Stand Still

No matter how we try to slow it down, time marches deliberately on

It never waits, feels sympathy, or asks for anything in return

It simply does what it has always done

No matter where we find ourselves, we cannot escape it or push it back

It is fair in that it gives no favor to the rich and poor; the strong or the weak

It simply moves us forward like the current of a rushing river

In seasons of great joy and solitude, it feels as if the silence somehow

Grabs time and holds it ransom, takes it up to a lonely hill and shows it why it must slow down

But like the wind, it cannot be harnessed, deceived, or controlled

The standing still is an illusion—it is easier to catch the wind

As when we savor food, fresh air, love, a song, or fine wine, we must savor the time at hand

Let us not try to hold it back, because that is a fruitless waste of a non-renewable commodity

But may we come to an agreement with time, acquiesce and let go of our grip

Knowing that we share time’s common fate with every past and present life on earth

No matter what happens, the times of stillness and solitude, family gatherings, and remembrances of those we lost will make the time seem like it is standing still…and that is all that matters.
 

It will always be the treasure we seek, but it will always be buried under the next tree

It simply guides the hands of the clock in their sweeping motion and leads us on to the next chapter

Sounds (For Those Who Have Ears)

Sometimes all I have the strength to do is listen.

Sounds fill the night—airplanes, cars honking, ambulances.

Sometimes I imagine that I am blind and sounds are my only friends.

Messages brought alive to alert my senses—the ringtone of a phone, crumpling paper, a spinning dryer

These are not the sounds of rattling bones, inflamed anger, or pontificating pundits.

These are everyday noises that remind me of the business of life--

Laughing students, the scratching of a squirrel running up a tree, a motorcycle revving on a city street.

Sometimes I want to spend a day only listening, not talking.

Delving into another’s soul—hearing the fear of defeat, the wonder of a child, the joy of success.

                Sometimes I am lulled to sleep by the rhythm of a fan or the ticking of a nearby clock.

Sounds remind me I am alive--strumming guitars, a missed voice that brings tears, a genuine and thankful response, the thud of my beating heart.

Yet one of the greatest sounds of all is the sound of your own voice—knowing you have the power to bring calm to a storm, cause someone sad to smile, bend wills, strengthen burdened hearts, and encourage ones you love.

May I use my voice to be a sweet melody to a world that hears only sadness and despair.

                Sometimes I love the sound of silence most of all—for in silence I hear the voice of hope.

Why Can't We Love?

My heart is burdened of late. There is a serious lack of love in this country.

Oh we talk a good game. We talk about unconditional love, Christian love, and forever love.

It sounds so simplistic doesn’t it?  Just love one another. But I am starting to think that humans are incapable. I am never more able to love than when I am alone in my quietness or watching nature as the clouds blow across a fall sky. It is so easy to love at that human-less moment.

Then the contact happens. Or media reminds us of our differences. Or we remember how that person lied to us and how we still have lingering anger. Or we remember how a partner hurt us when they promised to love us forever. Then love seems like a chasm, a canyon of difference, a mountain of impossibility.

The truth is we don’t really want to love. We say we do but I am not sure we believe ourselves. We resist it because it hurts. We shy away from it because it leads to pain as we consider all we have to lose. We are skeptical that this love experiment will ever work. Love is not a magic potion. It does not solve all problems. It is free but sometimes it costs us everything.

Love is light years away and shines like a distance star. We keep moving toward it but it seems like it is out of reach. We must march on. We must follow its light. We can never love enough, but every minute we partake in its goodness is time well spent.

Maybe there is not enough love in the world. Maybe there never will be. Start with yourself and prove to the world that love is not just words or emotions or selfishness, but it is as important as the blood coursing through our veins.

Prove that it is within our grasp. Prove that it is not a myth. Prove that it is worth the risk.

Like infants, like small children we reach out our feeble hand to touch it. We may draw back because it burns, but we do not give up. The reward is too great.

Imprints

I picked up

The fossil and turned it

In my hand.

To most

A lump of rock, devoid

Of form and substance yet

Mysterious in its own way and in its own time.

The lines from

Living footprints staining a

Portrait on canvases of stone weathered

And rewarded by thousands of years of dirty work.

I wondered about

My imprints—those I withstand and

Those I create.

Are they lasting and do they profess

That heat and pressure form the man and make us a work of art?

I am amazed at the

Beauty of the shapes that grace its

Beaten and tired surface.

Yet it smiles from across time and

Triumph as it proves that many

Treasures can come from

A deep and dark and

Pressured

Place.

A Glimpse

I. I see that potential man in the distance

A mirage of what I want to be

Will I approach it?

Will I see it?

Will I touch it?

II. I have a story to tell

A story of love, of loss, and of second chances

That story has a beginning
That story has an in between

That story has an ending

III. It’s not true that everything that has been said has been said

There is always more to say

Can I reach that potential?

Can I make the dream become real?

Can I fit myself into that mold?

IV: I have two choices: to push forward or draw back

Either choice is scary and demanding

This time will pass

This season in my life will take me somewhere

This life is what I always wanted

V. It is scary to finally see your potential

Like a superhero whose powers begin to take form

Will I use them for good?

Will I use them for evil?

Will I use them to change my world?

VI. I finally see that man emerging from his shell

Although it seems late, maybe it is right on time

The choices are in front of me

The future will proceed in its unstoppable pace

The prize is there for the taking

Time to reach out and claim the destiny that is mine.