Adventure | life: acoustic & amplified

Archive for the category “Adventure”

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

🌗

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

😃

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

21 Mar 2016

blinders off

IN A FAR OFF CORNER

In a far off corner of a wide wide world

lies the circumstance that faces another.
A circumstance so abject that life

never really begins. And then it

dies quietly, announced by

an unheard whisper.
And from our corner of this world,

safe and secure under bejeweled roofs,

we pay our cursory glance of sympathy.
We forget that all corners connect, and

that the experience of each life lives

within us all. Albeit in disguise.
And we miss the possibility hidden

in the circumstance of another.
The possibility that compassion might soften

the edges of our own uneven experience,

and that the simple act of togetherness

might liberate our disheartened lives.
There are no far off corners

in this wide wide world.
And there are no separate lives.

💔
Nic Askew

Home

I ride Greyhound

because it’s like being in a John Steinbeck novel. Next best thing is the laundromat. That’s where all people who would be on the bus if they had the money hang out. This is my crowd. Tonight there are cleaning people appalled at the stupidity of anyone who would put powder detergent into the clearly marked LIQUID ONLY slot. The couple by the vending machine are fondling each other. You’d think the orange walls and fluorescent lights would dampen that energy but it doesn’t seem to. It’s a singles scene here on Saturday nights. I confide to the fellow next to me that I suspect I am being taken in by the triple loader, maybe it doesn’t hold any more than the regular machines but I’m paying an extra fifty cents. I tell him this meaningfully holding handfuls of underwear. He claims the triple loader gives a better wash. I don’t ask why, just cruise over to the pop machine, aware that my selection may provide a subtle clue. I choose Wild Berry, head back to my clothes.

🌎

I Ride Greyhound by Ellie Schoenfeld

I spot one.

a coin laudro-mat

I feel blessed to be able to wash my clothes.

towels and unmentionables.

a small bag.

I walk into the familiar,

yet for a while now,

Blessedly Unfamiliar.

I remember the years of this in my life

my most missed luxury in all of life

was washing and drying clothes

at home.

So hard this part of life became.

So challenging and humbling.

$4.50 to wash

a quarter for 5 minutes to dry.

I struggle to adjust.

I hadn’t planned on this.

I don’t look the part today.

I have to ask questions to reacquaint myself with this system.

Here in the midst of

hard working-and-living men,

tired mothers and crying babies,

the immigrants and struggling,

These to whom I belong.

those who make their living

through making clean the dirty.
I stand and watch the circle go round

Hot tears stinging my eyes

I remember.

Those days.

Those tough-as-nails days.

Plunged from luxury to poverty

in a heartbeat-break of life.

So soon we forget…

So quickly we remember…

I watch the water rise –

I didn’t put in enough soap.

There are no suds.

I pray that hot water I chose

for those 2 extra, hard-earned quarters,

will do it’s work

and my clothes will smell good.

I will not prolong my stay –

or use more of my precious coins.
I pray each of our guardian-laundry angels

will bless each of us

doing laundry every day

in all types of conditions.

This would be pure luxury in parts of this world.

I pray for grace.

I pray to remember.

I pray to be grace.

I pray to be The Words of God to heal the broken.

I pray for grace.

I pray for the crying baby,

and the tired man,

whose current outfit could use a good washing itself.

I pray for the immigrant family,

quietly folding together,

speaking Spanish in hushed voices.

I pray for the fabulous girl at the dryers,

with the faux Burberry scarf flung jauntily over her shoulder,

I hope to carry myself with such flair and dignity.

We are all here –

Bearing the high cost,

and inconvenience,

of poverty in our society.
I pray as quiet tears run.

I stand in my washer’s corner hoping nobody sees my memories.

I blow my over-productive nose.

and give thanks for all things.

Especially that I have known these struggles.

That I know how this feels.

That I am part of this humanity.

Not separate

I am one with all God’s created people.

All seeking clean clothes,

washing machines

and hope.
The crying baby starts to laugh

I smile as well.

God is always good

I am always blessed –

If I am willing to see the blessings –

even if it takes years and years to see them.

🔘

Posted in Adventure, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Change, Choice, connection, courage, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, grace, Gratitude, Grieving, healing, home, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Losing, Love, People, Poetry | Leave a comment

15 Mar 2016

spring fling

After long icy months

the little frogs emerge,

thaw out and sing

their joy to be able

to sing for joy, sing wonder,

sing their longing, and ours,

a more than mating call,

naively throwing their hope

into the air, and ours,

not just for the more

but for the someone.

There’s little to do about it

but to notice the longing

and make a habit of knowing it,

even without words,

trusting it, even just

the high, earnest sound

of our mating call for God

and the faithful waiting,

married to the promise,

which has also been faithful

for millions of years.

You walk along the pond and listen,

let your heart rise a little,

and wait.
__________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

http://www.unfoldinglight.net

As I approach,
it comes to me quickly –

all four seasons are flowing,

visible residents

of this mornings beach.

Here are bands of snow

from this spell

we call Winter.

Here, layers of leaf-surf to shuffle through the memories,

we called Fall.

Which, seems to me,

was just yesterday?

The sands dna carries the Summer sun,

still warm,

within its restless, shifting soul.

It whispers promises of returning warmth and sunshine as I stand, here and now, in cold, driving rain,

working through markers of time,

arriving, right here, at my favorite season,

Spring!

Grief, death and hope are front and center,

as Vinnie’s beautiful, driftwood cross

still stands as a memorial to his mother’s recent passing,

as well as, the hope of springs arrival!

Easter carries the sharp winds of death,

alive with the eternal mystery of resurrection.

I realize there are many symbols of spring,

on this mixed media stretch of grainy life:

The all-weather gulls floating, trusting,

eternally free.

The rhythm of the waves forever dancing with,

continually kissing,

the shore.

Then there’s me,

aware and alive,

with possibilities

of love,

music,

even that slippery word,

happiness,

surrounding my steps!

It doesn’t matter

that you aren’t here yet.

Knowing I am worthy of this is enough.

There are awakenings,

rising strong on mended wings,

trusting the healing path taken,

even as the work continues.

Allowing these

shy, twinkling lights

to glow and illuminate

the most fearful, secret corners

of the darkest rooms

of my heart.

I smile and silently shout, Yes!

I promise to love and be loved!

I am willing to let love all the way in!

Can you hear me, wherever you are?

Will your heart shout out as well?

I can’t stop smiling.

March and Courage,

these fearless lions,

who will lead us all home –

right where we belong.

😍

Posted in Adventure, attitude, awareness, Change, find art at pinterest, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, mystery, nature, Passion, Peace | 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

💃🏻

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.

🔥

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.

🌄

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.

🏡

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

05 Mar 2016

full investigation…

Author Kent Crockett tells this classic story about his two year old son, Scott, who was sitting on the floor crying. Kent went into the room to investigate and he noticed a plastic baseball bat on the floor and asked his four year old daughter what happened. His little girl, Hannah, said, “He hit his head.” Kent said, “On what?” She pointed to the floor and said, “The bat.” Kent said, “Where was the bat?” She said, “In my hands.”