Monday, June 29, 2020

Maybe I'm Just A Basket Case

The Basket Case, Lanikai Loop, Lanikai, HI, June 2020, iPhone 11 Pro © Steven Crisp


Look what I stumbled on today, while coming back from my morning beach walk.  Waiting to cross the street, I glimpsed something in my peripheral vision.  Light flickering in the breeze.  And then I was hooked.  

The interlaced palm fronds, weaving together with the sunlight, blue sky, and white puffy clouds.  The shadows dancing, playing peekaboo with the dazzling morning star.  And the breeze, don't forget the breeze.  Sometimes strong, sometimes calm, and sometimes dangerous -- always changing day to day, hour to hour, really moment by moment.  

All of it, plus what you don't see.  The soil in which the Acacia Palms are planted.  All the insects and microbes that keep the earth alive.  The periodic rain showers and occasional tropical deluges that water them all.  The landscaper (or homeowner) that planted them, and who prunes off dead or dying fronds to make room for the new growth that just magically appears.

And what about the Nursery owner who's livelihood comes from raising and selling these palms.  With only some land and a little business acumen (and capital) to raise them.  Possibly, the land where these were raised has been in their family for quite some time.  Perhaps the son or grand-daughter is now the proprietor. So much owed to the family, the upbringing, the hard work plus good fortune.

And where did that breeze come from?  Heating of the air from the rising sun, trade winds that brought missionaries and Polynesian ancestors, or the chaotic flap of a butterfly's wings?  No matter.  Nature does not keep score.  

It moves only in the present moment.  And in this moment, it has woven you a basket of earthly delights.  May you lighten your load into this basket, and skip more easily as you go about your day.  With love and Namaste.

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Waving with Wonder

Waving with Wonder, Kailua Beach, Kailua, HI, June 2020, iPhone 11 Pro © Steven Crisp


Imagine that you and I are waves.
It’s a pretty good metaphor
For scientists, poets, and mystics alike
You wave your energy at me
And I wave mine to you.

And in that way we meet, we touch, 
We hold hands or at least share knowing glances.
And if we look deeply, in that moment,
We merge, and we amplify our Being. 

The Two become One. 
And the One joins that which it never left. 
That great Ocean of Being ... our true nature.
  
You have possibly felt this before. 
Had a glimpse of the vastness of your own being.
 Or better ... simply ... Being. 
 And the interconnectedness of all that is.

Think back to when you were a small child. 
Remember the Wonder you had with Life. 
With each new experience ...
The beauty of a flower ...
or the excitement of a butterfly. 

Can you recall a more recent time 
when you felt this Wonder again?  
The flux and the flow of Nature itself.  

And the wondrous realization that you
are not separate from Nature.  
In fact, you are one with Nature. 
You are Nature itself. 

No 'this' or 'that'. 
No 'us' versus 'them'. 
No 'me', 'my', and 'mine'. 
No 'selfing' and no-self.

What is Reality except the waves of somethingness?
You and I are the answer to the question
“Why is there something rather than nothing?”

You are literally made up of waves from the Big Bang. 
You are the Singularity made manifest. 
Everything is exactly as it should be.
How could it be any other way?

We are the sound of a Great Song, 
The Uni-Verse, 
The primordial A-U-M (Om). 

Waves and energy in constant motion.  
Creation and Destruction as one. 
No opposites, only the Whole. 

You can hear it and feel it if you enter the Stillness. 
If you look deeply enough ... into anything, 
You can catch a glimpse ... with awareness. 

Walk through nature. 
Be Present in Nature. 
"Be" Nature, that which you already are. 
Just. Be. Here. Now. 

Do you realize that this Precious Moment ... Is It?
  This is all there is ... the Timeless Present.
And that past and future, both, each,
Can only exist, as memories or plans, Now?
  
Your Mind may fight back, and deny this Reality. 
So let your body sensations help you stay Present, 
And feel that which is alive within you. 
Within me. Within us. 
Within our vast Universe.   
Just ... Waving with Wonder. 

Sunday, June 14, 2020

Windswept Lover




Sitting together on the lanai
With eyes closed
At the dawn of a new day

Calm, peaceful and still 
We meditate while
Birds sing to the rising sun

And then you touch me
Tussle my hair, tickle my skin
And caress my face

Suddenly your all around me
Rippling over my clothes
Bringing a smile to my lips

Oh, my silent lover
So unpredictable and blustery
Sometimes cool, sometimes warm 

Yellow Oleander branches quiver
Flowers dance in delight
Grasses sway to and fro

And then, still toying with me
You go breathless
with an energetic stillness

Until the whispers and currents
of your loving embrace
Caress me once again

Why must you keep yourself hidden
So shy … yet available to all
Invisible, like the pulsing of Life itself

Such a precious offering
For those who are willing
To simply quiet their minds
... and observe