What You See

purple coneflower blossom

What You See

You notice what I accomplish - 
the hard, tangible results of my effort.
Therein lies your appreciation:
How what I deliver benefits you. 

And, yes, while I signed on to serve, 
to contribute to greater good 
in the world of your collective power, 
is it possible
for you to notice
who I am, 
all that I carry within me? 

Will you not water my seeds, 
that I might blossom before you? 

Perhaps I will simply 
flower in beauty 
that your eyes could behold 
just in case
they ever really going looking for it. 

I wrote this poem when I was working, during performance review time, when the manager I had at the time seemed especially focused on results without much appreciation for who I am and the value I brought through my way of being.

The Moon Speaking

 The Moon Speaking
  
 I remember that night, when I was full-on 
 in my shiny best, I got a glimpse of you moving 
 along the sandy shore. You caught my attention 
 as you skipped from spot to spot on the wet sand 
 where the gentle waves caress the earth. You were chasing 
 sand crabs. Whether teeny-tiny or the bigger ones, those 
 armored beings always beat your lumbering foot, like a giant \
 overtaking them, back into their little bitty holes. You
 giggled at their speed and spoke to them in laughter. When you 
 tired of your rollicking pursuit, you paused on the sand and 
 gazed out over the water to the horizon. Your spine 
 straightened like a tree in the summer sun and your chest 
 curved ever so slightly toward the sky, like a baby opening
 her mouth, hungry to be nourished, completely trusting 
 her mother. As if just noticing it’s the light on in the room 
 that is keeping things from being dark, you look my way. 
 As you lean back with your arms wide in a heart-centered kiss 
 of communion, I sense your imagination unfolding like a flower.
 In the mirror of my being, you see your power, your beauty 
 and strength. You claim the truth: how you simply need to be,
 emanating your light, in phases, not always glowing in your
 full glory because sometimes you need to rest. 

Click HERE for an audio recording of the poem.

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

to try softer

You have come so far.

It is now time to try softer.

It is now time to be willing to let all the power and energies of the universe work for you.

It is time for you to open…to be willing…to allow those energies to carry you to your next step.

It is time for joy.

 

This is from time for joy: daily affirmations  by Ruth Fishel. It really resonated with me. I love the phrase “to try softer”. I love the idea that life can be easy, inspiring, filled with love and JOY. I love the invitation here to open, to allow life to come. Instead of pushing and pulling and making life take the shape my mind creates, I can receive what the world brings to me.

 

* I took this photo in Ortygia (Syracusa), Sicily, Italy on Piazza Duomo.