An image I posted
on Insta got
749 likes.
I told the cat this as
I cleaned her box.
“749 likes,”
I said again. She jumped
in, peed, got out,
and moved to the next thing.
749 likes
don’t change the fact
that I clean a cat box.
Category: survival
Gifts
It is only when an oyster is invaded
that its inner surface
produces a natural protectant—
strong, lustrous nacre.
As nacre builds, layer by layer,
the oyster transforms into
something bigger than itself,
something that, only now
can reveal
its gift to the world.
Read You Are Not Broken
Maturation
Without its time in
the cocoon,
the butterfly
would have stayed as it was—
a caterpillar.
It would not have
discarded
what no longer served it
and made use of the rest
to create a magical being.
Without its time in
the cocoon,
it would not have
transformed itself.
It would not have taken flight.
Read about how to manage your energy.
Perspective
Rituals for Healing
It was,
like an old friend at a high school reunion,
unrecognizable at first.
Those I love
had assured me
that it existed.
And so,
day
after
day,
I trusted the rituals I knew
would save me.
I walked
the treads of my shoes smooth.
Wrote in my journal,
crying myself dry.
Surrounded the tub with candles
And soaked my deadened soul.
I trusted the process. Believed,
even when
I had no faith.
And then, joy made its way to me,
held my hand,
and asked me to dance.
The Golden Hour
It is during this hour,
when the sun caresses the horizon,
that I am most grateful for
your gentle, reverent light.
It reminds me that though
the harsh mid-day sun may cast long shadows,
the day will end—and the next will begin—
with softness.
Creating Your Future
What if—like a spider—
creating and re-creating
were necessary
for your survival?
Would you doubt
your ability to weave
an intricate, magnificent web?
Would you be too busy
or say
you don’t have the skills?
Or would you realize that,
like the spider,
everything you need to create your web
comes from within you?
Time is of the essence.
So the spider decides what kind of web it needs,
produces silk threads and
gets to work.
It is only
when the web is complete
that the spider sits
and waits.
What kind of geometric wonder
would you create for yourself
if you could create anything?
If your survival depended on it?
Read about how to start creating your future.
Endings are Beginnings
Pain is not the enemy.
You need not arm yourself
against it,
or hunker down hiding
in a cold trench.
What would happen
if you invited it in,
let it stay a while?
You might find that it
won’t riddle you with bullets
and leave you lifeless.
If you sit down with it, stare it in the eye,
befriend it,
it may reach out,
gently brush the hair from your face
and whisper into your ear.
Later, you will realize that it was
this moment, the one you feared
would be the end of you,
That was the beginning.
It was the moment
that divided your life
Into before and after,
the moment that
catapulted you into kindness.
The Real Secret to Beauty
A rose cultivated
in a climate-controlled
greenhouse
may be
beautiful.
But one that
flourishes
after surviving
the harshest of winters
is exquisite.
‘Til Death Do Us Partnership
I promise to be
true to you
in good times and in bad,
in sickness and in health,
If
you are true to me
in good times and in bad,
in sickness and in health.
If
you love and honor me,
I will love and honor you
all the days of my life.