Eclectic: Taking a Break*

*I’m now going to take a rest.
I’m not sure how long it’s going to be this time,
But hopefully will be back in July.
If not, I will give an update.

Thanks for reading!

Lee

Ebullient: Sashay

Body sluggish and painful,
Mind leaping and dancing
With agitation,
Imaginary figures play.

Turning towards this restlessness
And finding joy!
What a surprise,
How can this be?

That in the midst
Of this great discomfort
And frustration,
A celebration is in progress,

Keep looking
And see
The ongoing festival
Of lights and colours,

Merry sprites beckon,
“Don’t just sit there
On the sidelines,
Join the party!”

And so, I carry on
And soon a pleasant calm
Sets in,
In spite of all the difficulty;

My spine continues to ache
And my right knee hurts
But there is also tranquility
And engagement in the mind’s entertainment;

It’s amazing what you see
Upon closer examination
Of what ails,
How wondrous that such restiveness and aggravation
Sometimes contains such happy tales.

Ebullience: Back-to-Back

Less physical pain
But lots of bother,
Awaiting a cheque
That won’t come
And fixing faucets for water;

Storm pounded through,
Leaving a mess in its wake,
Then red sky replaced it
What a beautiful respite!

Post office on strike,
Slows the mail
But so far,
All but the cheque arrived on schedule,

The faucet cartridges
Delivered from Brockville,
Quite unexpected,
As the company in California;

Had a hard time
Linking up with instructions
But so happy when it worked
Felt like celebrating!

Then received a call
To do some more work
But not sure
Whether physically up to it,

Relentlessly, life pushes forward,
As one event piles upon another
Without pause or break,
Most wondrous motion even with missteps;

Now time for rest
From this days flurry
And prepare for the next activity
In case it arrives early.

Ebb: Dropping Down

Mindfulness
Of the body
Presents no difficulty
When my back goes out
And my entire frame is aching ceaselessly!

When every movement
Requires careful consideration
To minimize the discomfort
And constant stretching to ease the pain,

Then no other incentive is needed
Nor intentional effort,
As the body commands attention,
Demands careful awareness and slow motion,

No need to try to
Stay with the breathing,
As it whooshes in and out markedly
With each posture change,

Sighing and moaning splits the air
Like wind through an old tree,
And the tree is this unsteady form,
Staggering and creaking,

So that, even this difficulty
Becomes a practice landmark,
How to do this work of letting go
When this sharpness pulls me back in?

Desire to get out compels me
But how does that help?
And where is there to go?
What recourse when ill health hinders?

What is it that seems to depart?
I can make no sense off it
And so, I just keep moving
And keep a look out for an answer.

Easy: Successful Un-success

Clothes shopping
At the thrift shop,
Forgot how frustrating
That can be;

How does mindfulness work with this?
Loud muzak and gossiping sales clerks,
Children cavorting in—out the change rooms,
Shrieking with laughter,

Meanwhile, I try to concentrate
On evaluating each item
For fit and seaworthiness,
Resorting to breath counting to get focused,

Some garments too small or too big,
Others badly marked or damaged,
Oh, how well that black shirt looked!
And those dark trousers—what a fit!
But the former a little too tight
And the latter badly stained
On the left hip;

Exhausted, empty-handed and on the way out,
Spied a large Velcro bound wallet,
Fit to replace the one lost and/or stolen
Last year or so;
But had to see if it would go
Into the pocket first;

Success!
And when asked the price,
Twas only a dollar!
And that was it,
For that grueling trip;

And so, glad to get home
To refresh with tea and English muffin,
Grab some supper
And set off for work.

Easily: Arrow Remover

Grocery shopping,
Muzak making me crazy!
Tried to imagine
Being in outer space
But no dice;

Resorted to
Counting breaths instead
And saw at once the pull against my mind
Caused by the annoying caterwauling.

Irritation arising from
Interference with concentration
On the task at hand
Was the cause of this distraction;

Oh, what a contraction!
And what a relief
To find an alternative
To reaction,

Regaining traction;
Able to relax,
As a glitch at the cash register
Held up the lengthening line,

Then remembered to do stretching
And so allay the irritation
Triggered by catching on the whiney singing
And the delay;

So much to learn
From such simple occasions,
So many ways
To practice,

Feels great to have a menu of options
And useful strategies
That when employed with alacrity
Bring such benefit and even hilarity.

Ease: Exploding Vision

Lurching back and forth,
Undecided on what to do
Or where to go from here;
This wheel spinning is not fun,
That’s sure.

Let me out of here!
But then, taking hold,
Imagining
Orbiting the earth

And ease and peace
Surge forth,
No turmoil is visible
From atop this roof of the world;

And then the vision expands further,
Zooming backwards until
From outside the galaxy is the view,
Looking inwards towards the big light show,

And from there as well
No disturbance looms
But only growing joy
And tranquility too;

Then at last, standing back once more,
Inhabiting the space
Between the clusters of galaxies
Of which ours is but one among many;

And finally,
Pondering infinity
And now forget
All about regret,

No confusion here,
As all seems clear,
Floating about the void
And then letting that slip away too.

Earthquake: Uncertain Focus

And so, I’ve returned
To writing it seems,
Without noticing
How it slipped back in.

Thus, here I am,
Where I began
And soon perhaps
It’s time to go?

To get back to
That which I know?
Leaving this forum
For a while?

Then later maybe
Shall return,
When there’s actually
Something concrete to learn.

Meanwhile,
All seems under control,
My pain management recipes
Seem to be full.

Hence, for now I rest,
Leaving this spot behind,
Perhaps revisiting that novel
I meant to write.

My next project
I think
Could be that
But carrying with me these benefits.

The meditation march
Mayhaps is done
Or I may keep that up
To feed my creativity’s stomach, . . .
Or this too may be, only speculative fiction after all.

Earthling: Up and Down

Coming up for air
And sighing in relief,
All systems
Back to normal;

The roller coaster ride
Settles for a while,
Dancing amidst the clouds
Before landing in a green meadow.

Tara green
Surrounds me
Like a dream,
Evoking metta phrases,

Haven’t felt this way
For ages,
Had forgotten
What such joy was like.

Carefree for
The first time in years
But with a little twinge of fear,
For what may happen here.

Not sure where this goes;
Do I simply wait and see?
Or just get on with things.
Hesitation and doubt threatens.

Nevertheless, somehow,
I get to my chores anyway,
Sometimes reluctantly dragging my feet,
Other times skipping down the street;

Siren signals someone in trouble
And I pause
To wish them well
Before returning attention to
My own turmoil.

Earnestness: Searching

Longing to know
I’m here
After having
Lost my way,

Battling amnesia
Amidst the play,
Laughing heartily one minute
And glumly stomping ‘round the next;

Everything’s up in the air,
Not sure what’s the text
Or if there’s a script.
Who’s in it?

Looking around
Half dazed
But feeling aware,
Sometimes it hurts to be so alert,

Other times this consciousness
Feels like fog or numbness,
Old and new interchange,
Remembering and forgetting merge;

An energy surge,
Floating on the waves,
Up and down,
Off and on;

The mental headlights flicker,
Mesmerizing strobes
Flash forth in multiple colours,
Rainbows of light gleam,

The glow rises and falls
Like the sun,
Shining on everything
And everyone
Until all is done.

Earnestly: Agitated Reflection

All seems hateful,
What to do?
I just want
To keep moving!

And so, on the grocery shopping trail
Once more
And felt good for that
But so much restlessness;

Still agitated,
Satisfaction degenerates
To dis. once more,
As if I didn’t know this!

It’s quite familiar,
Ah well, so it goes,
But where from and where to?
It seems not to matter,

Now is forever,
It’s right here
In front of my face,
Nothing has changed

And everything’s in flux,
Like travelling, when
One barely feels the motion
And after a while

Not at all;
And that moving feeling
Let’s us know we’re here.
So, faster and faster

We are inclined to go,
Until something breaks
And we have to slow,
Grumpily railing against the delay
Before grudgingly settling into the new pace.