Yesterday I was back at the top of the valley, inspecting the water gate in the dappled sunlight. This time it was stones, not vegetation, determining how the water was flowing. The heavy rains a few weeks ago had cleared the sticks and silt, dislodging and exposing the rocks. And the constant pressure of water …
Discovered, the first little violet of the year. Just one, so far, on the track above the water steps where the morning sun warms the earth. I love its gorgeous vibrant colour and the intricacy of its inner markings. Life in delicate fullness on display. Inviting me to cherish my life and not hide away.
The wonderful Andy Hunter – DJ, composer and all-round sensitive and creative soul – invited me to write a blessing for the April edition of The Presence Project. I was deeply honoured. With Easter in mind, but also the challenging year that we have all been through, I wrote this: THERE IS AN AFTER May …
Stepping intostillness,letting quiet spaceinvade ourinner worldfor a momentor two. Embracingemptiness,not to be fearedbut spacethat can befilled,later. Good Friday 2021
Life is bursting out here in the valley. I love these early signs of renewal and regeneration, especially those that appear ‘over the top’ (is that just an English phrase?) Exuberance: the quality of being full of energy, excitement, and cheerfulness Isn’t that wonderful? These willow buds are just that, and somehow, we need a …
The only way to get better at asking questions is to ask anyway. Each time we hear the curiosity that underpins our question, the narrative becomes clearer. We only see what drives our curiosity when we expose it to air. And then it has a chance to grow. Because flourishing is not in a box, …
I am fortunate to be part of several online communities. In one of them a fellow traveller posted a comment at the end of my lengthy response to a lesson prompt: When I read your thoughts, I can’t help but feel that there’s a question there, underneath it all. If you were to finish what …
“…be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue.” Rainer Maria Rilke, from Letters to a Young Poet ~ Thanks to Brian Draper for sharing this gem today.
Words lay the foundation for our perspective and our culture because they are the means we use to describe how we see the world. Our language, and within it our words, shape our reality. I guess this is why I increasingly turn to poetry and the poetic because somehow our current language is not big …
There are times, especially when things are far from clear, when the carefully clipped words of prose simply don’t fit. They try to cast a line that isn’t there or feels entirely out of place – alien certitude in a sea of emotion. This is when poetry is the only voice – at least for …