Poems of Unalome

  Right Here DANE ANTHONY Stop moving. Stand in one place – this place. Breathe slowly; in, then out. Repeat. Repeat again. Let your shoulders sink and relax. Unclench your jaw; slowly close your eyes. Listen for your heartbeat; really listen. Feel it pulse in your fingertips. Lessen expectations. Under-do all your efforts. Requisition the time for your soul to catch up. Lean into the wind; feel it like a tree and test the ground. Learn to trust the resilience. It would be treason to move quickly – left or right – from this place. It is alright to be exactly what you are, who you are, where you are. Right here, right now.

  Lost DAVID WAGONER Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here, And you must treat it as a powerful stranger, Must ask permission to know it and be known. The forest breathes. Listen. It answers, I have made this place around you. If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here. No two trees are the same to Raven. No two branches are the same to Wren. If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you, You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows Where you are. You must let it find you.

 Gift ~ by Czeslaw Milosz A day so happy. Fog lifted early. I worked in the garden. Hummingbirds were stopping over the honeysuckle flowers. There was no thing on earth I wanted to possess. I knew no one worth my envying him. Whatever evil I had suffered, I forgot. To think that once I was the same man did not embarrass me. In my body I felt no pain. When straightening up, I saw blue sea and sails.

Begin with Boldness Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.  Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now. Text  Commonly attributed to Goethe

It's All Right by William Stafford Someone you trusted has treated you bad. Someone has used you to vent their ill temper. Did you expect anything different? Your work--better than some others'--has languished, neglected. Or a job you tried was too hard, and you failed. Maybe weather or bad luck spoiled what you did. That grudge, held against you for years after you patched up, has flared, and you've lost a friend for a time. Things at home aren't so good; on the job your spirits have sunk. But just when the worst bears down you find a pretty bubble in your soup at noon, and outside at work a bird says, "Hi!" Slowly the sun creeps along the floor; it is coming your way. It touches your shoe.

  Mountains by Sangharakshita Golden in laughing sunlight, Silver in mist and rain, I see thee, mighty mountains. Tower heavenward from the plain. And pray my heart unmoved by Sweet joys or sufferings dire. Like thee through cloud and sunlight May upward still aspire.

Dedication ceremony (morning dedication) For the benefit of all beings For the happiness of all beings With body, speech and mind, I dedicate this day. Abandoning harmfulness, To kindness I dedicate this day. Abandoning selfishness, To sharing I dedicate this day. Abandoning indulgence, To contentment I dedicate this day. Abandoning false speech, To truth I dedicate this day. Abandoning intoxication, To clear awareness I dedicate this day. To Buddhahood, To Dharma, To Sangha, With the blessings of the Bodhisattvas, For the benefit of all, I dedicate this day. (from  https://thebuddhistcentre.com/project/text/exercises-and-reflections-monday-working-reminders-remembering-remember )

Five Vows By Joanna Macy I vow to myself and to each of you: To commit myself daily to the healing of our world and the welfare of all beings. To live on Earth more lightly and less violently in the food, products, and energy I consume. To draw strength and guidance from the living Earth, the ancestors, the future beings, and my brothers and sisters of all species. To support others in their work for the world and to ask for help when I feel the need. To pursue a daily spiritual practice that clarifies my mind, strengthens my heart, and supports me in observing these vows.