.
.
.
NEW BEGINNING
How do we get a new beginning?
We can't order one online
We can get the beginning of the beginning
With a decision formed in our minds
.
.
First we form a specific goal
Then we will think of step one
The very first thing we must do
Then magic! Our new beginning has begun
.
.
.
.
.
.
HOT MIRACLE
I took the teabag from my cup
A truly miraculous thing to do
The water I brought to a boil is the life blood of this planet
The microwave that heated the water
Has tamed electricity like the Wizard at the top
Of Bald Mountain
The Pyrex cup, liquid glass poured into a mold
That fragile glass cup made its way without breaking
Over hill and dale, sea and channel
To my hand
The teabag, filled with leaves grown on some far distant sunny hill
Harvested by people speaking a language I do not understand
The titanic forces of nature, the cooperation of nations
Come together in my house, my kitchen
Where I am able to ask the Universe for a cup of tea
And have one, steaming and restoring, in a few minutes.
.
.
.
THOUGHT FACTORY
When someone is looking for an excuse
They will find one
It appears in the mind like a vision of nope
When someone needs a rationalization
They will invent one
Because the human mind is capable
Of rationalizing anything, no matter how far-fetched
But when we need motivation, inspiration
Wisdom
Our minds must learn how to create these things
Manufactured from our everyday thoughts
We take the raw material of our needs and dissatisfactions
And transform them into our inspiration and motivation
To grow, change, challenge ourselves
To do a little bit better than yesterday
Like Alchemists we transform the unsuitable
Into a plan to act, move forward
Achieve the goals we envisioned as a template
To make positive changes in our lives
.
.
.
STAR LIGHT GUIDES ME
I had no control over how I started out
The circumstances of my birth
My family of origin
It was what it was
(shrug of impossibility)
But I hope to have control over how things end up
Every day I take measures to insure
My today and tomorrow is better, brighter, more full of hope
Than my dark yesterdays, which are gone, gone, gone.
.
.
.
ONE ANGRY NEURON
.
.
Last night I was dreaming and I was angry in my dream
I am not actually angry at anyone in the day
All the anger was in the dream,
As was the unknown target of my anger
I do not know why I was angry but I had the sense
That I had been treated unfairly
In waking life I have been treated unfairly in the past
Before I got boundaries and found a voice
Now I am not treated unfairly
Yet in my dream my anger was alive
Perhaps one neuron in my brain
One angry neuron has the historic record
Of wrongs committed against me
And that one angry neuron picked last night
To sound off because it witnessed me treated unfairly
And only now did it feel safe to defend me in the liminal
Surreal world of my dreams
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS
Telling truth to Power is risky
Because the powerful don't want to hear
Concerning news anymore than we do
So the Truthtellers learn to steer clear
Getting syncophants to work for Power is easy
They yes them to death, through and through
So often when the powerful make decisions
They obviously don't have a clue
.
.
.
.
.
.
GOOOAAALLLSSS!
.
.
While a word to the wise is sufficient
Most of the time we need more
Like having mindful experiences
And keeping track of the score
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
THE MAGIC OF THREE
When a situation comes along
My mind, forged by fear and caution
Wants to engulf the entire spectrum of possibilities
Following every path to every feasible and improbable outcome
Every ramification and repercussion
An impossible equation because not all factors are known
Can not, in fact, be known, currently
Events continue to unfold, the solutions must unfold also
When a situation is evolving I want to do something, but what?
I make a list of three things I can do right now, starting in this very moment
With the resources I currently have
I commit myself to these three things, simple though they may be
They become the hand holds I use to get a grip
On a much larger and dynamic method of control
Of my wild, hard, intimidating, shifting situation
I can use my three solid handholds to hang on
Until the situation is calm, tame, and under my command.
.
.
.
SEEKERS ALL
I don't have the answers for you
You don't have the answers for me
But you have the answers for you
And I have the answers for me
We can encourage each other
Share our discoveries as we all
Seek the answers to the great questions
In our minds and hearts together
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
OP ED
Opinions are like exotic potentially dangerous pets
That must be cared for, fed, housed and attended to
If I am walking my opinion around it must be leashed
Perhaps muzzled so I don't meet a fellow opinion owner
And the two opinions get into a brawl, a kerfuffle
Opinions can be noisy, vicious, and hard to control
So, I try to have as few opinions as possible
To cut down on the workload of caring
For an opinion
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
EEEEE - EEEEE
Deep down I am a terrified monkey
Leaping ever higher, from branch to branch
Looking down at how very far the fall would be
Looking up, hoping there is safety
At the tippy top, where the Tree of Life
Touches the Stars of Eternity
.
.
.
.
.
.
FOUNDATION OF SOCIETY
I would like to express my appreciation
For your orderly conduct
The traffic laws you obey
The taxes you pay
Speaking to others with polite reason
Helping out when you can
By these simple yet vital acts
You contribute to the general well-being of all
Deserving of recognition for your good citizenship
While the law breakers might end up on the evening news
The gravel and pebbles of chaos and confusion
The Law Abiders are the power that makes things function
The foundation stones, the rock of ages
We use to build a free and safe society
.
.
.
.
.
.
BLESSED BUZZ
Do we make things holy and sacred by calling them
Holy and sacred?
A chalice thought to be held in someone's hand
A rock where a legendary person sat and had a vision?
Or is holy and sacred an intrinsic quality
Embodied in some aspects of life
The trust of a child
The fragile symmetry of a snowflake
The prayerful hum of life in a field of flowers
Perhaps both are sacred
I feel the natural things unfolding in my heart
Filling me with joy and wonder, spiraling awe
Sparks of green life-filled hope I can have every day.
.
.
.
MORNING LIGHTS
Three lights guide me in the morning
The candle of hope I light every morning
For me, you, and all who need hope
The plant light I put on for my indoor green friends
And the dawn, rosy and with the reassurance
That everything is fine in the heavens.
.
.
.
HEY THERE MAGICAL CHILDE
.
.
To the children of the night
Who were born into a maelstrom
The ones who cowered in a tiny corner of life
Hidden, fearful, trapped
I say Hang On Kiddo
I know you feel alone, weird, confused, defective
But you are not those things
We are here, your future selves, and your friends
We love and appreciate your dear, quirky, unique self
Hang in there kiddo
The future will be different
It will open up, expand, grow brighter
Let us take the tiny trembling hand
Of our dear inner child
And help them to feel loved, valued, treasured
Because our inner children are the well spring
Of creativity, hope, redemption
The trickle that becomes a mighty river
To water our gardens until they bloom.
.
.
.
.
.
.
FINDING OUT
Once the Fool falls off the cliff
Into the Valley of Death
They transform into the Explorer
Who must claw their way out of the slavering jaws
Of addiction, disaster, ruin, despair, low self esteem
All those wicked monsters that inhabit the Valley of Death
Now the Explorer needs support, like minded others
Who are further up the Mountain of Averted Disasters
Towards that glorious view on the snowy glistening mountain top
Where we plant our victorious flag with the message
"You can do it, don't give up.."
.
.
.
PI DAY
Pi day, oh, pi day
It is your day, it is my day
A transcendental number
That just goes on and on
While awake or while we slumber
The math and our reality correspond
Pi might be irrational
But then again, so are we
Let us sit by those sacred stones of Stonehenge
We will have pi and tea
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
MAY I HAVE THIS DANCE?
I have danced to the Song of Life a million times
I will dance this dance a million times more
So let us all dance around together
On the Infinite Atomic Ballroom floor.
.
.
.
THE PATH
The path that leads to war
And the path that leads to peace
Are sometimes the same path
For part of the way
We must depend on Spirit Guides to lead us
The Spirit of Peace and Cooperation has a calm quiet voice
While the Spirit of War rattles sabers and screams curses
Easy to tell apart, easy to decide which to follow
We watchfully wait for the moment we can leave the Path to War
And join hands and hearts as we first carefully place
Our feet on the Path to Peace
In our personal lives, our communities lives
And our worldly lives
We join hands and skip back towards the Garden
Of Comfort and Welcome for all
I bet you can see the pink glow of peace just over the horizon
If we can only keep going, making progress
Because Peace is a kind of Heaven
Big enough for every one of us.
.
.
.
HAUNTING
The trees wave their branches and make the wind
Or maybe it's the other way round
But a howling wind on a Winter's day
Is a truly fearsome sound
.
.
The Wind Banshees shriek and howl outside
New England is haunted with ghosts from the past
We cozy up in our little homes
Waiting out Boreas's wintery blast
.
.
.
TILTING AT WINDMILLS
Socrates warned against writing
He said we must speak face to face
Electricity was thought to be dangerous
We must stick to whale oil and coal to be safe
When women wanted equality
They were told they can't possibly vote
Their little world is housework and children
The big real world of men too remote
Cars were seen as flighty contraptions
That could never replace the reliable horse
Writing, electricity, cars and women's rights
Were all deemed evil things ...but of course
Time has shown us the value
Of these more modern ways to do things
We hardly question them now
We even fly around with stiff metal wings
Now we are facing a new threat
It is what we call A I
Where anything and anyone can be faked
Fooling the ear and the eye
Our choices algorhythmically predicted
It's like they are reading our minds
Are they reading our personal mail?
Peeking behind our closed blinds?
Cameras are just about everywhere
Our location is tracked on our phone
A satellite knows our location
It's like we are never alone
How will we handle this future?
We will need the control of the law
We will all need to be mindful and vigilant
To look for each pitfall and flaw
It is going to take all of us
Working to control these advances
Figuring out benefits and liabilities
But fear not, we'll have plenty of chances
.
.
.
.
.
.
UPGRADE
You are doing the best that you possibly can
Oh I know we all have some unrealistic vision of perfection
But realistically we only need to give it our best shot
Today
Knowing that "best" might become better tomorrow
As we build on our successes
Having lofty goals is a good thing
As we journey from here to there
That place where we are the better vision of ourselves
Operating on a higher level
Achievements we can only get to
If we stand on the foundation rock of today
A mighty cornerstone with the words chiseled in
"I tried my best today."
.
.
.
PRIMORDIAL OOZE
Why is folk art so colorfully bright?
Mud
In Poland what fizzled Napolean's fight?
Mud
What can you use to build a cheap hut
Is the neutral brown color of the African mutt
A healing pack for beauty or to heal a small cut
Mud
It can tighten your pores, fill in a crack
Tons slide down a hill like a silty attack
If you sink in it deeply you might not get back
Mud
Prints in it can help solve a crime
It can bury a village for years at a time
It can feel like lava, red clay or slime
Mud
.
.
.
.
.
.
TRAJECTORY
First people had to learn how to do things
Build a fire, chop down a tree, form a hunting party
Then they had to learn how to make things
Dwellings, weapons, clothing, towns
Next we had to learn how to learn
Writing, mathematics, laws, customs
Now we have to learn how not to do things
Not overpopulate the land
Not pollute the water
Not ruin the air
Not add poison to the food
Also we must learn how to get along
Even if we strenuously disagree
So that everyone gets a chance to contribute their ideas
Last, but not least, we must figure out what we are
Why we are here
And when we look up at a starry night
What that feeling of awe, wonder and yearning means
Why, when a distant star winks at us,
We wink back
.
.
.
MY EX
We shed dead cells like crazy
It happens even if we are lazy
The fate of my cells is hazy
But sometimes fate is fugazi
.
.
I might have watched too much Twilight Zone
But I worry someone might make a clone
Someone like me right down to the bone
What if she's out there alone?
.
.
What would she do or say?
Is she equipped to find her own way?
Would we be different as night and day?
Can she live and laugh and play?
.
.
So when I exfoliate
I wonder about my cells fate
I hope that they're doing great
But I don't expect an update
.
.
.
.
.
.
LIFT UP THINE EYES
A sense of open-minded wonder
Can lift you up
On the crest of a wave, the top of a hill
A magnificent cloud, or sunlight shimmering through the trees
That sense of open-minded wonder
Can lift you up
If you would direct your mind,
Your gaze will need to go
To those uplifting things
.
.
.
PATH OF MINDFULNESS
The first thing the Fool does
Is walk off a cliff because they are not paying attention
Lacking situational awareness and overly optimistic about the land of golden opportunities
They imagine is somewhere on down the road
Take a lesson from the Fool
Don't let the dogs yapping at your heels
Distract you from your number one duty, paying attention
To the direction you are headed, and that your foot is being placed
On solid ground, not thin air
Which can lead to another tumble into the Abyss
Where it might take a long time and a lot of effort
To escape
There be Monsters in the Abyss
Monsters like addiction and negative despair
.
.
The Fool sees it's a beautiful day full of opportunities
To grow and improve for the willing and mindful
Today your journey will carry you past obstacles and traps
The jaunty mindful Fool on this bright new day.
Fool no longer, but now wiser and strong
Ready to move in a good orderly direction
Just for today.
.
.
.
.
.
.
