The hills lie folded softly in the late afternoon glow
The sound of a bell in the distance vibrates
Unseen but felt in the depths of our living bodies
Our unique living bodies
that will not last forever
How to make peace with this fragility?
With the ever-changing flow of life?
Its rise and fall
The great mystery…

Half-light hush
The majesty of life
Whispering in every leaf and blade of grass
Shimmering off the wings of each evening insect
An awe and a wonder
and I just know
Timeless and eternal
Freedom and joy
I just know there is nothing to fear
Love is forever
The heart’s wisdom is to be trusted
The soul’s inspiration to guide us

But sometimes
Uniform grey
Unbroken loneliness
nothing but doubt
Leaden confusion
crushing grief and despair
The mind tries desperately to hold onto something
And clinging to flotsam it seeks to hush the storm by sheer will
looking to make it all okay…
but the storm will run its course

Thoughts forget they are thoughts
Thinking thinks it is reality
missing the wise presence of the heart
the only force that can calm the skies
and let the sun break through the clouds
or perhaps the cold but peaceful stillness of night
The cycle of light and darkness

Ever changing seasons
A thick bloom of lilac fits inside my hand
A loose fist around its plump petals
What a sweet and simple joy
Can I trust the blooming of love within?
The wonder and awe of my soul?
Yes, oh yes!
Something whispers ardently
And I am free
Then my mind tries to build an unsinkable
Ship out of this moment
Please can it be forever this time?
But I cannot hold onto it
It slips away again and again
I am subject to the peaks and to the valleys both
Each time either hoping or fearing it is here to stay
But when I know
I know
A knowledge beyond the mind that I cannot hold onto
But I can trust it when it’s alive in my breast
And flying free on the wings of my spirit
When I contract once more,
I must try to remember this freedom
Have patience
It will come again
Because it is always there