Complexly Simple

You respond
I respond
In kind we are
To react
To counteract
Untactful
Emotional misunderstandings
Crash course landings
Lacking in comprehension
Like a pilot without his guide
Allied with
Innocence
Unseated
Unsettled
Mistreated
 Disheveled
 Blameless and bedeviled
Bewildered
Shivering out sadness
Sweating out anger
Dragging out the dreary, somber thoughts
Built up out of nothing
For longer than it needs to be
Just now beginning to see
We are different,
Each of us, unique
Beautiful
There is never bleakness
Only blurred lines that led us in fear to feel the steepness
Of that plateau we each climbed all by ourselves to get to this very point in time,
You up one side,
Me from the other,
And here we are together, overlooking
Ocean down below
As equals, hand in hand
As partners, in flight
The coastline in our sights
A place where dreams really do come true,
Who knew all we really had to do was put this all behind us,
Easier said than done, but we're doing it
Learning
That intention is not understanding
Knowing
The latter comes in time if we are not too demanding
Landing peacefully,
Settling back into ourselves,
Fully into us,
The best time of our lives.

Thought for the Day

As responsible, moral adults, we often have difficulty doing things for ourselves, as the responsibilities continue to pile up. We feel the need to surmount via the uphill ascension; hour of the day and items crossed off the list forming a positive correlative inside of our minds, an internally constructed gauge formulated for the explicit purpose of tracking and entwining self-perceived successes and feelings of adequacy, or self-perceived failures and feelings of inadequacy in the short-term. In my experiences, this makes it harder to accurately visualize the bigger picture, which of course is all encompassing, never dismissive, though never based solely on one perception, idea or thought surrounding any one thing we did, do or did not or do not do. There is life in this moment beyond our comprehension. What we are doing does matter. It can be more or less important than we make it out to be. Yes, it is meant to feel spacey at times. When I fail to embody this train of thought in my meditation sessions, if I am feeling tired or restless in any way, my mind wanders and searches for justifications for or makes excuses against my practice, in the moment. Well, I haven’t been as compassionate to my loved ones in recent days as I would like and this will restore the light in me, my loved ones will benefit from my experience. Or, I need to make dinner for my loved ones, it’s getting late. These are the types of thoughts that pass through the unsettled, imbalanced mind askew. And it is to be expected, and very okay. As I step out of myself and look at things from the outside in, I see the cycle of life as mirroring meditation practice. Both require consideration and thought. Neither asks for justification, if the former holds true. Putting things in perspective is in and of itself renewal, and enables us to start anew, with each and every new breath we experience. Meditation is a worthy practice as it opens us up to the endless offerings of life. So too, does life, if we take our practice and infuse it into our every existence.

Thought for the Day

Today, in the morning when you rise, say to yourself, “I will meet each and every thing I do today with enthusiasm, being in the moment.” If thoughts come to mind regarding how your day or week should unfold, if unpleasantness or worry surfaces, let it. Make the connection between emotion and thoughts or ideas surrounding a premeditated event or action of doing. It will come naturally if you do not put up a fight. Then, breathe, feeling the full uplift of your abdomen, ribcage and chest. The soul and the spirit will rise too, when you meet each inhale with full openness. As breath is life, take this truism with you forward into the day, exhaling and elevating, maintaining and stabilizing improved mood with focused, open breathing. Embrace the now. Acknowledge the idea of every premeditated event or action of doing you have set in stone in the same light as they come to mind, as futuristic happenings of rational, thoughtful intent. If you find there to be absent-mindedness behind any premeditated event or action of doing, reconsider, make alterations if need be before proceeding. This is your life, after all, you do have a choice. Before you embark on these many journeys of doing throughout the course of your day, acknowledge, consider and accept. There might be things on your plate you do not look forward to. This is true of every day. If they are things you must do, do them. Take solace in knowing you have done well to stick to the schedule. Do not let the negative thoughts or ideas surrounding any one premeditated event or action of doing stand in your way, repeating the mantra if need be, “I will meet each and every thing I do today with enthusiasm, being in the moment.” As you experience the day, perhaps you will find newness to your routine. Perhaps you will learn something new about yourself, or learn how to become more efficient. Perhaps these things will bring you great joy or offer new, invaluable insights. Staying in the moment can only benefit you. Try it, even if it is just for one day.

The Ugly Side of Innocence

Gee wiz, please pass the salt,
It’s an asphalt party out there,
Workmen on their knees pumping alt rock,
Seventies and balmy, daily
Blue collar slide shows from these little windows of unemployment
Undercooked and overpriced goods
Outsourced Labor disputes
New roads to nowhere
Leading the innocent
Pass the buck
Pass the salt, please
This food without thought
Is all processed and dried up,
Like America,
Plain Jane In the cold, hard rain
Without a clue.

Good Pillars

It ain’t nostalgia

Beat Beat

In this morning heat

Cool, heavy air rises off the empty streets

Unveiling truth and loss like a sheet ripped from

The bed in which you neatly coddled up to him

Laid down for love

The last standing beacon of our blood—

I could have wept more then, but I could not,

There were so many others

My druthers, not wanting to be part of such a sad state of affairs and the crowd

Always wanting to scream at the tops of my lungs out loud

For you and the injustices of disease

Like the withering of bright leaves and the changing of seasons,

My treasonous pride—

This morning it drifts off

Up into the heavens

As the faintness of a grandmother’s outline, lightly vanishing

In goodbye, the spread out of gulls flown south for the winter

Bitterness dissipating, a cleaner farewell and a cold, hard lesson well learned,

Never hate the cruelty of fate or get burned—

Glaciers melting with the purifying cries of a boy,

His emotion an inferno,

Missing one of his beacons

Memories flood in,

Crystallized thoughts,

Rafts aplenty, so much wisdom to hold onto—

Drinks in this sing song sound of fight

From the heart

You light

Up his soul grown

From some netherworld

I am told

Wise spirit,

If I must part with you,

I will not part with your parting message

As it is one of steadfastness and hope,

Not the rope of inevitable uncertainty others make it out to be

Dangling, threadbare

A fatalist viewpoint

The tip of a needle

Used as an excuse,

No, I will not lose sight of what is right here in front of me,

I will not lose sight of what I must do,

I will not lose sight of the fullness in hue

That is life

I will go on seeing, being and doing

Living and loving

Beautiful beacon

That shines on in me still.

Your Light

Did you see the flowers bloom?
Did you see them,
Did you
Did you?
TIme flew by in those earlier years,
Little birdies zooming passed, unnoticing
Coming and going as they pleased,
New ones appearing easing the sun
Set in her way,
Always shining light down on little, green ones budding with life,
A mainstay in this way,
Watching too,
As others that knew them began to take notice
Little by
Little,
More and more as they grew
Up, stepping stones stemming from a well kempt garden
Shimmer (put down and secured the very first day
Seeds became life),
Lead the way to
Swirling colors
Of unequivocal, vibrant depth,
Together
The quintessential optical cocktail,
Close a book of Fairy Tales, our truths
Start their own,
The sun shines
Just a little bit brighter today.