poetry

my work is loving the world…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

  

i am here to love (JMW 2014)
 
My work is loving the world.Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird

   equal seekers of sweetness.

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.

Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.
Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?

Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me

    keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,
which is mostly standing still and learning to be

    astonished.

The phoebe, the delphinium.

The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.

Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here, 
which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart

    and these body-clothes,

a mouth with which to give shouts of joy

to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,

telling them all, over and over, how it is

    that we live forever.
~ Mary Oliver
#love #OurPurpose #WorkToDo #gratitude #awe #BeginnersMind #MaryOliver

just because…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

Just because 

you feel certain, 

doesn’t mean you are in the right.

Just because 

you have heard the song of truth, 
doesn’t mean you’ve got the only moves.

All of us can dance 
and the floor is open to everyone.

So

Take a deep breath, 

then another, 

and sit down here 
at this table of 
communion and humility.

All you need to bring with you, 

is your beautiful, 
wounded heart 
and
the willingness to listen…

~j

Thich Nhat Hanh mantra…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

  Breathing in,

I see myself as a flower.
Breathing out, I feel fresh.
Breathing in,
I see myself as a mountain.
Breathing out, I feel solid.
Breathing in, I see myself as space.
Breathing out, I feel free.
~Thich Nhat Hanh

rest in peace, kalyanamitra…

~ jaysen ~ 1 Comment

PeaceOfferingSmall

sometimes

it is all i can do
to just sit

here in this naked moment

this uneasy
space

my heart broken open

how else can all of this Love pour out?

~j

…here i sit.  at present words fail me, so i have pulled from words assembled in the past, reflecting a moment then, to reassemble them here in the present, reflecting this moment now.

i hesitate to use the word “lost” when regarding the passing of a friend.  love is never lost, never gone nor diminished.  love just transforms herself and continues her lovely dance into the next hall where her beauty can continue to grow and delight.  how can the great work of love ever be done?  nevertheless, in this transitory life we call home, when a friend continues their journey it is we who can feel lost.

i hold these uncomfortable feelings, these feelings of sadness for all who are suffering in this “loss.”  i hold these feelings with tender care.  allowing them to grow this heart in love and teach the bravery that is openness.

Lori Miles Rubino is a bright light, who has embodied bravery and openness,  a gift to all who know her and have the privilege to call her friend.  kind, compassionate, encouraging, funny, open and loving.  a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, coach, friend, artist, photographer, and writer.  her life has been one of great love, the work of a bodhisattva, as is so evident in the amazing family she has raised and of whom i am so grateful and adore.

in honor of her bravery, her openness, and her beautiful talent as a writer i want to invite and encourage you to read her blog One Toe Over the Line Sweet Mary.  her most recent entries will shake you, wake you up, make you laugh and open your heart.  do yourself the great favor and gift of reading her words.  chew them, reflect and meditate on them.  especially her entries, Forgiving and Dying among others.  i was so moved in reading the latter – it was our final correspondence in the first week of January 2015 beyond mutual Facebook “like”ing more recently.  i cherish it.

the rawness, i attempt to express in my words at the top of this page – is so deftly brought to life in Lori’s essays.  i will be reblogging her work, here, to share.

love you, dear Lori, and so grateful for the gift of your love.  i look forward to watching how it continues to grow in the hearts of all who know you and love you.  rest in peace, kalyanamitra.

namasté
~j

01.21.15