Look For Them

August 26, 2020May 28, 2021 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

You can see them on the periphery

or sometimes in small groups.

Often they are alone,

sitting comfortably and quietly observing.

These are the wise ones.

They may be bent by the years

and a little rough around the edges.

They may move slowly

and with care…

for they have learned to honor the limits.

When in their presence,

look deeply.

Meet their eyes with yours.

You will be stunned by the light of life

which sparkles with the kind of glow

that can only be fashioned over time.

Allow yourself to soak up its wisdom.

Take the time.

Don’t miss this connection.

Instead, know this:

these are the ones to know –

for they long to sing their song for you,

to tell the story.

Life has finally made them real.

If you slow down enough

to take a seat,

you will discover gold.

“Once you are real you cannot be ugly except to those who don’t understand.” —Velveteen Rabbit

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

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

The Call of the Morning Bird

August 31, 2019September 1, 2019 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

A chorus has erupted

and it filters through the open window.

A haunting call began it all.

Is it a cry? An alarm?

Is this creature hungry?

The cry repeats in

a rhythm of hurt.

As I attend to its voice,

I begin to hear others return the call.

Their message seems to say:

All is well.

We are here!

Join us- for you belong in the world.

We care about you.

After some time, and continued voicing,

the cry of the suffering bird eases.

Attending to this natural befriending

soothes my soul.

I begin this day

with the reminder that

we are one –

and attending to our sacred cries

is as natural and reliable as

the rising of the morning sun.

Our presence with one another

has the reassuring power

of gifting hope

and returning us to stillness.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

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.

Uncategorized

Look within in kindness.

July 13, 2019 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

We Are Needed

June 5, 2019July 13, 2021 becomingandbeholding4 Comments

It takes just a moment

to pause and let go –

to notice.

Presence always waits patiently for us.

She is found in the smallest of things…

The slow drip of water

off a rock

which holds the riverbank in place….

Presence is there.

The thought that gives birth to the word that spawns a tear…

Yes. There.

In that moment between

the reach of your hand

to the lifting of another –

Or when the homeless man

catches your eye and

a generous smile blooms…

There!

How short our time is!

We squander Presence like we waste water…

We forget to look,

to hear the slow drip,

to speak the unspoken word.

We get lonely in this poverty

of connection.

Sad, isn’t it?

This slip of a rose through the grasp of our fingers.

We ignore the dropped flower

and miss out on the bouquet,

the colors…

And then we grieve the loss of

a flower to cheer us –

it’s brilliance unwitnessed.

Love is like this , too.

It can hide beneath.

So, let’s elevate the

Presence and the Love, too.

For without them,

we aren’t even here.

And we are so needed.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Big Love

March 31, 2019March 31, 2019 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

When one of us is lost,

all that is needed is the touch of another

whether to tender skin or the wounded heart.

For none of us are perfectly on track

all the time, are we?

So we help one another to steer and soften.

When one of us is sick,

it is time for a cup of Big Love –

we fill it with grace mixed with empathy

so the sickness cannot take root,

causing the soul to wither,

in a feeling of aloneness.

If disconnection broadens,

it is time to seek your teacher –

that wiser one who loves as God loves,

without measure, and

while nurturing the current lesson to birth.

A good teacher mirrors your imminent Spring

as you struggle to blossom

and see.

This is what Big Love looks like –

its embrace feels like freedom on the wing.

Its presence is grace realized

as sibling souls open and

reach out to you,

sparking Truth and Light

so you can be healed.

Photo credit to Gary Stanton, my husband, who also gave me the mug recently when I was sick – the inspiration for this poem. Thank you, Honey! xoxo

Uncategorized

Awakened Heart

July 21, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Acquainted With Grief

July 19, 2018July 19, 2018 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

Somewhere between meeting the new

and releasing the comfortable

there will always be grief.

It is that separation thing

that is oh, so inevitable –

and as predictable as

melting ice cream.

It is the tug along the way

that pulls at the heart,

sometimes tearing it painfully –

leaving scars that

mark the spot.

Nothing lasts –

or so it seems.

It takes a lifetime to figure this out.

Eventually, we learn

that grief is the price of love –

given and received.

I bump into grief every day.

When I see it in another,

its embers are sparked in me

and the familiar ache of it all

shows up,

reminding me of its

ready presence,

pouncing on me,

like a mugger on a morning walk.

Grief has an I get it quality

when witnessed in another…

Our earthly existence

comes with loss

woven deeply into its tapestry.

We can see it in each other’s faces –

when we dare to look up.

Loss is the glue

that connects us

and joins us together.

Some think God causes this sadness

as if to manipulate us

to devotion

by bringing us to our knees

with heartache.

I disagree.

To me, God is all trust and love

with an unimaginable capacity

for wisdom and compassion –

and is not the cause

of our suffering.

If anything, God gets it –

suffers and grieves with us ,

weeping as we weep.

God knows that the answer

to grief

is the loving embrace –

the one we share with one another,

and the one

God gives with

Everlasting Arms –

through us.

We are not alone,

ever.

This must be realized.

When it comes to grief,

and life (as it turns out)…

well, we are in it together –

and once we get off the floor,

after extreme loss has arrived,

we can move forward,

side by side,

learning a deepening resilience

together.

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.