#MicroPoetry|May ’21 Reflections

Light is a reoccurring theme in much of these verses. This follows in a long tradition that embraces the poetic, the spiritual journey and the scientific parallels that recognise we are each an energy that emanates, emits and shines.

If we take this wisdom seriously, that we are light sources, then what does that mean if we nurture this capacity in ourselves and one another?
What practices do you pursue that help you harness your own light? In turn, how does this help you cultivate this in those around you?

As spring arrives, I find myself, along with many others, watching as green shoots break through the ground, as leaves’ pale promise begin to unfurl and seeds are sown to provide summertime delicacies.

What if we tended to ourselves as well as we do to our springtime return to the soil?
What if we recognised that how I treat myself, affects the soil next to me?
If we recognised such interconnexion, what might you begin to plant anew?

Justice is a central vocation and aspiration of our life’s journey. It is also a word that can be corrupted and watered down. It can even be weaponised against the very thing for which it aspires to establish: peace.

From my faith vantage, as a Christian, to hold on to this central component of my belief I need to remember that justice models acts that embody Love. This connexion, between justice and love, then allows for a constant frame of reference. If love does not inform just acts, then justice simply becomes another manner in which to oppress ourselves and one another.

In these reflections, I often find myself using metaphors to explore life. In this verse, life as a painting has drawn me to explore how we create the worlds we see. Just as importantly, the metaphor invites me to wonder whether what we have painted, what we have created, is in fact that which we want. This ‘want,’ however, is not about an individual, but as a collective.

If what we have painted does not serve the beauty we are, perhaps we need to begin a new canvas together?

Sometimes, it is easy to romanticise the Past or elevate the Future in such a way that the moment in which we find ourselves, the Present, is diminished, perhaps even dismissed. Whether we look to what was or forward to what might be, what we do now explicitly influences what we have or will see. Such awareness can liberate and free us in ways that enable us to embrace the agency we have right now and that is choice

As you look into today, what do you choose to do as an act of awakening?

In this verse, I return to explore how the Holy, as She, is experienced in Change. This is important in the reality in which I find myself in this poetic musing: the hoped-for lessening of the COVID pandemic.

What has become clear to me through these 16+ months is the reminder that stability is an illusion of privilege. For those on the margins and/or experience oppression, they often do not benefit from this semblance of permanence. If this experience connects for you, it leads me to offer these questions:

What is your relationship to change?
Is it a creative time or anxious making?
Regardless of whether you find change positive or negative, what do you feel would help you recognise and navigate it as a constant realty in (y)our lives?

Critical thinking is central to a life well-examined. Whether that is in such areas as the scientific or poetic, mystical or literary, being committed to such thoughts practices helps us, Such practice not only allows us to translate our opinion into measured consideration but also assists us to hear opinions with which we may find different than our own. It is when we attain such balance, we enter space where new meaning might be cultivated with one another even when there might be disagreement.

As we explore practices that deepen our own self-knowing, this inner work should point beyond just you and me. This preference leads to further revelation that in our own individual awakening, we become aware that we remain tethered. What tethers or anchors means is that unless those around us – the Other – are also afforded opportunities for liberation, none of us can be truly free.

How has someone helped you recognise your own inner light?
How have you helped someone recognise the gifts you acknowledge in them, yet which they have not yet?