What does one do with
a topsy turvy morning
when everything was planned
when part of the plan was
to be relaxed and be happy
interrupted by the forgotten
an attempt at reshuffling
to fit in the sudden
and still make breakfast.
only one ~
or maybe two things ~ to do
snatch calmness from the air
be still and keep moving
let go of the sudden and
go with the plan.
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
~ Mary Oliver, The Summer Day
Slow down when the noise
of the world is too big
Slow down when your heart
races down into your feet.
Slow down and breathe
calm into your toes.
Breathe deeply, calmly
to ease into late evening.
Close your eyes and sleep
'til the new day dawns.
“Wise and slowly; they stumble that run fast.”
~ Hugh Howey, Wool Omnibus
Relax and breathe ~
when your heart is crying,
when the world is too heavy,
when the wind is too wild
~ it seems impossible.
It is the only solution
when we know that
we are no bigger
than the air in our lungs
~ then it is time to
breathe deeply and relax.
“Your breath is your best friend.”
~ Professor Ramchandra Gandhi,
Philosopher and teacher
on a bench far from the bell towers, the air silent save for
the raucous calling of crows
to interrupt this peaceful Sunday morn; crunching leaves, dry cracked earth,
squirrels scampered, a backyard barbecue grilled juicy hamburgers.
a woman played with her child on bright blue and red swings. I imagined
the tolling of the bells -
their music drifting into the sky,
settling over the city in peace and calm.
“For bells are the voice of the church;
They have tones that touch and search
the hearts of young and old.”
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Time stretched before me.
No dinners to prepare, only
dishes in the sink, most filling
the dishwasher. Details of my
life lay scattered about like
dry leaves in the fall. A vague
feeling niggled that someone
should restore order, but maybe
not right this minute. Or even
the next. So putting on winter
boots, my jacket, and back pack,
I went for a walk. The streets
were rutted with brown mushed
up snow, pads of ice hiding beneath.
Sidewalks were cleared. Not down
to the cement, but shovelled and
padded flat by many feet. Little
brown birds ~ maybe juncos, maybe
sparrows, maybe both ~ chitttered and
chattered into the cool winter air.
Refreshed and home, I lazily
put some of my home in order.
An aura of calm settled, brightened
by soft lights and colours of Christmas.
“Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.”
~ Paul Theroux
I’ve been home today. Cooking, preparing meals, setting oatmeal bread to bake tomorrow, finishing what was left from yesterday, moving about my home wondering if I was doing unnecessary busy work. That thought lasted only seconds. More than puttering, I was enjoying my life. Feeling calm and centred. Not hurried. I could have read a book, or taken a nap. Neither of those entered my mind. I walked to the grocery store, a cool spring wind at my back, to bring home tea and chicken for supper; to the pet store for some supplies and then home.To be in these four walls, just feels good. My body does have the twinges of over 75 years of life, little reminders that I am not as young as I used to be; my heart with its scars from great joy or great sadness, beats quietly in my chest. Hurts and fears put at rest for today. Because today is the day I cherish.
“You must learn to be still in the midst of activity
and to be vibrantly alive in repose.”
~ Indira Gandhi
Streets were dusty brown
Ice melted and gone
A breath of calm fell
for winter’s farewell
“Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.”
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
underscored by
the hum of the dishwasher,
assures me
that it is time
to slow my day ~
wrapping it in peace and calm.
“What a nice night for an evening.”
~ Steven Wright
Restoring order calms me.
out of sync,
my surroundings show me
sometimes my head is foggy,
flat without direction
no up no down no sideways
suspended in the midst of fog
no energy to go forward or back,
reaching through the fog
to fold a blanket feels good
thankful that order is my balm.
“For nothing matters except life; and, of course, order.”
~ Virginia Woolf, The Common Reader
Tranquility
In a tiny village far away, in a ordinary cottage, in a cozy reading room overlooking a vast lake, Daphne stood quietly. Morning sun had just peeked over the distant soft shaded hills. Thin rafts of cloud floated in the still water. A single bird opened the air with its trill. A squirrel peered in her window from a pine bough. She stretched and yawned, feeling the gentleness of the day.
“There are times when we stop, we sit still. We listen and
breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper.”
~ James Carroll, novelist and playwright
How do I fill myself up
when the air is calm,
when there is no turmoil
in the sphere of my life
when I think I feel empty
the calm is unsettling,
unfamiliar, waiting,
opening a channel
to a void to be filled.....
....something that flows?
....colour, beauty, song?
What will I choose?
“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”
~ Nelson Mandela
classical music filters into and around me
in the quiet of early evening
stirring ~ what? ~ my soul?
A peaceful nebulous part of me
ever present but invisible
tucked safely in my heart
while my life proceeds apace
as each day passes
frayed ideas settle and rest
classical music hovers softly
in the quiet of early evening.
“May you live every day of your life.”
~ Jonathan Swift
Chill and rainy
Stay inside!
Restless and cranky
Oh well ~ get outside.
A sidewalk wander
Hallowe’en props out today
past this yard and that yard
no kids out to play but
goblins, pumpkins, monsters
in a spooky, ghostly zoo!
Now rested and calm
I can only say Boo!!
“It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.”
~ Sheriff Leigh Brackett, Halloween
