life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “beloved”

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

   


  

 

 

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 

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.”
 

  

  

Where there is love

Where there is people

There is pain

Disappointment

Misunderstanding

Differences

Separation

Tears 

Imperfection

Where there is love

Where there is people

There is joy

Inspiration

Community

Understanding

Connection 

Life is about love

Life is about people

Embracing it all 

Feeling it all 

❤️💔❤️💔❤️💔❤️

AL

  
   
  

  

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

stay in the moment  

 

I do not wish you riches, not the glow of greatness.

But that wherever you go, some weary heart shall gladden at your smile,

or some shadowed life know sunshine for a while.

So may your path be a track of light,

like angel’s footsteps passing through the night.

                                                                                          -Found in an old church in Upwaltham, England

what if I never see this spot again?

what if this is my last day to see this particular

brand of beauty?

what if I never again feel the depths of the oh-so-perfect imperfection of who I am at this place?

what if I never again have a conversation 

with these polka-dot tailed seagulls?

never see these particular shades of blue and green/grey metallic ocean 

reflecting this piece of sky 

dotted with these aged green mossed stoned edges 

and raggedy, fragile, wisp-clouds?

what if the sun doesn’t ever hit my eyes again with this same blinding glory-glare,

this playtime, fun-time, of winter sun heat

mixed with just a hint of coming springtime chill?

can I drink enough in this moment?

can I permanently record the glorious, salty, smell of this ordinary, extraordinary, morning 

into my eternal bank account 

of favorite things ever?

will I be present enough to this once in a lifetime experience of right-this-very minute-ness,

to hold it inside my bones,

absorb it into the very fabric of my dna,

so that it actually becomes me?

so that, my future conversations

with all the grieving, broke-down, hearts;

all the rioting, joyous, hearts;

all the skipping.a.beat wondering,

or sandbag.heavy wandering hearts;

in this world,

will be informed by this exquisite soul beauty. 

will they be able to feel this exact moment

massaged into the broken hope of their lost wholeness?

will they feel the bubbles of it in the champagne of their happiness?

see the beginnings of the road home within their weary, dusty, blistered pilgrimage feet?

will I be able to allow it to glow, 

flow, 

freely

to every child of God?

will I be able to remember? 

this light is the light of everything.

we are all God’s children. 

we are all God’s beloved children. 

☀️

AL

 

 So that I stopped there
and looked into the waters

seeing not only

my reflected face

but the great sky

that framed my lonely figure

and after a moment

I lifted my hands

and then my eyes

and I allowed myself

to be

astonished

by the great everywhere

calling to me

like an old,

invisible and unspoken

invitation,

like something

in one moment

both calling to me

and radiating

from where I stood,

as if I could encompass

everything I had been given

and everything ever

taken from me 

as if I could be

everything I have learned 

and everything

I could ever know,

as if I knew

in that moment

both the way I had come

and, secretly,

the way

I was still promised to go,

brought together,

like this,

with the unyielding ground

and the symmetry

of the moving sky,

caught in still waters,

 

Someone I have been,

and someone

I am just, 

about to become,

something I am

and will be forever,

the sheer generosity

of being loved

through loving:

the miracle reflection

of a twice blessed life.

© Twice Blessed by David Whyte: from  Work in Progress

  

cake days 

 

 I think of how cakes are so great for celebrating with the jubilant, and how they are so great for offering a little sweet in the midst of sadness. Words are good, but sometimes they fail, and when they do, there’s always cake.

It really is as simple as that.

🍰

read full blog at link below:

http://theartofsimple.net/sometimes-it-really-is-as-simple-as-cake/

  

It’s a place where God

is doing things out loud. 

Throaty passion blaring

from hot speakers. 

There’s crazy, messy, earthy energy,

colorful and a little smudgy. 

Where grace, cake and mercy

    laughs, dances and flows freely. 

Right in this river of life. 

        Everyone there knows –

‘grace is all we got

to make it through another day’

There’s an honest acknowledgement

that we got nuthin’

– and I mean nuthin’- 

to make us worthy

except 

to accept 

that we all already are

beloved. 

And that my friends

makes it rare and beautiful. 

a very hard place on this earth

to pull yourself away from. 

🎂

AL

  

willingly

 

 It was heartbreak that showed me the courage of the feminine. The gift of having your heart smashed open by love and its related disappointments is that you remember what its like to feel everything again after days, years, lifetimes spent below armour. Through enheartened eyes, we see the courage it takes to stay in the feeling realm. We reward emotional armour because it allows us to ‘succeed’ in a survivalist world, when we should be honoring those who have the courage to remain emotionally receptive and open on the battlefields of life. It took me this long to realize that remaining heart-centred in this world is the greatest achievement of all.
💞

   – Jeff Brown

  
Courage, dear heart!
These gifts we bring

an open heart 

an open mind

empty hands

a love song pure

a life lived grateful

an eye for your beauty

a ready smile

feet quick to help the fallen

kind words spoken

a porch for sharing

a welcome hello

a warm goodbye

simplicity is hard to achieve 

yet the best things always are

❤️

AL

  
 

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

morning blessing

   
photos by Fisherman Dan @ Branford, CT

   I place on the alter of dawn:

 The quiet loyalty of breath,

 The tent of thought where I shelter,

 Waves of desire I am shore to

 And all beauty drawn to the eye. 
May my mind come alive today

 To the invisible geography

 That invites me to new frontiers,

 To break the dead shell of yesterdays,

 To risk being disturbed and changed. 
May I have the courage today

 To live the life that I would love,

 To postpone my dream no longer

 But do at last what I came here for

 And waste my heart on fear no more. 

🌀

  – John O’Donohue
Excerpt from, ‘A Morning Offering’

 TO BLESS THE SPACE BETWEEN US (US) / BENEDICTUS (Europe)

  
In the space between breaths 

It can be gone 

A months worth of words 

Erased with a fingertip 

A 12, 30 even 60 year marriage over 

With 4 words spoken: 

I want a divorce 

A home with all it’s possessions 

Destroyed in a matter of minutes in the fury of nature – 

Fire or storm 

Life 

Love

So fragile 

With no guarantees 

Of longevity 

Or comfort 

Begs to be felt

Now 

To be counted for the sake of goodness 

This is the only moment that counts 

The only thing eternal 

Don’t wait 

Take a deep deep breath 

Of the spirit that is giving it all 

Say thank you 

For the only gift that matters 

The only thing that remains 

All else can be destroyed 

When nothing else remains 

What is this eternal gift,

given new every morning? 

Love 

💖

AL

 

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

When we walk on the earth with reverence, beauty will decide to trust us.   – John O’Donohue

  
love warriors walk through this world

love dripping from open hands

falling onto shattered pieces of the broken 

staining bits of the kaleidoscope of hearts

stepping carefully

slowing down

as the ones who have forgotten to know

appear to do battle

not knowing what they have forgotten…

we are all the light

we are each the beloved..

please let me hold you

touch those wounded places

rub love on the sore spots

until you remember

what you already know

stay here with me 

for a long long while

let’s walk together

connecting 

hands

hearts

love

as we go

allowing the drip to become 

a pour

a fountain 

a river

an ocean

as we sail our sea green ship

into this mystic world beyond the stars 

beyond the moon

and once again

find ourselves home in the sun

☀️

AL

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

🌙

At the heart of things is a secret law of balance and when our approach is respectful, sensitive and worthy, gifts of healing, challenge and creativity open to us. A gracious approach is the key that unlocks the treasure of encounter. The way we are present to each other is frequently superficial. We become more interested in ‘connection’ rather than communion. In many areas of our lives the rich potential of friendship and love remains out of our reach because we push towards ‘connection.’ When we deaden our own depths, we cannot strike a resonance in those we meet or in the work we do. A reverence of approach awakens depth and enables us to be truly present where we are. When we approach with reverence great things decide to approach us. Our real life comes to the surface and its light awakens the concealed beauty of things. When we walk on the earth with reverence, beauty will decide to trust us. The rushed heart and the arrogant mind lack the gentleness and patience to enter that embrace. Beauty is mysterious, a slow presence who waits for the ready, expectant heart. 

💖

 John O’Donohue 

 Excerpt from BEAUTY

 

photo by Fisherman Dan @ Branford, CT 

am i?

 

 Quiet friend who has come so far, 
feel how your breathing makes more space around you. 

Let this darkness be a bell tower 

and you the bell. As you ring, 
what batters you becomes your strength. 

Move back and forth into the change. 

What is it like, such intensity of pain? 

If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine. 
In this uncontainable night, 

be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses, 

the meaning discovered there. 
And if the world has ceased to hear you, 

say to the silent earth: I flow. 

To the rushing water, speak: I am

🛤

qII, 29 [Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower] by Rainer Maria Rilke

   

 Crossroads and choices, now is the time to decide which path will lead to the garden and more healthy life choices. One just doesn’t wait until Midsummer and think about growing fresh produce for a salad.

   – Old Moss Woman’s Secret Garden/facebook

  
When an open heart meets an open hand, the result is more feast and more love, enough for a small village to be nurtured from this drawer alone. I see this and recognize him instantly: a soul brother, a lover of life, a father, a friend, a ringleader, a listener, a creative co-conspirator, a holder…of space, of hearts, of possibilities. A man with much to give and more to say, to a yearning, hopeful world.

   – Jen Lemen

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

on a day like today

 

  

 

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