Do you have the Midas Touch? The Phrygian King Midas' was obsessed with gaining immeasurable wealth. His wish for a golden touch was granted and everything he touched turned to gold. The tale goes on to say that he died of starvation because even his food, and, sadly, his own daughter, were turned to gold by his touch. It is a cautionary tale about our current obsession with personal wealth. This poem, Life At Our Fingertips, celebrates another kind of gold that we can only find by living a soulful life. 

One of the greatest difficulties of the modern world is to escape our hurried lives and slow down long enough to expose our mesmerized hearts to life. If we do, we may have a chance to remember why we live and what is precious in life. When do you slow down long enough to feel the pulse of your life? What's left of the wild in you?

What if you were an anthropologist of the soul? What would your observation about the life of the soul teach you? What helps your soul to live and thrive?

One of the sad truths of this being human is that we deny and neglect our true sprit. We often need to be hammered down before we relent and let go of the reigns we use to try to control everything.  What do you think it takes for us to awaken to our selves and our lives?

We all long to be "seen," to be beheld by another with accepting eyes, by one who "stands in the face of our suffering and still sees our beauty;" and who can "witness our weakness and still see our strength."  I don't always achieve it, but I get glimpses of the possibility, especially when teaching and reciting poetry. Every time, I feel the transformative nature of simply being seen and the healing power of an accepting heart. 

Have you ever felt frustrated pursuing a goal, as if you were beating your head against a wall, and then gotten what you wanted only after you you gave up and let go of the need to get it?