life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “Poetry”

18 Aug 2011

A Thought about Life

Thinking about life

All it has to offer

Why do I forget

Why do I let things bother

 

My life is a complex web

Of the loves inside of me

A variety of people

In a variety of ways

 

Why do I want

What I cannot have?

Why do I forget

What I hold in my hand?

 

When I look in the mirror

What do I see?

When I walk away

What do I leave?

 

Here I go living

Just for today

Here I am laughing

My troubles away

Here I am learning

To let it all go

Here I am loving

All I don’t know

 

One day I laugh

One day I cry

One day the truth

The next day a lie

 

It is what it is

Now take life and run

Just as it is

There’s rain and there’s sun

 

AL     July/09

Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Change, Choice, courage, create, determination, Dreams, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Happiness, Hope, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, Miracles, People, Poetry, power, Purpose, Reflection, Smile, strength, success, time, Trust | Leave a comment
07 Aug 2011
1 Comment

How Much Difference Can One Person Make?

An excerpt from
One Solitary Life
By James A. Francis
He was born in an obscure village the child of a peasant woman.

He grew up in still another village
where He worked in a carpenter shop
until He was thirty, and then for three years
He was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never had a family.
He never owned a house.
He never went to college.
He never visited a big city.

He never traveled
two hundred miles
from the place
where He was born.

He did none of the things
one usually associates with greatness.
He had no credentials but Himself.

He was only thirty-three when
the tide of public opinion turned against Him.
His friends ran away.
He was turned over to His enemies
and went through the mockery of a trial.

He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.

While He was dying
His executioners gambled for His clothing,
the only property He had on earth.

When He was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
through the pity of a friend.

Twenty centuries have come and gone,
and today Jesus is the central figure
of the human race,
the leader of mankind’s progress.

All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that have ever reigned
put together

Have not affected the life
of mankind on this earth
as much as that
one solitary life.

http://www.simple truths.com
Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Blog, Change, Choice, courage, create, Death, determination, Dreams, Freedom, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Happiness, Hope, Impossible, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, Miracles, Peace, People, Poetry, power, quiet, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Smile, Spring, strength, success, Tears, time, Trust, Winning
13 Jul 2011

There Are Woods

Where I lived there were woods

where I walked in contemplation

every morning and evening.

People asked when I moved,

Are there woods? Can you walk?

Yes, there are woods, deep and quiet,

where I walk in silence each day.

 

And if there weren’t,

there is still a stand of trees nearby,

where I could sit and listen.

And if they were gone,

there would be my back yard,

and a little garden,

and if there were no yard

I could still sit in this chair

and gaze out the window

at the neighbor’s trees.

And if there were no window,

no trees across the way,

if I could not walk

or gaze or see at all,

 

there are still these gentle woods

that stretch out forever,

deep and verdant, in my heart,

where I go every morning and evening,

and whenever I want,

in the quiet.

 

And so do You,

walking in the cool of the shade.

I know you’re here

by your great footprints

of silence.

Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Career, Change, Choice, courage, create, determination, Dreams, Hope, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, Miracles, Poetry, quiet, Reality, Reflection, Seasons, strength, time, Trust | Leave a comment
05 Jul 2011

This is what you shall do

by Walt Whitman

“This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.”

“This is what you shall do…” by Walt Whitman, from the preface of Leaves of Grass. Public domain.
Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Burnign Bridges, Career, Change, Choice, courage, create, Death, determination, dominance, Dreams, force, Freedom, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Happiness, Hope, Impossible, Judging, Letting Go, Life, light, Losing, Love, Miracles, Mother, Peace, People, Poetry, power, Purpose, quiet, Quotes, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Seasons, Smile, Spring, Stars and Moonlight, strength, success, Tears, time, Trust, Winning, worry | Leave a comment
15 Jun 2011
1 Comment

It couldn’t Be Done

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,

But, he with a chuckle replied

That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one

Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin

On his face. If he worried he hid it.

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

 

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;

At least no one has done it”;

But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,

And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,

Without any doubting or quiddit,

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

 

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,

There are thousands to prophesy failure;

There are thousands to point out to you one by one,

The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle it in with a bit of a grin,

Just take off your coat and go to it;

Just start to sing as you tackle the thing

That “couldn’t be done,” and you’ll do it.

 

– Edgar Albert Guest

Posted in Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Career, Change, courage, create, determination, Dreams, Freedom, Growth, Habits, Impossible, Judging, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, People, Poetry, power, Purpose, strength, success, time
13 Jun 2011
1 Comment

Your Glory

Dark and early in your story

someone fearful of your inborn glory

buried it behind your house, and you,

innocently, and wise to save yourself

from their greater wrath,

believed its absence.

 

It’s not a pompous glory, ostentatious

or insistent on regard, but sure and quiet

as a wildflower’s, asking nothing.

 

And so you’ve lived—so have we all—

without it, your heart shoveled over

with self-doubt and apology, as if

you have no place or voice here

among angels.

 

We see you in the cripples who flocked

to Jesus, the mute, the paralyzed,

bent over, shut out, gone mad.

 

And all he meant to say was this:

you shine. You bring a gift

as no one else, and you belong.

Your Word deserves a hearing,

and this world needs your beauty

and your grace. There is no rank

you fall below, no worth you fail to match.

You shuttering was evil, and God

wants it undone, and wants you whole.

 

And so she takes you by the hand

and raises you to stand, to walk, to speak.

She listens to your song with joy.

She rains upon the earth

until you are unafraid of your radiance

and all our houses are surrounded by wildflowers.

used with permission

_____________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

www.unfoldinglight.net

Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beliefs, Blessing, Blog, Change, Choice, courage, determination, Dreams, Growth, Habits, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, Miracles, Peace, Poetry, Purpose, Seasons, strength
07 Jun 2011
1 Comment

from the very last section of the Course in Miracles – dictated to Helen

And now in all your doings be you blessed.

God turns to you for help to save the world.

Teacher of God, His thanks He offers you,

And all the world stands silent in the grace

You bring from Him. You are the Son He loves,

And it is given you to be the means

Through which His Voice is heard around the world,

To close all things of time; to end the sight

Of all things visible; and to undo

All things that change. Through you is ushered in

A world unseen, unheard, yet truly there.

Holy are you, and in your light the world

Reflects your holiness, for you are not

Alone and friendless. I give thanks for you,

And join your efforts on behalf of God,

Knowing they are on my behalf as well,

And for all those who walk to God with me.

AMEN

Posted in A Course in Miracles, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Career, Change, Choice, courage, create, Dreams, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Impossible, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Peace, People, Poetry, power, Purpose, quiet, Quotes, Reflection, Relationships, strength, success, Tears, time
05 Jun 2011
1 Comment

Posted in art, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Burnign Bridges, Career, Change, Choice, courage, create, Death, determination, dominance, Dreams, force, Freedom, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Impossible, Judging, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Party, Peace, People, Poetry, power, Purpose, quiet, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Seasons, Smile, strength, success, time, Trust
02 Jun 2011

Markers


Markers of birth and death,
markers of marriage and divorce,
markers of graduation and success,
markers of failure and pain.

Within the fabric of human experience,
in the human life span . . .
There are measure marks.
Surprises on the journeys of life.
They are given on purpose… for our purpose.
The trouble is, we sometimes want to escape them.
Issues that we cant figure out.
Embracing them . . . easier said than done.

Aren’t we all searching for breakthrough,
healing, and restoration…?
From Covering, Hiding and Blaming . . .
A heart locked up, tight as a drum.
Suffering.

If we allow the process, and acknowledge our fear
Mercy and goodness chase us down.
The best comes and not the worst.
Over time . . . we gain the experience and we find the
treasure in the trial.
Scars are there to tell us where we don’t want to go.

Responding is the challenge, ACCEPTANCE…God loves us just the way we are.
He is the source, He is Big enough. Stay connected.
He makes us clear and pure on the inside.

We all hold keys that may open doors marked
“Do Not Enter”
They are ancient keys . . . keys of compassion,
keys of love,keys of trust
that bring life, hope and healing to suffering souls.
Because healed people heal people.

Markers…We are always in a process, looking for provision, daily forgiveness, fighting temptations, delivered from evil.
Recognizing Gods in charge.

Forever

Dan and Gina Blaze used with permission

NEPC
22 South Park Ave
Easton, CT 06612

http://www.newenglandprayercenter.org/?utm_source=NEPC+Contacts&utm_campaign=fd66b234d9-Markers6_1_2011&utm_medium=email

Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Blessing, Blog, Choice, courage, determination, Dreams, Freedom, Gratitude, Grieving, Habits, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, People, Poetry, Reflection, Relationships, Seasons, success, Tears | Leave a comment
27 May 2011
1 Comment

Flowering

In the lengthening days of early spring,

among the vanishing snowshadows,

I hear new bird songs, see geese overhead,

and greet the long-awaited return of smells.

Trees light their little green sparklers,

and I walk among them.

Then the great flowering procession begins:

first the gentle, snow-defiant crocuses,

and the hyacinth, low and easy to miss,

then the forsythia, the dogwood, dandelions

and daffodils, followed in proper order

by the tulips and the flowering trees,

crabs and cherries, and the azaleas.

Little purple things, and white ones, dot the yard.

Finally the lilacs bloom, and I walk among them.

The catalpa tree will blossom much later,

and I will stand beside it as well.

Among flowering beings, softly opening,

with billowing wonders, I, too, live,

with my own great unfolding.

______________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes – Unfolding Light – used with permission –  www.unfoldinglight.net 

Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Blog, Change, Growth, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Poetry, Reflection, Seasons, Spring

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