Reflection for July 8, 2009

A Root In Each Creature and Act

The Sun's eyes are painting fields again.

Its lashes with expert strokes

Are sweeping across the land.

A great palate of light has embraced

This earth.

Hafiz, if just a little clay and water

Mixed in His bowl

Can yield such exquisite scents, sights

Music-and whirling forms-

What unspeakable wonders must await with

The commencement of unfolding

Of the infinite number of petals

That are the

Soul.

What excitement will renew your body

When w all begin to see

That His Heart resides in Everything?

God has a root in each act and creature

That He draws His mysterious divine life from.

His eyes are painting fields again.

The Beloved with his own hands is tending

Raising like a precious child

Himself in You.

Hafiz

Music

Album - The Pilgrim

Piece - The Deer's Cry (St. Patrick's Breastplate)

Reflection for July 1, 2009

Giver of gifts,

Thank you.

When I was young

And knew nothing,

I asked for the sun.

You gave me a candle

Which I put in my pocket,

And now...

A lifetime later,

I found the match

John Squadra

Reflection for June 17, 2009

Reflection for June 10, 2009

I'M LISTENING

 

I’m listening yet I don’t know

If what I hear is silence

or God.

 

I’m listening but I can’t tell

If I hear the plane of emptiness echoing

Or a keen consciousness that

At the bounds of the universe

Deciphers and watches me.

 

I only know that I walk like someone

Beheld, beloved and known

And because of this I put into my every moment

Solemnity and risk.

 

                Sophia de Mello-Breyner

                Translated from the Portugese

                        by Lisa Sapinkophf

Reflection for June 3, 2009

Light Blue Memories

O exiles of the mountain of oblivion!

O the jewels of your names, slumbering in the mire of silence

O your obliterated memories, your light blue memories

In the silty mind of a wave in the sea of forgetting

Where is the clear, flowing stream of your thoughts?

Which thieving hand plundered the pure golden statue

of your dreams?

In this storm which gives birth to oppression

Where has your ship, your serene silver mooncraft gone?

After this bitter cold which gives birth to death -

If the sea should fall calm

If the cloud should release the hearts knotted sorrows

If the maiden of moonlight should bring love, offer a smile

If the mountain should soften its heart, adorn itself with green,

become fruitful -

Will one of your names, above the peaks,

become bright as the sun?

Will the rise of your memories

Your light blue memories

In the eyes of fishes weary of floodwaters and

fearful of the rain of oppression

become a reflection of hope?

O, exiles of the mountain of oblivion! 

- by Nadia Anjuman, November / December 2001

 Translated from Farsi by Zuzanna Olszewska and Belgheis Alavi

Afghanistan Poet - Nadia Anjuman (1980 - 2005)

In 2005, when she was twenty five years old, Nadia Anjuman published her first collection of poetry, Gol-e Dudi (Smokey Flower) to great acclaim. She was hailed for introducing a fresh language and youthful point of view into Dari poetry. Soon after the book's publication, however, Anjuman was beaten to death. Many Afghanis believe that Anjuman was killed by her own husband and his family for the transgression of writing.  

Reflection for May 27, 2009

A Blessing for Equilibrium – John O’Donoghue

Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,

May the music of laughter break through the soul.

 

As the wind wants to make everything dance,

May gravity be lightened by grace.

 

Like the freedom of the monastery bell,

May clarity of mind make your eyes smile.

 

As water takes whatever shape it is in,

So free may you be about who you become.

 

As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,

May a sense of irony give you perspective.

 

As time remains free of all that frames it,

May fear and worry never put you in chains.

 

May your prayer of listening deepen enough

To hear in the distance the laughter of God.

Reflection for May 20, 2009

From each moment 

I draw life.

From each living being I draw love.

From the earth and 

the sun 

I draw nourishment.

From each I receive and to each 

I joyfully give,

From the web that connects each 

to me.

Weaves its tapestry throughout my being,

Uniting me with all.

Today I bring the spirit of Joy to...

     from the Essene Book of Days

                            - Danaan Parr