In the early morning
well moistened soil, drunk with snow melt,
brings forth an earthy, intoxicating smell.
It’s a stop-you-in-your-tracks scent
as if the whole neighborhood had become a greenhouse.

This air lures us outside
jackets left on the coat rack with wild abandon
as we step into sun and blue
with a chill in the wind,
but nothing like what we’ve known.

The cool […]

I raise tired eyes to the sky
taking in a world beautiful and vast
and I can see again.

My lungs fill with air that trees freely give
and I can breathe again.

There is a pause now
this quiet Solstice time
before light slowly lengthens.

The temptation?
To count the days.
To hold our breath
until daylight stretches into evening
and early morning forces back the darkness.

What a relief it will be
these light-starved eyes
to see again
no longer fumbling in darkness.

Still,
somewhere deep inside
past resistance and reason
you know this darkness, too, is your home.

A place you […]

For the peace and promise of a sunrise.
The quickening of breath that comes
when we take in the beauty of our surroundings.

For the mystery and humility
of daring to see how we are all connected.

For the opportunity, over and over again,
to choose joy.

For waking up every day to the unknown
and the courage to walk into that day.

For […]

Remember…

If anxiety walks beside you
like an insistent child,
if rested contentment is but a distant memory,

Take a deep breath.
Pat yourself on the back for paying attention,
for not looking away,
then go to ground.

Go to ground until the smell of moist earth
fills your nostrils with the comfort of home.
Until you can see in the darkness
the faint outline of […]