Here is a poem I wrote some time ago. The topic of how we tend to live our lives through our stories came up with a friend, and we ponder the question: is it possible to live life ‘beyond’ stories? Interested to hear your thoughts when you read this.

I will tell
No.    more.
Stories
Justifying
Shoring support
Painting
My righteous
Picture of
My
Love
Grief
Joy
Pain

Let me
Feel
What I feel
Cry when I
Need to
Rage when
My cells feel
Shredded
When pain
Descends
Unbidden
Unwanted
Ripping apart the
Painstakingly repaired
Crafted
Fabric
Of my
Life

Let me
Feel
What I feel
Smile
When I want to
Laugh
Absorb
And share the
Sheer
Joy and
Awe
The radiant
Glow
When love and
Gratitude
Visit
Just as
Unbidden,
But wanted
Enriching
Many-fold
The graced
Fabric
Of my
Life

I will tell
No      more  
Stories
To claim
Any passing
Thing

23/11/19

Toasty warm in bed
fresh blust’ry air on my face
the best thing ever

When the soft whisper
of truth
hides too readily
under a blanket of
habit
discomfort and
grief

when it gets lost
too easily
in the cacophony
of familiar stories,
and in the searching
for answers
and solutions,

it takes
all I can muster
to stop

to sit
with the chaos.

it takes
time
and space

and allowing myself
to feel immobilised,
anaesthetised
and paralysed,

it takes
courage
to remember
to slow down
to let this gordian knot
just    
be…

for as long
as it takes trust
to let it
slowly soften
relax
start loosening
and opening up
enough
to allow
some light
and love
and wisdom
into the centre
that’s been
expertly hidden
for too long

When the soft whisper
of truth
can finally
reveal it is
actually
an opportunity,
a breakthrough,
no…
a clarion call
for new action,

heart and mind
are ready to open
and practise
being and
doing
well
together
in a wholly
and radically
transformed,
new way

Symphony of a little stream (only when we stop and listen)

It’s only
when we stop
sit down and
listen,
we notice
the soft, delicate
tinkling
and gurgling
of a little stream
its harmonies
on surround sound
from different
directions at once

Quiet
Peaceful

Intensified
by the sparkling tune
of a little bird
flying by
occasionally

Briefly distracted
by an insect’s
buzz
near my ear

Back to the music
of the stream

Still
Peaceful

It’s only when we stop
and listen
we notice
a breeze adding
a soft swishing
to the sweet
stillness
of the little stream’s
quiet glorious symphony

Blissful
Delight

Reworked from “Symphony of a little stream” on the TA (day 38, Feb 2016)

27/04/2021

Deeply rested
At last,
Refreshed
Renewed
Revitalised

After walking
for days on end
through windstill valleys,
on ridges and hillsides,
carried on wings of sparkling clean,
fresh forest breath,
powered and reset
time and time again,
by breathtaking grand landscapes
that feed legs,
heart, lungs
and spirit
pulsing with life and
anticipation
at the dawn
of a new
coming of age

Waterfalling
falling
falling
clattering
sparkling
from rock
to mossy rock
down and
ever further
down

waterfalling
crisp
clear
cold
alive

Waterfalling
sometimes
you only hear
a gentle drumming,
then gushing
through gullies,
among ferns
around rocks
over boulders
and tree roots
gurgling
trickling
dripping
from tiny
mossy fingers

ever moving
touching
refreshing
every living cell
it meets
until they all join
in clarifying
unison

waterfalling
calling
urging me to
slow down

slow down

open every fibre
take in
savour
what this precious
earthy
moment
offers

Rainfall
Rockfall
Crashing waves..
Thoughts keep rumbling

Meanwhile
the blue sky
the heart of the earth
the deep of the ocean
Are still

Finally
I hear
the call…
my heart
at ease,
in sync
with silence

The joy of compost
Sweet smelling, soft and crumbly
rich abundant life

What will it take
to co-create a new world?

A world where I know
what’s good for all is good
for me
A world where I know
water, air and soil
as my body
A world where I know
it will take
remembering
to stop where I’m heading
at breakneck speed
even
to stop what I’m doing
right now

It will take remembering
To stop

To feel the earth
the trees
the sun, the rain
To dwell for a while
with all of creation
breathing
in every cell

It will take remembering
to stop and sit
to feel and hold
with love
the dormant seed
stirring
in body and soul
and take the next
small step
towards its
unfolding

only to remember
to do this again
and again
and
again

This year..
 
THIS year
ripping to shreds, then
weaving a new fabric
of everyday life;
familiar structures
of coping
stripped bare
more than
a few times,
hard to recognise
the depths of
what
    your
         body
               knows
in this moment

You remember
once again
the time
has come,
each day
a new beginning,
to open
to make room
for a warm and welcome
space
for all of life
to share itself
to have a place at the table
of the whole intimately
interconnected and
multidimensional
raw and fierce
divinity of it all

Turning your body
into a warm and welcome
launching and landing pad,
from which to live
and return
to the fullness
of your precious life,
for the benefit of everything,
from the micro-organisms in the soil
to the micro-particles in our communal soul(s)

This year
nearing the end
of its messy
unpredictable life..

Giving thanks
for the wild,
transformative
ride..