At the End of the Day

The story we tell ourselves 

at the end of a day can be 

our saving grace. 

Where was the bright spot 

in the day just passed? 

That one flicker that filled 

a moment or an hour 

with joy and excitement 

to feel the goodness of others 

or the warmth of the sun after a rain

or the broad smile of the girl at the till.

Yes they pass as each moment passes, 

but the memory remains to shine 

in darkened corners at the end of the day.

“At the end of the day, give up your worries 

and give thanks for the journey.

~ Ben Vereen, actor

In This Moment

Today I noticed 

blood pulsing  

from my heart to my toes, 

feeding my lungs, 

all the organs of my body, 

my brain and through all 

my muscles small and large. 

A reminder, 

sitting still or walking

sleep or awake that 

in this moment, 

this life is good.

“You notice. And noticing, you live.”

~ John Graves, writer

(1920 ~ 2013)

In That Moment

They bubble up ~ 

Memories, ideas, stories, 

all the things 

that mean little 

to anyone else 

in that moment. 

As unimportant as 

one raindrop 

in the midst 

of a gentle summer rain. 

In that moment, 

there is clarity. 

Answers to yesterdays questions. 

Or more questions rising up. 

These thoughts drift, 

like clouds, 

across my mind’s sky. 

A gentle way of processing 

the everything that has arrived 

noticed or unnoticed.

“This moment everything is present here, 

except the things that are not here, 

and I’m not feeling like disturbing them.

~ Suman Pokhrel, poet, lyricist, artist, playwright

Small Steps and Choices

Entertaining choices:  

not all that entertaining 

when seen as drudgery or 

maybe challenging to the soul. 

Both involve a deep breath but 

that’s where the similarity ends. 

Housework chores are visible 

~ have a beginning and an end. 

Fears, nervousness, anxieties 

creep in slowly, silently 

Colouring today, tomorrow and 

yesterday in shades of darkness 

that can’t be washed away until 

tiny fragments of courage and hope

allow small steps and choices 

to blossom and brighten each moment.

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”

~ Nelson Mandela

(1918 ~ 2013)

Life Craft

August, 2020

Conscious or not 

brain, heart and lungs 

keep us alive 

we can only craft 

our conscious lives 

to fit the moment 

plans for the next moment, 

day, week and into the future 

shaped one way, can change

at a moment’s notice. 

crying, grieving, stamping our feet

will only slow our next step. 

What will I do in my conscious world?

What will I do to flow through each day?

How will any of us know how to respond?

“Control of consciousness determines the quality of life.”

~ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, psychology professor

 ~ The Psychology of Optimal Experience

A Next Good Moment

Caring for the hope 

I have in my heart 

helps me to find 

slivers of joy in each day. 

For joy is often in-glorious, 

but is aroma of good food, 

   the kindness of friends, 

      the feeling of soft grass on bare toes, 

         a babies gurgling laugh, 

           the rhythm of well loved music. 

When I add up all these sparks of joy, 

hope is restored to know

there is always a next good moment.  

“I inhale hope with every breath I take.”

~ Sharon Kay Penman, novelist

(1945 ~ 2021)

This Narrow Moment

Late  

more words 

to spill 

onto the page 

fitting into 

this narrow moment 

bracketed by sleepy eyes.

“There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.”

~ Homer,  The Odyssey

A Morning Hymn

I like Sundays.

In old memories. 

attitudes shifted for 

that Sunday moment. 

A feeling of more 

air to breathe. 

I’ve not been 

in a church

for many years, 

but the silence is 

a morning hymn.

I like Sundays.

“In the midst of the storm, your life boat appears. A psalm, 

a hymn, a word…calming the fiercest winds of the soul.”

~ Roderick l. Evans, author

A Beautiful Order

There is the order 

that I have decreed and 

then there is the order 

of the universe that 

I cannot see, feel or hear.

Yet I am one atom 

of the universe with 

my feet and my heart, 

my mind and my soul. 

When I close my eyes, 

I can feel the universe

that is me and I am enough, 

the purpose unknown but 

I am willing to shape this 

moment in beautiful order.

“The universal order and the personal order are nothing but different 

expressions and manifestations of a common underlying principle.

~ Marcus Aurelius,