Reaching down, reaching UP

Each tree grows in two directions at once, into darkness and out to the light with as many branches and roots as it needs to embody its wild desires.

                                                                                                John, O’Donohue, Anam Cara, p. 122

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life is seldom simple

it is never all joy, or all sadness

all light, or all darkness

we love those bright moments of creativity

and love

we love reaching out to the sky

arms, mind, heart, soul

open

to all that the light has to offer

but we must also be reaching down

into the depths

into the darker, more difficult moments

digging deep

into pain, and sorrow

we must pour passion and attention

into all of life, holding nothing back

for it is the roots we cultivate as we

delve in the rich earth of adversity, pain, challenge,

and even evil

that sustain us

as we reach gleefully into the sky

striving for heaven

and chasing

our wild desires

into

the vastness

Dance in the Fire

Oh God

Let all lovers

be content

Give them

happy endings

Let their lives

be celebrations

Let their hearts

dance in the fire

of Your love.....

                                Rumi

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the sun flames its greeting

setting afire the clouds and trees

kissing the grass ablaze

with celestial passion

so to Sacred love

kisses our minds, our hearts

our souls

setting us free

to twirl and 

dance in the fire

Spirit people

aflame with joy

Then the sun comes out

What we find as we listen to the songs of our rage or fear, loneliness or longing, is that they do not stay forever.  Rage turns into sorrow, sorrow turns into tears; tears may fall for a long time, but then the sun comes out.

                                                                                                                Jack Kornfield, A Path With Heat, p.47

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free floating anger

free floating fear

they are everywhere

twirling ecstatically

blown by the winds of hate

fanned into flame

by vile words, by lies

and sometimes

even

by the truth

much like the embers of the forest fire

which rages only miles from my house

they can spread, quickly

destructively

reducing all they touch

to ashes

leaving only the scorched landscape

of isolation and regret in our souls

there is only one antidote

only one solution

only one thing can slowing the raging process

and move us to regain control of our souls

so that the cleansing rain of sorrow and compassion

may fall

to quench the fire

and clear the choking haze of destruction

so that the sun may once again shine

and we may once again breathe

and see the beauty of the hills

Sacred Presence

Sacred

Love

Be present O Sacred One

open my soul

may the sacred waters

flow