Silent Rain Chain Meditation

Rhythmic sound
an affirming powerful
dance, metal and water
sing.
Maples and sweet pine
in nature
ground my roaming
thoughts.
A small river
organizes
letting in and letting go.
My breath is natural
allowing me
to accept and let go.
With the sound
and the smell
in breath
out breath
I cling only to
calm and soothing
affirmations.
Mindful of
Lovingkindness,
I repeat
"May we be at ease"
for the world.
Breaths in and out, a flowing thought:
"Impermanence is a welcome thief,
but it steals
being here now."
Listening to the movement
of water
clink down the
rain chain
I focus on impermanence with
each breath
in and out. I am at ease,
I am here now, I am here now
feeding a calm chain of thought
throughout the world
in each moment.
.

Thoughts that occur to me...

I can count on you
 to disappoint me
just as surely
as I'll find a fry
 on the bottom
of my fast food bag.

--------

When they are ignoring you-
acting as if you're a ghost
when you are speaking...
maybe you just appear
unneedy.

______

I observed the false notion of ownership
The way people take ownership
of a parking space...
Observe how they wave you in
when they're leaving it--
as if its theirs to give away.

____

That project made me think about the time
I ate a cold egg-roll.
I finished it and wondered why I started to begin with.
I was disgusted
by my follow through
my own attempt
by my own deed!

_____

Nobody is really safe anywhere at anytime.
Safety is an illusion
that humans must believe exists
or we would all be crazy; paranoid.
Faith too s only real if we make it so.
Why then do most people always "feel"
safe yet lack faith more often?

________

Lines of thought

Poetry slowly pours
a drink of pictures
and laughs
while you debate.
A paintbrush is a conductor's baton
which decides what
an image will become with each dip.
As a sewing machine follows a pattern
its the artists mistakes that make it theirs.
A pen moves over
paper to remark as you
are haunted by blank places;
Luckily lines of thought
take respite and find happiness
 only in the
maddening wrong turns
 and
colorful, freeing emptiness
that gives creation
magnificent
opportunity.

Post-it

on the doors and windows
on the faces of people we see
the animals and the bees
the flowers and the trees
the shacks and the mansions
the races and ethnicities
the earth and the galaxy
"COMPASSION:
Because all are just like me".

Travel, a lesson in the value of nothing

Its been some time since I've made an entry. Thanks to those who've waited it out. I have been so busy I don't know which end has been up; I think both ends have been up because I haven't had much rest.
My daughter's stay, with my grandbaby has ended here; her husband's arrival from Afghanistan was long awaited. Finally, on June 27 we welcomed him home.
First, we packed her whole house up and moved the contents into my garage to be stored. United picked it up to deliver it to Colorado. We drove with the baby from FL to CO on I-10. The drive sucked. It wasn't the length of time or the baby's fussiness; it was the total lack of scenery. Laugh or doubt if you choose to discard my experience but I'm telling you there is absolutely nothing to see AT ALL. Okay, the sky was always there but one can be saturated with blue to the point that even that seems like nothing. The scape was flat and on both sides you could see clear to the horizon, no tree nor a structure to block it. Horrid. yes, we drove through Louisiana and saw nothing but the swamp of the Bayou and tractor trailors for 1000 miles. This nothingness did'nt end with our ride.
When we arrived at my daughter's new place, which she had signed a lease to sight unseen (although she did send a friend to check it out) it was really nice. It is a spacious, 3 floor townhome, with gorgeous views from all windows, and has lots of storage. Yet, United had not arrived and it was empty; completely empty. Not a chair, not a bed, you get it.  We slept on the floor, too tired to go to a grocery store, the baby had his food so we collapsed when he got tired. Let me tell you that my 57 yr old frame punished me harshly for trying to camp like an 8 yr old. Whoa, nelly. It was painful.
It was day three before an air mattress was purchased. I thanked God in heaven--literally- for it.
Five days went by and we decided to treat ourselves and have a sandwich at a local Tea Room. As we walked inside we saw overstuffed couches and couldn't walk quickly enough to claim ours. As I sank into the soft caress of that couch- I thanked God again to allow me such comfort.
When we returned to her place, still unfurnished, I looked out the window and gazed at the Shrine of the Sun perched on the mountain where NORAD also is...The phone rang. It was the mover. He said they'd be delivering in 2 days. I then thought about her husband returning home to a fully furnished/ comfortable home that looked like it was never empty. Yet, I thought, emptiness is a gift. I'm glad I experienced the empty landscape of our journey and the hard floor and empty refrigerator. It has made having any comfort and all the beauty in the world all the sweeter! Gratitude comes from nothing, emptiness.