Poetry
An Offering
We all have an invitation
A choice to live a moment
Or to slip away, shy away, hide away
A sliver of a difference on the surface
But an entirely different world
depending on which we choose.
The same step, movement, glance
Can be an opening into the depths of this life
Or a blur that quickly passes
Each moment is an offering
Knocking at the door of our souls
Always ready for the answer
And it’s up to us to open the door
Welcoming in the burst of aliveness
The radiant dance of life.
Into Quiet
Some days we need to get quiet
The kind of quiet that lays out the canvas
For all the myriad of thoughts to come
Marching, splattering, clattering in.
We might wonder, in the thick of it,
How does this noisy stillness bring me any closer to peace—
To that the radiant light that unwaveringly
Illuminates within?
As we sit, walk, dance through
the chattering, bumbling tumble,
At some point we may realize:
I am the one holding the string to all these
Clutter-some thoughts
Then we might look out,
Seeing our hand reaching up,
Grasping the strings.
We trace the line down our arm,
Continuing until we reach the self
And what a surprise this next part can be!
At first it seems plain,
Of course, it’s me who clutches these ideas,
This scatter of matters that I have used
To get around from here to there.
But then you look further.
The one who holds the strings is not exactly the same
As the One who watches this whole thing play out.
More and more you find yourself as the One who observes,
Aware of all the movement, now like a symphony
And then at this point, a new quiet comes along
You can see what’s going on…
And maybe, a wave of a deeper fragrance of peace
Seeps in.
By Sarah Hodges
A Moment Divine
Each breath you take, a movement divine,
An illumined spark, a sacred sign.
Hold it not in worry’s snare,
But spend it dancing in the air.
Let joy ignite your soul’s refrain,
Like sunlight after gentle rain.
This life —a song, a sigh—
Sing it loud beneath the sky.
May Day
May we open our eyes to the new day
Awakening to the rising sun
A fresh start,
The wiping away of hard edges
The loosening grip
May we awaken each morning
To the body filled with breath and miracle
Humming with eagerness
Anticipation
Excitement
For the unknown path ahead
Within each of us
Beats the steady drum of life
Of courage
Of boundless light
May we embrace the wide and winding road
Grounded in the love of our dear ones
Carried by wonder and full hearts
And embrace with newness and wonder
the rising day.
The Greatest Adventure
Your life is the greatest adventure
Ever to have.
The question at hand –
Do you say ‘yes’
To the call of each moment,
To the uncertain turns,
The exciting prospects,
The trembling questions,
The triumphs and downfalls?
To say Yes, is to keep stepping through the door
Of possibility, uncertainty, hope.
Sometimes a yes is as quiet as an intention
Maintained with resilience,
Sometimes a yes is as loud as your most daring dream
The one that calls you out from the comfort of your room
And brings you into the world dancing,
Leaping, daring
To answer to what has always been
Your truth.
By Sarah Hodges
With Courage
Nothing can dim the light
Which shines from within
Not the noise of doubt,
Not the long, quiet moments
When your flame flickers low.
This light
Is not earned,
Not given,
Not taken.
It is yours simply by being.
It is the breath beneath your voice,
The pulse behind your quiet knowing.
You may forget it.
You may hide it.
But it does not go out.
It waits—
For the fierce moment
Or the gentle passage
When you step forward with courage.
At the Still Point
At the still point of the turning world.
Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards;
At the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement.
And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered.
Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline.
Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance,
And there is only the dance.
By t. s. eliot
From The Four Quartets
Kwan Yin Pledge
Never will I seek nor receive
private, individual salvation;
never will I enter
into final peace alone;
but forever and everywhere
will I live
and strive for the redemption
of every creature
throughout the world
from the bonds
of conditioned existence.
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