Rock Story

*

In the end,
nothing is inherently worth reaching for.

But,
reaching for nothing
assures that you'll attain it.

Even a rock has a story;
it is not completely dead.

Do you want to live
your life
like a rock?

Reaching for something,
anything,
gives that thing value.

It's the reaching
 that makes life
worth the time
it takes
for living.

Do you want
to live?

Look
for some
little ledge
or
crevasse
to reach
out to.

Better still,
stretch
out
those
wings

***

Survive the Winter

*

Still waters 

That here run so deep 

Are all but frozen now, 

But there is life beneath the ice. 

This winter 

Has been long and fierce. 

The freeze has settled in.
 

The fish swim slowly, 

Hardly daring to dream 

Of that day 

When the thaw will release the tides.

Waves will roll, 

Free of this season's unyielding grip. 

They are not dead, 

Though some don't yet know 

This is simply the way of it: 

There will come another spring, 

Another warm day, 

Another time 

When the leaves will float 

Like clouds above them.

There will be a time of plenty, 

Then another winter. 

This is just the way of nature. 

This is just the way of life. 

Those

Who survive 

Winter 

Will see the sun.


*

Alignment

*



The past 

does not matter

to the Universe.

Only what is now matters.

What We feel in our heart matters.

What is behind Our efforts matters.

Success 

or failure

as defined by human beings

does not matter.

Perseverance in the struggle

to mesh daily actions with Our best intentions,

Embodiment 

of the essence of Our soul...

these are things that the Universe cares about.

The more closely We align our actions with our core being,

the more likely it is that Our human companions will see Us

as the Universe sees Us.

Recognition is a wonderful and beautiful affirmation,

but should not be the driving force

if inner peace is to be achieved.

Alignment between values and deeds

should be the goal.

The rest will follow.

When alignment is the intent,

whether or not recognition is plentiful,

it will be authentic

and true.



***

Caterpillar Dreams

*

Caterpillar,

Deciding today to give up

On His lifelong dream of flying,

Will still fly.

He only needs to sustain his being

Long enough to fully become

What He is already.

Whether He knows it or not

Does not matter.

He 

will 

fly.

*

Keys to Heaven

*

At that moment,

When the spark entered You,

Before You were born...

The Spirit came,

And whispered 

Into Your still forming mind...

"You will not remember this talk 

When You open your eyes.

You have chosen this life, 

At this exact time and place, 

For a reason.

You 

Go with my blessing, 

And my love. 

The Universe has given You all of the tools that you need

To decorate Your own corner of heaven.

Through You, We will learn 

To understand,

To ask new questions, 

To LIVE.

Just as Life is available to All who seek it in our realm,

The door to heaven is open wide to All who seek it  

In the realm You are joining now.

Come on in!

Welcome.

Here are the tools You have chosen for yourself.

What 

 are 

You 

waiting 

for

?

"

*

Sacred Cocoon

 *

Love.

Magical butterfly,

Emerging daily from its cocoon,

Woven just so, with sacred thread.

You are one wing on this beautiful creature.

There is another.

Grow strong, feel the wind.  

Revel in your combined strength.

The whole world is waiting.

Fly!

*

Salvation

*

Look 
no 
further 
for Your salvation.  

You are 
already 
One 
With the Divine.  

So... 
create 
the 
heaven 
You 
seek.

*

All That Matters

*

All that matters 

Is whether or not You are on the path.

It doesn't matter how far along that road You have come.

It matters even less how quickly You are moving on your way.

There is no destination.

Whatever You think of as the end today is only a way-point.

If You are indeed on your path, don't move so quickly.

If You must have a goal... aim only to stay on the path.

Go slowly, 

and 

Experience 

Everything.

*

Embrace

 *

The trees know 

They are not forsaken

When their leaves fall, wind blown, 

As frost gnaws, teeth bared by winter, 

A show of force, a dog asserting rank in its pack…

Trees know who is their one true Alpha

the 

Omega, 

the 

First 

and 

the 

Last.

Their arms reach out towards the heavens,

Assured of the warm embrace of Spring.

***

Aha!

*

The cicada larvae digs for 17 years through the soils of time,

Longer than it takes for a human fetus to become a mother

Or a young man burned by the searing fires of lust.

What wisdom does that nymph pass on to the Universe?

What does it mean to be fully encased

In the shell of the cicada?

Breaking out of the molds of experience,

Free of the trappings of earth

Flying and singing in one last triumphant “Hurrah!”

Before breaking free yet again

Of life as we know it.

What comes next for this musician and lover?

****

The garden spider spins its zig-zag pattern in the trees.

Its life much the same when it’s old as when young.

As the mist rises from the moist ground in the morning…

As the sun sets across the waters, reflecting the moss

Hanging from the branches…

Who is to say which life can tell us more about reality?

In its web it catches whatever comes.

Today the unwary cicada falls prey.

The spider rushes instantly, traversing both time and space

Like a terrible spector, who can be here and then there,

Effortlessly arriving at this new source of nourishment.

It slowly wraps the cicada’s last look at life, through compound eyes.

****

“Am I like the cicada,” says the boy to the man,

“Or am I more like the spider?”

“You are both,” says the man,

“And they are both.”

“I do not understand,” the boy answers.

A wasp settles down on the back of the spider.

One egg, delicately placed… new life will soon begin.

“All you can do son, is observe with wonder

The truth and the beauty of beginnings and of endings.”

“I want to hold onto the joy and leave the sadness behind!”

“You can not have the beginning without the endings.

You can not revel in the joy without wallowing in the sorrow.”

****

Universe watches as I dig through the dirt

Where I first found my soul.

It cheers as I rise, forcing clumps of soil to give way,

Breaking open the paradigm that has encased my consciousness.

Forcing blood into these new wings to fly, finding these hollow drums,

“I will beat out a song that will force the whole world to listen!”

It watches as I spin the web of my life

Zig-zagging to and fro madly, with care and dedication.

It wonders as it sees me capture that majestic creature

So much larger than myself, its tangled life now beyond repair.

The wasp settles down on my back. My fate is sealed. New life begins.

Universe now sees for the first time, through the multi-faceted eyes of the wasp.

“Aha!” 

*


~ The Shaman on the Mountain of Dreams