Tag Archives: stillness

What the World Needs Now

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*Please go the You tube link and leave a wishful thought in the comments section

Walk mindfully today

Keeping your distance, yes

But only physically

We need each other more these days

The pain is overwhelming for many

it is the greatest reverse of fortune

even for the mighty and brave

Tomorrow’s journey is uncertain

So live today fully

Love passionately

Give genorously

Let gratitude be your daily mantra

Oh yes, and Breathe!

Look at the view!

Nature will be your teacher.

The trees have continued to bloom,

the birds continue to build their nests,

Unaware perhaps of our grave situation,

It is our opportunity today, right now

to watch and listen carefully

natural intelligence

will always prevail.

*Please go the You tube link and leave a wishful thought in the comments section

Haiku by Basho

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When I looked under the hedge-

the little grass called shepard’s purse*

was flowering

“Shepherd’s purse is used for heart and circulatory problems including mild heart failure, low blood pressure, and nervous heart complaints. It is also used for headache, vomiting blood, blood in the urine, diarrhea, and bladder infections.” – Google search

What We Should Do

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“Don’t seek, don’t search, don’t ask, don’t knock, don’t demand – relax.”

                               -Osho

 

What We Should Do

We should learn to be in the now.

Tomorrow is not assured.

Be honest about how you feel.

Be appalled at what is outrageously appalling, disgusting, and revolting.

If you are not willing to say, “Enough is enough!”

Then do not search for the truth.

 

We should learn to be still.

Calmly claiming peace.

Sensibly seeking stillness.

Watching wistfully at what is.

Because what is, is.

 

We should learn to question calmly.

Take a stand firmly,

Believe in the power of one.

 

We have to learn to relax.

No matter what happens.

No matter who says what.

Relax.

Relax.

“Happiness, not in another place

but this place . . .

not for another hour,

but this hour.”

This moment, now, belongs to all of us.

 

 

A Poem A Day – This Ocean Knows

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“Individually, we are one drop.
Together, we are an Ocean.” 
― Arshdeep Singh Samrala

This ocean knows

                                                   the secrets of my soul

I wonder where they all will go

                                                    raging by the gusty wind

                                     the waves roll in

a soothing sound

                                A white blanket of froth forms;

                                                                A sense of nostalgia gushes through my body;

Peace surrounds me again

Intimate and majestic

Pure, Tranquil , Mindful

all fears

disappear.

The ocean whispers

                                                                                              confidentially,

                                                                                     “Your secrets are safe, my dear.”

                                                                         

                                                                                             -Melba Christie

A Shrinking Feeling

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A shrinking feeling overwhelms me;

the giant issues that surround

the world

suffocate and diminish my spirit slowly.

Will we survive?

Will this craziness pass?

Will we ever find the door

that leads to the garden of love

and peace?

 

Let us be strong again;

Let us believe again;

We must survive

the lunacy,

the autocratic greed,

the narcissistic need to lead

blindly, arrogantly, foolishly,

and selfishly.

We must believe that we are truly one.

 

 

 

 

 

Inspired by Stanley Kunitz

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(c) Melba Christie 2018

Every spring I try to plant a beautiful garden like the ones I have seen in magazines. No sooner I plant Begonias, Calandula, Petunias and Pansies, our resident cottontail rabbit and  occasional visiting deer snap up the fresh or new blooms.

The rabbit loves the clover that grows wild and free in our backyard. Clover is a weed but I cannot bring myself to stripping it because it has very dainty white flowers and because I too love the green leaves.

Therefore, my garden is composed of large ceramic pots. I have resigned to the fact that I may never have a garden except for the improvised one on our deck.

So what does Stanley Kunitz have to do with my want to be garden? Nothing really. Except that Mark Doty once described how Mr. Kunitz would walk through his garden “paying strict attention to every inch of it.”

I too thought about Mr. Kunitz’s  visits to his garden.  My grandmother never left her house for years except to step out into her small garden. Hers was a real garden.  She talked to the flowers and plants; she claimed they would grow more and bloom more robustly.

Thus, I wrote a poem about her love of nature and especially her garden.

 

Grandma only felt safe in her garden

the lavender plant soothed her soul

and helped her cope with her phobia.

 

On a few occasions, I heard her sing

to the tiger lilies. They leaned and seemed to listen.

She stood very still as if she were watching out

for prey like the cottontail did on the grassy lawn

there were no prey to speak of

no one would ever harm her

but she listened carefully to nature’s sounds and warnings

every morning among the daffodils

She is gone now

and so is Stanley K.

I wonder if they stand together

in heaven’s divine garden

praying for us here on earth.

 

 

“Let’s Do It”

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Reinventing yourself?
Are you the curious observer?
Are you the deep thinker?
Release those thoughts!
Instead be still and take in the view
Breathe deeply
Cultivate Calm
transcend the ordinary
Love self.
Love others selflessly
Love, Love, Love
all of nature knows the rules
all of nature knows how to do it
“let’s do it”
Let’s love each other
Like Cole Porter wrote,
“Even lazy jelly fish do it”
Reinventing yourself?
Just do it.
Love will make it happen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More On Mindfulness

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Out of no where I began humming “One Moment Time”,  a song made popular by the late Whitney Houston during the 1988 Summer Olympics. It dawned on me that I was going back to a special one moment that was and has been very meaningful to me. It was the song chosen by my students to sing at their high school graduation.  I was one of the teachers in charge of a high school graduation at the time.

The moment I played back in my mind was when the students were called up to receive their diplomas. They were all so proud of what they had achieved. Most of them had been labeled at-risk and they were so proud they had made it to graduation. These moments are the ones that matter to a teacher, parent or grand parent. It is a moment in time that does not escape one’s memory very easily.

I suppose this is a good example of what mindfulness is all about. That moment in time was to create awareness of all things around us and our own self awareness.   It was the culmination of many instances that lead to the to it.

“Mindfulness is being aware of or bringing attention to this moment in time deliberately and without judging the experience.” Thus I must have been aware of many of the details of that particular event.

I must admit however, that it is a little more difficult these days to be mindful and focused in the moment.  Eckhart Tolle, author of The New Earth  urged us “to be in the present or in the now” where each moment counts.

In my book, Haiku Moments I try to exemplify my ideas on mindfulness with the moments expressed in haiku and some of the photographs that connected to those moments.

But again focusing on the present moment is not easy these days. There are too many distractions. However, the challenge is ours to stay focused, grounded and still. It may be that we  need to start talking to each other face to face. We need to get rid of our devices and basically stay disconnected but at the same time making ourselves available to others.

Mindfulness to me means holding yourself captive so that nothing else matters.Here is my poem about mindfulness:

One moment in time

It is a magical moment,

one that you can never live again.

It is a moment well spent with a friend,

it is a time to make of yourself a masterpiece.

So that others take you in as their special moment.

A moment in time

is a deep breath

to cleanse the body

and build a spirit.

One moment in time

may connect you with your soul mate

It is a dance in which missing a step will

stop the music playing.

 

One moment in time is a time to be

mindful and calm,

still and in tune with nature

and your being.

It will be a “time to be free.”

Hopefully it will be the one moment for Peace and Love.

Please let me know what mindfulness is to you.

 

 

 

 

The Landscapes of My Mind

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Sometimes I go to my favorite place;

silently and all alone.

no fancy name given

no signs to direct me there

no houses, no people

simply a natural space

in which to roam.

 

If ever you should need to go there

I will gladly show you the way

but there is one thing I must say

all you really need is to close your eyes

take three deep breaths

and wish yourself away.

 

* I often have dreams where I am just walking through beautiful and peaceful landscapes. The painting is one that depicts my latest dream.

 

 

 

On Meditation

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Meditation brings us closer to the silence

we all need right now

the more silent and still

the more awareness grows

like wild ferns in the deep forest.

 

Peace evolves from within:

the soul develops hardy muscles

to keep depression out;

like a great cyclone fence

it protects,

but still lets the sun rays dance around you.

Meditation energizes;

it brings back the pep in your step.

Breathe the Yoga Master commands

Breathe and let your heart sing

as you meet all your soulmates.

Breathe and be still

the thrill

will

elevate you

high up

and soon

you will feel

the clouds.

Breathe!

Peace to all.

 

 

 

 

 

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