Graduation

Graduates from high school
full of verve and promise
doesn’t want her photo taken

Wordless Friday

Old memories

She

She arrives riding a bicycle,
Sits opposite me on the table.
We are members of a panel blind tasting wines.
Her possession of a sensitive palate and sharp intuition
promise her a thousand things.
She names the vintage,origin and varietals correctly .
Nothing seems to interfere with her thinking.

She stammers when excited and loves mouth watering green mangoes.
She writes with her left hand and uses the fork
with her right.She has a crystal-breaking like laugh

She appears on the appointed time and place for the wine tasting.
She is here. She is there.

Elegant in her simplicity and intellectually curious.
She disappears for a year to bicycle in Europe.

Take Time to Pray

. . . Prayer is a way of connecting with our source. It is about being centered, grounded, mindful of the holy, the presence of the sacred and the precious. . . . Prayer can help us to connect with the poor with open eyes and hearts. It is prayer that can allow us to educate with patience, love and understanding. It is prayer that can enable us to move to a simpler lifestyle. And it is prayer that will allow us to do this with conviction and joy.

And whether or not we pray is as obvious as whether or not we have put our clothes on. For example, the compulsive, frantic, angry, cynical, unintegrated rambling from project to project—even from peace project to peace project—may speak of good intentions, but also of an uneasy and untended inner life. It is possible . . . to do much harm because we have not taken the time to pray. . . .”

-Jack Jezreel
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation
From the Center for Action and Contemplation

Which one?

Some count their blessings

some saunter in nature and look at beauty in abundance

others sit still in contemplation.

A pause

Let’s pause, let haste sit still
feel the immensity of the moment
dawn naming each tree

Please,don’t.

note: The sculpture is at the entrance of the Riverhouse by Bespoke Collection, Napa Riverfront, Napa, CA.

first things

Every journey begins with the first step
Or the first mistake
That’s not their vacation’s first day
But a day in the water, kayaking
They have never done it before
Like Icarus flying with man-made wings
Excitement hums, quiver of holding
The quill, the first words written
The power of the first decision
First acts of youth, memories are written.

They are in the water with others
all listening to the tour guide
history of the river, fauna and flora of the place,
prepare and be aware of dangers
mirth and fun and a mix of caution
What a day and days to come
They can be optimists.

choices

Saturday, blue skies and sunny
What will you do with your friends?
Stroll in the farmer’s market,
or bicycle on the Vine Trail,
but with your best friend-
paddle board on the river.