APRIL WISE

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APRIL WISE

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If the first day of April is for fools

Then the last day of April is for the wise

We have the wisdom of April's stormy nature

We see that leaves and flowers are our prize

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The weather in April was uncertain

We have had to plan and prepare

For both the storm and the sunshine

Both our joys and our cares

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The potential which has lain dormant

Now springs forth fresh and green

We have learned from April's lessons

The cycles of nature are routine

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Once we have survived April

Our hearts and minds are at peace

To see nature doing her mating dance

The ancient majestic routines

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HAPPY NOW

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HAPPY NOW!

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I hope you are having a wonderful right now

But don't you worry if you don't know how

Think of something happy and poof! right then

Another now comes along again.

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I GOT NOT

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I GOT NOT

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I can be pleased about the good things I've got

I am also glad about the places I'm not

I'm not in a dungeon or whizzing through space

Or a waterless desert where sun burns my face

I don't live near tigers or in frozen lands

I am not hiding in a trench I dug with bare hands

As a matter of fact, this is my plan

To be growing and happy right where I am

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TETHERS

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TETHERS

Some folks might wander lonely as a cloud

Drifting in whatever direction those high altitude winds blow

Yet this is not the way for most of us

We are tethered, willingly or not

To many things, places, memories, people, opinions

Obligations, habits, and sources

Invisible cords that keep us from drifting away

Into the wild blue yonder

We value our freedom, wanting as much freedom as possible

While we also need to be Someone somewhere doing something

The tethers need to be strong enough that the winds of chance

Do not blow us away

Some tethers are left over from the past, dangling uselessly

Or dragging worn out behaviors

Those can be cut away completely 

Or attached to something relevant to our current lives

We must be able to move forward on our chosen paths

While having the stability of being tethered to reality

And our true selves

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PEACE BY PEACE

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PEACE BY PEACE

Peace by peace we will take back our lives

Calm our nerves, quiet our minds

Peace by peace we will solve our problems

Connect with the good, bypass the wicked

Peace by peace 

With gentleness and kindness

We will lead the lost to a safe place

A place of harmony and cooperation

We will pick up the pieces of broken hearts

Souls shattered by the world

Peace by peace we will heal them

Walking side by side, step by step

On the path named Peace by Peace 

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DUMBSTRUCK

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DUMBSTRUCK

In the Terrarium of Delusion

All is greed driven confusion

Those of us on the outside

Watch with our eyes open wide

As they struggle and strain and vie

To get their hands on the entire pie

Everyone fighting like crazy to win

Until we vote to restock it again

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PLAN IT EARTH

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PLAN IT EARTH

The ability to plan

Perhaps humans most amazing achievement

The elevator that has caused mankind to rise

From the mud and rocks to build mighty civilizations

That ability to plan has a dark side

It deteriorates into worry

No one can plan for every possible contingency

Factor in unknown unseen events

That can suddenly appear like a funnel shaped cloud

On the horizon

Healthy planning includes a range of possibilities

While worry is like trying to go full speed ahead with our wheels

Spinning, grinding away, cogitating in endless repetition

But getting nowhere in the thick mud of fear

Watch carefully when planning, a noble skill

Turns into worry, a drain on inner resources

And stop it

Shut down the worry engine 

By grabbing a piece of paper and writing down your plans

Then be done with it

Place it in the hands of fate, the fullness of time

Will reveal what modifications need to be made

To your original plans

Keep your mind like a clear blue sky 

Let the little dark clouds of worry drift past

With every breath, the breeze that blows them away

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A HIGH DEGREE

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A HIGH DEGREE

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I have a high degree of certainty about some facts

The sun coming up, what foods I like, where I am right now

So certain, in fact, that I rarely question them

Much less do they cause me worry

Most things, however, are grey areas, constantly shifting

No conclusions can be drawn yet, as much as I love to jump

To conclusions, form opinions, plan strategies

Where there are few solid facts to get to a decision

We are better off with watchful waiting

Poised to take action and respond

But never when a high degree of uncertainty 

Is the current condition

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WONDERLAND

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WONDERLAND

The Quantum World is bizarre

Nothing familiar is there

Perhaps no thing actually is there

Except waves and plucked strings

That make visible music

Is this possible? I don't know

You don't know, they don't know either

I can't make sense of the Quantum World

Luckily, we don't have to in order to live

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The Microscopic World is terrifying

Just about everything is weird and scary 

When it is greatly enlarged

Insects look like nightmare beasts

Common things I use every day are swarming

With bacteria, mold, viruses and heaven knows what all

A teeny tiny Twilight Zone amidst our regular world

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The World of Space is intimidating to say the least

Massive balls of fire travel through unimaginable cold

Vast space, deadly radiation, rocks and balls of stuff

Orbiting around each other because gravity

Which is also pretty much a mystery exerts a force

That curves space/time like a bowling ball on a trampoline

Plus, apparently 95% of what is "out there"

We can't detect, so we muddle along trying to get somewhere

To colonize before our own personal sun blows up

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We humans are in all these worlds,

Scary, unknowable, some are invisible to our eyes

We are at the point they converge

We are the only ones trying to figure this out

As far as we know

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I think about these astonishing realities

As I sip my morning coffee, lost in my thoughts

Living in my own private inner world 

Where I spend most of my time

If time exists

Which it does not

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TO YOUR INNER CHILD

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TO YOUR INNER CHILD

Take your time sweetheart

You don't have to rush

We have plenty of time and you're doing so well

I see how hard you try

The desire in your brave little heart

To be clever, skilled, wise

The kindness that comes naturally to you

Because you are good in every way it matters

I see the spark of hope shining in your radiant eyes

The Light of the World we are becoming day by day

Dearest child, your sense of fun and play, your courage

Your willingness to explore the new are the qualities

That have fueled every advance and improvement

Wonderful magical child, stay curious

Protect your innocence and joy

As you tread the ups and downs of the Path we walk together

Hand in hand with Older you

Together we will make our way, each day stretching out before us

Glowing with exciting possibilities

We will stop often to look at the stars, smell a flower

Watch a bug, pick a ripe berry

We will make this day fun, rewarding, wild and safe

We hop, skip, and jump down the path we will always travel

Together

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JUST IN CASE

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JUST IN CASE

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I was folding laundry and was down to the handkerchiefs

Ready to be done with the laundry (which still had to be put away)

I folded the last handkerchief quickly, unevenly

I went to put the laundry away but a thought popped into my mind

If a butterfly flapping its wings in Argentina

Could ultimately affect the fate of the world

Might my messy hanky do the same?

Could I make the world better if I folded it neatly?

I didn't know, I still don't know

But on the chance, I went back and folded it perfectly

Neat and square

I felt pride in my accomplishment, small as it was

Perhaps the triumph of order over chaos

I try to stay on the right side, the safe side

Of whatever invisible forces governs all the minute details

Tiny drops of good faith effort becoming titanic forces, a mighty flow

Of order and harmony we all need to live peacefully and well.

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THE CORE

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THE CORE

Instead of the term woke

I like the term "centered"

Not everyone is centered

A centered person is like a spiral

That rotates out from, and back towards

A central point

People who have no real center are like a scribble

Moment by moment chaos

Each centered person has something at their core

A central pillar of ideas and beliefs

Which informs their decisions and actions

This center could be just about anything

The human mind is capable of encompassing

A religion, philosophy, a cause, a passion

Figure out what someone's center is

And you figure out what they are after and what they will reject

How they arrange their priorities

What motivates them

We can figure out our own center based on what we value

Then it is easier to find others with similar cores

Where minds can join together for a common purpose

A gestalt where we become more powerful than the sum

Of our individual parts

Stronger together we walk together on our life paths

Which have converged and created a mighty highway

Towards our goals and self-realization

Which is essentially the realization that we are better together

Our orbits complement each other and provide stability

Spiraling through time/space with our intrepid companions

The Dance of the Universe we instinctively know the right moves.

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WINNER WINNER

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WINNER WINNER

When you play a game with a child

And the child wins

I think you both win

There are those who think that cut throat tactics

Of an adult against a child will teach the child about

The harsh realities of life, ruthlessness, unfairness

But everyone is handed these lessons by the very nature of life

The child is forming an identity, how they will see themselves

So a child that plays a game with me

Will see themselves as lucky, clever, brilliant

Amazing, a worthy opponent

And a whole lot of fun

Let the world howl and gnash its teeth

Outside our sacred sphere of happiness and joy

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TIMING

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TIMING

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What can we do when there's not much we can do right now?

We use watchful waiting to see what direction things are flowing

If they are going in a good orderly direction, fine

We can rest assured that the details do not hide the Devil

From our vigilant gaze

If things are not going in a good orderly direction

We will know soon enough from the rough seas of chaotic turmoil

From the wreckage we see swirling around our little rugged crafts

Batten your hatches, me hardies

Keep an informed eye on the climate

And a steady hand on the rudder

You will not sink, neither will I

We will form an armada and ready ourselves

Returning to battle when the time is right

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JUST FOR TODAY

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JUST FOR TODAY

I will not let anyone or anything

Obscure my goals

Lessen my resolve

Dampen my spirit

Ruin my fun

Slow my roll

Fill my mind with upset

Devalue my worth

Just for today

I will give it a shot

Keep an open mind

Look for what works

Give myself a chance

For peace, health, and satisfaction

With small accomplishments

Which becomes a life well lived

One day at a time

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SUPPLY

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SUPPLY

A farmer can sell you a carrot

A fishmonger can sell you a cod

A bookseller can sell you scriptures

But no one can sell you God

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A cobbler can make you new shoes

A vet can treat your pet's fleas

A newspaper sells you the news

Yet no one can give your heart peace

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Where do we get the ideas and attitudes

We all need to thrive

We need hope and strength

For as long as we are alive

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We can get the good qualities we need

To help us achieve our worthy ends

From the information we ingest

And the support of a few good friends

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COLLABORATION

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COLLABORATION

When I was a child, I used to think there were "grown ups"

Who could handle everything in a wise and powerful way

Being a "grown up" was where I was headed

Getting closer each year to the magical transformation

Where my all powerful "grown up" self would emerge

While I have developed a "grown up" aspect of myself

My freckle-faced skinned-knee inner child 

Is very much alive and well

Endlessly fearful and joyous in turns

Both are options but neither is completely in control

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