nuance – And Then Opens Possibility

A Place to Stand

I’m looking for a place to stand, a place past

judgement and labeling, past anger and hatred, a place beyond

fear. My feet keep moving, stretching, searching, hungry to find space

where my heart can bloom and my soul can sing. I stay awake and pay attention because

this place is subtle, like the flavor of saffron lingering in my mouth. It’s a nuanced spot

that only speaks when you slow down, when you reach inside and listen deeply

to your body’s wisdom. The location settles you in a contented solitude, a seclusion

that moves you past the duality of good and bad, stability and freedom, attachment and aversion.

When you follow your embodied experience, you find a place to stand where

your being is washed in light, where your heart opens like a flower, where possibility

flows like a river over your feet standing along the stony shore.

This poem is part of an online collection I call All the Shapes of Joy.

the gift of now

rushing
to be where
we think
we should be
we miss
the opportunity
of the present

hurrying
to know
the future’s plans
we move
right past
the chance
to sense
this moment’s grace

moving
out of habit
we walk
without awareness
of the beautiful nuance
available in our current experience

slowing
to the gift
of now
we open
and feel
fully alive

This poem, similar to last week’s (a simple dream), evolved from noticing myself expecting that I should be doing something more or that I should be somewhere else. I find myself in a hurry to know what the future holds, as if the days will somehow be richer if I just know.

And then grace enters the room, I catch myself getting ahead, begin to wonder why I’m rushing, and find what it takes slow down. Once I stop the scurry, I can breathe into the present, with all it has to offer. I discover that I am exactly where I am supposed to be and there is enough time for life to unfold.