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Thursday, July 5, 2018

Of Hummingbirds and Blades of Grass


"Every blade of grass has its Angel
that bends over it and whispers.....
'Grow. Grow!'"
The Talmud

"Peace is every step."
Thich Nhat Hanh

The ringing phone
brings stress
and lamentations,
situations even a mother's heart
can't fix.
The pressure in my head
reaches critical mass,
as I steady the firm trunk of me
to withstand
the pitch and toss
of shifting earth.

I place my feet carefully,
for peace is every step,*
and I must not fall.

In those moments,
I listen to the sweet chirp
of hummingbirds at the feeder,
gratefully drinking
the day's sustenance,
blissfully living
the present moment,
unaware
of the tumult
humans create
for ourselves
everywhere.

Perhaps our fear and worry
about tomorrow
is our greatest obstacle
to peace.

I walk along the beach,
witnessing the waves' 
eternal journey to the shore.
Sky and clouds lift my eyes,
reminding me to
Keep Looking Up.

Silence fills up 
all the space inside.
I wrap it around me
like a healing cloak. 
We need only live 
this single hour,
take the next step,
do the 
next right thing.

There is a larger landscape
than the one we see*,
a soul journey
each of us
must make alone.
With every step, 
we choose:
angst, fear, turmoil
or
peace, trust, hope.

Love, and let go.
Love, and let go.

In those times
when you are walking
through a barren wasteland,
filled with fear,
feeling so alone,
let me be
your Talmud Angel,
leaning over
the solitary blade of grass
that is your life,
and breathing: 
"Grow. Grow!"


for Paul's prompt at Real Toads: Peace Is Every Step.  How do we maintain our peacefulness when our world, or that of someone close,  turns upside down?  A timely prompt for me right now, as I try not to be toppled by a loved one's distress. (My doctor is doubling my blood pressure medication by the week, lol.) I am grateful for the waves, and their eternal journey to the shore. Their song soothes my tattered and weary soul. The Talmud Angel closing I borrowed from a poem in 2010.

* I am trying to find who said the landscape quote, as I have forgotten - Camus? I will keep looking.

15 comments:

  1. I like the fortitude,the strength of how you've closed this piece - and how it speaks of both a personal "voice whispering" message, as well as offering us, and others, hope and strength too (as in, share and know you will be heard and "lean on me" kind of idea) ....

    this is wonderful piece - and how you choose to exhale with the release of the forces much larger than ourselves, is a most timely reminder - sometimes we really need to just stop and ground ourselves in nature -

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  2. It keeps me going, always has, the balm and beauty of nature.

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  3. what a wonderful write...and you have said it just right, peace is in every step, let our steps bring peace to the blades of grass.

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  4. I so wish we could all walk with such presence of now... but I do believe that fear of tomorrow is the biggest barrier for peace.

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  5. I agree. Our fear of tomorrow is one of our barriers to peace. That and hiding from today. I live your hummingbirds. I have 5 feeders out. Creatures live in the now. I think that is why they have such peace.

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  6. I loved your opener even before I read the poem.
    "Every blade of grass has its Angel
    that bends over it and whispers.....
    'Grow. Grow!' The Talmud"
    I was wondering the if would work for the summer potatoes I planted this morning.
    My favorite part was the
    "soul journey each of us must make alone...With every step, we choose ..."
    Quite a trip, Sherry, I think not all will get the dots connected.
    ..

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  7. It DEFINITELY will work on your potatoes, though they dont need a lot of encouragement. LOL.

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  8. We need only live
    this single hour,
    take the next step,
    do the next right thing.

    The urgency is very real and very apparent but somehow it gets tossed out every time it makes a move

    Hank

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  9. Such a beautiful response Sherry. I wish you well with your current journey.

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  10. You've expressed feelings I know so well in such a wonderful way, Sherry. So many lines resonate with me but I think the contrasts in these lines are perfect:
    '...I steady the firm trunk of me
    to withstand
    the pitch and toss
    of shifting earth'
    and
    'Silence fills up
    all the space inside.
    I wrap it around me
    like a healing cloak'.

    The lines that ring truest are:
    'We need only live
    this single hour,
    take the next step,
    do the
    next right thing'.

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  11. Love, and let go...
    This is so inspiring, Sherry.

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  12. This really does sum it up. I don't believe it is a situational thing this peace of mind, I believe it is an ever present thing that can be accessed at will if you are looking through the right lens. Great writing!!!

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  13. You have certainly found your peacefulness

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  14. A beautiful piece...so comforting!

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  15. Dear Sherry,
    I am going through a terrifying time and have been since the end of March. Your words "In those times
    when you are walking through a
    barren wasteland,filled with fear,
    feeling so alone let me be
    your Talmud Angel" give me strength. Thank you.

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