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 […]

Oh, heart of mine,
were you beating in another’s chest
the words would come easy…
Be gentle, try to rest.
It’s ok to just be.
But beneath my own ribs

Put your feet on the ground.
Really.
Take your shoes off if you can.
Dirt is good or grass, rocks…even pavement.

Put your feet on the ground.
Close your eyes.
Tune in only to sounds that center you.
Feel the air against your cheek.

See if you can feel or imagine
the rich deep pulse of the earth
Notice how your own heart naturally shares […]

Is there a place you could go
where, standing among the trees,
you look up into a canopy of branches
still leafless in their winter slumber?

Where the silhouette shapes are framed
by vibrant blue sky etched with clouds?

If so, then go. Perhaps leave right away.
Take yourself to a place where branches paint the sky
and your feet are on solid […]

Trust your Wild spirit.
Tell yourself again and again
in whispers or fierce growls,
Trust your Wild spirit.

This is your most important task.

Feel the rhythm of the earth
beneath your feet.
Breathe with the wind
and the expanse of sky.
Sway with the mighty trees
that bend, but do not break.
And call these things by their name,
just as they call out to you…
Beloved.

Trust […]

Deep cold settles and smooths the river.
Waves are replaced with the dark, hushed calm of ice.

In the quiet of night, the moon shines twice—
in the sky and also shimmering on the dark mystery of Wild ice.
As if the moon and the ice-bound river
were greeting one another, saying ‘Namaste.’
“I see the light in you and we […]