Light in the East
In early morning I sit alone with the sea. Only stillness, dawn color and the wind’s whisper in the high trees. As the day rises I calm the thoughts that come with wakefulness. To empty the vessel is to invite the guest. No words are needed for presence is all and with light in the […]
Let the Wind Correct
The winds of autumn cause the seas to surge and strip the summer leaves. The prejudices I won’t release are torn by these winds, tearing the flesh of soul. Not as wise as I would like to be nor so strong as I pretend belief becomes defense, uncertainty to disdain so into this storm I […]
Dear Companion
Autumn rains refresh the earth, restoring color, lifting worms. Along the northwest coast forests breathe more easily, the misted seas mysterious in their changing garments. While the sun is hidden and the land grows still we ask for grace not to be misled, for patience in the slow descent. Though we travel at night the […]
All the Grace Needed
Low clouds bank the island though the rain has stopped and skies begin to clear. Summer dried the ground so the land drinks deep these autumn showers as trees begin their winter sleep. I hasten to put away all that must be stored, my heart racing with a quickened pulse while quiet winter approaches. I […]
Garden of Remembrance
Fog envelops the islands as the changing air of autumn blankets the sea with mystery. Quietly we sit within the shroud recalling the night sky passage as crows haunt the trees and we wait upon the sun. Our path obscured, our greater home hidden but as we travel the ancient road the garden of remembrance […]
Nurture the Garden
The clouded sun lights the sea, gulls cry out their morning welcome and the daily news arrives. The greater the disturbance the deeper I reach to nurture the garden. Watered with silence, fed with forgiveness, the harvest is spirit and upon this altar I am lifted. […]
Today is the Day
Today is the day the Morning Star rises, today the day of the moon and sun; today the wind and ebbing tide, the color green yet full in the earth. As mandalas are drawn in the temples of Bhutan each day the heavens are painted and the ground brings forth. All this I compress into […]
In that Emptiness
What will I sketch upon sea and sky? How can I add to the living pallet? I wake with the sun, go down with the moon. Looking out at the expanse I find myself where heaven and earth meet. Don’t mistrust this dawn, the stillness you might find; in that emptiness is your salvation. […]
Upon the Sacred Earth
The fire of the sun ignites the moon to a golden lamp in the night sky. We too thrive on solar light, rising with the earth to father star. Don’t let pettiness fool you, we are made of the sun and children of a holy world. No longer taught the good road we must find […]
Loom of Time
The salt water is clear to the bottom but the sky is clouded with smoke. In Canada the forests are burning and with wind from the north we share the suffering. We’re all one earth, the sea and sky and patient ground. We eat from the same bowl, drink from the same cup and our […]
In the Quiet
I waited on the moon as dusk spread across the sea, the distant mountains growing dark. Then she rose over forested hills and cast a golden stream across the ebbing tide. A sight for the ages brothers and sisters, without the palaver of talking heads and dueling voices. Hours later the sun blazes in the […]
Summer Morn
Hummingbird wings trill in the warm sun as winter past fades in memory. The green world rises and on this summer morn like eagle with his early catch I breakfast with the gods. Reading of “Summer Morn” with music by Morten Lauridsen
When Next We Meet
The day settles into a lazy umber glow as the tide rises to fill the cove. The distant mountains massive and snow capped, remind me how little I know. We humans are so small. Is this why we cling to power? Better to surrender vanity, join the deer in their evening browse or the teeming […]
Walking the Borderland
The borderland between this world and the other is a lonely place, fearful and unvisited by those who prefer daylight and the comfort of sleep. I walk beneath the tall trees, communing with the stars above the darkened forest, an outrider in the night where life force rises and the mystic becomes real. Like the […]
Precious Gift
The sun comes bright over the awakening city as we rise to daylight with memories of what was, hopes for what is yet to be. We walk alone but not apart, each of us cells in the larger body, moving together despite all distance; blood here, breath there, taking nourishment, releasing what’s unneeded. It may […]