The Nub of It All

November 9, 2019November 9, 2019 becomingandbeholding4 Comments

You will not find your way through a constant push. You will not reach your perceived pinnacle by force of will or never-ending trying. Believe it or not, the struggle is not necessary. In fact, it is harmful. For the more you exert against your imagined challenges, the farther away from presence you are. So, drop it all. Let go of your effortful ways. Open your eyes and look upon yourself as if you are separate from who you are in the world…because, in fact, you are. And as you look, don’t you dare be harsh. For there is no judgment here. We are all given this chance to learn to correct ourselves and embrace a larger belonging. We are born infants in a world which leads us astray from the truth of who we really are. Only those who catch glimpses of this reality are able to wake up and be free. So, get curious about how you move through your day. Keep a watchful eye as to your habits and reactions – your feelings. Look within at your thoughts and the movement of your heart. Listen to your life. Observe how the world works and interacts but keep a larger view. Pay attention and open your heart and mind to inspiration. Take pauses. Be receptive to your learning. Eventually, the gift of freedom and unimaginable presence will bubble up within you, lifting you up and out of your misdirected ways, and bring you a sparkling and sustainable joy along with all the energy you need to do the work you are here to do. You will learn what love really is and how to extend it and embrace it. It is really that simple. You just get out of your own way. You learn to be.

Stepping Into the Poem

September 18, 2019September 18, 2019 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

Whether the writer or the reader,

the words given

are light for the road.

They spring from that fountain

that intends to nourish and cleanse.

The soul speaks,

the heart listens,

and the self awakens –

as it surprisingly

lets go of itself.

And that which seemed only for the few

is found.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

The Time to Blossom

August 12, 2019August 12, 2019 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

There is an urgency within

which pulls at my skin,

leading me forth

into the mysterious newness ahead.

I’ve been germinating.

The rest allowed has given

the necessary space and freedom

to review the landscapes –

and offer each

to be placed into the heart of God.

Sure, there are mixed feelings attached.

But each place travelled

has provided the necessary nutrition

for the current unfolding.

I have found that

the more I let go and allow for

a larger view of things,

the more freedom there is

for my unique soul

to be connected to

God and my true belonging.

This lightens –

and allows for the reach up and out.

There really are no problems!

It is counter-intuitive, in a way –

but the more I let go,

the more I can be present for others

and actually be helpful –

be present.

So, I choose to be here –

as rocky as the ground can be…

I choose joy.

I choose love.

I live gratefully.

And when the memory of this lapses,

I forgive the pull of distraction,

and begin again.

We can always start over.

This is the beauty of

learning self-transformation.

God is the focus.

Not me.

There is always hope

and healing is here.

The presence of God needs to fill the space where you seem to be for healing to happen.

–Dr. Thomas Hora

Ask yourself, who would I be if there were no problem?

-Tara Brach

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Let Go

August 3, 2019 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

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 · 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.

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The Art in Stepping Aside

December 11, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

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.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

The Gray

October 6, 2018October 6, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

It seems easier

when what feels clear and true

is always right, too.

It is a comfort

when the ground on which

we stand and build upon

has the strength

of generations

or habit.

We like our side of the street.

The other side

is far away, and

difficult to see.

It is not important to us.

For all is clear where we are.

It feels safe and protected.

In between these sharp edges

of clarity

is the territory

of the gray.

It is a fuzzier place.

The ground seems shakier.

We are repelled by it –

but, at times,

a bit curious, too.

Mostly,

we prefer familiar ground.

Thankfully, life ends up instructing us

along the way,

through hardship and insight,

to be more open to the gray.

Our edges get worn down

and are revealed to us

as false structures.

In the middle,

is the place of softening

and opening up.

It is the place of meeting –

of healing.

Life is less

black and white

in the gray.

There are new choices to explore,

colors to adore.

When we can learn

to embrace

this middle place,

wisdom is born,

along with a letting go

which liberates

and brings us together.

When we enter the gray,

we have learned the value

of dropping

what does not matter.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Loss For Words

October 3, 2018October 3, 2018 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

When I have a moment

or three,

I like to sit

and light a candle.

I open my laptop

and position my hands…

my fingers are at the ready.

I wait for the words.

Sometimes they arrive

rather quickly.

Lately,

for reasons only my soul knows,

not so much.

I wonder why this is so.

It has been a challenging time

of late

with a health issue here –

relationship issues there…

My mind and heart

have been busy

and not in the good way –

the way of truth and inspiration.

My spiritual training teaches me

that my distractions of late

are just that –

DISTRACTIONS.

They have a quality of

friction –

and friction usually

rubs the wrong way.

It can also hurt and harm

when it keeps going

and the tender places

get wounded.

My task now

is to reorient myself.

It is time to surrender

in faith

and allow myself to be lifted

out and beyond

anything that keeps me

from being

who I really am.

It is time to heal.

So, no more scratching the itch

of all that seems

to be rubbing –

keeping me focussed

on the discomforts of life

that are not real.

Instead, I will mindfully

let go of all that.

It is time to step aside

from the personal

and be here wholeheartedly

as a channel for the divine –

to be a beneficial presence.

What could possibly be better?

It takes practice –

and attention –

moment to moment.

This is not what we are taught

but it is available to us

as the literal,

ANSWER-

the one we all seek.

I speak the truth.

The fact I know that

means I am on my way…

So, here I go.

Perhaps this larger

expanse of view

will bring

my words back to me

so I can be helpful

to others

as the divine reaches

through everything I offer

as an expression

of divine love –

always available,

but not always seen.

It seems a beautiful endeavor.