#MicroPoetry|September ’19 Reflections

I like the aspiration of communities that are resilient and supportive enough to help dreams come true. Whether that is as an individual or a collective, I believe that when we come together and are at our best what might seem impossible quickly becomes probable when we support one another without judgement or cynicism. This verse explores this idea in a way that hopefully points to such potential.

One of the gifts I get to experience is being invited into faith communities and seeing how they nurture the next generation. One of the tensions in these places is recognising that faith encourages us to see ourselves as blessed, and the secular often equates this to being ‘perfect.’ This is an unfortunate tension. In this poetic musing, I try to connect being blessed by learning through life’s unfolding. Through this lens, it is in our stumbling that we learn how to move toward the fulfillment of the blessing we each are.

There is always a dance between doing and being, acting and reflecting. Sometimes we might gravitate toward one more than another. For a time, this might be okay, but without balance, it can quickly become problematic how well we are able to share our particular gifts with ourselves, friends, family and community.

Distractions: they abound in every conceivable way. They are one of the most commons reasons we never get to where we want. They limit what we hope for and can leave us disappointed with ourselves, one another and even both. This verse introduces – with hope – the role that a commitment and intention to focus can have in our aspirations and goal setting. Ensuring such a proactive practice becomes part of our daily doing is indeed a step toward bringing to fruition the gifts we are blessed to possess.

To what voices do you listen?
Which channel do you preference?
What’s in your newsfeed when you go online?
Often, if we pause and reflect, these voices can be filled with a sense of isolating us from one another and sowing doubt not only in ourselves, but one another. Yet I do not l believe that we meant to be kept apart. I have experienced that when we come together, in shared trust, we recognise that we are not only light-bearers, but that we are called to help others do so as well.

Have you taken a moment to pause to follow yourself back in time?
With what lens have you explored this path upon which you have been set?
Too often the idea of rewards is seen as a gift or an acquisition. Often it is framed as a way to affirm, superficially I believe, ourselves in regard to acquisition of possession. In light of this, this verse explores rewards of wisdom and growth. Through such a lens, these rewards reveal those moments, learnings and choices that celebrate how far we’ve come.

Dulled, apathetic, and tired. These are the distractions of a busy world in which too much stimulus drowns out the simple and inescapable fact: life is wonder-filled. From the gift of the breath of life to the mundane amazingness that fills our everyday, being aware of this takes work. Seeing with eyes of wonder and gratitude is what this verse endeavours to invite us toward.

What does integrity mean and how is it forged?
From where does courage come in life’s moments when no amount of preparation prepares us?
Here, I explore these question through the obstacles we confront and suggest that in finding learning in those moments of faltering and stumbling we begin to recognise wisdom that allows to be truly honest to ourselves and authentic to the Other