life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “action”

04 Apr 2016

sweetness: honey, tangerines and black-faced sheep

 

On this bitter-sweet morning

I spot the jar, 

and slowly, 

deliberately,

lick the white-golden sticky. 

Spun honey directly from the spoon. 

Remembering…

my Grandma Duvall 

always had spun honey, 

and so many other beautiful treats,

at her house.

As a little girl,

I loved it…

I love it still –

tho it goes right to my head,

and makes me a bit dizzy. 

Buzzz…..Buzzzzz 
Mature tastebuds know…

there must be balance. 

Wisdom is learning to choose balance.

I think of how kind words are compared to honey. 

How important it is to choose the sweet,

right in the middle of the bitter,

the choice is all mine. 

I suck the last bit off the spoon,

and move along into my day,

carrying the smile,

the sticky, sweet, stolen glow,

of that moment with me. 
A bit of healing sweetness

right there in the kitchen. 

A bit of amazing grace 

right in the mess of my moments. 

A bit of heaven, 

right here and now, 

on a mixed – up Monday. 

🐝

AL

  
To love everything, not just parts … 

To love all of yourself, not just certain traits … 

To rest in not knowing … 
To carry the cross 

and to lay your burden down … 
To savor the medicine blue of moon, 

the fierce sugar of tangerine … 
To be a Christ unto others, 

a Christ unto one’s self … 
To laugh … 
To be shameless, wild, and silly … 
To know—fully, headlong, 

without compunction—the ordinary magic 

of our beautiful human bodies … 

these seem worthwhile pursuits, life-long tasks.   

All is grace. 

⚜

selected from/ A Poem for My Daughter by Teddy Macker

  
It is the work of feeling,

to undo expectation.

A black-faced sheep

looks back at you as you pass

and your heart is startled

as if by the shadow

of someone once loved.
Neither comforted by this

nor made lonely.

Only remembering

that a self in exile 

is still a self,

as a bell unstruck for years

is still a bell. 

🔔

Sheep by Jane Hirshfield

 

photo sources found at http://www.pinterest.com 

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, balance, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Change, Choice, find art at pinterest, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, moment, Passion, perceptions | Leave a comment
31 Mar 2016

today’s study’s 


Some people move through your life

like the perfume of peonies, heavy

and sensual and lingering.

Some people move through your life

like the sweet musky scent of cosmos

so delicate if you sniff twice, it’s gone.

Some people occupy your life

like moving men who cart off

couches, pianos and break dishes.

Some people touch you so lightly you

are not sure it happened. Others leave

you flat with footprints on your chest.

Some are like those fall warblers

you can’t tell from each other even

though you search Petersen’s.

Some come down hard on you like

a striking falcon and the scars remain

and you are forever wary of the sky.

We all are waiting rooms at bus

stations where hundreds have passed

through unnoticed and others

have almost burned us down

and others have left us clean and new

and others have just moved in.

👫👬👫👭👫

The visible and the in- by Marge Piercy


my fellow exalted, beautiful beings,

full of grace,

as we touch and pass,

respectfully remember to forget:
surrender struggles to catch it’s breath,

then falls soft

as evening prayers at twilight,

gathering into the corners of our hearts

before falling full onto the center of our living circle,

free and happy as ‪Friday night‬.

next morning’s sun fills us,

each day, each season.

nurture moves with grace,

evolving slowly thru

our caring hands,

our grieving hearts,

our shared experience,

our acts of courage,

the healing salt of our tears.

with pieces of our true love,

we fly flags,

of prayer,

of peace,

of poems,

of our own making

to heal the worlds –

within us/

without us.

we allow –

simply complex.

we understand –

clearly unclear.

we stand and fill our world with the beauty

of sound,

of hum,

of voice,

of music,

protecting us

from lesser gods,

the terror all around.

love is the shield,

love is the answer,

love is the choice,

love is our glory,

our salvation,

crowning us

sons and daughters

of stars and starships.

at times,

in spite of our broken pieces,

shattered places,

our refusal to believe,

even our own darkened hearts.

–

astonishing,

isn’t it?

ok, now forget it all –

and practice tenderness.

💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻

AL

 

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, community, connection, courage, find art at pinterest, grace, healing, intimacy, Letting Go, Life, Love, Patience, Peace, People, perceptions | Leave a comment
30 Mar 2016

magical moments 



Look, your longing swung from the trapeze.

The clown is you as well and the tame tiger

who begs for mercy calls someone to mind.

Even the tin-pot music

has its charm; it seems

you’re starting to make peace

with your times

(everyone else has,

why not me? —you say).

So why then does the circus tent

rise above an ancient graveyard?

🎪

Circus by Adam Zagajewski

Translated by Clare Cavanagh


  
I didn’t intend to eat my

Chocolatini until last…

It was my shooting star!

My most special-to-look-forward-to,

my magic bullet,

my favorite,

intention for the ending of the box.

Saved.

Cherished.

Savored.

Longed for.

But then,

I finished my book.

I finished reading

The Night Circus,

and my chocolatini is the closest thing

I could find to a chocolate mouse

to celebrate with!

What a cool book!

I have not read a novel for a long time,

have not found one that captured me in years…

until now.

No hesitation with my truffle choice today –

it was the best show of respect,

and gratitude to stories,

to writers,

to imagination,

I could give.

The circus arrives without warning…

the circus of dreams…

and we are swept away by the very taste of it…

🎪

AL


  


  

I just went to the circus for the first time last night

My super-secret-surprise

Was awesome!

I’ve always wanted to go!

I wonder what I would have felt as a child

I was so sensitive

I think I would have closed my eyes

And cried

I almost felt like that at age 45

I’m glad you held my hand

 

It was

The ultimate show of over consumption

A spectacular spectacle

A mix-match of the brilliant and the bizarre

Awesome and cheesy all wrapped to go

From beginning to end

Never taking a breath

Pounding and pounding

The ringmaster

Ablaze with rhinestones

The acrobats and the clowns

The elephants and the tigers

Horses

(Doing tricks

They didn’t seem to really enjoy)

As they steal the show!

Animals are amazing!
I love trapeze artists flying so high

The bearded lady and the wild man of Borneo

Made honorable mention

With a clown act

That was tongue in cheek

in our PC era of art
Men balancing women

And women balancing men

Each showing their skill

As they contort their bodies

into abnormal positions

sequined outfits

shining in the lights

Motorcycles in a steel ball

4, 5, 6, 7

until it is a blur

how can they do that?

Meetal Man (we renamed him Meatball man)

Holding up astounding weights

As people pile on top of people

On top of him

Trampolines, glitter

Pirates, stilts, dancing beautiful girls

Dancing lion suits

With two people rolling in harmony

under more people in lion suits

more and more

too much to see

too much to process

too much to comprehend

my eyes trying to go 2, 3, 4…different directions

as it plays on and on

with tired children crying

and spilling snowcones

and popcorn

as the parents

(Many a freak-show themselves)

try to ignore them

 

It is spectacular

Breathtaking

Overwhelming

Slightly disturbing at times

A Mix of over-blown showmanship

and

amazing talent

The beautiful and the weird

All mixed together

Delivered at breakneck speed

With so much energy it wears out the eyes

And my mind

Which definitely can’t comprehend it all
I loved it…

and I wanted to run away…
Yes, this is the legacy

of what PT Barnham had in mind

This is the circus!

Magic

Slight of hand, smoke and mirrors, lights and flash

making everything more

brilliant than it could possibly be

This is definitely, over the top, big-top

Self declared…

but it still could be true…

…the greatest show on earth!

🎪

AL

  

  

find art sources at http://www.pinterst.com

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Circus, courage, create, Dancing, Dreams, find art at pinterest, fun, Impossible, Letting Go, Life, Love, music, mystery, Reality | Leave a comment
24 Mar 2016

black n white

 

find more amazement from Tyler Spangler @  http://tylerspangler.com
🌗
I reason, Earth is short —
And Anguish — absolute —
And many hurt,
But, what of that? 

I reason, we could die —
The best Vitality
Cannot excel Decay,
But, what of that? 

I reason that in Heaven —
Somehow, it will be even —
Some new Equation, given —
But, what of that?

🌗

I reason, Earth is short… (301) by Emily Dickinson

 

 
I sink back upon the ground, expecting to die. A voice speaks out of my ear, You are not going to die, you are being changed into a zebra. You will have black and white stripes up and down your back and you will love people as you do not now. That is why you will be changed into a zebra that people will tame and exhibit in a zoo. You will be a favorite among children and you will love the children in return whom you do not love now. Zoo keepers will make a pet of you because of your round, sad eyes and musical bray, and you will love your keeper as you do not now. All is well, then, I tell myself silently, listening to the voice in my ear speak to me of my future. And what will happen to you, voice in my ear, I ask silently, and the answer comes at once: I will be your gentle, musical bray that will help you as a zebra all your days. I will mediate between the world and you, and I will learn to love you as a zebra whom I did not love as a human being.

🌗

I sink back upon the ground… by David Ignatow

🌗

 
In “Farewell to Arms” Ernest Hemingway wrote, “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.”

       – Ocean Palmer quotes EH   
   
photos found at http://www.pinterest.com

 

Little bird why you singin’ that sad song?

Makin’ me cry as I sing along

Did you know that your cage doors open wide?

All ya gotta do is just step outside. 
Can’t nobody stop you
Cause you were born to fly

Til you touch the sky

Friends with every tree

You were born to be free

And I’ll dance along 

To your freedom song
Little girl why you singin’ that sad song?

Cause he robbed you, now you’ve got no home

Think you’re stuck, locked inside of this damn cage

broken heart, broken dreams upon this page 
Little boy I know that song you sing

She’s not right, you can do anything. 

Cause your so much stronger than these chains. 

you are free and your freedom bells just rang
Can’t nobody stop you
Cause you were born to fly

Til you touch the sky

Friends with every tree

You were born to be free

And I’ll dance along 

To your freedom song
If we don’t use it

We ain’t free

It’s our choice 

It’s up to each

If we don’t choose it

We won’t ever be

Everything we were born to be
Can’t nobody stop us
Cause we were born to fly

Til we touch the sky

Friends with every tree

We were born to be free

Won’t you dance along 

To our freedom song

🌗

AL

Posted in action, Adventure, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Change, Choice, commitment, confidence, connection, courage, Death, determination, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, grace, Growth, healing, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, mystery | Leave a comment
22 Mar 2016

put a little trust in it 

Wendell Berry wrote, “Faith is not necessarily, or not soon, a resting place. Faith puts you out on a wide river in a boat, in the fog, in the dark.” 

 
The things that haven’t been done before,

   Those are the things to try;

Columbus dreamed of an unknown shore

   At the rim of the far-flung sky,

And his heart was bold and his faith was strong

   As he ventured in dangers new,

And he paid no heed to the jeering throng

   Or the fears of the doubting crew.
The many will follow the beaten track

   With guidepost on the way,

They live and have lived for ages back

   With a chart for every day.

Someone has told them it’s safe to go

   On the road he has traveled o’er,

And all that they ever strive to know

   Are the things that were known before.
A few strike out, without map or chart,

   Where never a man has been,

From the beaten paths they draw apart

   To see what no man has seen,

There are deeds they hunger alone to do;

   Though battered and bruised and sore,

They blaze the path for the many, who

   Do nothing not done before.
The things that haven’t been done before

   Are the tasks worth while to-day;

Are you one of the flock that follows, or

   Are you one that shall lead the way?

Are you one of the timid souls that quail

   At the jeers of a doubting crew,

Or dare you, whether you win or fail,

Strike out for a goal that’s new?  

          ~ Edgar A. Guest 

  
let’s do something new

me and you

let’s travel uncharted territory 

make new maps of all we find
let’s create a new heaven

and a new earth

just by touching each other’s souls

tracing hearts around each other’s scars
let’s do something extraordinary 

something spectacular 

 something world changing

something wild
let’s create a brand new star

just by loving each other

so completely 

it starts a supernova of epic proportion
let’s do something fun

something we can laugh at forever

something to bring joy into the room

peace into this broken world

😃

AL

  

 

No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit. 

–Helen Keller

🌎

find photo sources at http://www.pinterest.com 

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Choice, confidence, connection, courage, Faith, find art at pinterest, intimacy, Joy, laugh, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, mystery, nature, Reality, soul and spirit, strength, Trust, truth | Leave a comment
13 Mar 2016

look no further 

 

 But all your losses brought you here to walk
under one name and to walk under one name only, 

and to find the guise under which all loss can live; 

remember, you were given that name every day 

along the way, remember, you were greeted as such, 

and treated as such, and you needed no other name, 

other people seemed to know you even before you gave up 

being a shadow on the road and came into the light, 

even before you sat down, 

broke bread and drank wine, 

wiped the wind-tears from your eyes: 

pilgrim they called you again and again. Pilgrim.

🚶🏻

Excerpt from the poem ‘CAMINO’

From ‘PILGRIM’: Poems by David Whyte

 

 I ᖇEᔕOᒪᐯE 
TO ᗷE ᗩᗯᗩᖇE

TO ᔕEE ᗩᑎᗪ ᔕEEK

ᗪIᗩᗰOᑎᗪᔕ ᗩᑎᗪ EᗰEᖇᗩᒪᗪᔕ 

TO ᗯᖇITE about 

ᗩᑎᗪ 

ᗪOᑕᑌᗰEᑎT TᕼEᗰ

EᐯEᖇY way

EᐯEᖇY day

I ᖇEᔕOᒪᐯE 

TO ᔕᗩY 

‘I ᔕᗯᗩᖇE’

 To ᑕᗩᖇE and CARRY

ᗰIᖇᗩᑕᒪEᔕ ᗩᑎᗪ ᒍEᗯEᒪᔕ

TO ᔕᕼᗩᖇE

ᗯITᕼ TᕼOᔕE I ᗰEET ᗩᒪOᑎG TᕼE ᗯᗩY

EᐯEᖇY ᗯᕼEᖇE

I WILL BEAR

THE TALES OF THE PILGRIM

💃🏻

AL

 

The road seen, then not seen, the hillside hiding 

then revealing the way you should take,

the road dropping away from you as if leaving you 

to walk on thin air, then catching you, holding you up, 

when you thought you would fall, and the way forward 

always in the end the way that you came, 

the way that you followed, the way that carried 

you into your future, that brought you 

to this place, no matter that it sometimes took 

your promise from you, no matter that it always had to break 

your heart along the way, the sense of having walked 

from far inside yourself out into the revelation, 

to have risked yourself for something that seemed 

to stand both inside you and far beyond you, 

that called you back in the end to the only road 

you could follow, walking as you did, in your 

rags of love and speaking in the voice 

that by night, became a prayer for safe arrival…

👫

Excerpt from “SANTIAGO”

From PILGRIM: Poems by David Whyte

  

photos found at http://www.pinterest.com 

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Blessing, commitment, connection, determination, find art at pinterest, Glory, healing, light, Love, mystery, People | Leave a comment
12 Mar 2016

I want… 

  
But I don’t want comfort.

I want poetry.

I want danger.

I want goodness.

I want freedom.

🔥

   – Aldous Huxley

  
adventures don’t always lead to a good nights sleep,

I’ve found comfy beds are somewhat a rarity 

on the road less traveled. 

there’s an occasional soft, fluffy, sweet sinking into soft sheets,

hot water. 

and though they appreciate those amenities when they come,

pilgrims don’t get used to those things. 

the gifts of adventure are many and varied –

the very best of these gifts is

folks sharing themselves,

their food and drink,

their spare beds or sofas,

their conversation and hospitality,

their inmost parts vulnerable and open,

revealed completely

in the intimacy of how they live,

as, mostly unaware, they entertain angels. 

no matter how humble,

or uncomfortable, 

or even frightening and shocking at times,

we will find people living uniquely,

creating their own version of what works for them. 

every lifestyle carries learning and vast wisdom. 

receiving these amazing gifts of hospitality are one of life’s grandest joys and lessons. 

I have found it true,

there are many things more important than physical comfort. 

some of my most cherished memories,

the most generous gifts I have ever received,

include 

smelly,

stinky,

lumpy,

hard,

sleep-depriving 

surfaces 

on which sleep is just a whimsical wish. 

The blessing of adventure opens all the avenues of grace,

if we are willing to 

open our minds and hearts in new ways,

then continue to explore past our need to be comfortable. 

🔥

AL

  

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, Change, Choice, Freedom, friendship, intimacy, Letting Go, Life, Love, nature | Leave a comment
11 Mar 2016
1 Comment

layer upon layer

 

 
I was born out of love and with a purpose unknown to me then, but revealed to me one day at a time.

☀️

 Today by Walter Dunlevy

  
This world doesn’t improve by demanding perfection. It improves when we reach through our armor and touch another with tenderness. It improves when we bust through the walls of our conditioning, and try a new way of being on for size. It improves when we work through our unresolved shadow and share what little light we can find. It is the small, positive steps that we take when we are at war with ourselves that change the world.

☀️

   – Jeff Brown 

  

awe…
examination…
it keeps appearing…
again…
I delete…
again…
I delete…
haven’t I already written this poem?
haven’t I already done that one?
What is left that I haven’t taken out?
haven’t examined properly?
There are always layers…
As Shrek reminds me…
I am an onion…
layers…
illusions…
shadows…
truth left to excavate…
healing to be won…
motivations to uncover…
mystery to be discovered…
always more!
God keeps getting bigger…

and bigger…
as I examine…
reduce…
open…
help me to stay in this mode of self realization…
growth…
humble me…
my best self emerges within this process…
send it again…
remind me again…

💞

  
photo sources at http://www.pinterest.com

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, balance, Becoming Yourself, Choice, compassion, connection, courage, find art at pinterest, Freedom, Growth, Habits, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Passion
09 Mar 2016

uphold the integrity of the quest   – spoken @ Infusion Cincinnati 

 

A GLIMPSE

The beauty of the imagination is that it can discover such magnificent vastness inside a tiny space. Our culture is dominated by quantity. Even those who have plenty hunger for more and more. Everywhere around us, the reign of quantity extends and multiplies. Sadly the voyage of greed has all the urgency but no sense of destination. Desire becomes inflated and loses all sense of vision and proportion. When beauty becomes an acquisition it brings no delight. When time seemed longer and slower, the eye of the beholder had more space and distance to glimpse the beautiful. There was a respect for the worlds that could be suggested by a glimpse. 

☄

 John O’Donohue 

 Excerpt from BEAUTY

  

I steal glimpses of beauty,

in all she is – 

this moment,

sky in my rearview. 

A huge bowl of rainbow sherbet

my favorite-color-kind

with raspberry, orange & lime

swatches of lemon, indigo & periwinkle 

float like barges –

in, out 

&

around.

Framing. 

Dancing. 

Living. 

At one point tangerine fills the top of the hilly crest,

headlight stars 

blaze brilliant against the backdrop. 

Indigo stretched above, framing this momentary masterpiece. 

At times I find it hard to keep moving forward

into the matt gray of drudgery ahead.

With so much loveliness going on 

right behind me…

how can I keep heading away from it?

How can I not be a part of this splendor?

Eventually, midnight blue seizes its moment of glory,

then night falls over all, 

and I am left,

aching with the beauty,

the majesty,

the extravagant display,

of this wonderful world. 

I go to wondering

if this longing in my heart

will ever be answered?

If my whole life I will wait 

for a moment which will never come? 

Will it never be realized under this piece of sky? 

Will it always be this whisper?

The magic of hope,

this thing with wings, 

hovering over my heart

for another 50 years, 

echoing on into eternity.  

🌄

AL

   


  

 

 

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, big, Blessing, Choice, connection, courage, find art at pinterest, Habits, healing, Hope, Imagine, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, Miracles, mystery, nature, Passion | Leave a comment
07 Mar 2016

progress 

 

 In this long dark, logic and plain sight are useless. You navigate by the diffuse and reflective attention of the moon and stars. Bringing a deep, penetrating silence to the knowing that lives in your bones, stirs in your womb and emanates from your dreams, you recognize that you are no longer who you used to be and not yet still who you will become. You are both, you are neither, you are perfectly between things.

Even if distantly and dimly at first, abilities you never had during the day are coming alive. Where you used to seek leadership outside yourself, now yours is the deciding voice. Fear is becoming your strange ally, as you learn to honour and cradle its soft underbelly. Instinct and the mystical pull of your feeling leads the way. You can sense the density of objects around you, hear the songs of stones and know things are coming even before they’ve left.
For you, brave pilgrim, I hold this lantern at the crossroads. While others are anxious to see you arrive, I praise your vast withstanding of the uncertainty from which all meaning is born. 

❤️

– Love, Toko-pa 

http://www.toko-pa.com

 

And then there comes a moment

when all you have suffered

all you have learned

all you have lost and found

rise up and become 

and suddenly you are 

here

you are 

who you dreamed of being 

so many years ago

suddenly you have arrived

at what you caught glimpses of

for so many years 

and the search,

the free fall of broken dreams,

broken hearts

broken everything

tumbling down rabbit holes

stumbling over the feet 

of your own lack of knowledge

is over 

you find yourself on solid ground

stable

steady

raising your Ebenezer 

those tributes to God 

for all the mighty stones of help

building this foundation on the solid rocks 

you know so well 

and though the pilgrimage may continue

though the journey is definitely not over

though life is fragile

and security an illusion

there is a new sureness to your step

a trusting unshakable

a calm in it all 

a new assurance of provision

a new traveling song to be sung as you walk forward

always forward

always pilgrim ready for new adventures

forgetting the names of what lay behind

you press on to your calling

the prize set before

reveling in the mercies ever new

for each new day

there is no stopping now

you have found something

which cannot be taken

you have arrived here by your own determination

reached a place 

both spiritual and physical

a place of such magnitude 

the light shines from every angle

it has sealed up the oldest sores

bound up the deepest wounds

satisfied the deepest longings

changed everything 

settled old scores with finality 

no longer will you settle for less than you deserve

no more will you tolerate anything less than your best and highest offerings 

you must be all you can be 

gratitude fills you for this place 

a place so lovely 

it can bear up 

even under the weight 

of our hearts wildest desires 

with just this simple name

it resounds inside our souls like a bell –

    home

yes, beloved,

     you are home. 

right where you belong. 

🏡

AL

   

photo sources at http://www.pinterest.com 

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, beloved, Change, Choice, compassion, confidence, connection, find art at pinterest, Freedom, healing, inspiration, Losing, Love | Leave a comment

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