Slippery

Are you looking at life straight on,

with determination, grit, and confidence?

Does life often seem to be splintering,

cracking, sliding, shifting, escaping?

Can life be grasped

like a sturdy branch or like a solid rock?

Fleeting

Short

Brutal

Fickle

Unpredictable

Serendipitous

Joy-filled

Peaceful

Is life what you “make it”?

Is life a smorgasbord that offers a taste of everything?

Look – and see – with both eyes.

Listen – and hear – with both ears.

Touch – and feel – with both hands.

Taste – and savor – with all of your taste buds.

Give. Receive. Enjoy. Laugh. Shout. Sing. Dance.

Rest.

Life Is Messy

Besides the proverbial

blood, sweat, and tears,

there's mud

and slime and filth,

worries, fears,

bugs and rodents,

dashed hopes,

unfulfilled dreams,

betrayals,

disappointments,

sorrow, pain,

unhappy times,

embarrassments,

humiliations,

and thwarted expectations,

and a seemingly endless litany

of grief and loss.

Yet through the blinding mist

and darkness of the mess

shines a light,

which draws us onward

toward joy and peace

and love

and laughter - 

to Life!

All the ugliness

prepares our eyes

to see the beauty;

and 

the beauty

strikes us deeply,

lifts us up,

gives us a song,

and air to breathe.

Incongruity

The moments speeding by

Touch us

Surround us

Change us

They stamp upon us an eternal impression

Of perpetual incongruity

A distinct sensation

Of having seen and felt and experienced something

Achingly profound yet so fleeting

A whisper disguised as a shout

An affirmation that sounds like an insult

A pat on the back that feels like a slap across the face

Like a newsreel jittering through the pressure roller

Confusing my flicker fusion threshold

Fits and jumps and false starts

Perceiving things without truly seeing them

Bits and pieces

A slashed up mashup

Vision interrupted

Senses on hold

As the world speeds by

Trailing a jangling crowd of incongruous shrapnel

Bouncing and ricocheting on the path before me

Leaving me stunned, amazed, and mute

With unrequited expectation

Nose to Nose

How often

do we

come nose to nose

with indisputable truth

but cannot bear to look it in the eye?

Or

how many times

have you seen something

up close

and

you were

SO SURE

you knew

what you were looking at;

then

it turned out to be

a lie,

a deceit,

a counterfeit,
an illusion?

Proximity

does not guarantee

understanding

or

acceptance.

Unity in Diversity

Human facial profiles:

brow

nose

lips

chin

Recognizable common traits,

yet innumerable variations.

They say that

our faces are not symmetrical;

that the left side

of each person's face

does not exactly match

the right side.

Diversity

is built right in

to our physical structures.

We are meant to be

unique

in the midst of

our sameness.

Yet

too many of us

focus on our differences,

to the detriment

of our commonalities.

Unity in diversity.

A wholesome ideal,

kept distant

by human nature.

Me Qua Me

The theme

in every day of my life

is basically

...

me.

Not meaning to be

self-centered,

but I am

the only one

(besides The Creator!)

who never

leaves my presence.

The more or less random

entry

of loads of other

inputs, personalities, influences,

artwork, memories, daydreams...

It still is

who I am becoming.

Little sips

and nibbles

here and there

of untold

numbers of thoughts and experiences

all add up to

a constantly developing

me.

Mysteries Inside Us

Mysteries

are hidden

deep inside us.

Good and bad.

Aspirations.

Dreams.

Hopes, prayers.

Ideas.

Expectations.

Disappointments.

Successes, failures.

Who came in

to stay.

Who didn't.

Still inside us,

deep.

The Adventure Awaits

Life.

Adventure.

Images and words

prompt

memories,

emotions.

All of it

adds up to

who you are

becoming.

Not all of it

is input of your

choosing,

but your choices

about its effects

will make a difference

in

who

you

are

Face It

Besides our own faces

in the mirror,

we are surrounded by faces

all day every day;

in the flesh,

on television,

on the internet,

in print media...

each face is

an encapsulation

of life lived.

Looking for Love

 

Love

is often elusive,

especially when

we are surrounded

by screaming,

staring,

sleeping,

judging

eyes.

The blaring glare

turns us

inside out

and

upside down.

Love is there.

Eventually we will dance

in the light.