Cycles of Stillness

In the stillness of a muggy morning

when cold rain drips from the sky

growth continues beneath the land

knowing springtime will let blossoms return.

Not so in the stillness of prairie mornings when 

snowflakes drift from the sky

growth shivers into life

knowing springtime will warm all the land once more.

In the stillness of natural cycles

whether rain or snow falls from the sky ~

it's a lovely time to be warm inside or out

knowing springtime will come once again.

“Any day stands equal to the rest.”

~ Heraclitus

Outside of the Pack

Tattooed legs pumped in

the passion of cycling.

Multicolored spandex 

covered a lean body

leaning 

into the cool morning 

black curls 

fringed his black helmet

eyes alert and facing forward

clicking of gears and wheels 

underscored the cry 

of wheeling gulls

the only sounds in the stillness.

“Learn to ride a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live.”

~ Mark Twain

Holiday Happenings

Time for respite and rejuvenation of mind, body, and spirit
Needs that need money 
don’t allow for sickness, 
especially in detox for the unpleasantry of withdrawal.

Active addiction, like any illness, doesn’t take holidays.
Man or woman, wanting to be rid of addictions’s hook, uses holiday time as an opportunity.
Getting well ends one cycle before the Old Year cycles into the New Year.

“The greatest wealth is health.”

~ Virgil

Growth and Rebirth

An early crunch of leaves
slow drifting from still green trees

trees readying for cooler months
in a cycle of birth and growth and rebirth

Recovery requires a time for growth
after falling from the cycle of active addiction

like drifting leaves
leaving behind a dying tree

being planted in new soil
readying for growth and rebirth.

“Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix.”

~ Christina Baldwin

Courage - Day Two

To continue from last evening

and to move forward out of the mess that I left you in.....

Courage - Day Two

With a fresher face and softer voice, she said urgently, 

‘I’m still feeling really sick this morning but would you tell me when breakfast is, please?

I’m going to try to eat. 

And will I be able to see a social worker today,

find out what I have to do next.

I can’t do this anymore, I miss my children and my family.

I 've screwed up again." Her voice caught in her throat but she continued "I know you’ve heard all this before from me,

but I really will do something different."

Who was this person?

Certainly not the angry, frightened person that

I left only 16 hours before?

There were still pale, dark circles under her eyes, 

under a tired looking and anxiously wrinkled forehead.

The identification band on her wrist said that it was her...

brown hair shiny and damp

hazel eyes clearer,

the same eyes that held me fiercely the day before.

Even the freckles that covered her skin seemed more defined.

What was different?

Clean, smelling of shampoo and soap?

Shaky confidence that she could try one more time?

Oh, it wasn’t the first and we never knew 

if it would be the last time that she, or anyone else, tried 

breaking the vicious cycle of active addiction

leaving behind people and friends she had known for years

learning to build new and healthy friendships

rebuilding frayed and damaged family relationships

finding finances for 

a roof over her family's head, 

food on the table for her children.

We were all only grateful that she had lived to try again,

and that she had made the call on her own.

I reminded her about the risks of

eating too much, too fast

exercising too much, too fast.

resting during the day to conserve this new buildup of energy

to move slowly as her mind raced....

"When the world says, "give up,"

Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."

~ Author Unknown

Who Stops the Cycle?

Who stops the cycle of violence?

Once the cycle has begun for one human being 

we can’t prevent them

from being caught in the trap of being violated?

And when is the cycle recognized?

When the violated and abused are grown

do they inherit

the behaviour of violence with

the stigma of being violent?

All while living with

the painful granite mountain

of the original violation?

Will it ever be recognized?

And if it is recognized

spoken about, who begins 

the climb

clears paths

shows the way

of descent down the mountain?

Who is responsible for

presenting possibilities?

If a key piece of the puzzle is suspected

what part of our system speaks up to say

this human being is worthy of our time?

Is there a place to see when the cycle starts?

Do we wait until it is almost fatal to 

see and do

support and empower?

What is the cycle?

Who is caught?

What does it look like?

My frustration: I can only do a small piece

and then turn the rest over to others...............

“I feel as if I were a piece in a game of chess, when my 

opponent says of it:  ‘That piece cannot be moved.’”

~ Søren Kierkegaard