Did you know that a group of butterflies can be called a Kaleidoscope? I bet there are also times when you feel happy and don’t know the reason why. How can you cultivate an inner environment that supports feeling happy for no reason? Perhaps you need a cookie made by invisible nuns…

We are the only species, as far as I know, that actually does not feel at home on the earth. We have divorced ourselves from the world and lost our sense of belonging. My cursory study of Buddhist philosophy reminds me of our alienation and offers an invitation to come home to ourselves, to find and realize the Buddha that lives in each of us. 

It seems many people rush into the day with little time to really transition from the dream world to waking reality. I recently got a book of Love Poems by Pablo Neruda and read one before my daily intent writing session. That act inspired the daily intent content for January 24, 2018, resulting in this poem. 

I wrote this poem while traveling on Amtrak across the USA, starting with the California Zephyr  from Sacramento to Chicago and then the Capitol Limited from Chicago to Washington DC. The photos show some of the amazing countryside of America. When do you feel off track in your life and when on track? what do you do to slip off the old robes that no longer fit who you are as you evolve in life?

Once in a while, I get stuck looking for a phrase or for a line to start and find myself dismissing possibilities in search of something captivating. This is a recipe for writer's block!  This poem came out of one such blocked moment when I finally landed on the line, "I went looking for words..." The key to writer's block is "moving away" from, dismissing lines and phrases. Hence the poem took an interesting turn with the idea of driving away from something, which led to the image of a ghost town. What kinds of ghosts live in your ghost town?  

I am often surprised by what appears on the page while writing a poem. I do not usually write anything political and I had no intention to do so with this poem. I started with the opening line and was surprised when the third and fourth stanzas raised the issue of kneeling during the National Anthem.  I would rather see players take a kneel as a peaceful way of protest than to see riots in the street. What is your take on it? 

I love early morning walks on the seashore and sometimes catch shorebirds chasing waves or seeking food in the wet sand and chill air. I watch them dash around, back and forth, seemingly at random. We may claim superiority over the animals, pointing to our big brains and human erections as proof of our claim. Yet, from another view, we see the futility of our effort and it becomes clear that we are like them. 

When we embrace the heart cracked open, we are often moved to tears for no reason, as if the dam breaks and our joy and our sorrow flows out of our eyes with almost no provocation. When we are willing to be touched by life, we come to love this one life we are given no mater how damaged or distorted it may be. This blog celebrates a weekend with Mark Nepo at the end of July, 2017.