Every poem has been written before
at least fifteen times.
Every song
sung better.
The Neanderthals discovered caves already painted with the story of their lives. They invented fire over and over again.
And you & I whisper the same sweet nothings we were born with.
💞
History by Andrew Gent
today is the 5th anniversary of Life: acoustic & amplified!!
Please,
give me some inspiration
away from the lights of retail obsession
after that quick thrill is gone
the empty thrill of addiction’s lie
what is left but emptiness?
Inspire me with true beauty
kindness
truth
the deep satisfaction of truth
replace the illusion of neon lights
plastic glamour
with the glory of what is real
to see my true self
the weighty value of love
the only water to quench the thirsty soul
the only inspiration which keeps us seeking more
while being full
at the same time
💞
AL
Purchase amazing Stripy Arms inspiring art @
❤️
Find the good.
It is all around you.
Find it, showcase it….
-Jesse Owens
All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well. – Julian of Norwich
I wonder why she said it like this?
I read it and think maybe she was convincing herself
Kinda like Im trying to this morning
Like Ive been doing for months
Repeating it over and over
it’s gonna be ok
it’s gonna be ok
everything is really
gonna be ok
I love old English
I think I will incorporate
‘All manner of things shall be well’
into my daily pep talk
Yes, that’s feeding my soul today
in all manner of ways
👍🏻
AL
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
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
What light?
look yonder.
Is that a candle in the window of a stranger?
Is it the moon, which shines for all the same?
or could it be the glow of love
from the heart of a friend?
a fellow pilgrim with shining eyes.
a brother or sister,
who may not look like me,
may not talk like me,
but with whom I share the same royal bloodline –
the light of hope
which lives within all
created by God
for goodness sake
let me come near to you
let me share your pathway
let’s walk in this light together for a while
so I can learn your songs
and you can learn mine
🌝
AL
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
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
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
In these times when anger
Is turned into anxiety
And someone has stolen
The horizons and mountains,
Our small emperors on parade
Never expect our indifference
To disturb their nakedness.
They keep their heads down
And their eyes gleam with reflection
From aluminum economic ground,
The media wraps everything
In a cellophane of sound,
And the ghost surface of the virtual
Overlays the breathing earth.
The industry of distraction
Makes us forget
That we live in a universe.
We have become converts
To the religion of stress
And its deity of progress;
That we may have courage
To turn aside from it all
And come to kneel down before the poor,
To discover what we must do,
How to turn anxiety
Back into anger,
How to find our way home.
🏡
John O’Donohue
‘For Citizenship’ from BENEDICTUS
Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. – Jean-Paul Sartre
photo sources at http://www.pinterest.com
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
life: acoustic & amplified 