Mindfulness is ...

Mindfulness is not
a calm sea
stretching endlessly into the distance
a straight path
with no stones to trip or cunning bends
an empty mind
filled only with clarity and light
an even temperament
untouched by meanness or generosity
a quiet sunny day
meeting only quiet sunny people.

Mindfulness is
a journey
an adventure
a navigation through
the pitfalls and ecstasies of everyday life
a spotlight
noticing every blemish, every joy
a sunbeam
reducing shadows to a realistic size
a kindness
allowing for mistakes to be a learning process
a space between
what is and my response to it
a tumbling, energetic maelstrom
out of which we emerge
tousled, feathers ruffled,
stronger, wiser and
more willing to laugh at ourselves.
© 16 Oct 14

Leaf crunching time

Now it is leaf crunching time
dancing leaf
turning leaf
colourful time
dazzling sunset
starry night
cold nose time
warm days
cool days
fire lighting time
harvesting
foraging
joyful time
summertime?
autumn-time?
nearly Christmas-time
slowing down
laying down
hibernation time
mushroom growth
house spiders
indoor mice time.
Now are the days of leaf crunching time.

© 22 Sep 14

A trilogy of mornings

I. Morning slides in
like a mist
silently stealing
across the hillside
catching us unawares
dousing the fields
with a rich golden light
bathing the green grass
with a vibrancy in
individual jewelled droplets
lighting each leaf
each blade of grass
with its own ray of sunshine.

Morning steals in
with the birdsong
calling us out of slumber
awakening the senses
a new dawn
a new day
a new moment
a new breath
as morning slides in.


II. Morning creeps in
sluggardly slow
as if hung-over
from a heavy night
coughing deeply
the after-effect of
too many cigarettes.

Morning creeps in
reluctantly
heavily
dragging a dull sun behind
as if unready to admit
a new dawn
a new day
a new moment
a new breath
has begun.


III. Morning dances in
with a smile
bringing laughter and birdsong
scattering seeds of happiness
in her wake
throwing long shadows
away from a full sun.

Morning dances in
with a shout of proclamation
‘I am here,
be awake, awake, awake’.

Morning dances in
with a paintbrush
rendering everything
beautiful
with a glow of serenity.

Morning dances in
with a cry of joyfulness,
today is a new dawn
a new day
a new moment
a new breath.

© 10-12 Oct 14

Sowing seeds of love

I sit

taking up my own true stature

being present

to passing thoughts, feelings, emotions

watching them rise and fall

waves on a distant ocean

I am untouched by them.

Sitting here

doing nothing

sowing seeds of love

scattered into the ether

carried on the winds

to distant, unknown places

where they may find fertile soil

to rest and be nurtured.

Holding seeds of love

in my two hands

I let the winds take them

disperse them at will

sending them out into the world

without minding where they will land

or who they touch.

I have many more to sow

my supply is endless.

© 5 Oct 14