Consolation: Getting Things Done

No time for sadness,
It’s a luxury I can ill afford,
As I continue sifting
Through my possessions,

Not knowing where to begin,
I randomly moved about,
Vacuuming here,
Sorting and tossing there,

Washing and drying,
Clearing up and
Packing in
Wherever there was space,

No room for sorrow though;
I haven’t the time,
I have to keep going
No matter what the feeling.

This was my activity
For today,
Letting emotions float by
Without grabbing them,

Neither feeding them
Nor holding them,
Only beholding them,
As I moved from task to task;

But when I got tired
I did sit for a while,
Doing nothing in particular
Just being with everything.

As it came up,
I noticed sounds and sensations,
Eyes closed and then open,
Resting in the present moment
For a short time.

Consistent: Sweeping Away

Another day
Of cleaning up,
Sorting through
The collection of
A lifetime,

No sorrow today,
Just progress,
Making way
For living;

Nothing to give away,
Only discarding,
Increasing the
Outer spaciousness;

Imposing order outside,
From inside;
Setting aside
And letting go;

Cultivating
A pleasant space,
Where I can sit
In peace,

In clean and open
Surroundings,
With a pleasing view,
Of all around.

Now to sitting
In a different way,
Surveying the change
Before settling down,

Then meditating,
Breathing steadily
And enjoying the legroom,
After the broom.

Consignment: Mindful Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping to do
And, oh!
What a mood I was in,
Hence I needed to strategize.

The solution was simple,
To really feel this irritation,
And let it emerge,
To truly know it,

Then, well prepared,
Out the door
And down to the street
Experiencing the energy,

Directing it into my task,
But never losing track,
Noticing the effect,
Which was not too good,

For I could sense
The ravages of the stress
Building up inside,
And seething;

But gradually,
As the fresh air
Filled my lungs
And the sun shone gently down

I settled into my route,
And was able to
Act reasonably
For most of the trip,

Only slipping up
On the return journey,
When I temporarily forgot,
And then behaved quite grumpily
When I felt blocked by the folks ahead.