Start with a firm base of acceptance,

roll this out firmly but gently until the dough is flat and smooth across the table of this day,

shape the dough into a round pan, formed into a circle with finger-pressed edges of patience,

add a generous layer of cinnamon-spiced apples of joy,

top frivolously and messily with crumbs of graham-crackered laughter,

put this concoction of life's a...

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eveyday it arrives

and we push against it

like it's a tidal wave 

trying to drown us,

but really it's a cleansing designed to revive us.

Turn off the faucet of fear

and let life flow,

a tsunami of energy 

rich with joy and sorrow

and birth and recomposition.

All this is creation expressing itself through you and you and you,

each part of the multitude, e...

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I am waiting for my Christmas miracle.

I have faith that can move mountains.

I believe in miracles.

I do not care how long I have to wait.

I believe in rebirth, in healing, in radical shifts of consciousness.

I have seen it happen.

I have felt it, I have lived it.

I am waiting for my Christmas miracle.

The waiting is joyful and sorrowful.

The waiting is peaceful.

For ...

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"Nothing is done,

nothing is left undone."

When I stop being the doer,

things get done peacefully. 

When I let Life be the doer,

things get done joyfully.

Life is a powerful force,

and when moving through a loving heart,

Life is a gentle force

that gets things done with kindness.

Rise each morning,

empty your mind,

fill your heart with love,

and let Life live...

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Bless everyone and everything all day long

Forgive everyone and everything all day long

Bless the cup from which I drink

Bless the spoon from which I eat

Bless my feet that walk on the ground

Bless the rooms that give me shelter

Forgive the cup that shatters to the floor

Forgive the fingers that lose their grip

Forgive the body that falls sick with doubt

Forgive the reme...

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I love windows

I love air

I love opening a window 

to let in air

I love walking

I love the ground

I love feeling the solid

earth under my feet as I walk

I love smiles

I love gentle

I love the gentle smile

on the face of a beloved

I love waking

I love sleeping

I love waking in the morn

with the light

I love the moonlight

as I settle in for the nigh...

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Mastering the breath

is easy and worthwhile.

Breathe in,

breathe out.

Mastering the chi

of your energy body

is powerful and healing.

The air flows in,

the air flows out,

the air circles your body.

Move your hands up to lift the chi,

move your hands down to lower the chi,

reach down and gather the crops into a basket,

reach up to capture the moon in your heart...

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Everything gets done,

nothing gets done.

Everything is tidy,

everything is a mess.

Come, let us feel sad together

and laugh,

Come, let us feel happy together

and cry,

Come, let us strip down to bare essentials

and dance in the sunlight,

Come, let us adorn ourselves with jewels

and prance in the moonlight.

What is this season of crazy wildness?

Why, it's life ...

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In the stillness

is the stirring

of the soul,

like a restless wind

carrying seeds

to fertile ground,

I sit awake,

aware,

of the deepest peace,

the gentlest calm,

that resides in the birthplace

of my being.

I abide here,

simply.

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I set my intention for the day

in the soft light of morning

in the deep quiet of morning

my day shall unfold in beauty

my day shall unfold in peace

I set my intention for the day

lighting a candle of prayer

breathing fully of awareness

all around me shall be healing

all around me shall be love

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Wake in the morning

arms stretch up to the sky

and down to the earth.

Light is invited,

and in a single breath,

light arrives,

an eager friend

illuminating all.

Praise to the light,

praise to the dark,

arriving and leaving,

as with breath,

as with all--

death is a friend,

life is a friend--

illumined by light,

is there even a difference?

Yes, of c...

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I read a book once

written by a mama

whose child was "on the spectrum"

per medical diagnosis,

and at the end of the book,

(in which the mama described her journey with her child), 

the mama concluded

(the last sentence in the book)

"we are all on the spectrum."

I thought that was a wise conclusion.

Spectrum defined--

"a band of colors, as seen in a rainbow, produce...

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In the debris,

in the dust

rising from our sorrows,

we plant flowers

to lift us up.

Beauty and love always prevail,

never forget this,

even when all appears obliterated,

a tiny bud appears--

look for this.

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Going deep into gratitude

is wondrous.

Living, 

bathing,

becoming gratitude,

is miraculous.

Gratitude colors every day in hues of joy,

jumps to meet each moment with curiousity,

nourishes patience,

melts into love--

love of everything and everyone,

the good, the bad,

the boring, the exciting.

Gratitude paints the world

with wonders and miracles,

come, c...

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"I hope you meet people who understand you,"

the kind lady thought to herself,

releasing a prayer

as she passed a young troubled fellow on the road.

What a beautiful prayer, I thought to myself when the kind lady related it on a youtube program.

I have now adopted it as my own.

"May you meet people who understand you."

A prayer is a gift,

easily given and readily received.

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Waiting

You stole my land

I stole your land

You beheaded me

I beheaded you

Over millennia

we are as children 

fighting on the playground

over gravel

that cuts our knees

and makes us bleed.

Can we stop?

Oh mankind

Try to be kind

Can we change?

The millennia whispers

its secrets

we wait

heads bowed in prayers

we wait

Resurrected

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When things are complex

(as many things are)

oh what a joy it is

to discover the simple!

Layers and layers,

like piled-up cloth 

on a market table,

we slowly lift each fabric

to see its weave--

tightly woven,

our emotions packed in hard,

loosely threaded,

we breathe to find relief.

Oh what a joy it is!

when the cloth,

freshly laundered

and hung to dr...

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These lands are holy,

across the oceans and around the planet,

walked by many beings,

of many names,

of many types,

human and animal and plant,

categories and nations and borders,

assaults and slaughters

and scrambling to survive,

torture and rape and fleeing,

the suffering, the blood,

no mercy shown,

no one spared.

These lands are holy,

walked in prayer,

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In my heart

there is a little doorway,

a little table,

a little crystal ball

sitting on the table,

it glows and pulsates,

that little ball,

and reaches deep

into my veins and muscles

and all the paths

that pump my heart,

one beat at a time.

Deep within the heart,

my heart, your heart,

lies wisdom--

past, present, future--

all flowing and glowing,

...

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I am happy when my feet touch the ground,

I breathe deep as I walk the lands of my day,

I give thanks with each slow step that I take,

my feet are eager when they feel the strength of mother earth,

she is kind and generous with bountiful gifts,

I am happy when my feet stroll and glide

across her gentle back,

she is my foundation,

my elegant mother

with skies of blue

a...

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Us

Self-centered, wounded

Other-centered, healing

Selfish, skewed

Radical self-care, balanced

A little of this and a little of that, 

in each of us

More of one, less of the other,

in each of us

"Judge not, lest ye be judged"

War

"Where you stand depends on where you sit"

The captured soldier in chains on a hospital bed

tells his nurse,

"If m...

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The world moves quickly

and that's okay

because I am a turtle.

I have a hard shell

and slow-moving legs,

I saunter instead of sprint

(not that there's anything wrong with sprinting,

I find it quite admirable indeed,

and from time to time

I am envious of the speed

of the hares of the world).

Anywhoodles, I mosey along

my merry way,

sometimes I don't even notic...

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She donned dark clothes 

and let her body be wild,

drops of water were enough for cleansing, 

no need to change clothes much

since she was going nowhere

outside of the interiors of her mind.

Food was minimal,

a little bread, some eggs, 

the rest of her plate she left 

for the little demons

that would not leave her alone.

As the days went by,

she lingered in the ...

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My heart wept for joy

when I heard the music

seeping through the walls 

of our little house.

She had been asleep for so long, 

months and months

lost in contemplation,

traveling to a mind-place

where I could not follow.

Was it possible

she was returning to us?

Neuroplasticity

some people call it--

neurodiverse,

spectrum--

this and that,

lots of color...

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Sometimes you have to put on your warrior shoes,

you know,  put your foot down firmly 

and sweep the debris out of the house.

We humans, at all ages, are like babies who cry when our needs are not met;

a soothing tone remedies many ills

but sometimes a firm reminder of what's what is the better remedy.

A true warrior is fierce and strong 

but always has unconditional love as t...

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Sometimes I like to take an eraser and wipe away all the labels

we attach to ourselves as we try to understand our human behavior.

We are so diverse and each mind/body/heart/soul has so many possible trajectories!

Oh, but wiping it all clean is so refreshing.

Down to simple breath,

we are all beings,

along with the animals and plants and wind and fire and water and soil--

all ...

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Yellow Bird Alighting

A yellow bird alighted

on the windshield of my car

as I sat parked in a parking lot

talking on the phone

on a cool autumn day,

grocery shopping day.

But I didn't go into the store

right away

because I needed to talk to someone

to summon aid for a beloved

who needed help

but didn't want it,

a delicate situation

one could say.

S...

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Joy filled my heart

When finally we found common ground

When finally we sorted things out

I knew we would eventually

I knew all things work towards good under the banner of Love

(Which doesn't mean the absence of pain but rather the ever-abiding presence of healing potentiality)

But we had been stuck for so long

Caught in a quandry of exhaustion and confusion for so long

My...

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(This poem was written by my sister Stephanie, who gave me permission to post it on WOL)

When trying to let go of 

The illusion of control 

By a parent for a wayward youth 

My mantra has been

“Trust the fertilizer”

Not the fertilizer from a bag

with numbers and chemicals

But the compost made in the yard

From kitchen scraps and plant clippings, 

The organic d...

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I like slow change,

organic change

rising from the gentle walk of the day,

I prefer fostering tranquility in relationships

rather than demands related to external experiences or appearances, 

I like softness over harshness,

it matters not to me

how others perceive

my way of moving through the world,

I'm interested in spreading simple caring like wildflowers,

this is w...

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What was this impending change tickling the corners of my mind with excitement?

At first I thought it was something big

that would require alot of effort (and no small amount of pain and suffering)

but that would ultimately reward us with exhilarating growth.

But then I realized, no, the change I felt looming in the corners of my mind

was so simple, so quiet, so interior, and yet so...

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Emotions twirl and twirl

like dancing dust

so easily stirred up,

sometimes hard to settle down.

We go inside our bubbles

or take to bed,

hide away a bit

and wait for softening.

Emotions are like waves

reaching for the sands of thought,

we walk these lands barefoot

with nary a sign to guide our path.

We look for the signs

and when we see them

(a butterfly t...

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I worried my way through life

until I learned to dance

in the skies.

Come, take my hand,

show me a little smile,

let's fly to the clouds

and glide across the heavens.

Oh how beautiful

is the blue-green earth

and the blue-blue sky

when we join the angelic choir and sing praises from afar.

Don't be too earth bound

my friends,

it's crazy down here,

fly fly fl...

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Doors open

doors close

we wander the halls of our life

wondering, wondering 

who are we

and where does it all lead?

Sometimes we wear bright colored clothes and laugh with the world,

other times we don cloth of dark shades and cry out our lamentations.

Over-arching all, though,

even in the darkest night,

there is a rainbow,

often invisible to the eye,

but there ...

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Hey, did you get the memo on the cosmic joke?

Yes, there really is one.

It's entitled "Life."

We don't know what the punch line is, though.

Apparently this becomes apparent when one dies.

But, hey, it's okay to start laughing now (with kindness of course)

because, why not?

it makes Life a bit more fun.

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The Call to Love

Every day suffering comes knocking at my door

and I am called to love.

I worry and I fret and my body shakes with fear,

and I am called to love.

I scour the book shelves looking for words of solace,

and love keeps jumping off the pages.

Oh, how the world and all its beings yearn to be free of suffering,

but clearly it is not to be.

If there is an answer ...

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Everything moves in perfect rhythm

when we learn to breathe through life,

not too fast,

not too slow,

just a flow

that carries us peacefully through the day.

Tuned to the breath,

deep in, deep out,

we know when to step it up,

and when to wipe the calendar clean.

The world moves spinningly fast

and sometimes glacially slow,

find the rhythm that suits you best,

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Among all the messes

and all the losses,

still, we breathe.

Among all the pain

and ongoing suffering,

still, we walk.

Breathing and walking

is a gift,

eyes tuned to the feet,

one and then the other,

thoughts tuned to the breath,

one and then the other,

the messes and the losses

and the pain and the suffering

are part of the package,

lift the lid and ope...

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Where does the mind go when it leaves the body

Where does the soul go when it travels to the nether regions

Does the heart live in the body or does it reside in the universe

Do heaven and hell co-exist side by side or are they mutually exclusive

These are questions without question marks

because any answers are only opinions

so they are basically unanswerable

so no need to pun...

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I need to go to the woods and drum

I feel the sky closing in on me 

I need to go to the woods and run

I feel the earth shaking beneath my feet

If I can sway with the green leaves

and climb barefoot to the highest branch

maybe I can find my peace again

maybe I can stand on solid ground again

I need to run to the hills and twirl across the flowered meadows

surely there the...

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Poetry is like a woman in the simplest dress.

Poetry's cousins (prose, fiction, dissertation, etc.) require adornment,

whereas poetry is like a woman who puts on a mass of jewelry,

and then one by one

removes each piece

until she is wearing only

a singular sliver of gold or silver.

Poetry likes sparsity

but is not afraid of complexity.

Poetry is like breath,

essential...

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Evening shadows carry a gentle softness,

gone is the bright glare of the day,

a hush descends like a lullaby,

bidding the very young and the very old

to settle into sweet darkness.

Dreams start to gather

like clouds in the sky,

weaving together the stories of the day--

fragmented paths,

mysterious byways,

unfolding, growing.

Day into night, night into day,

the w...

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The years roll by

and I remember less and less

of the more and more

that happened.

The shelves of memory

are too full

for all the items to be seen.

So I let float to mind

what comes,

look at it fondly or sadly,

and appreciate that long ago

moment making a visit

to this moment--

this moment, this moment,

is always the most wondrous, 

though, made up of n...

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To everything that comes,

say "welcome."

Not because you want it,

but because it is here.

Releasing resistance

is a cleansing waterfall--

refreshing, restoring, energizing.

Welcome Life!

I stand here fearless,

I stand here strong,

knowing I am buttressed by creation,

knowing I am part of the swirl of love.

Dipping into this pool,

life sings.

PS altern...

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Is there anything more sweet

than a touch of sunshine in the morning?

Is there anything more soothing than a tickle of crisp air in the eve?

We rise each day and breathe,

we lay each eve and breathe.

We walk the steps of our days,

we dream the stories of our nights.

Is there anything more mysterious than the flowing of time?

Stepping into our stories, we wonder, who are we?

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Goodbye old tree,

we love you.

You were mom's potted Christmas tree,

a tiny star pine

she adorned with a few bulbs and tinsel.

She moved you out to her patio

and faithfully watered you

until she offered you to us

to plant in our front yard.

Into the ground you went,

free now to spread your roots

and grow, grow, grow.

We moved to a different house

and surprise...

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It takes a large bucket of faith

to keep believing in hope

when things appear hopeless.

But I arrive with my empty bucket,

close my eyes,

and wait patiently for it to be filled.

And it does--

faith and hope dwell in the clouds

and dance in the wind.

Faith and hope fall from the sky

with the sweet pitter-patter of raindrops

and land in my eager bucket.

Once again...

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It was summer and rain was not expected,

but when I stepped outside to walk to the store

I saw the drops falling

so I stepped back inside

and grabbed my blue umbrella waiting in a little yellow bucket by the piano. 

Off I started on my journey

but stopped a bit to chat with a neighbor about whether I should walk,

might there be a downpour?

I checked my phone app,

no rain...

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Life is a work of art,

Life is a bowl of apples,

Life is elderly husband getting locked in bedroom with wife on Saturday morn because of broken lock, requiring splintering of door to escape (after much huffing and puffing),

Life is elderly husband getting covid (on Sunday morn, next day after broken lock,  3-day holiday weekend, Sun & Mon, no doc available) requiring looong visit to ER to...

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