when i bow my head to meet my destiny—
the hard fact that will not bend—
the battle hymn of my ancestors fills my ears—
my breath meets at the point of yielding and resisting—
and as a soldier i pledge myself
to that which i do not understand.
Tag: emotions
to the question of pain
there is only one answer:
surrender.
do not try to outrun it—
you only waste your breath.
do not cover it up—
you only compound it.
there is only one answer:
feel it.
feel it in all its senselessness,
in all its depth and fury.
once you have surrendered
to your one and only master
you are slave to nothing else.
as long as you’re breathing
sometimes we are lost in questions
which is to be lost in things unlived.
ghosts of the past, no longer alive
or ghosts of the future, not yet in form.
but we may make use of lifeless thoughts.
we may recognize the fear in them
and where there is fear
there is the chance to face it.
there will always be the question of giving in.
of loss
death
or any number of misfortunes.
but the choice to face fear anyway
is the end of lifelessness
and listlessness.
each breath you take may be a question:
do I have the strength?
the answer:
as long as you’re breathing
you do.
dialogue
your pain is alive
it has a pulse
a heartbeat
and it needs to be acknowledged
as a living being.
ask what it needs
thank it for being the messenger
you don’t want but know
deep down you need.
nurture it with questions
with listening
and with silence
with not demanding answers
and with patience
and someday it will whisper
the words it has waited
all this time to say.
there is no final draft.
it is okay if other people become who I wanted to be.
it is okay if they master my half-developed talents
or realize my half-begun dreams.
it is okay if they live the life I wanted to live.
I will visit them daily
at the altar of forgiveness.
it is okay if others outshine me.
it is okay if words spoken in bitterness become true
so long as I come to love the truth.
maybe I won’t try to be who I am anymore
because I don’t know who I am.
perhaps I will not mind if others misunderstand
because I do not understand either.
maybe losing is letting go
and letting go is becoming.
when there is nothing to say
What do you say
When there is nothing to say?
What can you conclude about
What you can’t fathom?
How do you cheer someone on
When you can’t imagine their pain?
How do you thank someone
When you can’t imagine their sacrifice?
In times like these
I want for wiser words…
Words wide enough to encompass
All that was loved and lost.
when the body speaks
maybe there’s a difference between emotions that arise from thinking
and emotions that arise from the body.
in other words, the primary source is the body, not the mind.
they never passed through the mind before reaching you.
these emotions tell the truth, for the body does not lie.
allow yourself to feel them fully.
these are the moments that bring catharsis.
healing.
the message will arise if you can be still.
be patient.
the truth is neither good nor bad.
we do not have a word for it,
and that is for the best,
for we must learn to move beyond words
to define things.
allow yourself to feel
without words.
name the emotion, but be mindful of the thoughts
that arise.
are they adding to a story?
or are they bringing you closer
to the truth?
I’d like to express my gratitude to Eckhart Tolle, whose recent YouTube video inspired this post. His teachings have been life changing for me. I encourage you to check them out.
pleasure/pain
what would it mean
to take it in turns
to take it all
in stride
not waiting for
the perfect vacation
beach breeze, palm trees
to relax
but to pause
here and now
amidst the chaos
stand still
watch it whirl
watch it all come and go
if you can’t help but want
the pleasant things
if you can’t help but prefer
pleasure to pain
you’re not alone
but i invite you to imagine
just for a moment
what it would mean
to let go of preference
if it made no difference
whether the next moment
brought pleasure or pain
if you believed you stood to gain
and stood to lose
equally from both
can you let go of needing
to feel a certain way?
i know it’s a lot to ask
and i am no master
these are just things
i’ve decided to consider
i’ve decided to ask
what if.
object permanence
doubt
moves in like a cloud
obscuring the sun.
it does not make the sun wrong
or mean it’s not there.
for clouds come and go
but the sun is yours
your whole life long.
what waits within
where is the grief
inside you living?
what waits within
like song inside a bird
what seizes your heart
in spasms of fear and glory
waiting, waiting
to be heard?
tell me, tell anyone, tell someone
even if only
in the faintest of whispers
until you touch the place inside
where grief melts into music.
face to face with the sky 