When I Stand

When I stand outside 

the life I’ve chosen to live 

I see loneliness or a life

without meaning yet 

When I step inside the life 

I’ve chosen to live 

I feel fulfilled and

meaning is all around. 

When I stand outside the life 

I’ve chosen to live, I love the busyness of community 'til

I long for the quiet of home 

When I step inside the life 

I’ve chosen to live 

I sit down with pen and paper 

to frame the meaning of my heart.

When I stand outside the life 

I’ve chosen to live, 

my life is a joy 

with friends, with family.  

When I step inside the life 

I’ve chosen to live, 

I miss them all but am surrounded 

by the gift of their presence in my life.

“Even the longest journey must begin where you stand.”

~ Laozi, philosopher

(604 BC ~ 531 BC)

Being

 

To know one’s being after

all the glorious mess of a day 

is to allow it to blossom

in the quiet of the evening.

“Inhale and hold the evening in your lungs.”

~ Sebastian Faulks, Engleby

Quiet

If I was quiet, 

don’t think I’m being rude 

I’m holding my tongue. 

If I was quiet, it was because 

the noise of humanity 

hurts my psyche. 

If I was quiet, 

the stories of others

are more important. 

If I was quiet, 

it has become

the rhythm of my life.

“The important thing is to know how to take all things quietly.”

~ Michael Faraday, scientist

(1791 ~ 1867)

Revelation

 

How does one live a full life?  

The spaces of home can feel empty, 

when plans have gone awry,

the fullness flown away, 

as deflated as a party balloon

energy sapped.

But joy has only hidden for a moment. 

When the quietness of the day 

offers a notebook to write upon

a sock monkey to make

a fresh salad to enjoy

a nap to slip into

music to colour the quietness

How does one live a full life?

Grasp what is present 

Sense it, lean into it and just relax!

“How we spend our days is of course, how we spend our lives.”

~ Annie Dillard

In the Quiet

In the quiet of the evening 

it is possible to conjure up 

all manner of 

troubles and worries 

just as 

it is possible to conjure up 

all manner of blessings and joys

To choose which of these is good, 

is seldom difficult 

when we set such a choice in front of us.

“I was quiet, but I was not blind.”

~ Jane Austen,  Mansfield Park

Quiet Easy

 

Becoming a person 

in this world full of 

discord and aggressive voices, 

a person who wants 

the noise to be softened, 

is easy.  

Become the person 

who turns off the TV and 

all the social media voices, 

and steps outside where 

the juncos chirp and chat.

Maybe a squirrel chitters from 

his perch as a car splashes by. 

Becoming a person who enjoys 

life in the real world 

really can be a quiet easy.

“The lesson being that in life you control what you can.”

~ Michelle Obama, Becoming

The Quiet of Home

Sitting in the quiet of home

mind stilled 

the need for busy

vanished

restlessness subsided

like an afternoon breeze

no urge to fill the void

just sitting comfortably

in the quiet of home.

“Sweet are the thoughts that savour of content;

The quiet mind is richer than a crown;…”

~ Original text Robert Greene, 

Greenes Farewell to Folly

(W.White, 1617)

Shy

         

      Behind fences

  shaded by greenery

flowers blossom quietly.

“Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow.”

~ John Lennon

His Royal Cheekiness!

This cheeky fellow stood quietly by as I packed up all the bits, bobs and trinkets from the holidays. When I took them all down to storage, he still was quiet. Only when I returned, ready for a fresh cup of coffee, did I notice I had forgotten his little Christmas red scarf! Never said a thing, just grinned at me and telegraphed a big hug my way.

“Just because I’m cheeky, doesn’t mean I’m not serious.”

~ David Hockney

 

Deep Calm

In forest deep, the quiet twitters and chirps,

A leaf falls silently, drifting through a sunbeam

A twig snaps under the quick step of a squirrel.

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”

~ John Muir