Archive for the category “Stars and Moonlight”

11 Sep 2013

writing a poem

I fit words together,
hoping they mean something.
Wanting them to make sense.
Allowing them emotion.
Willing to give them freely.
Creating a monument,
for a moment in time,
to share with the world.
These words become something tangible.
A thing,
a gift,
a piece of art.
A part of me,
stays with them.
Little pieces of me,
like shapes in a puzzle,
becoming
a picture,
a flower,
a song.
Small particles of my soul,
like a rose bud,
opening in my hand,
mesmerizes with it’s
beauty,
touch,
fragrance.
I write words on a page,
and feel love
spreading outward,
as the flowering happens,
as this thought blooms.
As words become thoughts about…
As the pieces become beautiful…
As the poem is born,
of water,
blood,
star dust
and becomes…
a small piece of me,
left behind on pages,
for others to find,
sharing a small moment,
never to be lost,
because it has been
recorded,
acknowledged,
emptied.
Gratitude makes room for new
miracles,
learning,
beauty,
as they find their new home
ready,
emptied,
expectant.
Waiting for more
truth,
goodness,
love,
to flow and enter in.
There is always more,
and more than enough.
The heart that gives gathers,
but never tries to hold anything hostage.
Love,
giving,
pretty much everything,
about life,
only works when we allow it,
all of it,
every sacred cow,
every spec of mud,
to be free.

AL 9/10/13

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, courage, create, find art at pinterest, Freedom, giving, Gratitude, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, mystery, Poetry, receiving, soul and spirit, Stars and Moonlight, words, Writing | Leave a comment

13 Aug 2013

there’s a voice that doesn’t use words. listen. – Rumi

Infinite Presence, The Beloved, speaks,
draws the universe near with a quiet word.
Out of the heart of all things, their mysterious beauty,
the Divine radiates.

This silence is not silent,
in which God comes to us,
arrayed in the consuming flame of suns,
clothed in stormy seas of galaxies.

God summons the whole created order
to witness us hearing her voice:
“If you are in love with me,
come near.”

Creation nods, and smiles.
This is the Truth, the Source, The One.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

Posted in Alone, awareness, Faith, find art at pinterest, Glory, Gratitude, Life, music, mystery, nature, Patience, Peace, Poetry, quiet, Solitude, soul and spirit, Stars and Moonlight | Leave a comment

23 Jul 2013

wishes for this kind of day

Posted in action, Adventure, Dreams, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Love, Miracles, music, soul and spirit, Stars and Moonlight | Leave a comment

06 Jul 2013

the painter

these clouds of
pink and blue cotton candy
all mixed and fluffy
the sky is
breathtaking
grand
heart stopping
I lose my ability to concentrate on driving
pull my car over so I can stare
breathe it in
this full bloom
colors so
intense across the massive sky
extravagantly piled onto
this extreme canvas
this moving masterpiece
with oranges and burgundies
moving into a living pallet
night slowly absorbing the colors
leaving diamonds in
the shifting colors of blue
leaving me full
even wordless for a while
absorbing this masterpiece
in awe of this painter
of the world
the glory so displayed
for our moments
if we will just take a moment in return
to receive
to breathe
to give thanks
to feel glory
for the extravagant and luscious gifts
from the painter of the sky
so beyond our scope
the one who creates beauty
of such magnitude
it drives to my knees
in gratitude for being able to see it
on a July evening
as I pay tribute with a few
of these words
I have been given
to that something so magical
the miracle
which we have named
in our language:
sunset

AL 7/5/13
photo by Matt Halverson aka The Storm, Cincinnati, OH

And then I woke up to this from Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience http://www.aholyexperience.com/

New newsletter posted on my website www.songsfromthevalley.com

Posted in beauty, Glory, Gratitude, Miracles, Newsletter, Songs from the Valley, soul and spirit, Stars and Moonlight | Leave a comment

24 Jun 2013

making the day yellow…with a little orange & a splash of pink thrown in

Words that do not become flesh in us remain “just words.” They have no power to affect our lives. If someone says, “I love you,” without any deep emotion, the words do more harm than good. But if these same words are spoken from the heart, they can create new life.

It is important that we keep in touch with the source of our words. Our great temptation is to become “pleasers,” people who say the right words to please others but whose words have no roots in their interior lives. We have to keep making sure our words are rooted in our hearts. The best way to do that is in prayerful silence.

– Henri Nouwen
http://www.henrinouwen.org

Posted in action, Adventure, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, inspiration, Life, Love, soul and spirit, Stars and Moonlight | Leave a comment

17 Jan 2013

The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money. – Thomas Jefferson

Posted in awareness, beauty, Faith, find art at pinterest, Stars and Moonlight | Leave a comment

13 Dec 2012

where the dark things are

Most of our Advent traditions formed centuries ago among Christian and pre-Christian Celtic and Germanic peoples, as they approached the winter solstice. So there’s a lot about darkness, stillness and silence. Farmers removed idle wagon wheels to make wreaths with candles, reflecting on the fallow season of waiting and hope. All this darkness and cold might sound a little off to you who live in Australia, where summer’s about to begin, or South Africa or Brazil, or for that matter even Texas. While we’re singing about the “bleak midwinter” the folks in Corpus Christi and Adelaide go to the beach.

We call this a season of silence and stillness―notice how may carols have silence in them―but we’re rushing around, busier than ever, and making more noise than usual ringing bells and singing in public, if you can believe it! We’re playing music and stringing up extra lights as if to banish the very darkness and silence we adore.

The darkness and quiet of December in the north country is a symbol, but not the whole of it. After all, there isn’t that much bleak, dark midwinter in Bethlehem―and actually Jesus probably wasn’t born in the winter anyway. “The dawn that breaks upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” has nothing to do with latitude. The darkness of Advent is the darkness within, and the darkness of a fearful, competitive world. The silence is the deep silence at the center of our souls. That’s where Advent happens, and the birth of Christ unfolds.

Where is the darkness in your life? Where are the places in your life where you can’t see, where the known disappears into the unknown? Where is that place in your awareness where you can be without “seeing,” without knowing or understanding, and be at peace?

Where is the silence in you? You won’t find it “out there.” Go within. Sit with it. Sit with it a lot, and let it speak to you in the language of angels, the language of God, which is silence.

Your wagon wheels may not be idle, but there is a place of quiet in your soul. Where are the empty places in your life? We might feel uncomfortable about emptiness, but an empty place is one where the Christ child can come when there is “no room in the inn” elsewhere. Perhaps even the painfully empty places―the places of loss, bereavement, poverty or fruitlessness―maybe these are places where even now angels are gathering.

Don’t expect the world to offer you darkness, silence and stillness. Go to where they are, and wait there. God will meet you there.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
http://www.unfoldinglight.net