No Contest

Invisible abilities ~ 

kindness and compassion

We can use these two invisible abilities, but

kindness does not provide the keys to a city. 

compassion does not control the weather. 

Have they been taught and encouraged? 

Practiced through the passage of time?

Kindness is not agreement but a soft touch.

Compassion is a listening ear and an open hand.

Commitment to being kind and compassionate

to oneself, other human beings and all other living things?

Kindness and compassion are both invisible, except 

to one who receives a smile, a helping hand, a warm hug. 

Inconsequential? Insignificant?

No gold medals or high grades!?

Kindness opens doors to frozen hearts.

Compassion helps to weather cloudy emotional storms.

“Cultivate a sharp brain and warmheartedness…”

~ Dalai Lama, Advice for children

At his residence in Dharamsala HP, India June 10, 2019

The Zen of Magical Thinking

Magical thinking is Bright and Brilliant! The very Height of Brilliance with all the magnificence, colour and gloss of amazing Success and 

Gold bars showering good Fortune, obvious Fame, thousands of Abilities and unending Drive on Goals and Plans and Dreams.

Until

The Creeping Tarnish 

of dark magical thinking

waves its broken wand 

over the energy of this brilliance 

to reveal, with absolute certainty,

the unreality of luck, definitely no ability, and 

living in unhappy shadows while drive and energy 

drain and dribble away.

Until

both are revealed as untamed thoughts without solid grounding 

in belief of one’s own worthiness to commit ~

 - to dreams and goals imbedded in the glare of magical thinking

 - to avoiding the crumbling edges of dark magical thinking.

 - to humbly participate in life, mindful of the true flow of abilities, energy and peace.

“What makes life so frightening is that we let ourselves be carried away 

in the garbage of our whirling minds. We don’t have to do that.”

~ Joko Beck, Zen teacher 1917- 2011

Metaphorizing

Mountains and molehills, 

intricate creations of Mother Earth ~ guides for committing to progress.

Grand snow capped mountains rise high into the sky. 

On the horizon ~ a textured screening for rise or set of the sun, rays filtering through the peaks, valleys and forests. 

Humble molehills left behind by earth-dwelling moles are at our feet ~ mounds of earth from digging deep tunnels while eating insects and grubs, damaging our perfect lawns and gardens with their burrowing.

For my eyes to see possibility and grandeur

on a horizon at the end of a chosen path

fills me with dreams and hope for more adventure

For my feet to stumble on a humble molehill,

if only gazing dreamily at the grand mountains

I may just be brought suddenly down to earth!

“Men trip not on mountains, they trip on molehills.”

~ Chinese Proverb

What If? ~ 3

Overcoming odds

ignores probabilities ~

instead 

draws deeply on inner strengths 

for brilliant outward actions 

growing through rocks and rubble

in cramped confines of jumbled lives.

“Always listen to experts. They’ll tell you 

what can’t be done, and why. Then do it.”

~ Robert A.Heinlein

The Magic of Chaos

Creative choices are

beautiful commitments to dip 

into the chaos of living

slipping past what is expected,

outside of shoulds and shouldn’ts,

have to’s and must do’s

for the sake of creating with

texture, colour, music and dance

while shoulds and shouldn’ts

have to’s and must do’s

stand unhappily off stage 

to watch and learn about the 

choices of living creatively.

“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.”

~ Joseph Chilton Pearce

Backbone

Creative choices….

Overcoming odds…

Mountains and molehills….

Magical thinking……

Invisible abilities…..

Tenacity clings to …….

Mercurial moods…..

Energy focused on……

Naive beliefs….

Theories abound………

“If you deny yourself commitment, what can you do with your life?”

~ Harvey Fierstein

'Has Beens' and 'Whats Are'

Rose Garden in Beacon Hill Park with deer fencing

Where do I start?

There is so much to do ~

I’m not sure I can tell

which one comes first?

Oh, not the housework ~

for that I’ve got a plan.

Do I always follow it?

Not necessarily ~ but

I call my disorganized clutter 

‘setting up visual cues’ ~

like readying the ironing board and iron

beside a small pile of laundry.

Where do I start?

1. The written word

2. Personal peering into my life with guides and anchors

3. Awareness of ‘has beens’ and ‘whats are’.

When will it be finished?

Like everything else in my life

it will be finished when

all steps and missteps zip past.

So I’m setting up visual cues ~

disorganized clutter appears with

puzzle pieces and paper turned and tossed 

on table, chairs and counters.

Where do I start?

There are so many pieces!

Begin with ‘what’s are’ and ‘what’s known’

to see this solitary race as beautiful!

“I make a project and I panic. Which is good, it can be a method. First, panic. 

Second, conquer panic by working. Third, find ways to solve your doubts.”

~ Eduardo Souto de Moura