life: acoustic & amplified
poetry, quotes & thoughts about life
Archive for the category “be”
do or do not….there is no try – Yoda
I want to be the song, a poem
I don’t want to play the record
Perch behind the lens
Hold the pen.
I want to be the song
Live the photo
Experience the novel.
Enough interpreting my existence.
Enough searching for the symbol, the reflection, the meaning.
I am resonant, alive, pulsing
One.
Treble and bass.
Light and shadows.
Beginnings and endings.
All of it.
I want to be the song.
Beating, polyrhythmic, harmonious.
The lyrics my prayers.
I want to live the photo.
Still, present, vibrant.
The image my essence.
I want to experience the novel.
Aching, poignant, truth.
The plot my story.
I want to be alive.
Color, beauty, heart-break.
Engaged, awake, heart-felt.
In awe.
Longing.
Loving.
💞
Spread the Love
Eloiza Jorge
💞
click on the photo below to go to Eloiza’s blog Deepening Wisdom
https://deepeningwisdom.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/i-want-to-be-alive/img_1833/
There comes a time when nothing is meaningful except surrendering to Love. Do It!
💞
– Rumi
Your great mistake is to act the drama
as if you were alone. As if life
were a progressive and cunning crime
with no witness to the tiny hidden transgressions.
To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,
even you, at times, have felt the grand array;
the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding
out your solo voice. You must note
the way the soap dish enables you,
or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you,
and the tiny speaker in the phone
is your dream-ladder to divinity.
Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease
into the conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves. Everything is waiting for you.
Everything is Waiting for You
…
EVERYTHING IS WAITING FOR YOU by David Whyte
Excuse me while I kiss the sky.
Pardon me while I hug the moon.
Forgive me while I dance with the ocean.
Give me a minute while I laugh with the stars.
Hold your horses while I sing to the angels.
Patience, my old friend, while I make love to the world.
Get some rest while I fly the skies with the eagles.
Count some sheep while I paint a masterpiece with Mother Nature.
Then…
Come lay down beside me and hold me.
caress my skin with lovers hands.
whisper secrets my soul longs to hear.
sing to me softly.
kiss me like the butterflies.
while I love you forever
and ever,
we fall asleep together
every night,
and I wake to see the face I love every morning.
Sweet dreams, my love.
good night.
🌙
AL
photos found at http://www.pinterest.com
be the manger
My Word is made flesh.
This is how I live.
I am born not once long ago,
but each moment, always.
Will you be my flesh?
Having none of my own,
can I put you on and wear you
into the world?
Will you be born for me?
Walk in the woods for me, will you?
Touch what you can touch for me,
touch with gentle fingers.
Listen for me. Hear so that I may hear.
Smell pine and sage, babies and cities.
Smell for me.
Look with my eyes.
See what I long to see,
one thing at a time.
Be with the lonely for me, will you?
Stay close to the suffering,
dance with the joyful, dance
as only a body can dance.
Let your heart be broken,
as only a beating one can.
Reach out to the despised,
notice the beauty.
Dare to be a child in a rough world.
This is how I come.
You are my flesh now, dear one.
Bear me into this world
and I will always be in you
and in all you meet.
Have an eye for those who don’t know this;
see it in them even when they can’t.
Let me discover
what it is to come to myself
in my own Creation.
Look— even now
I am coming close,
seeking the manger.
Even now I enter.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
On the streets of anywhere lives a man.
The same man.
Homeless and alone in the world.
The tears that fill his eyes go by silent, and unnoticed.
Tears that cry out for a simple glimpse of the certainty that he’s a brother to us all.
That he belongs.
But you and I dare not look. Lest we catch such a glimpse.
A glimpse that might show us the frailty of our own humanity.
A glimpse that might admit that we are, and always have been, more than brothers.
– Nic Askew
what if we knew?
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 my 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 reminded me,
I am an onion…
layers…
illusions
shadows
truth left to excavate
healing to be hard won
motivations to uncover
mystery to be discovered
always more
God keeps getting 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…
🌀
AL
Approaching Wholeness
The time that my journey takes is long and the way of it is long. It is the most distant course that comes nearest to thyself, and that training is the most intricate which leads to utter simplicity. The traveler has to knock at every alien door to come to his own, and one has to wander through all the outer worlds to reach the innermost shrine at the end.
🌀
– Rabindranath Tagore
photos found at http://www.pinterest.com
love beyond reason. trust without borders
photos by Fisherman Dan @ Branford, CT
We develop grace as we learn with the guiding hand of the universe, life will unfold exactly the way it should.
The idea of trusting the universe is a popular one these days, but many of us don’t know what this really means and we often have a hard time doing it. This is partly because the story of humankind is most often presented as a story about struggle, control, and survival, instead of one of trust and collaboration with the universe. Yet, in truth, we need to adhere to both ideas in this life.
On the one hand, there is much to be said about exerting control over our environment. We created shelter to protect ourselves from the elements. We hunted for animals and invented agriculture to feed ourselves. We built social infrastructures to protect ourselves and create community. This is how we survive and grow as a civilization. However, it is also clear that there are plenty of things that we cannot control, no matter how hard we try, and we often receive support from an unseen force – a universe that provides us with what we cannot provide for ourselves.
It is a good idea to take responsibility for the things in life that we can control or create. We work so we can feed, clothe, and shelter our loved ones and ourselves. We manifest our dreams and visions in physical form with hard work and forethought. But at a certain point, when have done all that we can, we must let go and allow the universe to take over. This requires trust. It requires a trust that runs deeper than just expecting things to turn out the way we want them to. Sometimes they will, and sometimes they won’t. We develop equanimity and grace as we learn to trust that, with the guiding hand of the universe, life will unfold exactly the way it should. We are engaged in an ongoing relationship with a universe that responds to our thoughts and actions.
🌀
dailyom.com
by Madisyn Taylor
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always –
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)…
– T. S. Eliot
🌀
‘What if it were so much
simpler than that’
said the wiseman.
‘But …’ said the fool
🌀
But Said the Fool by Nic Askew
decisions determine destiny
Today I want to feel my way
into a familiar name
for the One who holds us all:
a name of endearment,
like the names lovers use in the tangled sheets
a name that ripples through sunlight and tears.
I will listen for that name today,
Knowing it is the name the Beloved uses to call me.
😍
~Oriah House (c) 2015 
My child, don’t be afraid. I am here. I know how hard it is to feel, sometimes. This moment, I know, is difficult to let yourself feel. Don’t hold back. Don’t protect yourself from feeling, your emotions this way and that. This is a gift from Me, the way your heart swings from high to low. I am the constant one. I keep you still.
There are things you will have to face now. I know you want to bury your head, and I let you do that, your head buried on my chest. But know when you lift your head, I will be there to help you to rise. And you will rise, and your feet will find firm footing, and you will square your shoulders and take one step forward, and then another, and you will find you know your way.
There is much ahead, and the path does not always seem clear. But I help you to rise. I go ahead, and I help you to rise. And when you stumble, I will help you to stand again. And when you are scared, I will firm your trembling lip and I will navigate you through the storm of emotions and I will quiet your quivering heart.
You are fierce and gentle. You are beautiful and strong. You are chosen and delighted in. You are all I’ve made you to be. I took everything from you that has kept you from rising. I have taken everything that makes you feel small and unsure and hesitant.
You can go forward, to the places I lead you. And you will know who you are. My child, the one who knows your Father, the one who knows your own name.
😍
loop
You are loved. Always and forever.
the very most grand adventurous perspectives
But for my hand, as unattempted yet,
Like a poor beggar, raileth on the rich.
Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail
And say there is no sin but to be rich;
And being rich, my virtue then shall be
To say there is no vice but beggary.
Since kings break faith upon commodity,
Gain, be my lord, for I will worship thee.
– Philip the Bastard from “King John” (2.1.592)
People don’t like love, they like that flittery flirty feeling. They don’t love love – love is sacrificial, love is ferocious, it’s not emotive. Our culture doesn’t love love, it loves the idea of love. It wants the emotion without paying anything for it.
– Matt Chandler
time wears down
as life takes its anguished toll
of strained shoulders and weary back
from the unyielding pressure of anger’s mighty weight
lash of black eyed look,
the demon,
lying in wait,
blame unleashed
words stripping tender heart skin
of the vulnerable
innocence unprepared for attack
leaving hope in shreds,
shame cocks its hat sideways
flames of passion freeze in place
ice, brittle, cutting
fills veins,
painful,
slicing to ribbons
destroying all goodness in its path
wounds with nothing to hide
nowhere to hide
Only you can change this –
you CAN change this!
I know for sure…
you can…
if you choose to…
God only knows
if you will
🔹
AL
3 spectacular wishes on this day…for every day
love
home
music
AL 5/13/15
Real riches are the riches possessed inside.
– B. C. Forbes
to each his own
18 years ago
I stood at the edge
of a great abyss
in life
a part of me,
not known until that time,
had awakened
now I had a choice to make,
to accept –
or deny –
this part of myself,
which was revealed
in such a wild,
drastic,
unexpected
and overwhelming manner
I knew this would be
what, ultimately,
saved,
or
destroyed,
me.
as I stood,
still in innocence,
not really knowing –
yet, somehow,
knowing in every way –
the costs,
the benefits,
the responsibility,
the awareness.
the long dark road ahead,
the excruciating valley years to come,
the sharp, rugged climb up the mountain.
18 years ago,
I struggled
with all of this
as I stood on a balcony
and made certain vows
concerning the choices
I would make through
my time of learning:
I would only follow love.
No matter how I failed,
I would remember it is not about how good I am.
I would try, to the best of my ability, to live the words of Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount.
I would never make a choice
simply to benefit myself,
only to get money,
or to be comfortable.
I would learn to be truthful and fair
and be the person I wanted to be.
I would be honest with myself – always – especially when I was wrong, or made a mistake –
yet, I would not live in fear or hate myself if I made mistakes,
I would stay aware and learn –
so I would not make the same mistake twice.
I would make the best choice I could at any given moment,
and then move forward the best I could with no regret.
I would do my best and give my best.
I would look for good things every day.
And with these parameters firmly in place,
like Eve,
I bit that apple
and began…
for good…
for bad…
to make my choices.
from there I began to grow in wisdom, knowledge and self respect
from there I began the path to healing
from there I began to understand myself and realized each souls value, including my own
from there I have learned all I know about life and love
from there I began the long walk home
💞
AL
I must lie down where all the ladders start,
In the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart.
– Yeats
choices…every day give thanks
God of Love,
in a world great with darkness
I drink your light.
In a world of violence
I soften my heart.
In a world of fear
I deepen my breath.
In a word of grief
I enlarge my embrace.
In a world of shouting
I open my roots.
In a world of fragments
I let myself belong.
In a world of walls
I go out into the streets:
I bear you to those
who are mad with hunger for you.
In a world of fissures
I return to you,
always to you.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
Wanna build a new life?
It happens one day…one choice… at a time. You CAN do hard things. You can make the right choices for yourself.
Take responsibility. Gain your whole world. Self respect comes only this way. It’s so worth it!!! xo
it was bouncing around in my brain this morning – Linda Clark
Getting it Right—Write!
I have a notion
I must confess
A notion you see
That has me quite obsessed
It sits in my head
both day and night
it haunts my dreams
and gives me great fright
It rules my thoughts
this little notion
stirring up doubts
and causing a commotion
It wiggles and niggles
in my brain
with a feverish pitch
it drives me insane
This obsession you ask
what could it be?
My obsession is a task
I seek endlessly!
To get it right
To do my best
To show I’m bright
I can pass the test
This feeling to get it right
Is ever so strong
I work day and night
To not get it wrong
I was given great insight
About this “getting it right”
I just learned recently
A truth that has finally set me free
It’s not it at all
about getting it right.
It’s about happiness and light
and letting your soul shine bright
No have to’s
No pressure
No should’s
Did me a world of good!
So no longer will I labor
to get it right
I will do my best
to give it a rest!
So In my chair I sit and write
No longer will I yearn
or worry with concern
it’s quite easy once when you learn
I will change my mantra
and simply ignore
those three little words
I was obsessed with before
What’s my new mantra
you might ask
I’ve changed my word
just a small task
I am no longer worried
about that word right
I will feed my soul
and simply WRITE!!
🌀
Linda Clark
We seldom notice how each day is a holy place
Where the eucharist of the ordinary happens,
Transforming our broken fragments
Into an eternal continuity that keeps us.
Somewhere in us a dignity presides
That is more gracious than the smallness
That fuels us with fear and force,
A dignity that trusts the form a day takes.
So at the end of this day, we give thanks
For being betrothed to the unknown
And for the secret work
Through which the mind of the day
And wisdom of the soul become one.
🔹
John O’Donohue
life: acoustic & amplified 