sitting quietly
surrounded by pools of angst
shall i step out

"I have a very good life, so I have nothing to complain about. Sometimes, I just have existential angst." Meg Ryan

fatigue settles in
pressure makes knotty muscles
breathe

"Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold.  But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow."  - Douglas Pagels, These Are the Gifts I'd Like to Give to You

a hectic bumpy day
softened by gazing
at the misty moon

“Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm” - Author unknown

Blessed Earth

volcanic flows in Iceland
heavy sandstorms in China
is the Earth restless

“Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.” - Rachel Carson

majestic molten views
how do we live on this whirling ball
by grace

longer spring days
hard to out sleep the sun
time to dance

“Sleeping people can't fall down” - Japanese proverb

rain falls on aching bones
passing man prays for sun
warmth is inside today

"Our own physical body possesses a wisdom which we who inhabit the body lack.  We give it orders which make no sense." - Henry Miller

Real Food

i hear real chickens have bones
food doesn't come from cardboard
reality mushed with marketing

I work up this morning, and realized none of the images I had yesterday of where I can find food included anything my ancient ancestors would recognize. I had not a single thought of farm, field, tree, bush, ocean, etc.

Who among those who came before me centuries ago would fathom a cardbox or opaque platic container contained food with nutrients.
 
"Food is an important part of a balanced diet" - Fran Leibowitz

My Body My Storehouse

"Body: A thing of shreds and patches, borrowed unequally from good and bad ancestors and a misfit from the start." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

An interesting quote as I am thinking about how both my grandmothers carried more than ample weight. So is it genetically coded, probably.

Jon Gabriel gave me a good reminder of how by our ancestral history are bodies are "hardwired" for survival especially against starving to death, freezing to death, or being eaten. I especially enjoyed one message from a guided visualization he does. Food is readily available we don't need to store it on our bodies anymore. Now I shall have to find out if my body and I can agree that I know where the fridge, cupboards, drawers, grocery stores and restaurants are.

dropping to fighting weight
sumo wrestler?
smile

"I burned sixty calories. That should take care of a peanut I had in 1962." - Rita Rudner

Back to reading Haiku - the sacred art by Margaret D. McGee, I read the following Haiku:

my bed companions:
gray cat, hot water bottle,
dreams of long-lost loves
            - Barbara Gibson

As I am settling in for the night, I had a poem in response:

my bed companions:
comfy blankets, TV remote
dreams of Comcast connection

Not a Haiku. But I have learned of another type of Japanese poetry that is a closer fit: senryu. Here's the example of that style Margaret gives in her book:

Stumbling in the dark
then fumbling for the light switch,
which turns on the fan.
                 - Gregory Frederick

"A senryu is similar in structure to a haiku but focused more closely on human nature. . . Often a senryu will poke fun at the human condition."

Cool. I may have written a senryu.

the lighting of spring
brings more to evenings
flowers are coming

"For fast acting relief; try slowing down." Lily Tomlin

Happy Spring

spring comes dressed in gray
still it begins promises of new
a time for beginnings

I came across an idea in a book called The Gabriel Method by Jon Gabriel that is one of those so simple it seems profound. Jon came to a realization one of the reasons he was hungry all the time is that he was starving for nutrients, i.e. what he was eating was providing what his body was asking for so all it could do was keep asking. Interesting. There is at least a partial ring of true to it.

His personal story is an inspiring one losing around 200 pounds without dieting after he realized the problem was his body wanted to be fat. And with that realization, he
stopped dieting and started researching biochemical, nutrition, emotional, spiritual reasons behind weight gain.

I'm still doing my exercises and meditation everyday which is amazing in itself. I know I am missing something in my quest to lower my weight. A restrictive diet
just doesn't seem wise or sustainable so I am looking forward to reading the rest of Jon's inspirational story.

wading through ideas
solution finding or procrastination
or purely feeding curiosity

The best six doctors anywhere
And no one can deny it
Are sunshine, water, rest, and air
Exercise and diet.
These six will gladly you attend
If only you are willing
Your mind they'll ease
Your will they'll mend
And charge you not a shilling.
~Nursery rhyme quoted by Wayne Fields, What the River Knows, 1990

The master was unmoved. To all their objections he would say, ‘You have yet to understand that the shortest distance between a human being and Truth is a story’. —Anthony de Mello

roundabout to ordinary lodge
spectacular earthy food
darn good friend

good wishes sewn
with chocolate
an opening

“Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.” - Albert Einstein

Being Thankful

“Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.” -Margaret Cousins
gift of acknowledgement
act of appreciation
two smiles

"If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily." - Gerald Good

Pacific Northwest winds
soul filling breezes
satisfied smile

Quote found on Storyteller.net:

If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.
—Barry Lopez, in Crow and Weasel

what of the me of old
and how did i flow
into now

I received a wonderful, unexpected email from an old friend, Share Starwas. I am pondering a synopsis of the last 15 years of my life. An interesting task.
 
"If you don’t know the trees you may be lost in the forest, but if you don’t know the stories you may be lost in life." - Siberian Elder

lights reflecting on puddles
images on window panes
phantoms everywhere

"It is not our circumstances that create our discontent or contentment. It is us." -Vivian Greene

quiet nearly dawn
reading thoughts of others
i stop to have my own

"I am learning that if I just go on accepting the framework for life that others have given me, if I fail to make my own choices, the reason for my life will be missing. I will be unable to recognize that which I have the power to change." Liv Ullman

stumbling around
with poetic license
tripping on form

"Learn appreciation. Be willing to take lovingly each small gift of life and receive it, and appreciate it and allow it in. You won't be happy with more until you're happy with what you've got." - Viki King

Quote from the book The Wisdom of Women edited by Carol Spenard La Russo
(wonderful birthday gift from my friend Kathleen)

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."
- Anais Nin

more than chocolate
this week pleasure arrives
in an old friend's voice

"Every person is a new door to a different world."
- from movie "Six Degrees of Separation"

Culinary Visions

i received a wonderful surprise gift from Lisa, a thoughtful co-worker yesterday. Delicious chocolate enhanced by the salt. Still I prefer my bacon sans chocolate.

gifts of earth, fire and imagination

culinary visions savory creation

happy chocolate covered tongue

while dreaming i gaze at dirty dishes in kitchen sink
"i don't want to live like this" as i start to clean
sometimes next steps are easy

dark of night sitting quietly
rain glistening on windows
of empty cars

"Become a spectator in the greatest drama ever played - the drama of the opening leaf, the rising bread dough, the drilling wood pecker, the chasing dog, the cloud that crosses the moon." - Margaret D. McGee  

"Take the world as it is, not as it ought to be." - German proverb

wistful - party tonight without me
glad - for those joined in fun
resigned - aworking i will be

"There are some movies that I would like to forget, for the rest of my life. But even those movies teach me things." -Antonio Banderas

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."  Kahlil Gibran (found on website drstevenfarmer.com)

bit of merriment mixed with learning
gift of friendship, sound and books
nourishing day soft slow

"Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends." - Richard Bach

trying to catch the tail of a thought
it just flitters away unhampered by my attempt
oh well, emptied minded like good Buddhist

"We are all strangers in a strange land, longing for home, but not quite knowing what or where home is. We glimpse it sometimes in our dreams, or as we turn a corner, and suddenly there is a strange, sweet familiarity that vanishes almost as soon as it comes…" Madeleine L'Engle

Lingering

lingering gratefully in solitude

reluctantly moving towards the door

such a thin barrier to the world

 "It is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers. The more solitary I am the more affection I have for them…. Solitude and silence teach me to love my brothers for what they are, not for what they say." - Thomas Merton

if poetry crafting implies connection outward, on a wobbly path i am
if poetry is a connection inward, then on a firm road i step
before me are many inner vistas with majestic serpentine paths

“Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence.” - Plato

ancestors walking through my night
sweet poignant conversations
touching reverence and remembrance

“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.” - Henry David Thoreau

time for a free day vacation quiet
ready to coast foreign highways
restless and ready to run

I am thinking of a quote uttered by a wonderful character I enjoy, Larry, from the TV show Numbers: "My favorite part about running is you don't have to plan your route."