Still Dews of Quietness

I ran across this today via Howard Thurman – lyrics from a hymn (Dear Lord and Father of Mankind) I was unfamiliar with which is in turn based on a poem (The Brewing of Soma) by John Greenleaf Whittier I was unfamiliar with:

Drop thy still dews of quietness

Till all our strivings cease

Take from our souls the strain and stress

And let our ordered lives confess

The beauty of Thy peace

I am reminded here that peace has an internal component.  For all the efforts to create peace by controlling external factors (sound, location, scent, etc.) it also requires something (or perhaps nothing) of the seeker.  In this I am reminded of the anonymous quote that has long been on my desk:

“Peace – it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.  It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”

Peace!

Insight at Brick’s

Awareness…

…that life is not transactional, at least not precisely so.

It is not a $1 for a vending machine Coke precise.

Sometimes you get two Cokes for your $1, sometimes none.

At times it spits out a Coke as you walk by, pockets in hand, not even thirsty.

Sometimes you get a Sprite, though you are certain you hit the Coke button.

Life is not transactional, not cleanly so.

Still, the glow from the lights, the humming of the machinery, reassures us to some measure.

So we stand there, pocketful of quarters,

Thinking we can share the extra Coke,

That we weren’t that thirsty anyway,

That Sprite is okay, maybe better.

We stand there, pocketful of quarters.

Who knows what may come out next?

I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes

From Howard Thurman, today, this reminder to maintain awareness, to keep the nous open.

I will lift up mine eyes. I will lift up mine eyes in life, that I may read the guideposts along my way and not miss the important turning in the road. I will lift up mine eyes to love, that I may not close the door of my heart to the knocking hand, the tender cry, the anxious reach. I will lift up mine eyes to God, that I may meet His spirit not only in the high place, the great moment, the penetrating call, but also in the byways, the little duties the stinging irritations and the sad and bottomless renunciations. And for me this is enough.

Nobody Beats Aging

No body beats aging

Nobody beats aging,

at least not in the “making time stand still” sense.

No one can even accomplish a draw.

No one ever wins that war.

No one ever will.

Still, there are battles to be won late in the war,

Battles against cynicism,

or the ever-present fight against the inclination to “remember when,”

or recognizing something new IS better.

But the toughest battle is not with these,

nor with wrinkles, sagging skin,, failing hearing or eyesight,

multiple aches and pains, or even failing body parts requiring replacement.

No, the most ominous warrior to be faced along the path is regret, which would have me turn back and struggle with the past, all the while diverting my attention from now.

Haiku Wednesday – Revisited

To help me get incentivized to organize my work, and to take a bit of a summer break I decided to rummage around the closet (well, an old hard drive or two) and publish some oldies that go back a bit — as in 15+ years ago when this photos/words practice first started. You’ll note that the photos are not quite up to current standards (a 2 megapixel camera was hot stuff back them) and you may or may not notice a difference in writing style (if one can call it that). In any event, you are going to get oldies for a while.

This one dates back to 2005, a summer trip to the Boston area as I can best recall.