Like you, I’ve heard it

a million times: “Focus on

your breath,” but it took

me sixty three days to see

that such a focus

connects me to my body

and to the present moment.

                                                                               JDG

There was a time when

the day grew dark and the wind

whipped through the trees, but

that time is not this

time, though the memory comes

slipping in. I won’t 

let it coil around me,

hissing its dark tales,

blinding me to today’s light

and softly swaying 

trees. Instead, I’ll allow it

to join me right here

as I lift my arms in thanks

for shifting times and weather.

                                                                                     JDG

My body’s needed

exercise and I’ve tried

to give it that, but

today after a sleepless

night of belly pain,

I’m attentive to its current

need for medicine and rest. 

                                                                        JDG

On the way to take

my granddaughter to college

with four other teens

and all her stuff, I give thanks

for a two hour

drive with all their devices,

knowing the drive back,

though touched with melancholy,

will be a short and quiet one.

                                                                                      JDG

The lure of bird food

was too much for that squirrel.

He leapt for it and

missed. Again and again he

tried, then suddenly

gave his tail a haughty swish

 as if to say,”I

didn’t want it anyway.”

He might have seen this

behavior before in those

with two legs instead of four. 

                                                                              JDG

Ten minutes a day,

sitting in a chair – begin

to move, remember

to breathe – how hard is that? It

should be easy, but

it’s not. The hardest part is 

being present sitting there.

                                                                                       JDG

“It is no use to 

sit in a peaceful forest

if our mind is lost

in the city,” says Thich Nhat

Hanh. I took his words

to heart as I exercised 

today and did my

best not to race ahead to

when this process was

finally done. I stayed right there,

focused on each move 

I took and I found my body

without losing my mind.

                                                                                 JDG

Under the watchful

supervision of the dogs,

I make my way to 

the mailbox and back. Toby’s

grateful for the trip.

Jimmy’s not so sure. I’m just

glad I have at last

begun this fitness journey

and I’m grateful for

whatever help I get – be it

dogs, humans, or videos.

                                                                                    JDG

So where do I start

after so many starts that

came to a sudden

stop? Begin where you are, they

say, and begin with

what you know. I’ll start here, right

now, sitting in my

chair. I’ll take my resistant

self in hand and start

blogging my path to fitness.

~

Why not? It helped me

develop a practice of

daily writing – one 

poem a day for almost 

six years. It could help 

me not lose focus as I

begin once more on

this infernal journey. I

won’t start with any

promises. I’ll just begin

with fingers crossed and

with viewing some videos

for the woefully unfit.

                                                              JDG

Eighteen years ago

you came trailing clouds of glory.

Today I wish for

you many new trails to blaze.

May you be guided

 by those clouds of glory in

the midst of life’s grit and shine.

                                                                                JDG