After days of cold, wind, and grey,
our spirits rise
with the rising
sun. Though the cold
remains, the wind has gentled down,
and with this shift
in wind and light,
we shift too. We’re
becoming quick-change artists as
we learn the ups
and downs of this
see-saw season.
JDG
A young adolescent girl, one
hand on the wheel,
turns and looks out
her side window,
proudly holding up the keys for
all to see. It
seems just yesterday
I held her and
her baby sister on my lap.
How bitter-sweet
to know that to grow
they have to go.
JDG
It’s been hard to get our bearings
during these dial-
a-weather days.
Every day we’re
asking, “Coats, scarves and boots? a light
sweater? or will
short sleeves do?” With
all this blowing hot and cold,
January
has been a month
that broke the mold.
JDG
In its wide embrace, the early
morning sky, for
a moment, held
both rising sun
and setting moon. May we become
spacious enough
to hold both lights
too, knowing though
they rise and set, light still abides
in that constant
sky, even when
we cannot see.
JDG
Today, as I go about my
travels, I give
thanks for windshields
and their wipers
and the way they work together
to shield us from
the wind while still
allowing us
to see. Yet, when the rain begins
to fall, a switch
inside helps bring
some clarity.
JDG
Life has drama enough without
the voice of Big
Deal Mind chiming
in. Just last week
when my granddaughter didn’t hand
an assignment
in on time, Big
Deal Mind forecast
an indolent future for her
and never-ending
propping up for
me. Oy Vey!
JDG
With thanks to Thomas Roberts, author of The Mindfulness Workbook, who introduced me to Big Deal Mind.
Even with cloud shadows sliding
across the full
moon’s shining face,
the starless night
is warm, holding a beauty of
its own. Light and
shadow sometimes
work together
to weave a cloth of deep content
as life’s moments,
too, glow bright, then
fade and shift with
each passing breath.
JDG
Aflutter with robins, the red
berried tree, host
of so many
other birds, reached
out, and for a time, held this flock
too. The robins
must have gotten
word of the snow
and stopped by for rest and respite
before flying off
to wherever
robins go in snow.
JDG
Something about the forecast of snow
stirs a need to
gather supplies
and settle in.
Hunkered down in our modern caves,
we await the
first flurry of
white, thankful we
stockpiled rock salt, oatmeal,
hot chocolate,
movies, popcorn,
and a spot of gin.
JDG
“And” opens doors that “but” slams shut.
A change from “I
want to go, but
it’s raining” to
“I want to go and it’s raining”
shifts our stance and
lets us walk past
predetermined
barriers and step outside with
an umbrella,
a raincoat, and
a lighter heart.
JDG
