of Being

July 22, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

Poem · Poetry

Transitioning

July 11, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

When in an unfamiliar place,

you are on your way.

It usually comes with lots of tension.

You become unsettled,

and maybe even a little bit scared.

Transitions are that rocky time

when your usual patterns are useless

and you have to allow for

change.

The big ones are literally

earth-shattering,

setting you off kilter,

making you feel raw and

vulnerable.

But when you get to the other side,

you are in that shiny spot of

All New.

You have grown new muscle, and

you are reborn.

When this freedom flowers,

you realize that

the pain of change

was nothing but

the peeling of the layers

that are no longer needed.

Poem · Poetry

The Body Knows

June 30, 2018June 30, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

You bark at me

when I am off kilter –

when you don’t get what you need.

I can hear you

scratching at my door

seeking urgent attention.

I get in my head

and forget you need me, too,

and I need to be present.

Like a caged cheetah,

your tension tells me

that something is amiss.

Gradually, through your constant blabbering,

I get the message.

I learn to listen to you.

Your complaining wakes me up:

“This pain, that stiffness, is not you. Stop and see.”

I open my eyes,

look deep within,

and find there is more.

I can change my way of being.

Peace is born.

Poem · Poetry

Be Still And Know

June 22, 2018June 22, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

Everyone has their special brand

of distraction and

dis-ease – that state of mind

that disguises and deters from

all the goodness

right in front of us.

Sometimes,

just stop yourself.

Tell that wrangling mind

“Enough already!”

And then,

do the shift.

Laugh a little, and

forgive yourself for being

quite human.

And then trust that

you can heal yourself

with right thinking…

for your suffering –

no matter what it is,

comes from all the stories

you have made up

in your mind.

That stuff is not real –

but the pain that comes,

is.

Focus, instead,

on what is true.

Your job is to open yourself to

the things that last –

and to hold onto

those principles

with your whole being.

When you learn this,

the problems disappear

and you are

whole again.

Stop living the fiction

and arise to become

who you really are.

This is where your freedom is.

Be well –

with all your heart,

and your mind, too.

Poem · Poetry

Big Girl Pants

June 8, 2018June 8, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

I noticed her struggle.

It was one of those days when

the burden of work, life, and

responsibility

made her bow low,

even as she quickly moved about.

She was weary –

maybe even in pain,

her eyes with the dark circles below which

appear regularly now,

despite daily application

of concealer.

She kept going,

kept producing,

despite her burden.

I’ve got my big girl pants on, she said.

I could empathize

because I get tired, too.

I understand how hard it is to stop

and just be –

to observe the blessings

along the way.

Perhaps one of the perks

of getting old

is that as responsibilities

and requirements

fall away,

we can finally

rest.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Over the Hump

June 2, 2018June 30, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

Climbing can be hard work

on the muscles,

and on the spirit, too.

We can approach the mountain

in faith and,

even a sense of adventure –

until we get to

our limit.

We have gone as far as

we can go

on our own.

No progress is possible.

We are tempted to give up.

But then,

we somehow get

the boost we need.

We can move forward

with muscles ready

to work again.

As we progress,

new vistas are brought into view.

They bless us with beauty

and hope.

This is what the

miracle of grace

looks like.

We are lifted out of struggle.

We are blessed

with peace.

It is as if

a loving hand from the beyond shows up

and respectfully,

picks you up off the floor.

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