I promise myself
gentleness in welcoming
this new day
this new rising from sleep
however fickle or luscious it was
in the night just gone,

I promise myself
to savour
each new opportunity
to respond to the earth,
the trees,
the kingfisher
flashing past my kitchen window
briefly pausing
amongst the glorious colours
of the liquidamber,
each day

an opportunity
to respond to
the sun, the clouds, the rain
my body, my recovering brain
each new morning,
allowing space
to feel the deep silence
embracing and enlivening
it all

I promise myself
to stop wrestling
to stop fighting time,
to stop pushing
and squeezing
as much as I think
my brain will allow me
to do today

I promise myself instead
to offer an olive branch to time
to listen to what *this* hour
of the day and the season
invites me into..

listening

soft belly
open heart

08/05/2025