May our words be candles. May we
honor those slain
and comfort those
hurt and lost in
grief. May our words bring light and lead
us through the dark
to a sacred
space where all are
held. May we find a way to stand
together and
speak only that
which brings forth light.
JDG
Stuck behind a slow-moving bus,
I sat and fumed,
my thoughts running
ahead to a
place neither here nor there. How much
time, I wonder,
have I spent caught
in this nowhere
place when I could easily have
settled into
simply being
right here, right now?
JDG
A carpenter uses the word
“justify” to
mean a process
by which something
crooked is made straight. Whenever
I feel the need
to justify,
I know it’s time
to pause and take a deeper look.
How am I, too,
trying to make
the crooked straight?
JDG
I was first introduced to this idea in An Anatomy of Peace by the Arbinger Institute, a book well worth reading.
Those words, “Live imperfectly with
great delight,” turned
summersaults and
clowned around while
I somberly consider how
they might apply
to me. Knowing
with certainty
I have the imperfect part sewed
up, I can now
shift to living
with great delight.
JDG
It’s not just a matter of light;
it’s how it’s cast
and what springs forth
from the one on
whom it falls. Just this morning, trees
stood visible,
but grey and cold
until the sun
shone through, bringing forth a glow
and warmth not seen
before. Like light,
love does this too.
JDG
When anger or anxiety
holds us in its
tight and shaking
grip, its hard to
turn aside and dive straight down to
where clarity
resides. But, if
we do, we can
find our way to what is both true
and kind and let
that be our guide
when we return.
JDG
It’s not always darkest before
the dawn. Just last
night, the dark came
early and spread
its thick blanket over house
and land. But, soon
the moon peeled back
the dark. Tossing
silver light on frost-covered ground,
the bright, full moon
happily stayed
to greet the day.
JDG
There are times when only a sad
song suits the soul,
when the longing
is for something
slow and soft and soothing – something
that simply lets
us be. During
those times when even
two’s a crowd, sad songs make space for
sitting shiva
with tears and the
warm flow of grace.
JDG
Breathing in the worry, breathing
in the hurry,
we pause, then breathe
out spaciousness,
its much needed antidote. This
ancient practice
of tonglen helps
still our modern
minds. Cradled in its wise old arms,
we can relax, set
free, at last, from
the press of time.
JDG
How many precious moments we
waste resenting
rain, demanding
sun when rain is
what has come our way. The great Duke
Ellington played
things a very
different way.
“I merely took the energy
it takes to pout,”
he said, “and wrote
some blues instead.”
JDG
aholdingplace 