When the waters get choppy

& a storm is brooding,

black clouds in the sky

& on faces,

often it is best 

to crawl into the nest

of silence.

When angry words are born of trauma

too deep to be understood,

often it is best

to don the cloak

of silence.

Silence gives space

for minds to open,

silence gives air

to clear the cobwebs.

Deeper & deeper into sile...

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Sometimes I want to stand

at the top of a mountain

& holler

louder than thunder

until my anguish & frustration

bounce off the granite walls

& reverberate down into the valleys,

until all the critters scamper away

& the leaves fly off the trees

& the clouds in the sky part like theater curtains

& the hand of God reaches down 

& lifts me up & away

to another plane...

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Family History (part 1)

He was a Scottish man,

the father of my mother,

I never knew him (dropped dead on the job, heart attack, age 70),

but I heard tales

of his travels far & wide,

from Scotland to New Zealand, 

his mother & brother in tow,

trying to survive with ranching, from New Zealand to Mexico, 

still ranching, 

from Mexico to California,

still ranchin...

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I try not to

wrap in judgment

I try not to 

frame in boxes

I try to be fluid

like a river

I try to flow

like raindrops

down here on planet Earth

there are alot of judgments & boxes

you me us them

conflict guns death

sorrow tears anger

I try to build on forgiveness

I try to climb on long views

oh, to see existence from the mountaintop!

Abraham & Marti...

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Late at night--

midnight, say--

when grandma couldn't sleep,

she would don her shoes & sweater,

slip out the front door

& walk the paths around 

her country home,

the sky star-filled,

the scent of orange trees in the air.

Late at night--

midnight, say--

when I can't sleep,

I don my slippers & sweater,

slip into the living room

& gaze out the window

at m...

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Joy bubbles up in the tiniest of spaces--

look at the weeds that push through the cracks,

shining their green brilliance 

against the gray slabs--

hello little yellow flower,

a member of the broadleaf family,

you are as bright as sunshine

& hopeful as a tear-soaked smile--

look for the tiniest drops of joy,

peeking through the darkest of days--

they are there.

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Thank you for the light

that rises the sun,

thank you for the light

that holds up the stars,

thank you for the light 

that fills my heart,

thank you for the light

that wraps my being.

When all is illumined

even the darkness is welcome,

when all is illumined

anger dissipates,

love flowers,

& peace reigns across the lands.

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1. Encouragement

It takes a while to come back to earth

when you've been bravely flying

into the skies of your soul,

when you've been fearlessly voyaging into the depths of your mind.

Oh but fear not little one!

Your heart is your compass,

it contains the wisdom of millennia,

it beats just for you

to the rhythm of your uncharted destiny--

stay in your bravery,

abid...

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Sometimes when things fall apart,

I mean really apart,

like craziness & confusion & impossible-to-fix

falling apart--

we find our way back to laughter

simply because what is happening is so absurd.

Seeing events unfold as if scenes in a play

helps ease the pain a bit,

becoming an actor on the stage of life reminds us that the scene will end,

happily or sadly,

we know ...

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A hummingbird came visiting,

after the torrential rains stopped, under a sun intensely bright,

with blue sky wrapping around--

its wings were whizzing up & down,

like a silent drumbeat,

staccato flaps of joy.

Oh hummingbird,

my heart swelled

at the sight of you,

you came so close to me

as I sat under the

wind-torn patio umbrella,

a few seconds later you flew bac...

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Should I oppose you

or embrace you?

If I invite you in to my heart,

will you tear it apart?

Everywhere we look

people are divided,

chasms as wide as canyons--

in the home, in the pinnacles of power, on the streets--

division like a long complicated  quandary,

numbers & symbols filling up the chalkboard

with no answer in sight,

undecipherable codes of confusion.

...

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Feel the presence of the angels singing in the heavenly choir,

they wrap their golden wings around all the suffering beings of the planet,

they fill our homes with light when darkness falls upon us,

they calm our raging hearts when calamity comes our way.

Have faith oh tired peoples of this ever turning orb,

your freedom rides on the wings of your soul,

you are never doomed,

y...

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I didn't understand

why

she draped her head with cloth

& became silent

while she paced across the floor

day after day

with little interest in food

or fresh air or people.

But then it came to me 

in a flash--

of course--

I saw it clear as daybreak,

she was excavating,

deep within her heart & soul,

turning over old wounds,

digging new pathways to healing.

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The rush of acceptance, 

the dawning of renewed love,

oh, don't you see how beautiful you are,

exactly as you are?

Who cares if the world calls you crazy,

after all, we all know the world is crazy!

My sister called me up the other day, her voice filled with soft excitement,

"I've got some new mantras... 'no fear, wrapped in love'...I'm not pushing away anymore, I'm seeing thin...

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Children & old people

often have a way of speaking

truth

with the simplest of words

& the quietest of gazes.

Listen

to the young ones

& the old ones,

often they speak more slowly

but their knowledge is wise--

closer to the Source,

more newly arrived,

more readily leaving,

listen--

Wisdom might be speaking.

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What is the remedy 

for an unfolding tragedy?

Try to fix it?

Learn to accept it?

Both, I suppose,

depending on the circumstances.

Either way, & through it all,

a helpful remedy,

I do believe,

is cultivating a deep interior peace.

A person imbued with peace

has a way of calming volatility

by just being there,

in the midst of twirling cyclones

& exploding vo...

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Rain falls

cleanses the earth.

Tears fall

cleanse the heart.

Fear nothing--

death is always one breath away.

My younger self was shocked

when a wise woman told me,

"Life & Death walk side by side."

My older self simply nods & thinks, "yes, this is the way it is."

Death of a loved one,

death by tragedy,

wretch the heart.

When the storm subsides

& the water ...

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When the gloom & doom

of daily life

with all its sufferings

descends upon me

like a heavy weight,

I stop myself & think,

"hey, wait a minute,

don't you remember,

this is a temporary experience,

you are spirit

in human form temporarily,

so take a deep breath,

stir up the air a bit

with your dancing arms,

and relax.

"All is well,

all is well,

with y...

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Everything changes,

even Mother Earth,

she groans & moans

& gives birth

to creation & destruction,

comfort & disaster,

green plants & blue rivers,

dry dirt & burning rock,

she gives life,

she gives death,

ice frozen,

heat melting,

wild upheavels,

then back to gentle balance.

Oh brave souls

walking Mother Earth!

You too change,

birth & death,

bu...

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Well, what can I say,

I made it through another day.

Do you ever feel life is but a series of volcanic eruptions & torrential downpours?

Literally (physical catastrophes) & figuratively (emotional tsunamis).

Well, what can I say,

we live another day,

hoping for calm skies,

learning to splash in the mud,

& breathing a sigh of gratitude

that we make it through

another d...

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Through the fog

clouding the mind,

through the heaviness

dragging the body--

there comes a beam of light,

illuminating,

lifting,

up out of the haze,

up out of the maze,

the clouds disperse,

the feet step lightly,

ah, this is so much better--

until the next time

the dense mist returns--

then, we can remember--

the light, too, will follow.

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She is but a remnant of her old self,

she has been shattered and scattered like broken glass on the floor,

fragile & sobbing to the touch.

Can I breathe life back in to her?

Can I resurrect her from the ashes of her sorrows?

No, this is not possible.

All I can do is sit in my corner & silently weep. 

All I can do is fall to the ground & fervently pray.

Her garments are shre...

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I thought I heard my mama's voice

calling out a musical "heeello"

as she arrived at my front porch

but of course it was just my imagination,

mom has been gone for many years,

will we ever stop missing those we love who have passed on?

I think not but we carry on

because we must,

for the living,

& because they (those gone) would want us to,

just as we want our young on...

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If you see everything 

as vibrating

you will be released

of all worries.

Solid forms betray us

when they fall apart--

decay & death cause physical & mental suffering--

nothing feels safe

when we put our faith in solidity.

But when we turn

our deep attention

to the dancing movement

of molecules,

when we tune in to the fluid vibrations of all that is--

this ...

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Scattering Seeds 

All day long spread your blessings like scattered seeds.

Bless every item you touch,

every person you encounter,

every experience that unfolds,

every minute that passes.

Like a dandelion blowing in the breeze,

send your blessings out.

Trust that all will be enlivened & uplifted

on the gentle wind of your well wishes.

Sometimes

A par...

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Once you let go of everything,

everything arrives in golden wrapping.

Once you die to everything,

everything is born to vibrant life.

Catastrophe begets strength,

sorrow births joy,

confusion opens to clarity,

anger becomes forgiveness.

Once you move into nothingness,

everything deepens into peace.

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The pain in her heart

is that of a motherless child,

come sit with me,

little one,

I can't fix this

but I can be with you

until your heart grows strong again.

The blues singer weeps

out her tune about a motherless child--

the worst separation perhaps,

but mothering can come in many forms

& be created anew

to make the heart whole again.

Come sit with me,

li...

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Fill every cell in your body with love,

fill every cell in your body with well-being,

go to your window & fly to the sky,

or, better yet, go outside & soar to the heavens.

Did you know the celestial choir sings just for you?

Did you know you are loved expansively--

wide like an ocean,

deep into the star-lit night?

You are cherished,

you are blessed,

you are a child of...

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She decided one day to never do anything again.

What fun this would be!

She would let go of the wheel & let things drive themselves.

She would let dirt & mess fall where it wanted with nary an interference by her.

She would just sit & smile at the world,

like a steady plant

or a tall, quiet tree.

Relieved of the pressure of daily tasks,

the world started dancing--

twirli...

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