Looking In

A subtle glance.
Quickly look away.
I do not want to go there today.
Too much heartache,
Too much pain,
Perhaps I will look another day.

NO! You shout.
Look right now.
You need to look within.
You need to learn how.
How to discern your own emotions
From that of another.
How to see for yourself.
Your hurting one another.

Anger is fine for a moment, 
Or two,
But holding it's hand
Will only get you
Filled up with nothing.
Look within,
And see,
How you hurt me.

You and I are the same.
We should not be here
Passing blame.
We should be growing,
Loving, kind.
We should be looking in
transforming it all until we find
Nothing but love to leave behind.

Cascading

Sometimes emotions well up,
cascading down me,
until I have no choice but to notice them.
Hello, there. I feel you.
Rushing through me like a waterfall.
Trickling through me like a stream.
Yes, I feel you.
I am not ignoring the feeling.
Just breathing through it.
Until it passes, and I can see were it leaves me.

Sometimes emotions well up,
cascading down me,
taking me away on a rapid ride around rocks and trees.
Around bends and turns.
Bumping me along until I scream,
let me off this ride already!

Sometimes emotions well up,
cascading down me,
until I stop and listen to my inner voice.
Asking it, what's this?
Old or new?
Do I act on it?
Do I work past it?
Can I move it?

Sometimes emotions well up,
cascading down me...
and I am okay with that.

Chasing Happiness

The almost elusive happiness is up around the bend.
 I made it there, but wait!
 It rounded the corner again.

 I know, I will speed up! 
Yes, I got it. 
I am sprinting fast.
"Happiness, here I come!"
Happiness speeds past.
 
 Maybe that shiny jet will catch it. 
No.
 Still out of reach. 
Exhausted.
 I give up. 
I go to rest on the beach.

Lying on the sand, wishing the chase was not futile. 
I resigned and gave in. 
 In that moment, I turn to find,

Happiness resting beside me.
 "Sometimes you need to surrender and let go. 
Happiness will find you."

Fox

You visit me in dreams. 
Bushy tail.
Grinning face.
Mysterious, yet joyful.

Most see you as a trickster, a prankster, 
a figment of imagination. 
You are but a breath at times. 
Bounding through our lives. 
Chasing the chickens.
 Upheaving my life. 

Other times, you appear in shadows. 
Murky images in my mind. 
I blink and find you were imagined. 
Yet, the trail cam captured you perfectly. 
Posing as if you were on vacation. 
Perhaps you were. 
Visiting a relative. 
How would I know. 
You drift by so infrequently, 
you might not be the same.

Ruby’s Story – The Storm

She stood at the oak tree overlooking town. A storm was rolling in. Flashes of lighting could be seen in the distance. She watched the storm for  a few minutes. Marveling at the sun hitting her back, and the slowly approaching storm. It always fascinated her when the weather was split so noticeably.

She knew, by how slow the storm was approaching, she had a few more minutes to watch before she headed into town for shelter. She had work in ten minutes, and would have to get moving regardless of the storm.

She was thankful she had a few more minutes to observe the split wonder of nature. The sun still lingered behind her. The storm slowly, but determinedly, moving toward her. She hoped it was the type of storm that moved out the same way because there was something metaphoric about a storm moving out slowly with the sun lighting the sky behind it. Slowly, burning the storm away.

Slightly smiling, she walked to work. Knowing it would be a slow day. Most people would stay in because of the storm.

In Confidence

I spoke in quiet confidence,
sharing my pain and grief with you.
I spoke the truth.
Thinking I would find understanding,
comfort, or acknowledgement from you.

You stood up
when I finished.
No kind words came out.
Instead you turned from me,
and started to shout!

You screamed my words,
my pain, my life.
You screamed for all to know.

Then you turned,
smugly smiling,
thinking I would hide,
because the world now knew,
my deepest pain and grief.

You were shocked
 to find me standing tall.
In confidence, 
I stood.
I will never choose to be small.

In your desire
to show the world my pain,
you also exposed yourself
for who you are.

In confidence,
I will not turn to you again.
In confidence,
I can walk away,
knowing without a doubt,
that I am safe now.

You cannot scream my pain and grief
to the world no more.
I will not hold it in,
but use it to inspire others
so they, too, can walk on
in confidence.