What I Have Learned So Far

Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I
not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,
looking into the shining world? Because, properly
attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.
Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit
to no labor in its cause? I don't think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of
light is the crossroads of - indolence, or action.

Be ignited, or be gone.

~ Mary Oliver, from New and Selected Poems

I continue to be taught at the knee of this grand dame of poetry. Mary Oliver has been writing since she was 14! Born in 1935, Oliver is one of America's best-loved poets, having won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, along with many other prestigious awards.  What I love about her is the way she combines nature and deep heart-felt truths. She is able to draw into the reader's depths to find both joy and grief, suffering and jubilation.

Here is reminds us that sitting is just one part of meditation. The gospel of light is indeed "the crossroads of indolence or action."

My Passion...

My continuing passion is to part a curtain, that invisible veil of
indifference that falls between us and that blinds us to each other's
presence, each other's wonder, each other's human plight.

                                                                                     ~Eudora Welty

Yesterday morning as I walked with Payton, our Golden Retriever, the intensity of this invisible veil was almost palpable in the low lying fog that covered the fields of southwest Florida. How often do we truly see each other or ourselves?

Years ago as a young girl I longed to know the meaning of life. I spent endless hours contemplating, pondering, wondering why we are here and what is it we are "supposed" to do. Constantly nervous about not doing the right thing, my focus was on discovering some great mystery.

Occasionally revelations appear and disappear, but always a very gentle knowing and a sweet surrender to each moment brings joy and peace. With passion ever present, Grace shows me the way.

Each Note...

God picks up the reed-flute world and blows.
Each note is a need coming through one of us,
a passion, a longing-pain.

Remember the lips
where the wind-breath originated,
and let your note be clear.

Don't try to end it.
Be your note.
I'll show you how it's enough.

Go up on the roof at night
in this city of the soul.

Let everyone climb on their roofs
and sing their notes!

Sing loud!

                        ~ Rumi, Ghazal 532, The Essential Rumi

Remember where the life-breath originates and know that each note is unique. Each has her own song to sing. Sing with a passion for life, your own genuine reflection of the divine.