Let It Rain

At Night with the windows opened

The first rain of spring
- - - - - -

let it rain
let it wash away
all of the fear I found
after unpinning every careful shape
the patches of anguish
the threads of uncertainty
the scattered pieces of fabric
that were on a path to becoming
what once was to be
the awkward steps on new legs
naked, forgetting form
walking on unexplored grounds
the shock of earth
hands reaching for the future
grasping for the past
groping for something steady
this awkward
creature
tumbling

I want to know what lies beneath
I want to know what it looks like
when it grows in the dark
pushing its tender leaves higher
clinging to the hope that
"this way must be up!"
until
that shining day it breaks through
when the sun pours over it
like a warm hand on a cold body
a burst of clarity
for a weary traveler revived

The Open Dimension of Being

I am reading a book called "Ordinary Magic" by John Welwood that is very much about living in the present moment, so far, in a very meditative way. He speaks of coming back to focusing on the breath when we find ourselves caught up in mental distractions, and then separating ourselves from our thoughts and emotions, coming back to a place of just being aware. It helps us to discover the difference between thinking and just being and makes us fully available to the power and truth that can be found in the present moment.

A favorite quote is...

“Meditation is a gateway to this open dimension. The more we sit with our present experiencing, the more we find that it is brimming with energy and clarity. Everything is happening here, and only here: the feelings in our body, the nourishment of the breath, the textures of our thought, the desire to live more fully, the pain of our disappointments, the speed of our busyness, the love we feel for another, the play of the wind in the trees. When we relax our attempt to get a hold on life, we start to appreciate the richness contained in the simplest things.”

I wonder how much more rich the experiences in each day could be, how emotionally available we could be, and how much more in line with our inner truths we would live if we practiced the power of the present moment.