#MicroPoetry|March ’19 Reflections

Joy: it’s such an inviting word. I love the depth of the meaning when explored outside of a saccharine Hallmark card. I believe that Joy and Hope are part of a commitment, a discipline if you will, to see in the reality of life’s unfolding something that adds depth even in tears of loss and despair of illness. There is no denying there is paradox in seeing joy and suffering as companions, but it often seems that they are indeed partners. What a gift to know there is a promise of solace in those moments ever so shadowed.

I love the playful idea of a conversation between people and Creation. Too often it seems one sided, but I wonder what it might look like, what we might learn, what new meaning we might reveal if we took seriously that a conversation with nature is always occurring. And – what if – we continued this imaginative possibility and took time to stop talking and, instead, listened?
What might humanity hear?

What does it mean to release habits that tether?
What might it look like if even in the comfort of dysfunction we awoke to change as ever possible?
What might happen if we recognise that we can change the world by changing our minds?

The spiritual and life’s literal journey, both filled with teaching and learning, are realities we experience as a holistic being. To align mind, body & spirit toward whatever lesson is being taught or learning sought requires that we treat ourselves in this three-part connexion with care and love. Insight and awakening, success and wisdom come when we are able to focus with an intention that is unattainable when we are fragmented and competing with ourselves.

How do we understand the choices we have?
Do we recognise the unconscious habits that often shape each day in a repetitive rote response that numbs us to the agency we posses?
What happens when we listen to the choice before us as a teacher leading us toward wisdom? Awakening?
What intention might such attention add to the possibility that each moment offers?

I always loved the old shaolin monk stories that were told in the television series Kung Fu. The idea of a Master has many iterations across cultures. From King Fu, to Sufis, to Desert Fathers and Yogis, each tradition honours Elders committed to a practice of enlightenment and awakening. It is easy to forget, therefore, that Masters attain their status by failing – and often a lot! This verse invites us to shifting from seeing commitment as impossible to that which is attainable with dedication and patience.

I wonder what each day would look like for us if we were not overwhelmed by a consumer culture that plants in us self-doubt. A doubt that is too often intended to offer validation in external acquisition. This seems very hollow, unsustainable, and unsatisfying as the spiritual beings we are. I much prefer imagining that we can nurture one another to shine brightly we claim the blessings that we are and have. This allows me to imagine a world in which our care of one another becomes a feedback loop that we offer back to the world and one another.

Mirrors are powerful tools and can be used as a significant metaphor. As metaphor, a mirror asks us questions that are reflective, and action orientated.
Do we like what we see?
Have we committed to a path of change or are we in a place of inertia, perhaps even apathy?
Ultimately, the power of our individual and collective reflection leads to questions of agency and leadership.
Do we claim the power of choice or allow other voices, agendas and intentions detract us from what we should see in order for us to thrive?