Purple Among the Green

Walking, 

searching for the beauty in the everyday.

I spy a clump of purple in the expanse of green.

Short yet tall compared to the sea of green.

And I am hopeful. 

Walking, 

searching for the beauty in the everyday.

I spy a new clump of purple in another expanse of green.

Again, I am hopeful.

Everyday as I continue walking,

searching for the beauty in the everyday,

I spy new clumps of purple among the expanses of green I travel.

The purple clumps whispering

Hope in all things,

Spring is coming,

the season of Lent is here,

Grow your faith,

Grow in unexpected places.

Messages sent and received 

from the purple clumps of crocuses

among the expanses of green.

Listen more, see more

As I sat in the classroom of silence,

a coworker came over to sit near.

She wanted to talk.

The intention I set on a previous day

whispered, "Listen more"

So I willed myself to put aside my will

and I listened.

As the conversation came to a close, 

I withdrew my attention, 

and we both steadied our gaze on the window.

 The shadows from dormant stalks

fall across the glazed window. 

Grey and white in contrast to 

the other color filled windows.

A blank page, clean slate, 

to plant ideas, 

Spring is about to be sprung. 

Serenity

Serenity is

a collection of deep breaths

filled with blue, purple and green bubbles

when popped -

refresh,

calm 

the racing thoughts away.

What are you feeling?

 

What are you feeling?

When words collect and speak wisdom to your heart, you must collect them, reflect on them, and share them with others.

Listening to the radio, the announcer said these words her husband spoke to her when she was having a teary moment.  

“What are you feeling?” 

Not why are you crying.  (Laden with annoyance)

There are a myriad of reasons why you might be teary or engaged in a full blown snotty mess of a cry.

Asking “What are you feeling?’ is a deeper dive into an empowering conversation.  Without blame or shame or discounting reasons.  An acknowledgement of what you are feeling is real.

And as I embrace this thinking, it will take intentionality to undo years of the “why” and embrace the going forward with “what”.  

Catch myself.

Try again.

Flip the switch.

Embrace the emotional beauty in each moment. 

Towards the end of my mom’s life, 

after announcing I was pregnant,

she cried. 

Later she wrote me a letter, (which I hope to rediscover) in which is etched in my memory, 

“Cry when you are happy, and cry when you are sad.”

A student asked me “Do you ever cry?” 

I replied “When I fall down” 

 

Now to a first grader, my words mean scraping a knee on the blacktop. 

Rereading “When I fall down”,  

I hear, “when I fail”

She cries when her brother is mean to her. 

Crying is a voice to be heard and honored.

What are you feeling?