THE ONE TREE

They say the apple 

doesn’t fall far from the tree. 

But what they don’t tell you

is that we, said apples,

all fall from the same tree. 

Maybe they don’t tell you

because no one told them,  

or they assume we already know,

or because they can’t believe 

the good news that

there is only one tree,

and the good news that, 

before we fall from the one tree

we all drink of the same sweet nectar,

swaying beneath the same wind-wizened branches 

while shaded by the same greening leaves,

all tethered to the same strong stems.

No wonder we’re all so alike!

Though we may look and live and love 

differently from each other, 

--so much so that it’s easy 

to forget our common origin-- 

our truth lies in the tree.

And when we make our final fall, 

all sheltered by the same Above,

we return to become fresh earth,

bearing fruit not of our own making, 

but of our mother’s love and labor, 

blessed to bequest her life anew.

FREEMINDING

Who’s your #1 employee?

I invite you to try something that may be new to you--a simple way to free your mind: Sit comfortably with your laptop, device or paper and pen, close your eyes, belly breathe a few times and let yourself sink into a relaxed state. Let the chatter come and go then pay close attention to what you’re hearing and feeling. Write down whatever comes…as it comes. Don’t filter. Don’t finesse. Just be a dutiful scribe while you let your mind speak--and speak freely.

This practice takes the mind off leash. Think of it like a dog in the middle of a woodland meadow on a beautiful sunny day. It let’s the mind sprint and jump, twist and cavort, stop and sniff, then dart off in a new direction. It’ll bolt off after some invisible prize (insight, revelation, aha) then turn and race back to our feet with it. All the while we follow at a distance and just observe. No agenda.

By the way, the longer we do this the deeper into the mind we go.

I’m not talking about daydreaming. That’s passive. This is highly engaging. In time we gain an appreciation of the energy, the agility, the beauty and the spirit of the mind--and all this while we are sitting perfectly still. 

And there’s more.

Getting to know our inner landscape is not a given. There’s a whole lot of mystery going on in there. Many people won’t bother or may be afraid to enter. But this practice is so easy, so helpful and so healthful! 

Don’t have time? 15-30 minutes a day is enough to settle into it. When we do it, especially regularly, we get both immediate blessing (like a calming and centering) and lasting benefits (like clarity and creativity). 

We give our mind instructions all day long. It serves us religiously and tirelessly while frequently under emotional stress, mental strain and even physical duress. But it is a rare moment when we let it have a word with us, when we sit back and listen so we can receive invaluable feedback from our number one employee.

And it's the one--the only one--we can’t live without. 

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO LOVINGLY FREE OUR MINDS.

LOOK ALIVE!

It doesn’t matter what you look like.

It doesn’t matter if you’re pretty or handsome.

Cute. Sexy. Dashing or debonair. 

You will not be long remembered for these. 

Sorry. Or maybe that’s good news.

What will stick is this:

At any given moment, 

you either look basically dead.

Or beautifully alive.   

Your face is how people will decide. 

--what they see when they lay their eyes on you

for more than just a passing moment

--perhaps an unguarded one

when you don’t catch them 

peering past your pretenses.

What they will remember is this: 

Whether you look like you’re in love 

with this gift called life. Or not.

So, when you look at someone today,

look like you really do care about them

--even if you don’t know them,

especially if you don’t know them.

Look like you are interested 

in the who that they are, 

in what they honor, in why they hurt.

Look like your dog--not the cat, 

definitely not the cat--looks at you 

when you finally come home.

In other words . . . look alive! 

At least, 

you’ll give them something to talk about.

More likely, you’ll give them 

a peace in the passing.

It may even open them 

to a sweet moment of joy, 

a hiatus of hope. 

They’ll know that they 

have indeed spotted  

a rare, exotic and captivating life form

singing away right in the belly of their 

busyness-as-usual forest.

They may even give you 

that same lovely look back 

because deep down, they know.

they know what’s happening on the inside 

when you look like that on the outside. 

They know there’s only one place

in the whole universe where that particular look 

can come from: Your Source. Your Soul. Your Savior.

Call it what you will. It’s a holiness within,

a holiness ever so briefly shared.

And really, what have you to lose? A smile? 

A moment of authentic humanity?

A look that says, “Whether I know you or not, 

whether I’ve ever seen you before,

or will ever see you again,

I’m glad we’re both here.

This may take some work.

GOOD FRIENDS

I know this day is dedicated to all things Valentine. To lovers and their love. That’s good, And sweet. And deserving of our affirmation. 

But I’d like to use the opportunity to raise up another worthy placeholder in the realm of relationships: our good friends. We share a special love with them that doesn’t get a day of its own. But where would we be without them?  

Good friends. 

They have our back, 

they stay by our side, 

they’re with us even in bad times,

when we’re at our best. And our worst. 

They watch over our wellbeing. 

They give us one of the things 

we value most highly; their time, 

and another; their loyalty, 

and a third: their listening presence. 

They make us laugh out loud, 

they come closer when we cry. 

Just seeing their smile,

hearing their voice,

hugging their body,

helps us put things back in perspective.

They help us realize there are many ways 

of seeing life, of doing life, of being life.

They help us see what we can’t see

even about ourselves, especially about ourselves.

They warm our hearts and expand our minds. 

They invite our allegiance and defend our honor. 

They linger when the others have all left. 

Where would we be without them?

A HOME SONG

I'm taking some time off from writing to tend to some other things. In the meantime, here's a lovely poem by Henry Van Dyke entitled A Home Song.

I read within a poet's book

A word that starred the page:

"Stone walls do not a prison make,

Nor iron bars a cage!"

Yes, that is true; and something more

You'll find, where'er you roam,

That marble floors and gilded walls

Can never make a home.

But every house where Love abides,

And Friendship is a guest,

Is surely home, and home-sweet-home:

For there the heart can rest.

THE LITTLE DUCK

Here's another of my favorite poems. By Donald Babcock, it's based on “Even if I take the wings of the morning and settle at the furthest limits of the seas, even there your hand shall lead me…” – Psalm 139:9-10.

THE LITTLE DUCK

Now we’re ready to look at something pretty special.

It is a duck,

riding the ocean a hundred feet beyond the surf.

No it isn’t a gull.

A gull always has a raucous touch about him.

This is some sort of duck,

and he cuddles in the swells.

He isn’t cold,

and he is thinking things over.

There is a big heaving in the Atlantic,

and he is a part of it.

He looks a bit like a mandarin,

or the Lord Buddha meditating under the Bo tree.

But he has hardly enough above the eyes

to be a philosopher.

He has poise, however,

which is what philosophers must have.

He can rest while the Atlantic heaves,

because he rests in the Atlantic.

Probably he doesn’t know how large the ocean is.

And neither do you.

But he realizes it.

And what does he do, I ask you?

He sits down in it!

He reposes in the immediate as if it were infinity

– which it is.

He has made himself a part of the boundless

by easing himself into just where it touches him.

I like the duck.

He doesn’t know much,

but he’s got religion.