Tag Archives: beauty

gift

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hand holding flower
What does it take 
To receive a gift
Graciously,
Fully?

It takes attention
And an open heart.
It means suspension of judgement,
Looking away from my gain
To your generosity.

The object in your hands
Is not the true gift.
It is the offer of your attention
Calling to mine.

It is your heart, whispering …
‘I want to connect.
I want to honor 
Your presence in my world.’

It is the open palm,
The heart extended,
That whispered longing,
That holds the beauty. 

And to give a gift?
You must release it, tenderly. 
It is an offer
Not a consummation. 

When a gift is truly given
And received fully in return,
Two hearts are exchanged.

photo by Eva retrieved from Flickr per cc BY-NC-SA 2.0

together together

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… this is one of those moments when the strange and beautiful reality of the human condition rises in the face of what would deny it. – Kristi Tippett. 

Below the loud and clamoring voices
Beyond the angry fury
Even beneath the clubs and pepper spray
And bullets
Runs the urgent 
Wistful
Steadfast 
Song of community.

It is not about me.
It is not about you.
It is about us.

When I cower alone
I find myself bereft 
Of courage, strength 
And hope

I am not enough
Alone. 

I cannot be me
Without you.
I cannot hold to hope
Without your candle.

And yet 
I can see its flickering light.
In Minnesota,
In Ukraine, 
In Gaza.

This little light of yours.
You let it shine. 
I dip my fragile wick
Toward your flame.

Photo by Steven Train   uploaded from Flickr  per CC BY-NC 2.0

a thread

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In all this hubbub, I find that
I’ve folded my small world around me
Drawn in tightly
Hunkered down.

My protective stance is to withdraw 
Rather than strike out.
Yet that, too, is hurtful.
A withdrawal from life diminishes 
More than just me.

I think of myself as too small.
What use am I among the vastness
A silly, mistake-prone, appendage, 
An intrusion in the flow?

And so, I discount myself.
I think that any contribution I make
Must somehow be perfect
Or it is useless.

I forget that ‘perfection’
Is a process.
It never starts at its culmination.
Growth, itself, is one of the beauties of life.
The unfolding is, itself, 
A slow and stately dance. 

There is, you see, 
A humility that withdraws
Ashamed of its very self
But there is also quite another - 
A humility that offers itself
Even knowing it is not perfect.

That is the gift of vulnerability.
And mine invites yours.

My own thread
Does not add much
To the tapestry of life
But I do love 
The flawed and nubby
Pattern we make together.

Photo and tapestry by Fiona Dix posted to flickr and used per cc 2.0

Of forests and trees

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Sometimes, so they say, ‘you can’t see the forest for the trees.’ 
As of late, I think I have the opposite problem.
I need to look, really look, deeply look
At a single tree, a single branch, a single leaf.

I’ve been trying to figure it all out.
But the forest is much too big for me. 
One tender leaf, with veins outspread to touch each cell
Is, perhaps, the correct perspective for me
At this one, perfect moment
In your universe of time and space. 

I’ll leave the forest to you, just now.
And reach my tiny veins to those cells near me
 -
The ones that I can touch.


[photo by eltpics per cc 2.0 hosted by flikr]

October Blessings

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I receive the blessings of October
•	The birthday gift of presence from my family, willing to join me outdoors despite the wind and unexpected heat
•	The whimsy of encounters with armadillos and cows
•	The crunch of leaves underfoot

I offer this blessing in response
•	May you catch the eyes of a friend, this day, and see within in them a reflection of your worth to them – and give in jubilant response, the confirmation of their worth to you.

August Blessings

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I receive the blessings of August
•	The rhythm of rain upon the roof after so many days of dry and hot
•	An escape to the mountains with friends, hiking trails, catching sight of such majesty, listening to the chatter of a stream
•	Sharing a dinner with friends, flavored with fond memories and the simple gestures of kind and faithful love 
•	One cool morning back home, that feels a bit like a taunt, but holds real promise

I offer this blessing in response
•	May your heart know the blessings that hide inside your challenges and hold to the deep assurance that your own path leads through beauty and bends towards home

Yes, please

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When I see kindness,
When I see beauty,
And my soul sighs …

Then, I know that 
I am saying, ‘Yes, please,’ 
To the whisper of reality
That is more deeply true
Than all the pain along the path. 


Whatever else is true,
You have won my heart, again. 


[photo by Stanley Zimney per cc 2.0 on flickr]

This day

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this day.jpg

This day, a blessing.

This day, a whisper of hope
And the brush of love across my cheek.

This day, a gasp of beauty.

These await my waking.

My heart is eager
To greet such a day as
this day.

[photo by Christian Weidinger per cc 2.0]

delight

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gossamer wings.jpg
For me,
delight may be
the surest evidence
of God.

That eternal smile
makes it possible
to grasp my days
and venture forth
with courage.

There is
within delight
a firm assurance
that all will,
indeed,
be well.

And I can breathe again.

So, I keep an eye out for delight
and hear God’s chuckle when it shows itself
amid the rubble of my days
like a geode broken to the light.

My own heart laughs when I see it,
hidden in plain sight
already there when I turn my eyes.

The laughter of my soul
breaks down my fear
and blows away despair
like feathers in that holy wind.

 

[photo by Chris A per cc 2.0]

beautiful mess

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bedewed and bedraggled spider web.jpg

Even in the mess of life, just as it is,
There is beauty.
God dusts the morning with dew
And sends the light to shine inside each tiny drop.

Such is the gift of grace.
Such is the call to gratefulness.

My heart answers with a sigh.

[photo by 55Laney69 per cc 2.0]