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
life: acoustic & amplified 