#MicroPoetry|December ’19 Reflections

The power of our thoughts and intention to create what we see and experience is a significant wisdom that is revealed upon the spiritual journey. The insight does not detract from the various experiences we may have, whether joyful or challenging, happy or grieving. What this ancient knowledge reveals, however, is that we are not victims to a capricious universe, but that we contain the agency to see in the midst of life’s difficulties, bounty, wonder and awe.

The interior and exterior of our journey can often seem disconnected. Though they are intimately bound to one another, too often they can be set in opposition to one another. Just as troubling, it is not unusual for the latter to be seen as more important or influential. This imbalance can detract that it is from within where our essence lies. That which we nurture, therefore, can influence what we see. In this verse, I ask which we preference. In turn, I ask how it is we want to see ourselves and the world, as opposed to being told what is real and what is not.

What do goals mean to you?
Are they about your career?
About acquiring something?
About creating something new, when previously there was nothing?
Regardless of why or how you name them, identify them, when you attain them, note that you are literally creating reality from the resolve that you commit to bringing fantasy into being.

Leadership and asking for help, recognising limitations and understanding that in partnership more might be done, is not an easy lesson. It is often not taught. In fact, we often preference the idea of the individual lone leader. This, we do, to our collective detriment. In this poetic musing, I am exploring the strengths of leadership from the individual to the communal.

Gratitude is often an aspect of the spiritual journey that receives much attention. This aspect, if you will, can be explored as a practice of discipline that requires both commitment and intention. Such a commitment becomes a way of not only seeing the world, but also of being in the world. From this vantage, gratitude is not something one acquires or wears. Rather it is a way of being in each moment. This groundedness than becomes a model that shares with a hurting world hope that in the midst of life’s unfolding there is indeed goodness and joy.

There is much suffering and hurt in the world. Some of us bear more than others. Some enjoy privilege that can distract from the hurts of other. Some enjoy privilege that can distract from their own hurt. But this reality is not the final word or a fate that binds us. Awakening to the light each of us carries, can serve to help inspire others and embolden ourselves. This takes commitment to reveal, but in so doing we begin to claim the agency we each possess to ensure that others too see Light in shadow’s midst.

How do we gauge change?
Success?
Growth?
These are hard questions to unravel in a time in which often what we acquire or possess defines these things. But there are older wisdoms and experiences that many systems of belief, knowledge and faith point toward. In these places and spaces, wisdom is the treasure of life’s unfolding. Holding on to that perspective may not be easy, but a commitment to awakening ourselves often reveals gems that outlast not just the newest bauble we may want, but our own linear time on this planet.

We often highlight the arrival of the new year as a place from which to reflect, learn and plan. Though certainly a helpful discipline and practice, I do not believe it should only occur once. In fact, I wonder what such a practice might look like if we did it in all of our decision-making times in which we discern what to do, how to respond, what to offer and what to receive. This verse explores both the annual tradition, but hopefully also points beyond just engaging in such reflection so infrequently.