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.

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

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.

Poem · Poetry

Impending Storm

January 3, 2018January 4, 2018 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

A cloud of geese fly

overhead and in circles

and it mirrors

the dis-ease inside of me

as I wait.

I know it is coming –

the discomfort and pain,

the lack of ease.

The impact.

The busyness of preparations

somehow comforts.

But the inside grip

tightens.

Some people enjoy

a storm.

Its drama enlivens.

I am learning to be

separate from it.

So I imagine

that I am the sky.

I expand to embrace

and observe…

the storm happens

but I am separate from it.

This way,

storms can be more

a wonder to behold

and I am not in them.

I am in

but not of

the weather.

I can be the sky.

Poem · Poetry

Immunity

December 30, 2017January 6, 2018 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

The dance of opening to

and closing from

is a daily task

of awareness and

choices.

One can be a sponge

who takes everything in –

a misdirected open heart who

ends up suffering

from too much taken on

or garbage thoughts that

end up taking residence.

Learning to filter kindly

what is being presented

while holding fast to what

is true and real

is the Work.

Absorbing the negative

is toxic.

So, keep your eyes open,

be compassionate,

honor who you know you are,

and turn your attention

to the big picture

of your divine identity.

In this way,

immunity is yours

and with that,

the ability to be

truly helpful.

Poem · Poetry

The Body Knows

December 10, 2017December 10, 2017 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

Oh, the tattletale that lives within

that whispers all my secrets!

I wear my thoughts and habits

visibly

and in the sea of tension

that seems at constant

high tide

filling up all my spaces

and flexing my muscles

long after their work is done.

Reversing this tide

and harnessing my inner moon

is a daily task

that calls –

like music calls to my heart,

or insight calls to my pen.

I have to ask myself:

What is this inner grip, this tension

really all about?

I have a magic tool

which will help me to know.

I stop. I breathe. I listen.

The body knows.

With amazing patience,

it waits for me.

Poem · Poetry

Under the Weather

November 11, 2017November 11, 2017 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

Nothing like a virus

to help you appreciate

normal breathing.

Wheeze, sputter

blow, cough.

Normal comes to a stop.

Voice exercises?

Ha!

Good luck with that.

My pipes are clogged –

making my voice

sound like a cat about

to hurl a hairball.

Hydrate, hydrate.

Rest and sleep –

Being sick sucks.

I am not good

at slowing down –

interrupting my patterns.

I prefer to stay on track

to be in my well-crafted groove.

Huh.

Damn.

Maybe that is the point.
More tea, Honey?

Poem · Poetry

Morning Walk

October 18, 2017October 18, 2017 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

We are built to move
the way a bird is built to fly
or a flower is built to bloom.
Sleep has a way of stiffening us –
setting us in our ways and patterns
long in place –
like a mold we conform to.
Heck,
the couch can do the same
as it swallows us.
But a morning walk
can loosen
broaden,
unfold and inspire.
I literally start my day
by moving forward.
I spring out of bed
for this.