Vortex

Hurling through space and time at speeds unimaginable,
Our shell buffets violently with the forces of all that comes.

Inside the calm yearns to remain and hold its place,
Tenuous, fragile almost impossible to exist.

Physical laws show us unwavering truths but we resist,
Our condition only abides by emotion, logic is easily lost.

Fear, freedom from pain is at our core the only motive,
Why does our God hard wire such lunacy?

Fragile, so fragile just waiting for rejection or loss of control,
Burst into pain, lose our balance, cry for relief, cry for shelter.

These thoughts came to me as I watched a jet plane cut across the sky.  I imagined how calm those inside were and how violent the outside must be.  Fragile calm sheltered from the wind, coldness and buffeting, but for a thin shell.  A medifore for our very lives.

Tempest

A promise of time, an implied gift of forever,
Moments of existence yearning for hope.

Given to a world that consumes all being,
Emotion, material, spirit demanding its place.

Lucky those that move through time unimpeded,
Casting free of reality, knowing Truth.

The war within to claim a place,
The battle outward to hold steady.

Childish lies told to not reveal but love rebels,
A lance piercing hearts with steely candor.

A God pleased with mind free, its peace given.

This speaks to how we think our lives will last forever.  That there is always more time and we squander it with foolish fears and acts aimed at the past and future.  The lucky few that can live a life that's in the present and don't seem to collect any barnacles along the way.  They leave this earth at peace and  fullfilled.

Revelation

The ever present giving, asking our understanding,
That which presses us, all that awakens us.

Making sense of ourselves in hope abounds,
Alone yet enveloped by the awakening.

Mystified we endure, existing for the moment,
Blessed by ignorance, cursed by questioning.

Know there is no past, next, only now.
Abide by the current, embrace its singularity.

The affront to all that is, to know without conscience,
Give not to interpretation, know without knowing.

This my first poem speaks to how confusing our existence can be.  How we dwell on the past and yearn for the future all the while ignoring the present.  Not letting our view of life taint it but to live in the moment.

Shiver Me Timbers

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities.


Winter blues a condition many seem to suffer.  Couple that with the pressure of the holidays, family events, financial pressures from gift giving, you get an overwhelming sense of angst.  Some years are worse than others.  Why?  Cold, snow and ice rather than sun with milder temperatures further into the winter?  Maybe. 

The hullabaloo that is christmas (note the small 'c'), nothing to do with the Judeo Christian Christ man-child.  Better yet let's call it Kristmas with a capital 'K' for all its un-Christ like, consumeristic hoopla.  Not to mention and for the sake of those less Christian, that we've stripped Christmas of all it's Christ for something akin to pagan festival replete with all the tinsel.  Festivus!  However, let's be fair in as much that it isn't about Christians as it is about Christians.  Why can't their holiday be morphed into something for everyone?  Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and even atheists.  Festivus!  But seriously folks, Christ Jesus would want nothing less than for all of us to enjoy his birthday and make it what we will as long as it is done in a spirit of love.

The human condition.  Now that's a mind full of thought that I don't even care to ponder.  Let's just say for the sake of brevity that it is equal parts sin mixed with hierarchy of needs and a heaping helping of Western societal influence thrown in for good measure.  Take that concoction along with hundreds of people, your local Walmart and let the reindeer games begin!

Let's give ourselves a break though.  For all the reasons I mentioned, we're simply human.  With that comes the struggle for life both emotional and physical.  Out of that struggle can come great joy.

Life is just a dream.

Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions.


-Edgar Cayce

There is no yesterday or tomorrow as the Buddha teaches.  Only the now, that unfolds in front of us second by second.  Trying to live in anything but the moment is an affront to our God as if we are questioning the deity's plan past and future.  It shows a lack of trust in how things are to be and a human weakness built on fear that we must somehow know all that is to come.  That somehow that knowing will give us peace or an ability to live in the present more secure.  We must learn that there is no such state as good or bad that all things simply 'are' as they must be.  How those things affect our emotions make us who we are. 

I don't know how many people I've met in my life.  A thousand?  More, maybe less.  I doubt that I could list much more than a hundred by name.  Fewer more maybe by memory associated with a chance meeting or situation in which I was in contact with them.  A college professor or a passenger on a plane or maybe someone I met in a time of distress.  A funeral perhaps or car accident.  It's certainly the intensity of the encounter and the resulting emotions that made a lasting impression.   I don't try to remember people very often.  It's just my way of living a life less stressful and more in tune to the now and letting go of the past and the future to come.

If I could offer anyone any advice I'd say......live the life you've been given in the way your God made you.  Don't let negativity attach itself to you and don't allow other's emotions or anxieties affect the way you choose to go about your life.  Smile often with bright eyes and let your life unfold by the moment.

That's a Croc

“To be happy, it first takes being comfortable being in your own shoes. The rest can work up from there.”

-Sophia Bush

The amount of time I spend thinking about myself, means nothing to others.  I'd bet for the most of us we're thinking about ourselves most of the time either consciously or unconsciously.   I've come to the undeniable conclusion that we can't escape one another.  The only solution is to think less of yourself and more of others and to do this you must be comfortable in your own shoes.  That requires many things and not least of which is to live without fear of anything.  Also to not care what others think but still care about what others think.

An online questionnaire once asked if I were to be stranded on a deserted island what would I take with me.  I said my Crocs.  I have summer Crocs and winter Crocs.  Aside from my feet, they seem to also fit the Zen part of me. 

Cafe' con Leche

"I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon."

-Ronald Reagan


I don't know that my medium cup of McDonalds coffee with two cream and a Splenda would qualify as cafe' con leche but it works for me.  Now, I would have to agree with President Reagan that coffee keeps me awake but the afternoon is fine.  It is in the evening that it keeps my eyes wide open when I'm trying to go to sleep.  As a rule, I generally don't drink coffee after 6:00pm or I'll toss and turn into the wee hours.  I hear many say it has no effect on them but not me.

A revelation for me when it comes to coffee was how darn good sweets taste when accompanied by a good cup of coffee.  It clicked for me when I once combined a Pop Tart with my morning cup of coffee.  Doughnuts you ask, forget about it.  Pure heaven!  However, there's one pastry on my 'bucket list' to enjoy with a cup of coffee before I die and that would be the famous Sfogliatelle (sh- fee-a- tell), a hand made flaky layered Italian pastry with a sweet ricotta or french cream filling.   They are hard to find because they are so labor intensive to make.  In all my travels, I've yet to find one.  I did once call a Italian bakery in New York to see if they have them and did and they said they would mail me some.  I didn't take them up on it since I hope to get up that way. 

Off With His Head

“Do right. Do your best. Treat others as you want to be treated.”

-Lou Holtz

I can't help but notice all the media hype and gossip over whether Rich Rodriguez will be fired after an all out trouncing by Mississippi State in the 2010 Gator Bowl with a score of 52 to 14.  Also, adding insult to injury is the back story on his lack luster past three years as the head coach of Michigan.  Whether he's let go or not, one thing I do know is that Rich will grow from this and as I've already said, we grow fastest through pain and suffering.  My hope for the coach is that he finds what's truly important in his life and to me, it's not football. 

We all have our Gator Bowls in life and if were lucky we're forever changed for the better by the experience.  You just need to be able to rest assured you did the best you could and that you did your highest sense of right along the way.  When you put your head on your pillow at night, that and that alone will determine if you sleep peacefully. 

I'd like to see just one of these high profile coaches 'man up' and do something unbelievable in the face of being fired.  Quit football all together and do something entirely different.  Or if not leave football, maybe go coach a struggling small college team or even a no name high school team.  Make a point to show the world how absurdly insane our country has become with the obsession with winning at all costs and how important other things in our short lives can be.

Good luck Coach we'll check on you later.

Happy New Year!

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better person."

– Benjamin Franklin


Change is difficult, change is slow and change is not always lasting.  In this time of resolutions that the new year bring's, I say to lighten up on yourself.  Don't over resolve to change too much in the next year and to the contrary, simply take stock of the changes you've been able to successfully make already.  For the changes you wish to make I advocate keeping them to yourself.  Proclaiming them loudly for the world to hear only creates more undue stress on your success.  
 
If you want to make a change in an aspect of your life here are some approaches to consider.

• Write them in a journal or a blog so you can revisit your progress or struggles.
• Keep them quiet and make them yours.  Share with only trusted friends.
• Find a reason for the change beyond the obvious.  'Want to loose weight?' Avoid dieting, make a life long change in your eating habits for spritiual or ethical reasons.  Maybe go vegetarian or choose to avoid processed foods.  You don't have to be Muslim to not eat pork or Hindu to not eat meat.
• Find the good in failure.  Don't overgeneralize that everything aspect of an attempt failed.  Find some part that worked and dwell on the positive as you regroup.
• Seek professional help.  Life coaches, dieticians, physical trainers or a trusted buddy are all great.

Good luck and let me know if I can help.