THESE SIMPLE WORDS

By the power and the truth of this practice,
may all beings have happiness,
and the causes of happiness.
May all be free from sorrow,
and the causes of sorrow.
May all never be separated from
sacred happiness which is sorrowless.
And may all live in equanimity,
without too much attachment
and too much aversion,
And live believing in the
equality of all that lives.
May all beings be filled with joy and peace.
May all beings everywhere,
The strong and the weak,
The great and the small,
The mean and the powerful,
The short and the long,
the subtle and the gross:
May all beings everywhere,
Seen and unseen,
Dwelling far off or nearby,
Being or waiting to become:
May all be filled with lasting joy.
Let no one deceive another,
Let no one anywhere despise another,
Let no one out of anger or resentment.
Wish suffering on anyone at all.
Just as a mother with her own life
Protects her child, her only child, from harm,
So within yourself let grow
A boundless love for all creatures.
Let your love flow outward through the universe,
To its height, its depth, its broad extent,
A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.
Then as you stand or walk,
Sit or lie down,
As long as you are awake,
Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;
Your life will bring heaven to earth.

(Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying)

Today I wrote a letter.

Perhaps not sounding quite like the Herculean task that it was for me. Nonetheless, I am pleased.

I have released so much of what I was resisting and struggling to hold onto out into the world and onto the page and that is serving me.

These simple words have set me free.

I am present. I recognize that the next moment will bring change. Tomorrow I will face challenges and fears and setbacks. And yet, in this moment I am embracing this success! I am celebrating who I am becoming. I accept that this becoming is coming and will continue to come. I am changed.

Most importantly I have realized this: We each have a lifetime to fill with feelings, thoughts, mistakes, choices. These are all valid within the context of our own individual lives. I am allowed to make my own choices within the context of my own day, my own life. My choice is no less or no more right than yours.

I choose love!

What do you choose? Will you share?

SUPER POWERS

I 'm yearning for super powers. I've been pondering what I'd want....
invisibility
eternal life
incredible speed
the ability to breath under water
an invisible jet like Wonder Woman's...

My ideas of power and superlatives have changed dramatically since I was a kid. Back then, I always wanted to be a wonder twin. I wanted that connection and power that came from two people coming together with a common goal or purpose. O.k. I'll admit to still wanting that part.

Lately, however, I'd prefer a deep well of patience and the vast strength that comes with willingly accepting the unknown.

I'm going to experiment here tonight. I'm writing these words down and setting them free. Free to grant me the super powers I need.

I choose to willingly accept the patience I need in this moment.

I gratefully accept that I am in a state of unknowing and the glorious power that comes with surrendering to this. My opportunities are limitless.

I gratefully accept that everything is working out even better than I ever could have imagined or know.

May the same be true for you.

TAKE ACTION

"If I Had Only...

forgotten future greatness

and looked at the green things and the buildings

and reached out to those around me

and smelled the air

and ignored the forms and the self-styled obligations

and heard the rain on the roof

and put my arms around my wife

...and it's not too late"

Hugh Prather, Notes to Myself

The first words of this piece are filled with such a pervasive sense of regret. Mired in the regret it feels as though hope is lost. If only different choices had been made, time spent differently. Self-constructed obstacles prevented this. It feels as though the time has passed. There is a finality to these words.

And yet...I love the feeling of of renewed hope that arrives so unexpectedly at the end.

Let go of the regret, the past is gone. But each moment is another chance. It is not too late! The message is urgent and grave and raucous. Shake yourself awake for the time is NOW!

This is the year of the Tiger...a year full of radical change and opportunity. According to the Chinese calendar this year began on February 14th, 2010. So here in case you needed a second chance at a fresh start to the New year - you've got it!

I embrace this change! I am committed to creating the life I truly want - a extraordinary life I will enjoy along the way and will look back upon with joy, awe and a sense of wonder.

How do you plan to live the next year? Will you look back at 2010 and think "If I Had Only..."

ACCEPTANCE

You can never truly get what you want from another. Whatever that is it must arise from within yourself.

Acceptance is a state, a place where we come to after a long, strenuous journey. A place that we arrive into the moment that we surrender.

We create the need to do. Is it possible for us to arrive at surrender without doing? Perhaps. In resisting we create the tension, the opposite of the state we desire. In letting go of our resistance we allow room for acceptance. As though the heat and pressure of our combined resistance culminates in the act of letting go and creates a tiny crack deep within us. Here in the crack, in what we might view outwardly as imperfection or flaw or mistake, we have created a space and opportunity in which acceptance can grow and even thrive.

After a time, who can tell exactly how long or short, we regain our strength and rebuild our trust. Buoyed by a new sense of empowerment and gratitude.

This is the place where we might find within ourselves exactly what we have always been searching for....

I accept the situations and the people in my life for exactly who and what they are. I can only create change in myself and my own responses. I am personally committed to this change.

This is the year of the Tiger! I am taking decisive action to create the life and support system I have always dreamed of. I am a very different person today than I was a year ago, a week ago or even yesterday. I take 100% personal responsibility for myself. I look forward to abundant gratitude, love and trust!

May you find along your journey exactly what you are looking for:)

URGENCY

"Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!"

Og Mandino

I love the sense of urgency that seeps out of these words.

NOW! It's a powerful concept.

What are you putting off right now? WHY!? What clutter is preventing each of us from...

whatever might be....

SCENTS

I always marvel at the power of my sense of smell to stir up memories from the past. One spell-binding whiff transports me back to a time, a place, the company of someone long-lost from my daily life...here are a few that continue to amaze me and to capture me with their nostalgia-inducing strength.

THE SMELL THE MEMORY
garden-picked roses.... holiday breakfasts on my grandmother and grandfather's back patio
and coffee cans filled with roses from my grandfather's garden

warm pine needles.... afternoons exploring at Devil's Head
Cutter's bug repellent.... lazy days fly fishing
Dove soap.... long, hot showers
3M Spray 77.... all-nighters in college and then in consulting
fresh-cut grass.... Saturday afternoons at home with my Dad mowing the lawn
barbecue sauce.... Gator McGoon's and McArthur Park
Zebra Stripe Gum.... Middle School camping trips
damp sleeping bag.... camping and kayaking in the San Juan Islands
jasmine.... late evenings walking to my car leaving work
wet river stones.... weekend hiking and camping trips in Oregon, riverside bathing
onions and parsley.... Mom's spaghetti sauce, Thanksgiving in Palo Alto
eucalyptus.... lacrosse practice freshman year in college
stale beer.... The Taxi house on a Sunday morning
pine sol, saltwater and sand.... The SeaLodge elevator on the first day of check in
frying oil.... snack bar at Cherry Hills on a sunny summer day
Angel's Trumpet.... Carmel and Botanical Building in Balboa Park
Anise.... Cliff walk in August
Wine and French Fries.... Cafe Chloe
Espresso Gelato.... Looking out over Little Italy at sunset
Homemade Guacamole.... a summer spent eating salty avocados and kissing
Warm pine bark.... soft, cuddly Linus
sweat, cement, metal, sand.... SEAL beach and gym
rain on hot asphalt.... sudden summer thunderstorms in Colorado
whipped creamed and chocolate sauce.... Farrell's birthday parties
refried beans.... Casa Bonita waterfalls and fire jugglers
hard candy and Laffy taffy.... Rainbow collectibles in Keystone
cold ice, metal and sound of skates.... frozen nose hairs ice skating on the lake and high school hockey games


These sensations are sometimes such a rush - a rowdy collage of scents, sights, sounds. I find them difficult to explain or describe. Perhaps I'll try to paint them.

Just curious....What do you remember?

SLEEP

Drift away
for when I wake
the dream begins.

Fingers recall the fragile hour
longing touch
knowing glance.

Drift away
for when I wake
lips recall kisses
they no longer taste
caresses that linger
as memories fade
breathless whispers
soft as butterfly kisses.

Wake me not
remains what senseless is
falling peace
sleeps beside me.

Dullness aches with eager regularity
expectant pangs
restless breath
shadow of warmth
inhale
bury myself beneath the cover of
smoldering hollow

wake into the dream
tickling familiarity
drifts away...

as did you.

EFFERVESCENCE

Let loose
Hinder not
that which deep within you
yearns to
bubble to the surface.
Sense nearness
aware the edge
releasing
Pop!