Releasing the Bud

February 26, 2020March 15, 2020 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

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 becomingandbeholding14 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 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

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.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

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

Mosaic Moments

September 13, 2019September 13, 2019 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

Transitions increase a felt wistfulness.

We look back

and long for

what worked before.

Those pieces of us that

like routine and

the comfort of the predictable –

well, those parts feel sharp

in such seasons –

the edges hurt.

And yet, there is the buzz –

the bubbling energy of the new,

of possibility.

There are new faces to greet,

new tasks to learn and

fresh ways to open the heart

and to be.

Life is

as life does-

and its mysteries inspire and instruct.

Its best when

there is a mix of things

for the creative touch of God is genius

and multi-dimensional.

So, even when loss

is the larger piece at the time,

there will always be the sparkle

and felt presence

of grace, of love … even joy.

When awake,

we can wonder at and

give thanks for

the whole design of it all.

We see our piece in the creation.

Gratitude for Anne Lamott and her coining of the term, “mosaic moments” in her recent book, Almost Everything.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Homecoming

September 2, 2019September 2, 2019 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

When walking next to the shore,

take in the salted air.

It tastes like your tears.

When walking next to the shore,

listen to the music of the surf.

It is the soundtrack of the movement in your heart.

When walking next to the shore,

watch the swoop and dance of the Plover birds.

They effortlessly play in the waves,

undaunted by the constant changes beneath their tiny feet.

Witness the lesson.

A walk by the ocean

is always a homecoming.

The whispers heard soothe the soul.

The sprays felt baptize us anew.

We are reminded that

sometimes we need to get wet

to begin again.

So take a walk on the beach.

Hear the invitation of its dynamic landscape:

Let’s be the ocean together.

You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop. – Rumi

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

Grace Shower

August 16, 2019September 10, 2019 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

Be watchful in the weather

of life,

for as your experiences show up,

their effect can either dampen and chill you,

or bless you with warm peace.

So much depends

on where you stand at the time

and if you are awake

or not.

Your life can be a challenge –

that is true.

And also the point.

For the challenges teach

and also preach

if we are present in the pew

and looking upward and inward

for understanding.

Be watchful for the weather of truth

which will come and go

like the wind which

gives us waves to ride

until we learn

how to balance on them.

And when we are ready to ride,

having built up our core,

the rain of grace

will shower down upon us,

gently cleansing us

with new realizations

of what is true.

And in this baptism of insight,

we are made new again

by the healing that

has finally arrived.