How High

Ambition to live the life 

we were given 

put on the wayside 

when confronted with style, 

images and must do’s. 

If we do not measure up 

then we chance to

forget our own courage 

and desire for independence. 

Independence of thought, 

 of action 

    of belief 

in life as we see it.

And so we climb 

into that suit of armour 

that fits us best and 

take the direction of our choice 

despite pitfalls that may be in our path. 

“We never know how high we are 

Till we are called rise; 

And then, if we are true to plan,

 Our statures touch the skies.”

~ Emily Dickinson, Aspiration

Needing Perspecitive

Needing a nudge to take my turn 

playing Scrabble is a sign that 

visiting has overtaken game play. 

Puts ‘need’ in perspective. 

There are times when I choose 

not to buy groceries even though 

my cupboards and fridge 

have empty spaces ~ 

the milk almost gone,

only one extra pound of butter, 

broccoli is preferred 

rather than the frozen beans. 

My reason? The recipe calls for specifics!

What I need in that moment 

is a bit of creativity, courage 

~ it’s too easy to go out 

for supper or order in. 

This isn’t the old saw 

‘think of the hungry kids’, 

There is another old saw: 

“Make do with what you have”. 

Spices make all the difference, 

internet search engines and 

 ~ you remember them ~ 

recipe books, and imagination.

“Necessity is the mother of all invention”

~ Albert Einstein

An Offer

Courage can restore order 

  when a chaos of worries

    threatens to overwhelm,

Just a tiny bit of courage to 

  take a deep breath, 

    take one tiny step, 

      to believe in that breath

Courage can restore order 

  when tiredness dictates

    with an offer to rest.

“Your best teacher is the person offering you your greatest challenge”

~ Cheryl Richardson, author

No Rush, No Order

There is no rush to healing, 

no order. What is healing!? 

is it a switch on the wall 

or inside my body that I, 

or someone, should turn on 

so that my crooked self is 

straight, so it fits my clothes, 

or so the teeny, tiny spot 

in my brain is fixed, but 

it is in my power to be 

respectful of the body and brain I have, 

and care for me the way I am today. 

When I need help, 

when my courage fails,

others are always there

 to steady me. Yet healing 

is always in my hands 

~ each minute of day 

at sunrise and sunset

and in the dark of night.

“Our sorrows and wounds are healed only 

when we touch them with compassion.”

~ Buddha

The Guide that I Seek

Open-ended guides

come from ancestors,

and loved ones around me 

who have shown me that 

shaping my life is 

a choice only for me. 

When life has pushed me, 

    pulled me, 

      threatened to tear me apart, 

I look into myself for 

the tiniest fragment of courage ~ 

to hear myself say 

   to rest or 

     to run, 

        to stay or 

          to go, or 

to find my calm belief

in the middle of the storm. 

To believe in myself 

is the guide that I seek.

“And it’s always better, isn’t it, when you discover answers on your own?”

~ Veronica Rossi, Under the Never Sky

Comes a Time

There comes a time 

when bravery and courage 

are the supports for that 

magical spark of self advocacy. 

     And then we ask: 

Can I be brave enough?, 

Can I ask the right questions? 

without knees softening to jelly, 

without hearts beating in triple time.  

Maybe ~ there will be a time

when we know that our hearts 

are strong enough for all 

the questions and answers.

“When you give doubt your power, you give power to your doubt.
~ Honoré de Balzac, French novelist and playwright

((May 1799 ~ August 1850)

Every Day Life

 

Eternally grateful am I 

for the winds of change 

that bring good fortune or bad. 

It may be that I am grateful

to be challenged to reach within 

to find the courage to live my days

as I’ve lived in the before times. 

Turns out that the courage is not 

challenging the wind, but my own 

fear of impending devastation. 

That fear trembles and freezes at 

the same time; the fear that threatens 

immediate destruction in everyday life, 

that fear that only I can deal with. 

The external is way beyond my abilities! 

My fear is where I live ~

where my feet are ~

where my home is. 

If I allow it to knock me over

then I’ll miss birthday parties, 

walks in the sun or snow, 

laughter with my family 

and all the every day

joys and sorrows of life.

“Courage is resistance to rear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”

~ Mark Twain