WHAT IS IT TODAY?

What is it today? the blank page asks me.

I stare back, just as blankly.  

Then, the words,

thoughts, images

come rushing

in

and

I

have trouble

corralling them

on an 8 ½ by 11 sheet

which once was blank

but is now being filled

with ideas,

incomplete.

Every day it starts in the same way,

the blank page asks and

I think

I have nothing to say.  

So it is with our days,

we don’t think we have much

to give, to show, to say

but when we simply engage

the questions that arise,

the days fill with meaning,

much to our surprise.

OUT OF HER HEAD

I can’t get out of my head.  she said.

How did you get locked in? I asked.

I stopped wondering at the sky.

I quit marveling at the universe.

I thought mostly of my guilty past

and

the fearful future.

Soon, all my friends looked like strangers,

I guess I stayed in my head to ward off dangers.

And do you find it safe in there?

No, it’s so small now, I can barely breathe the air.

Maybe it’s time to step outside, I invited.

She unlocked her mind’s door, looking scared and excited.

What comes next may be challenging and scary,

but you’re no longer alone,

locked up in your mind,

it’s time to rediscover what lies beyond

guilt and fear

to embrace all you find.  

And then, she stepped out of her head,

facing forward,

looking ahead.  

WHATEVER YOU NEED

When it’s rest you need,

take rest.

When it’s companionship,

be a friend.

When it’s a pat on the back,

look at how far you’ve come.

Whatever you think you need,

it’s within you.  

Stop looking outside of yourself.

IN YOUR OWN EAR

I got a lecture the other day.

I had not signed up for a class.

I didn’t pay.

But someone thought they needed to teach me

something necessary.

They wanted to fix something,

set something straight.

But then I realized this talk wasn’t about me,

it was about ego and control.

I wanted to walk away.

Today, I don’t remember the subject matter from the encounter,

but what I learned from this lecture has become quite clear,

when you want to set someone straight,

you might want to talk in your own ear.  

CLEARING THE PATH

Forget what was broken,

remember what mended.

Let go of your anger,

live with your hand extended.

Work, yes,

with integrity,

and also take time to look and to see

the beauty unfolding around you.

And when you do this,

Every. Single. Day.

you find the path begins to clear,

and then you know what else to do.  

TODAY YOU

Today,

send a uplifting text,

write a thank you note,

send an encouraging email

to someone who needs it

(which is everyone, pick one)

and also to the person who may need it most,

you.  

WORRYING ROOM

Hospital waiting rooms are incorrectly named.

Let’s call them what they are:

worrying rooms.

VICTIM AND HERO

When your ego wants to make you

all victim

or

all hero,

beware.

For it is rare to find someone

purely

one

or

the other.

The rest of us are in between,

somewhere.  

ABOUT THE SADNESS

Let’s talk about the sadness,

which comes after the

madness

of children killed

where they go to school.

Let’s address the darkness,

which feels like

powerlessness

when wondering

what to do.

Then, let’s reach out to our neighbor

to do them a favor

and get to know them better than

just, “Hey, you.”

Let’s be willing

to stop this killing

by daring

to start caring

beyond our comfort zone.  

For it seems that every time,

we see this type of crime,

it’s one person

who felt completely alone.

WHAT COMES AFTER

After the light,

darkness.

After the harvest,

desolation.

After the breakthrough,

picking up the pieces.

After the healing,

pain.

This is truth

few will reveal.

A life’s journey

is not all

growth,

glory,

and

revelation.

The one who walks

an uncommon path

also embraces the

darkness,

pain,

and

desolation

for this is how one

acquires

wisdom.