untangling the web

poetry about and photography of everyday happenings and sights

Category Archives: meditation


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The Great Mystery

What makes mist gently

move across the pond or

the pond reflect the clouds?

What makes the sound

of the wind, and why do

pine needles fall to

the ground? What makes 

the lavender flowers…these

lavender flowers at my feet

or the white ones beside them?

What makes the blue heron’s 

neck so long and why does he 

stand so still at our approach?

And what about the algae

on the fallen branch or

the orange mushrooms?

You might say that it

is all explained by science.

But what explains science?

Does anyone really know?

Do we work too hard

to make sense of it all

when perhaps we are

just meant to be amazed?


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In Our Seventies

The question now is not how do

we want to die,

it is how do

we want to live.

 

Do we hold on to life’s regrets,

cling to grudges,

or welcome all

and cultivate

 

“don’t know” minds, bring our whole selves, find

places of rest,

see what’s sacred,

die into life.

 

Inspired by Five Invitations by Frank Ostaseki and my 70+ Group of Wise Women

I


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Do We Dare Hope?

Listening, listening is his

key to learning,

said my grandson.

He is just 12.

 

How do you balance the sins of

the past with the

evolving now?

Forgiveness, he

 

said. He is only 23.

Young people with

a passion for

social justice

 

do the hard work in public schools,

synagogues, and

non-profits; mindful

meditation and

 

compassion classes are expanding.

In this world of

ugly tweets, blame,

do we dare hope?

 

Inspired by a conversation my son had with his son and by the program at the 25thanniversary of the Chrysalis Institute, now The Center for InnerWork.

 

 


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Perceptions

Seeming like a blanket of white

flowers, it is

a field of pale

purple splendor,

seen only when I bend down and

look closely. Each

beauty has six

petals around

a yellow center, threadlike

lines splitting each.

So delicate,

so exquisite.

Perhaps if we took the time to

really see those

we pass, we would

glimpse their beauty.

For this I know, there is a light,

an essence, a

center in each

of us, just as

there is a center in each of

those lavender

beauties waiting

to be noticed.


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Eating Mindfully

Have you ever eaten

a blackberry mindfully?

Or a blueberry or strawberry?

Close your eyes, take one bite

and your taste buds will

explode with delight.

Savor the sweet, sour taste,

roll the berry with your tongue,

feel its texture, its shape.

Grind the seeds with your teeth.

Let it stay in your mouth

as long as you can,

cherishing each sensation.


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While I Work

While I work,

she softly sleeps

on the tan couch,

head on its arm,

paws touching,

a parcel of

brown and white,

curled in a ball of warmth.

 

I wonder what she is dreaming.

Is she sniffing her way around the pond,

testing the thin ice on its edge,

pausing to smell a cedar tree,

jumping when a heron takes flight?

Or is she in the dog park

cautiously greeting other dogs,

racing around the perimeter,

stopping occasionally to

make sure I am still there?

 

What a comfort to know that

when I move,

she will open her hazel eyes

and track my every step,

waiting to see

if it is time to follow.

What more could the world offer

at this moment, this very moment?


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Early Sunday Morning

Striding ahead on Pine Trail

in Powhatan State Park,

energized by cooler air,

I almost trip and fall,

and am reminded that

I might be missing that

for which I have come,

so Luna and I

stop, look, and listen.

 

A canopy of trees overhead

keeps us almost dry

as the gentle rain hits

leaves far above

and plops on those below.

 

I see wet and glistening

Sassafras, and

shy, striped Wintergreen,

soft green moss,

and a path strewn

with rusty pine needles.

 

I hear birds chattering

to their neighbors

and squirrels foraging.

Only a distant plane

interrupts the peace

that comes to those

walking in the woods.

 

Who could ask for more?

Right here, right now,

I have everything I need.