In the Right Light

October 24, 2018October 30, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

My Love points the camera

towards me

and I playfully resist…

“Take my picture outside

and from that preferred angle, my dear.

It makes a more flattering picture.”

I look in the mirror

and the bathroom light is on dimmer…

All I can see are wrinkles!

I change the brightness in the room

and my image improves.

I find my smile.

My Love, the Artist,

paints a lovely picture.

He uses reflective paints that

need the right angle and intensity

of illumination.

He tilts his creation my way –

in the right light –

its beauty deepens.

All these are glimpses

of an important lesson:

How we see things

is shaped by

the type of light we shine on

what is before us.

To see clearly,

be aware of your beam.

For life is dimmed

and perception is affected

by gloom.

To brighten,

simply flick the switch

and tilt towards it.

Observe the changes.

Be Lifted

October 10, 2018October 15, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

I sometimes like to watch

the float of a feather.

It can show up unannounced

and bless me

with fresh lightness.

Watching its flowing movement

with no steering wheel

to direct

or engine powering it –

Well, it looks like freedom.

Most of us

tend to be weighted

by our day to day.

We load up our minds

with fiction

that keeps us from

the float of grace

intended for us.

Watch the feather,

I tell myself.

It has no need to

drive or direct,

no agenda to meet,

no cares to protect.

It simply rests

on the unseen flow of life.

It rises above beautifully.

The feather’s lift

is a wonder to behold –

the mystery and gift

of grace realized.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Worship

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

Be still my soul

when life gets wacky.

Find the quiet places.

A walk in the woods

with leaves crunchy beneath

could work –

or that comfy chair

next to a sunny window, too.

Perhaps the cat will plop with you,

rendering connection and comfort.

Find your deep breath again

and stretch yourself skyward.

Open your hands

as you open your heart.

Be lifted.

Allow your voice to rise

whether in a whisper, shout,

or song.

Lord, I need you.

Lord, I love you.

Lord, I thank you.

Now you can live your moments

in renewed presence

and peace.

Alleluia!

Amen.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

No Matter

September 28, 2018September 28, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

The ground may shift

and the weather, change

on a daily basis.

It does not matter.

The look in your eye

may have less sparkle

for a day – or more…

It does not matter.

The body might morph

into a vessel of pain

or disease…

It does not matter.

Change is everywhere.

It is not what Life is.

It is simply experience –

the classroom of Life.

Life is within

and it is everlastingly

with us

as the heart of everything –

the place of Love,

of God,

of Peace,

of Truth.

This is where we connect

and get our fuel

to endure our experiences.

Don’t allow

the pull of distraction –

or the disease

of the personal,

hold you to

all that does not matter.

What a precious waste

of Life

that is.

Your ground awaits

and patiently protects

the gifts of

Joy and Presence

which belong to

you.

Poem · Poetry

Signal Lights

May 23, 2018May 23, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

With the guiding of inspiration,

they come through me,

pointing the way.

Their clarity can be piercing –

sharp and brilliant,

beacons through my

self-created fog.

I wonder at how

they show up-

just when I need them the most.

They are like friends who

know when a smile or a hug

is needed.

And, in the same way,

they are cherished, unconditionally.

This is what my poems mean for me.

I help create them, but

do not quite live them yet.

They love me still.

Funny, how words create worlds…

the beyond is brought forth

in the same way

a kiss presents affection.

Poem · Poetry

Then Sings My Soul

May 4, 2018June 1, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

When wanting meets realization

and dis-ease catches a glimpse

of healing,

my eyes spring open –

and I can see, once again,

how You are right here,

right here.

Life is a beautiful dance.

The music always plays,

with You leading my steps,

and I, in faith, following,

sometimes tripping along-

crying or laughing my way forward –

humbled by my missteps,

and blessed when I move

with grace.

Nevertheless,

and more and more,

I realize,

when I look up

from my preoccupation with

my own feet,

You are here,

You are here.

The dance we share

is as reliable as Life itself.

and its music

floats my heart skyward

as my soul

breaks into song.

Poem · Poetry

It Happens…

May 1, 2018May 1, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

….. if we are one of the lucky ones, that is.

We get older.

When did this natural reality –

with wrinkles in the mix,

become a source of shame?

I admit it,

I struggle with the mirror.

We, me and the mirror, have a daily dialogue which

is too personal to share…

For this reason,

I try to keep my glasses off

when near a reflective surface,

like a mirror or window,

that is how silly of a woman I can be.

I am angry that I was taught

to be self-conscious, evaluative

on a daily basis.

Why do we do this to women, to girls?

I marvel how men could care less.

Their freedom is awesome

and also more affordable.

And as a spiritual woman,

I am embarrassed I still struggle with all this.

I know I go deeper than all that.

So, I am learning to embrace my wrinkles,

and all the rest of it –

as a woman in my fifties.

This is just another example of

how I must get out of my own way

in order to be

the wonderful creation

I was meant to be –

so I can be free, too.

Therefore,

give me laughter,

give me love,

give me purpose,

and humility, too.

Bless me with health.

That is all I really need.

I will take care of myself

as best I can,

and let go of the rest

with grace.

Life is way too short

and I know too well

where this all heads.

But I am not there yet.

My wrinkles tell a story…

the story of me.

Amen to that.

Poem · Poetry

Bit by Bit

February 3, 2018February 3, 2018 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

Her vision widens a bit

this time

as she enters her day

in the same old way.

Perhaps something new will dawn.

His heart dares to stretch

and open a bit wider.

A new kind of surrender

peeks through the song of pain

on constant rewind.

Life itself can open us

to what is real and true,

if allowed.

We discover this

when we trust enough

to peek

from under the many covers

we have pulled over our head.

With each new glimpse,

we allow the Creator

to fashion us more artfully

beyond the many ways

we have allowed our clay

to harden.

Soften or harden?

Open or close?

Yield or tighten the grip?

Ignore or listen?

These are the daily choices

in finding the path

to Grace.

Pay attention.

Poem · Poetry

Rite of Passage

December 16, 2017 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

It arrives unexpectedly

that moment when deep disappointment hits you –

like a sucker punch to the stomach.

Suddenly, your world

makes no sense to you.

That someone you love

is not who you thought they were…

this hurts the most

when it is your parent –

because you thought your foundation

was there.

Life has begun to rattle you

in every direction.

A sadness starts to settle in –

reminding you of your

loss of innocence

when the truth about Santa Claus

was revealed –

only this time,

when the dream of your life

gets shattered,

it lasts much longer

than the life of the Christmas tree
and it cuts more deeply.

Don’t panic, young one.

Honor this new unsettled pain.

It means you are beginning to burst

through your cocoon.

Your limiting beliefs

no longer serve you.

Life is opening up

and you are being born.

Embrace your brokenness

and the softness and light

it will bring you.

You have entered your true work.