#MicroPoetry|August ’22 Reflections

A mantle, cloak, or scarf are significant metaphors for the inward journey. They remind us that which we cloth ourselves can be liberating or oppressive.

This is further amplified when we consider that the mantle is an inheritance. Something that has not only been passed on by those whom we have followed, but also that which we must share. We do not own that trust extended to us in our moment.

What we are wearing helps us not only flourish but leads us to consider what we intend to leave for those who shall follow.

Getting and receiving may seem similar, perhaps even synonymous. I am not certain this holds up well, however, when we view this through the commitment to lifelong learning and self-discovery.

The former is tied to acquisition, to the physical, to owning. The latter has some of those aspects, but it is the nature of accepting where the distinction can be found.

When we receive life’s gifts, as they arrive amidst our Awakening, we are always reminded they are impermanent trusts. They require us to eventually return them to the Universe with gratitude and humility.

Imagining our shared journey as a recipe is a helpful musing. Too often we want to get things right and control that which we can, especially when things feel chaotic. This can be a daunting and exhausting way to walk into each new day.

What if we considered that we each bring an essential ingredient?
What if we took the time to celebrate that which we each bear?
What if we took that sense of gratitude to begin to see what we might do together if we combined and played with our particular element collectively?

A ‘good way’ is a powerful set of words that are both specific and ambiguous. For me, when paired together, they point to many things but are not limited to them.

One understanding is about balance in life, another might be contentment, and also harmony between relations. Being in a good way requires us to be able to learn from all of our experiences. Whether jubilant or difficult, life’s invitation to ever learn helps us to create that which we are intended to share with the Universe.

We create each and every moment of the day. Whether intentionally or habitually, we shape the day through the inherent gift we each carry. What we see is what we have made.

This fundamental aspect of the awakened journey then leaves us with an invitation to consider what this means if we commit to embrace such a blessing and responsibility.

As you look out into this day, what shall we weave in a good way?

The creative process is indeed a generative time. To be able to shape something from inception to actuality is a blessing we each carry.

For some, the act of creation comes easily, and inspiration seems evident in each moment and experience. For others, such opportunity arises from trials, which are sometimes anxious and fear fraught. The commitment to harness those shadowed encounters is a choice that arises in the midst of holding two things together – creativity and fear – that initially seems contrarian.

It is amazing the elegance and artistry one can find in creation. From an orb spider’s weave to the way flocks of birds paint the sky in unison with winged strokes.

This beauty reminds us not only that we are part of this glorious creation but that it is the act of doing that for which we were shaped that the temptation of melancholy and the mundane evaporates. Whatever your muse, finding it, practicing and performing with boldness is an act of the spark Divine which is not only something that we each possess but which is eternally wonderful.

The things we do and the intention with which we do them are intimately connected. In my context, I would describe this connexion as the place where prayer infuses all we do. The act of undertaking a task, performing, and creating, is threaded with why we do things. In this moment of connexion, invoking prayer reminds us that we are invited to journey in a good way with ourselves, one another, and all of Creation.