Beauty Of A Day

I wake up
to the GIFT this day can be.
Preparing myself for the
unwrapped mysteries that may
come my way.

Morning sweetness,
the stillness of first awakening.
Vivid colors and faint memories
of the dreams I travel in sleeping
remain in my heart.
Lightly lingering as I open my eyes.

I start with a simple sip,
a taste of what I might drink in the coming hours.
Do I want more,
or shall I just hide in the covers
with barely a peek outside?

No, Bring it all on!
Emerge into the fullness of light, and thought,
filled with people, adventures, connections,
beginnings and completions.

This is MY day!!
I get to be me and savor it!

How can I welcome each moment of this coming day
as one of purpose,
of value?
I feel all this in those first quiet moments of morning.

**
The colorful noise outside
my city windows
shakes me up and gets me started.
The City says "Here I Am!"
THIS is life,
with all its moving hustle-bustle
gotta get there
make-things-happen attitude.

I look upon all that
through my window into other's worlds.
Different pairs of eyes,
different lives,
comings and goings,
and...

I choose something else today!

My wandering heart longs to be free!
To warm beneath the sun's rays,
be cleansed by the ever-blowing,
always whispering winds.
To be embraced in the
speaking silence of Mother Earth.

And so, here I am.
Breath In.  Breathe Out.
Feeling the fullness of raw,
unhindered life force.

**
And as I sit on the hilltop,
under the talking trees
in the wind's gentle caress,
Clarity descends upon my
peace of mind.
Beauty bestills my heart,
enters my cells
and opens me up.

This moment reminds me
to drink it all in.
Looking upon each blade of grass
as if it's something new,
Filled with mystery.

I make a collection of all these sensations,
a snapshot for later use.
The sparkles of sunbeams glinting
off the water in the distance.
The taste of fresh air
filling my lungs.
The soft cushion of lichen on the tree
I lean against.
The crunch of dry leaves beneath
my feet.
With each step I take in
more and more
so that this picture lives
with vivid memory
in all my layers of being.

**
And from this place of simple
pure joy,
only one thing can arise to the top.
In one word,
knowing the all of this moment.
The felt sense that reminds me
how I choose to live:

Grateful.

Now, I take this little picture-package
piece of time
and tuck it away inside of me.

So I can remember.

Every time is a chance
like this one.
In the city,
with my lover,
working
and playing.
The gentle breeze of my words
and deeds
recall this joyful peace
and emanate in waves
out from my soul.

Tucked away inside of me,
I carry this snapshot
into my sleeping dreams.


(China Camp, 7/23/11)