Acts of radical kindness

This moment of stopping

this pressing of the pause button

is an act of radical kindness

an act of daring and courage.

We, who take the time

to stop and breathe

to look within and greet

what we meet

with kindness and compassion

are warriors.

We, who take the time

to rest in infinite space

to merge in the ocean of Oneness

are warriors

courageous warriors

daring warriors

willing to investigate

the knots in the heart and

undo them

with patience and diligence.

These moments of stopping

of pressing the pause button

emit waves of energy

into the universe

soothing a troubled world.

These are acts of radical kindness

of daring and courage.

© 28 Jun 20

One stream of life

We are all one in the stream of life.

We are all one in the flow of consciousness.

What appears to be personal

I no longer claim as mine.

I practise for all beings

near and far

known and unknown

in the past, present and future.

My practice is for healing.

Love heals the gap.

Love helps us recognise

there is no ‘me’ and ‘you’.

We are not separate, we are one.

We are one in the stream of life

in the flow of consciousness.

© 15 Jun 20

All that remains is love

Step into the boat

to journey on the ocean.

The boat is merely the vessel

to get us to our final destination most

directly and accurately.

I am not the boat

I am the ocean, vast and deep

cradling, holding the boat.

I am not tossed and thrown by life’s waves

I am the ocean, vast and deep

cradling, holding the boat.

With each remembrance 

the boat diminishes in size

with each knowing 

the boat becomes less significant.

There is no final destination to reach

there is no starting point of lack

or journey of accruing.

There is only love

a vast, deep ocean of love

cradling, holding all ‘boats’

until the boats diminish and 

all that remains is love.

© 14 Jun 20

This is not personal

This is not personal

this dissonance, this mismatch

between you and me.

It is fed by many generations

of not knowing how

to speak love, show love, be love.

It is amplified by

strong expectations, deep disappointments

situations becoming other than expected.

It is sustained by cycles of tough ‘love’

of not knowing that love

is giving freely

without any expectation of returns.

It is fed by learned disappointments

and lack of understanding.

Here is a chance to break these cycles

they are not forged out of steel.

Here is a chance to tread a new path

where to say ‘I love you’

is as natural and easy as

breathing out.

Here is a chance to start afresh

to open a door that seemed closed and

tightly locked.

Here is a chance to tread a new path

to speak love, show love, be love.

© 14 Jun 20

Windows of perception

Know what windows you choose 

to view the world through.

Know what reams of knowledge

you have collected over decades

stored in dusty boxes

in an unvisited attic.

Know there are many windows of perception

ours is just one, a small one.

Stand awhile 

at another window

see the cosmos from a different viewpoint.

Welcome new learning

new ways of seeing

however uncomfortable.

© 5 Jun 20

Rest awhile

Curtain the windows

close all the doors

turn off the radio

the non-stop thinking radio.

Settle body, mind and heart.

Turn inward.

Close off all external sounds and distractions.

Settle all inner movements.

Come to that quiet, peaceful space

apparently located within your heart-space

that turns out to be everywhere.

Meet that quiet, peaceful space

that has no location

no end and no beginning

is not associated with time or dimension.

And rest.

Rest awhile

no need for movement or agitation

nothing to gain, or to lose.

Rest awhile

freeing all claims of me

letting all limiting perceptions dissolve.

Rest awhile.

© 5 Jun 20

Word-birds

I sit, waiting

patiently, quietly

for the word-birds to come

to land on my shoulder

and share their wisdom.

Francis-like I sit

waiting to see if the word-birds will come

waiting to hear what knowledge 

they have to impart.

They will not present themselves

to an agitated mind

full of bluster and noise.

They descend unobtrusively

when I am gazing in a different direction

they arrive in the corner of my eye

as if wishing to remain invisible.

Yet the food they bring 

nourishes my soul

feeds my creativity

lightens my heart

awakens a deeper understanding.

I sit, waiting

patiently, quietly

for the word-birds to come.

© 30 May 20

Whenever I walk this path

Whenever I walk this path

I catch my clothes

on a protruding nail

and swear at the tear.

I know it is there

it is visible, not hidden

yet somehow

I again catch my clothes

on the same nail.

Each time it occurs

I exclaim loudly at 

another tear to mend

and promise myself to bring a hammer

and fix the nail.

Somehow, a fog of habit descends

and before I am aware

there is yet another tear.

This time, instead of shouting in anger

and frustration

I resolve to remember.

Back at the house

I immediately find my hammer

and leave it by the door.

Now

whenever I walk this path

there is no protruding nail

on which to catch my clothes.

The hammered head gleamingly smiles at me

and I smile back, grateful to it

for welcoming me

into mindfulness.

© 30 May 20