THE YOUTH OF AGE

(Praying at Seventy)

All my life, it now seems to me,
I have had clear sight of God.
Like currents of air, spirits gliding upward,
I have been in flight.

The clouds form and reform,
they race across the sky and swell in stillness, all aglowing,
and they say: Remember God!
As my physical eyes fail,
my inner eyes open to wonder.

As my bodily ears strain,
my God-antennae are instantly alert
and announce: She, your God, is here.
As my brain is sometimes befuddled,
my heart leaps in elation at the robin's antics.

As my feet stumble, my spirit races ahead:
Come on, Come on, there is so much more.
As my hands grow numb, and sometimes sore,
my touch grows softer, sensitive, more grace-filled.

My senses may dim,
but my whole being seems alive
and shouts: 'Live it up.'
I seem now to be bathed in light.

I say to myself:
'Now I am living in the shadow of the Living Light'.
I used to worry about sin;
now I have no time for this.

When I pick up the Scriptures,
the light streams out at me.
The words tremble with life,
and shout: 'Abundant Life.'

My memory is memorising:
all the strands are being drawn together.
I can now say:
'I see, I hear, I know, I smile, I love.'

I see new words, hear new music, know in deeper tones,
I smile at my dreams, I love with the trees.

I see bright flames coming from human lips.
I see rippling water flowing in endless light.
No container on earth can keep this flowing.

All my life is now here in the palm of my hand:
I am child, maid, woman, crone.
I live it all, now more fully.

How can I now describe my lightsome life?

I see
I yearn yet.

~Hildegarde of Bingen

Source: FB via DagMar Dederichs

A DANCER'S DILEMMA

Life is like a dance.
It goes with music.
With beats and rhytmn
With passion and breathing
With tempo, climax and bang!
But what if you miss the steps?
And what if someone made you?
And what if that someone is an intruder?
Instead of your dance partner?
And what if you're lost in the sequence?
So that you find yourself out of synchrony?
And caught in the swirl of someone's intrusion?
Will you continue to dance alone?
Or would you rather re-invent your steps?
And re-create your own dance?
A baffled dancer tells us her story.

@Leah C. Dancel
15 January 2019
💐💐💐

THE LAST TRAIN

By Crispulo Bacud Tappa

The old man heard the call,
trumpeted to one and all.
The last departing train rolls

as stars appear when night falls.
Citizens scurried around,

inched their way to the platform.
Some laden with heavy loads,
the old man in dapper clothes,
came with just nothing,

for a last trip that was foretold.
The last train rolled by, 

almost full to its brim,
hooted for everyone to hear.

The old puny man edged-in,

not wanting to be left behind,

Travellers with heavy loads,
with no space big enough

for their worldly finds,

remorsefully trundled back,

missing this one last train,

bound for its destination 

where the last train stops,

on its last trip as God ordained,

where trumpets blared,
and a choir of angels

sang a glorious welcome song.

January 29, 2019

💐💐💐

LOVE OF FRIENDS

"Man strives for glory, honour, fame
That all the world may know his name.
Amasses wealth by brain and hand;
Becomes a power in the land.
But when he nears the end of life
And looks back o'er the years of strife,
He finds that happiness depends
On none of these, but love of friends."
~Anonymous

MY GARDEN OF PRAYER

By Helen Steiner Rice

My garden beautifies my yard
and adds fragrance to the air ...
But it is also MY CATHEDRAL
and MY QUIET PLACE OF PRAYER
So little do we realise
that "THE GLORY and THE POWER"
Of HE who made the UNIVERSE
lies hidden in a flower.

Source: Somebody Loves You

Note:
A very special pre-loved, hand-me-down gift for myself I bought from St. Vinnies Op Shop in Bathurst on my way home from Orange with Lily and JP
September 1, 2018

THIS IS JUST A RESTING PLACE

By Helen Steiner Rice

Sometimes the road of life seems long
as we travel through the years
And, with a heart that's broken
and eyes brimful of tears,
We falter in our weariness
and sink beside tge way,
But GOD leans down and whispers,
"Child, there'll be another day" -
And the road will grow much smoother
and much easier to face,
So do not be disheartened-
this is just a "RESTING PLACE."

Source: Somebody Loves You

Note:
A very special pre-loved, hand-me-down gift for myself I bought from St. Vinnies Op Shop in Bathurst on my way home from Orange with Lily and JP, September 1, 2018

WHERE DO YOU GO?

By Shadowlands

Where do you go?
When you lay down your head,
The eyes have drawn their curtains,
And your lights have been turned off.
You're all cocooned in linen
And silence reigns supreme.
When the ghosts of memories past
Play hopscotch with your senses?

Where do you go?
When reality has gone on vacation
And your visions are a collection of moments,
Lost through time and space.
When fatigue is like a lead blanket,
The body attempts to heal it's wounds
And the mind tries to tranquilize
The events of the day?

Where do you go?
When the lights shine on faint recollections
And private thoughts gently cascade
From an overflowing fountain
Of a vivid imagination.
Do you know the path you take.
Or is the destination just as whimsical
As the journey you create
Through your mind's deepest catacombs?
Where do you go indeed?

Source: FB
26 May 2016

A VEIL OF STARS IN THE SKY

By Patrick Graven

Our fire could not be tamed with the wind,
And the wind couldn't be suppressed by the flames,
As the connection of the light with the dark that blend,
Led to a light that would forever remain.

Our lives become real when our dreams come alive,
Darkness fades and transforms into light,
As the sun and moon begin to entwine,
Seasons change like the colours in the sky.

The clouds descend and the oceans rise,
When the twilight changes into a new sunrise,
Stars begin to fade into celestial skies,
This feeling that lives as days pass by.

We voyage through the journeys of our soul,
Living in our own world,
Feeling the meaning of everything nourishing,
A momentary beauty flowing and flourishing.

We see an ocean filled with mystery up to the horizon,
Filled with depths with a new dawn rising,
We voyage among our lives of havens fulfilled in infinity,
As waves drifting through the sea fulfilled for eternity.

Our souls move as the breeze,
A strong current in rapture of the waves,
We make our way through boundless space,
And fly far away from this place.

Purifying in the celestial air,
Inhale the earth of these limpid regions,
Nourish everything in all that we care,
In bloom with the changing seasons.

Here we find in our voices rhyme,
Within this ocean of time,
And all of this we feel and see,
Is a new dawn to be.

Through this world that we live,
An ocean rising from deep within,
A sparkle of light in our eyes,
Mirrored as a veil of stars in the sky.

Source: FB

BREAK NOT MY CUP

Break not my cup when I am gone,
Let another's thirst be quenched from it.
Nor burn my favourite walking stick
That someone also frailed might lean on it.
Let the useful bits which for now surround me
Pass into the care of others,
Who may know nothing of their history
But might also grow to hold them dear.
For truly we never really own -
What comes to us is to accompany us
For the brief while we are here.

By Michael A. Taylor

Source: Benson Bautista

INSPIRATION IS EVERYTHING

"You are the books you read, the films you watch,
the music you listen to, the people you meet,
the dreams you have, the conversations you engage in.
You are what you take from these.
You are the sound of the ocean, the breath of fresh air,
the brightest light and the darkest corner.

You are a collective of every experience you have had in your life.
You are every single second of every single day.
So drown yourself in a sea of knowledge and existence.
Let the words run through your veins and let the colors fill your mind
until there is nothing left to do but explode.
There are no wrong answers.
Inspiration is everything.
Sit back, relax, and take it all in.

Now, go out and create something.”

~Jac Vanek

Source: Butterflies and Pebbles

THE WAKING

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me, so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.

This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.

~Theodore Roethke
(The Collected Poems)

SALUTATION TO THE DAWN

Look to this day!
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence.
The bliss of growth,
The glory of action,
The splendour of achievement
Are but experiences of time.

For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision;
And today well-lived, makes
Yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day;
Such is the salutation to the ever-new dawn!

~Kalidasa

Bio:

"The great Sanskrit poet became proverbial for his literary flair for similes and metaphors: Upamano Kalidasasya. (The 'Raghu Vamsa' is epic in verse.)" ~A. Madhavan

Source: Poem Hunter

NOT TO SEEK LOVE

"Our task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find
all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it.

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
Tand rightdoing there is a field.
I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere.
They're in each other all along.

The wound is the place
where the Light enters you.

Stop acting so small.
You are the universe in ecstatic motion.

Let yourself be silently drawn by
the stronger pull of what you really love.

The cure for pain is in the pain.
When you do things from your soul,
you feel a river moving in you, a joy.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
As you start to walk out on the way,
the way appears."

~Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī

ETERNAL LOVE

by Rado Gatchalian

Like tulips and bees

Sweetest are the kisses —
The Cosmos collides with the stars
Like friends and lovers
Of Time: of now and beyond.

Perhaps, when the trees and sky

Embrace as two beautiful creatures:
Even the wind and water

Become One — in love
—
and in life.

TRUE FRIENDS

True friends are with you thick and thin;
They cry through your bad times, and celebrate your wins.
You can always find them right there by your side;
Holding you up, rejoicing with pride.
This bond is forever, unbreakable and tough;
For this friendship can only be called one thing…love.

~Robert Clancy

THE GUARDIAN

THE GUARDIAN

When your legs become too weary to walk borrow my wings.

I’m there to carry your precious heart to a place of simply things.
I count your tears on the days when sorrow has filled your eyes.

Kindness is our everlasting bond; divine love holds all our ties.
Watching over you is my full-time job; I deliver all your prayers.

Lift your chin to the light of heaven; know I’ll forever care.

~Robert Clancy ~

AT THE FEET of the MASTER

By Raed Braun

Beware of the man who claims “I know.”
Behold the one who cries “I am dumb.”

He who seeks answers shall dwell in the world of doubts.
He who knows too much shall empty his cup.

Emptiness: it’s the only path to be full.
Acceptance: it’s the ony key that opens a door.

Humility: it’s the only way to become truly strong.
Find your own master 

And you shall find yourself.
There are no feet but only footprints.

Source: FB via Rado Gatchalian

LITTLE PIECES of PEACE

(Dedicated to Tita Mely Tucker and Uncle Kevin)

by Rado Gatchalian

Looking back: one is to endure the pain and joy

Of memories — good, strong yet old.

Time: every second counts

And every step is a way to a place called Home.

Where shall we find this Solace?

This Peace and Happiness?

As we reach the Hands of the Great One

We feel the contentment of a Great Life — one to behold.

Slowly, walking the narrow Path

— a little stone is to be kept in the Heart:

Joyful, Blessed, Overflowing Love, and Faith.

How great is to love and be loved!

To cherish this one beautiful Life:

On a morning: sunbathing with Hope.

On an afternoon: a lunch with dear ones.

On an evening: at peace with God.
Everyday. Everynight.

- One is reborn like a beautiful child.

Source: FB

RIDDLES of the UNIVERSE

By Raed Braun

I may have walked a hundred miles
But would remain a traveler who seeks not the place
But the memories and time.
I could have written thousands of words and poems
But there are emotions that can never be expressed in words.
My loneliness keeps me on the ground
My imperfection reminds me to be strong.
Life is imperfect and full of surprises —

I shall remain a dreamer who seeks happiness.
What meaning shall I give to a miserable life?
What purpose can I find in a lonely existence?
The journey leads us to a place we might hate and love
But we can always keep a special stone from each episode:
It’s a lesson that will mold us to become a better person.
The riddles become a masterpiece —When we are lost, we are found
When we are falling,
we will rise up again.

Source: Rado Gatchalian, FB

THE PUREST PLACE IN YOUR HEART

“If you’re feeling frightened
about what comes next, don’t be.
Embrace the uncertainty.
Allow it to lead you places.

Be brave as it challenges you to exercise
both your heart and your mind as you create
your own path toward happiness;
don’t waste time with regret.

Spin wildly into your next action.
Enjoy the present, each moment,
as it comes,
because you’ll never get
another one quite like it.

And if you should ever look up
and find yourself lost,
simply take a breath and start over.

Retrace your steps and go back
to the purest place in your heart…
where your hope lives.
You’ll find your way again.”

~Everwood
From Trust Your Journey

══════════════

ONE DAY AT A TIME

Our lives are made up
of a million moments,
spent in a million different ways. 


Some are spent searching
for 
love, peace, and harmony.
Others are spent surviving
day by day.

But there is no greater moment
than when we find that life,
with all it's joys and sorrows, 

is meant to be lived
one day at a time. 


It's in this knowledge
that we discover
the most wonderful truth of all.

Whether we live in a forty-room mansion, 

surrounded by servants and wealth,
or find it a struggle to manage 

the rent month to month,
we have it within our power
to be fully satisfied
and live a life with true meaning.

One day at a time -
we have that ability, 

through cherishing each moment 

and rejoicing in each dream. 


We can experience each day anew,
and with this fresh start
we have 
what it takes to make
all our dreams come true.

Each day is new,
and living one day at a time
enables us to truly enjoy
life and live it to the fullest.

~Anon



Source:www.inspirationline dot com



"THE WORLD OF THE WAGLASS"

~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

There's a darkness. There's light.
There's a light. There's hope.
There's hope. There's a future.
There's a future. I can live.

Because there is darkness, there is light
Because there is light, there is hope
Because there is hope, there is the future
Because there is the future, I can live

I'm
The heart of the sum in the future
To the world.
I'm trying to tell you.
It's nice to meet you.

~ Manchu Yokota ~
Japanese writer

LIFE! FEARS! LAUGHTER AND TEARS

~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

I want a life full of wonder
Not live just to ponder
I want to laugh with happy tears 

Not drown my life in beers.

I want total indulgence in life
Not a life indulging in strife
I want fearless satisfaction
Not fears driving me to distraction.

I want love for construction
Not reasons for destruction
I want sincerity from the start
Not pain that tears me apart.

I want to steal your innocent heart
Not tear your innocence apart
I want to release your spirit soul
Not squeeze it into a black hole.

~Shadowlands
July 13 2017

ON THE VOICE OF THE SILENCE

~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

By Yesu Ben

Before the sun can penetrate your veil
to make of thee a white winged angel free,
you must, Lanoo, peel off your guise, your jail
and slay your mortal lunar self and flee.

For to possess your soul, fight Self and flesh,
twins, and yet one must perforce disappear

and in the struggle, must taste pain and thresh
‘til sense and person cease to interfere.

Till snake and serpent rise above the head

and unify the Spirit and the man,
till every drop of his blood has been shed

and he becomes himself the Path he scans,

Till then he cannot be a god of air
for true gods don’t a shroud or mantle wear.

(12 August 2017)

Written by Benigno Dela Cruz

BEAUTY

~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

It is when beauty arrives,
To wake us up and come alive,
Guide our eyes to the sky,
To look within and we will shine.

Keep the flame of hope burning bright,
To see our inner light come to life,
And then the winds blow and we begin to breathe,
To hold that moment that never leaves.

Seek the beauty within the world,
Grasp the life we hold deep inside,
Embrace everything from our soul,
Until we reflect the light from our eyes.

The light gives life to the colours of change,
Blending into one that remain the same,
Adorning the blue stained sky,
Dreams reign high while clouds entwine.

And the depths of the ocean below,
Reflects our tears through rain and snow,
Crystallised in the blink of our eyes,
A momentary glimmer of the radiant light.

Stars awaken as we look above,
And pain slowly fades to love,
Reawakened as we morph to dust,
And dissolve in all that is and ever was.

We reveal of what is inside,
Within the lineaments of our soul,
A beauty mirrored from our eyes,
It is a teardrop filled with the world.

Beauty is the essence of the heart,
As love is expressed into an art,
A light that is born that guides us home,
A dream that dawns of all we've known.

A birth into the unborn again,
A commencing where all become still,
A starting where we stopped to rest,
A momentary time that we fulfill.

©Patrick Graven
FB