Putting Words Around the Unfolding
Every morning a new lesson
with the dawning of the sun
remembering this and that from
the moments of yesterday –
the stubborn resistance
to change, to growth
that dares to color the new morning.
Oh, the many ways
my spirit settles!
It hides from the possible
underneath a blanket of
supposed comfort.
I lean towards the sun
like a rested sunflower
daring to rise.
Copyright© Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2018
You come to me with searching eyes,
your shoulders slumped,
your breathing shallow.
“I need help,” you say.
I open my arms
and reach for you,
taking you into the Love,
ever-present.
Comfort flowers.
An elderly woman drops her grocery bag
and oranges and potatoes scatter
all over the road –
I run to her.
My hands get busy gathering her food.
Our eyes connect and
together we laugh.
There is no problem, anymore.
We are connected.
Everyday, situations show up
to wake us up to
who we are
and why we are here.
Most of the time,
we don’t notice.
We are too busy with ourselves,
living as if
we are on our own.
We forget that God needs us
in order to be seen,
to be realized –
and we need God.
“I am the vine.
You are the branches.”
The instruction is given:
We are deeply connected to God
and when we extend ourselves
in Love,
life blossoms as it should –
and God is at work
with us.
Nothing else makes more sense
or is as beautiful.
Be a branch.
Copyright© Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2018
Loving, but imperfect parents
unwittingly teach the young girl
the wrong lesson
about who she is
and what she can do.
Years pass,
the little girl grows up
with some success,
but with the wrong idea
now settled deep within –
still unknown to her,
dictating her experiences.
Suffering comes.
Suffering goes,
Suffering comes again.
The unhappy pattern
is set in place.
One beautiful day,
an opening begins.
Light and Truth show up –
along with Love and Grace –
and the little girl,
now a grown woman,
blossoms.
Healing arrives,
as insights dawn
over time.
Life begins to unfold ever more
beautifully.
Now the woman understands
who she is,
and can see what life is all about.
Gratitude opens her heart.
She understands her purpose
and she begins
to let go of the old
and allow herself
to heal
and to glow,
knowing that Love and God
are One
and woven into her.
She learns in her healing,
to get out of her own way,
and share this GodLove –
to use her new-found voice
and be Present for others,
and all is well.
She now dwells
in the land of Grace.
Nothing is a problem anymore
and Joy abounds.
The woman welcomes the whispers of Inspiration
and learns Trust.
Freedom arrives
and pain is but a memory.
She lived happily ever after
with GodLove as her guide.
Blessed be!
Copyright© Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2018
Today when I drove to work,
a window opened.
Instead of racing in my thoughts
about the day
and all the angst about
getting things done,
I took a breath.
Not a mindless one,
but a deep, conscious,
life-giving one.
And then I took another,
and a few more after that.
Then I could see again.
I could see how much tension
lived in me.
I could feel the tightness
loosen.
I looked out around me,
and I noticed the trees,
the smiles of others,
the beauty of the day.
All this,
from remembering to breathe!
Oh, I grieve the patterns and traps
of the mind
and its constant power
to distract from the good of life-
its endless power
to keep us busy and off track.
Grant me breath, O God,
and gleaming windows.
Help me to turn my attention
and see!
Copyright© Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2018
He laid in his hospital bed
set up next to his wife’s bed –
his hands contracted
and useless,
his body dependent
on the help of others –
just to move at all,
or eat, or even
brush his teeth.
This bed has been his dwelling place
for over five years,
his disease shrinking and stiffening his body,
rendering his muscles
unworkable –
keeping him confined,
and stuck.
He is one of my favorite patients.
His eyes always sparkle,
his mind is unfailingly engaged,
his words ever generous.
“I am a lucky guy.”
This is the song he sings
no matter what pain may be present
or loss on the forefront.
“I have no complaints.”
Before him,
on his bookcase,
are about 50 journal books
he has filled
with reflections and illustrations
of his weekly walks in the woods
as he observed and gloried
in the wonders of nature.
“Nature used to be my religion.
And then I found God.”
This was life pre-diagnosis.
When I look at him,
a prisoner in his bed and so small,
I am grateful
he had a former life
of movement and joy
in Nature and beyond this room.
“I am a lucky guy,”
he states again and again,
and I marvel at
how he glows.
He has an understanding
that I hope is within reach for me.
He knows
that everyone has “something”
and this is his.
“The way I figure it,” he states,
“God put me here for a reason.
And when anyone comes to see me,
I hope I can be a light for them.
I hope I can make them happy.”
He radiates
effortlessly and profoundly
and I cannot help
but be changed.
He shows me the way
to what is real.
I begin to understand
the gift of joy
in all circumstances
and the suffering that comes
with resisting
what lies before us.
As I say goodbye,
He says,
“I hope I will see you again.”
I smile.
Oh, you will.
You will.
Copyright© Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2018
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.
Copyright© Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2017
Like gears that click into place,
making everything
smooth and running as it should,
the moment you arrive,
you get it.
You get everything.
The Bible calls it
“the secret place of the Most High.”
You deeply know when you are there –
because everything before you
disappears into peace, Love
and the amazing Presence –
including you.
Sounds scary but
it is actually beautiful.
This is true freedom,
the letting go
and letting God.
Don’t let your gears get stuck
by grasping too hard
onto your special brand
of misdirection.
There is nothing to do
or figure out.
Divine Design has it.
Simply trust.
And Love.
Release your grip –
and again,
and again.
Everything is in place
and all is well.
It is not up to you
to figure it out.
Copyright © Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2017
Becoming and Beholding 