Home

March 30, 2020March 30, 2020 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

My heart is at a loss as it

searches for a home –

even as I sit here, even as I sit here in

the comfort of this place.

My heart is at a loss as it

reaches for a peace –

a peace that calms my restless soul, a soul

that cannot settle in this mess.

My heart is at a loss as it

feels strangled by new limits,

limits that are new and have descended in a

tidal wave, a wave that overwhelms me.

My heart is at a loss as it dreams of

better days, as it dreams of better days filled with

comfort and touch, the touch that heals and soothes,

and plays with long-lost freedom.

This is the home I am in, a home that

holds the fears and worries, a home

that keeps me safe from harm, still. Though my heart is

a tangle which longs to loosen, it is my home, it

is my home.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Weather

March 23, 2020 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

When fear is everywhere,

take a breath.

Remind yourself that

as real as the fear feels,

it is a passing storm.

You can see it but

you don’t belong to it.

Remember that you are not the weather.

You are the sky.

We can choose to be blown away

and knocked off our feet…

or we can choose

to have the compassionate and wise view from above.

We can be observant

while holding on to

who we really are.

Only by holding fast to the good in us –

our expansive being –

can we truly be helpful

or even present.

So, keep your eyes open

while patiently riding it out.

Don’t allow yourself to get knocked over

or sucked into the whirlwind.

Be ever-present and calm

just like the blue sky

which endures every storm.

“I am the sky. Everything else is just the weather.” – Pema Chodron

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Releasing the Bud

February 26, 2020March 15, 2020 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

That thing you have been dodging –

maybe for years,

could be your true gift.

We often hide

and shy away from

the reason we are here –

what we have to offer.

We don’t mean to…

In fact, we think we are doing the best we can.

But our inner restlessness

and discomfort with life,

is often a clue

that we are leaning in the wrong direction.

We are a flower

that hesitates to bloom –

being tight in the bud.

Eventually, we listen to inspiration

and we are nudged

to dare and turn toward the sunshine

to stretch our petals.

We open up.

As we stretch and grow,

stretch and grow,

we are quenched with grace

and a new freedom.

Finally, we are on the beam,

warmed by a dazzling light which

illuminates our path ahead.

We become a blessing for others

in the sharing of our gift.

We radiate.

This is what it means

to say “Yes!”

to the life and love

born within us.

Nothing is more beautiful

or so urgently needed.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Be You

January 2, 2020January 2, 2020 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

There are examples everywhere…

The petals of the flower

unfold with grace

and without struggle.

The dog wags his tail

without question

or worry about how silly he may appear.

The cloud floats

across a big sky –

allowing the breezes to direct it.

The waves surge –

rising and falling

to a mysterious rhythm and song

and changes as necessary.

So, what is this angst

that pulls at you,

fooling you into thinking

that there is something wrong?

Look at the path ahead.

It unwinds without effort.

You need not know where it leads.

It matters not

how your path differs

from the one next to you.

This is your path.

Feel the ground under you.

Walk.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

What Lies Beneath

December 7, 2019December 7, 2019 becomingandbeholding2 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, 2019October 22, 2019 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

Here I Stand

September 23, 2019 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

I lift up my eyes

and I look around.

There is blessedness here…

and it was there, too.

I see differently now –

my distorted vision finally giving way to clarity.

The work of letting go

has been harder than expected.

But now I can see that

the grip is the giver of pain

and its loosening,

is grace received.

So here I stand

at the bank of the river of gladness.

I am finally ready to move toward yes.

I let go again, and

surrender to the divine flow.

All is well as I learn

the nature of floating.