Who knows

Who knows
as I walk towards you
with a bag on my back
what burdens
what sufferings it contains.

Who knows
as we meet and smile in greeting
what experiences I carry with me
that weigh me down and
colour what future I meet.

Who knows
as I receive your acknowledging smile
what a difference it can make
helps me forget my troubles and
notice something joyful.

Who knows
where the kindness you share today ends
and who it gets passed on to
who really needs it.

Who knows
how much lighter I feel
having shared your presence
however brief.

Who knows
how different the world could be
if we shared joys, simple kindness and
a recognition of shared humanity.

Who knows

© 1 Dec 15

Kingfisher spotting

We walk down to and
along the beck
hoping to catch a glimpse
of beautiful blue.

Are you here today?
Are you hidden, or ready to be seen?

Today the path is muddy
in concentrating on not falling over
I miss the brief glimpse
as you dart from branch to water
and out over the stream.

Yet on our way back
there you are
perching on the branch again
eager eyes searching for food.
Your jewel-like colours so startling
against the grey drabness of cold winter
I initially mistake you for a piece of litter!
As you fly
there is no doubt
the gorgeous hues of
turquoise and emerald
dart and flit and shimmer
holding the air itself
stock still for a moment
before flying on
and once again gone.

Many days we come down here and
are disappointed not to see you.
Today we are delighted by the
bright glimpse
of beautiful blue.

© 21 Jan 16

Chasing thoughts

If I lie here long enough
chasing thoughts
will they catch their own tails
and doglike lie panting
having outrun themselves?

Apparently not!

They spring into life
with more intensity
more interesting
more insistent
than in daytime.

Decisions made in the midnight hour
are muddy
sullied with the dark of night
not having the clarity of day.
Don’t make big decisions at 3am!

Expect stars to lose their fires
before night-time thoughts are stilled.

So how can I lull myself to sleep?
To retreat into the rest
my body so eagerly desires?

Stop fighting!
Embrace each thought as
it appears and gently
breathe it away.
Don’t hold on to it.
For goodness sake
don’t try to sort it out!

Stop chasing thoughts
let them ride each breath
as lightly as a leaf in the wind.

Thoughts are always
dancing in the periphery
of our vision.
When we invite them to come close
they magnify and grow
become real
become needy.
Let them dance
but keep the space between
keep the distance to know
they are not real
they are not true
they are just thoughts.
Let them ride each breath
as lightly as a leaf in the wind.
No need to chase them away.

© 5 Jan 16

Love is all

Love that is all-embracing
is spread
as a vibrant sheen
over the whole cosmos.

No gaps
no patches of dullness or absence.
Not denser here and
barely manifest over there.
Invisible to the mind
apparent only to the heart.

Love is a force field
allowing us to let go
of any separation
and meet it the truth
of oneness.

Love is the great life-giver
sustaining and maintaining.
Love is the eye-opener
allowing us to see
the seemingly disparate forms dance together
in the substance of love.
Love is the awakening
the realisation that
there is nothing but love
there is nothing else.
True oneness.

© 6 Dec 15

Dwelling in the now part II

What do I see? What do I know?
Birds are birding on the lawn.
Leaves are leafing in the wind.
Rain is raining from the clouds.
Mud is mudding beneath the grass.
What am I?
Everything behaves according to its nature
yet I, I question
I doubt
I wonder
I puzzle.
I want to know
I want to work it out
have all the right answers.
Mind stuff
that can never be settled
never be sorted.

Just looking
just watching
birds, rain, grass, wind, mud
leaves dancing together
I am free from mind stuff.
I am being.
I am being.

I am.

©10 Jan 16

Dwelling in the now

What do I see? What do I know?

I am a pot of water

standing still

resting

energy and fire surge through me

thoughts, ideas, suggestions 

begin to surface

bubbling, popping into my awareness

as the water takes life

begins to boil.

Boiling bubbles are me

yet not me

not all of me.

Thoughts, ideas, suggestions

are part of me

form in my mind

yet do not belong to me

are not all of me.

I am still

standing still

perfectly unmoving

waiting

resting

where are the boiling bubbles now?

© 10 Jan 16

New Year miracle?

Winter branches

devoid of leaves

attract a new kind

of foliage

as raindrops adorn the trees

hanging heavy

collecting light.

An everyday occurrence

or a new year miracle?

My heart proclaims the latter.

New year miracle? audio

© 2 Jan 16