Compatible: Just What’s Happening

Cold coming on:
Sore throat,
Fatigue, malaise,
But eerily calm.

Sleeping poorly
But drowsily settling in,
Breezing through
Barely touching the ground,

Easing through,
Relaxing dreamily,
Seemingly sedate,
Too tired to be irate.

Listening to sounds,
Seeing shapes,
Feeling sensations,
Smelling somebody’s food cooking faraway.

Being with the body,
Noticing its rhythms;
Energy is lacking
But I’m still dancing.

Working steadily,
Enjoying the ride;
Reflecting on the reality
Through which we slide,

Putting that aside
To flow with the tide:
Making waves
And being one,

Floating along
Never far flung,
Staying in close
But not holding on.

Compassionate: Growth

A nothing day,
Difficult meditation
And deeply depressed mood
Broken finally by
A mantra:
Breathe, relax, open
To whatever is here,

Like the Hindu god Shiva,
Breaks open the egg
So that the baby bird
Can emerge
From there
To begin
A new life.

Then mindfulness
Of breathing commenced,
With everything else
In the background,
And the hatchling found shelter there,
Full presence given to
This being;

Offered comfort as well,
And then depression and anguish
Replaced by compassion
And understanding;
The fledgling stretched
Its wings towards the rising sun,
And basked in the warmth.

A nothing day transformed
Into a beautiful evening,
And a gentle night,
One of peace, ease and steadiness;
With confidence
That as the wings grow stronger
This bird will soar above the clouds.

Compassion: Home Remedies

Up to my eyeballs
In doubt;
Didn’t really meditate,
Just sat at first.

Quite out of it
But enjoyed the fog.
Later body settled into
Spontaneous breathing awareness;

Then pain
In back of shoulders
And neck;
Floated in this discomfort,

But aching all over followed;
Did yoga movements
While sitting, but
Caught in reflections again,

Thought, ‘everything leading
In the wrong direction now,
But what choice do I have?’
Worn out and achy.

Instead of feeling
Sorry for self,
Stretched, ate,
Ran a hot bath, and relaxed;

All effective,
My efforts worthwhile,
Even though bogged down in
Recurring theme: my current situation.

At bedtime noticed depression,
Thought, ‘hello, old friend,’
Relaxed into it,
Rolled over and slept.