Learning to Live With Endings

I did not know that the word lost would be what I would search for in SunCatcher today, and that Celebrate Endings would be what I chose.

I think I have been too afraid to admit that my time so closely connected to a cherished relationship is ending. Not the relationship itself, but its form.

But I resonate with my own words, to feel the grief, mourn what is lost, then let go of night
to allow the sun to rise on a new day.

And “If we cling too hard to the darkness, it will seem to extend forever, keeping our eyes wet with tears, sinking all spirit, all hope.” 

I am grateful that each line of this poem, written years ago, reminds me change is inevitable, letting go of attachment leads to new discoveries, and by accepting the wisdom of uncertainty, we are safe in a Universe which itself changes day by day.

Be Still and Listen

I continue my commitment to telling the new story.

I breathe. I am still. I listen. Serenity I hear.

I read my own poems from SunCatcher. Several are full of the serenity of being alone in Nature.

But I realize what I really crave is the serenity found in the AA Serenity Prayer.

Wow. Even the origin of this prayer is disputed, whether from Reinhold Niebuhr or – the one I would like to believe of course – was written by a woman. No matter. It exists beyond all of them.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Today I know that I feel healthy, grateful for my life and the multitude of blessings, pain in my legs and hips which I hope is from sitting for days on end, and joy from knowing that such things as poetry and spiritual wisdom can bring me home.

How, Then, Shall I Live?

Write the new story.

What a gorgeous day!
Focus on what brings you joy,
Let the rest be gone.

Grateful, yes, am I,
for the mem’ries of the past,
and tomorrow’s gifts.

But today must be,
Where I focus all of me,
Breathing still am I.

Blinds are still shut tight,
Shielding blinding rays of sun,
Must it really be?

No! I open blinds,
Only now to see the sky,
Bright and blue above.

Oops, I had it right,
Sometimes too much sun can blind,
How could this then be?

 

After the Day of Infamy

Wrote the morning words,
In the journal, yes, by hand,
It can teach me things.

Football, football, yes!
Weird this sport of violence
Brings me so much joy.

It is not the hits,
Or the tackling, brutal strength,
It is magic minds.

Take the smallest guys,
Beasely, Welker, guys like that,
Always finding space.

Joe’s my guy, with Rice,
In the zone beyond our sight,
Magic happened there.

Now we all are old,
Watching new guys, still we know,
Times were golden then.

Wait! I see the white
trail across the blue day sky,
Jet plane flies somewhere.

From this window here,
I see hills and trees and sky,
Of the outside world.

Covid keeps me home,
But I know it’s writing, too,
Capturing my soul.

Richard Wright wrote words,
Not just books but Haiku too
Words that bring me joy.

Richard Wright:

Heaps of black cherries
glittering with drops of rain
in the evening sun.

The green cockleburs
caught in the thick wooly hair
of the black boy.

A freezing morning:
I left a bit of my skin
on the broomstick.

Black Lives Matter, People.

Wouldn’t it be wry
If I found my lifelong joy,
Just in time to die?

On this very day,
I watch football, research too,
Poets, magic, all.

We don’t know the hour,
of our passing from this life,
Myst’ry till the end.

I just hope I have,
Lots of time now that I know,
Why the hell I’m here!

 

 

Let Us Seek Elevation

I commit to telling the new story. It is a story of hope, compassion, blessing, knowing Spirit has been with me since I was in the womb, guiding my journey all along.

Elevation. Inspiration. Awe.
Just as black and white are yielding to
an expansive, diverse rainbow,
We are opening to awe and wonder in our lives.

When I focus on possibilities, imagination, caring, connection, all else is the small stuff, noise in the background.

“Get small to get bigger.” Trust the process. Take what you have written already and let it flow into the present, the new story.

Write the new story.
Claim your authentic self.