Exhort: Redirectng Energy

Agitation, frustration,
Have me in their grip,
Beside myself,
Deciding what to do,

Finally resorting
To an old trick,
Used to be,
I’d pour it into activity,

Now instead,
I take hold
Of this energy
And redirect it differently,

Steering the ire
Towards stabilizing mind and body,
Breathing in steadying body and mind,
Breathing out steadying body and mind,

Filling the lungs softly
And then, expelling tension and distress,
Evenly, dispassionately,
Leveling the fluctuations,

Mastering the passions
By persistent actions,
Then repeating metta phrases,
To compose and refresh,

Reducing stress,
Alleviating suffering,
Consistently buffering
The buffeting,

As wave after wave
Of irritation passes through,
Continuing to labour
As long as is necessary
To gain stability.

Exhilaration: Extraordinary

Another year,
Has come to an end,
And the next one
Has just begun

But what’s happening?
The scratching of my pen
And a mind racing
As it often does

But just as frequently
The mind rests,
Appreciating what is,
From the simple to the complex,

Boiling water for tea,
Putting ice cubes in
To cool it to taste
And because of haste,

How marvelous
To be able
To do both,
What a luxury!

It’s these basic luxuries
That never cease to impress,
Like getting up
And getting dressed;

Eating and breathing
Amaze me regularly
And how life IS
And wondering what it is.

These wonders
Fascinate and activate my mind,
Every time
I consider them.

Exhausting: Venting Worry and Letting it Go

What’s next
For the coming year?
Do I ask,
What is this fear?

What’s coming
That so worries me?
Is it here already,
Is that where I want to be?

Thinking of the future
But what’s in it?
Lost my anchor so long ago
Or did I ever really have it?

Paying attention
To what I’m doing,
I take another sip
Of freshly brewed coffee, savouring it.

It’s so seldom
That I have such a treat,
Perhaps I should
Just focus on that instead,

Let the future
Take care of itself,
As it always has,
And I’ll just coast,

No hurry now,
I’ve got
No better place
To go;

The mind settled
And so,
I forget about tomorrow
And concentrate on now.