Awaken Attention

"I wake to sleep and take my waking slow."  - Rilke

          Paint the day with the precision of perception. 
                     Propagate ideas and punctuate notions with possibilities.


     Stimulate the raucous brain.  
         Shake creativity from its cage.

Excite the mind's music. 

Get your energy moving.

Revel in wonder. 

Awaken attention.

Rekindle Self-Esteem

A great fire burns within me, but no one stops to warm themselves at it, and passers-by only see a wisp of smoke. - Vincent Van Gogh

Permit self-esteem to kindle and nourish beyond the insecurities of narcissism.

Arrows of awareness will fire toward balance's bull’s eye.

Life’s opportunities often surprise within an ember’s smoke.

A smile lights the process.

Gifts of kindness and generosity glow with actions to reveal them.

They trigger power and intensity to accomplish goals.

A sense of humor enlightens during stressful events.

Victories in daily life need flames of applause from the interior first. Then we can share the knowledge gained.

Ways to Juice Up Your Mood

Smile and turn that frown upside down.

Get moving into happy endorphins with a jump or a twirl. 

Go somewhere green. Pet a flower.

Stay in the moment of warm-heartedness.

Feel Grateful for five amazements or amusements.

Appreciate scents and sounds.

Take a nap. Snuggle under the covers or with a soft blanket.

Dance with joy.

Laugh. Begin slowly and build into guffaws.

After you practice the above with playfulness, notice how the joy juice flows.

Find Amazement

Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement . . . get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed. - Abraham Joshua Heschel

Avoid the media's representations today.

Stroll to observe the natural world. How does it shine, sound, satisfy?

Find the wisdom by searching the branches.

Let your spirit smile.

Search the sky for cloud critters.

Find Amazement.

Life's Triads

A notion exists that good and no-so-good events evolve in threes.
If two similars happen, a third completes the struggles or successes.
After the triangle's edges connect, feelings follow of relief and gratitude.

Choosing the next mishap does not close the gap. The solution
will not satisfy if it manufactures something to set up
a wobbly, far-fetched leg that completes the action.

A cut finger, a slip on the sidewalk await closure.
If a computer glitch ends the anguish, music lightens the mood.
A deep breath begins hope for a positive triangle to form.

Morning's beyond the window where a monarch butterfly flutters.
A first side to measure the day's benefits.
Two possibilities await to brighten the afternoon.

Let your triads arise in wonder.

Spatial Awareness

Do you see the heart or the wilting flower?

Examine the details. Consider today's choices.

Many discuss if the glass is half full or half empty. Writers describe the wonders of the glass itself.

Imagination relies on space. Painting and sculpture fill the emptiness. Stories and poems grow from the void. 

Writing notices the subtle and hidden, then adds to the blank page or screen.

Choose to make something happen in space.

Applause for Trees

Freshening the air with scents, trees live to benefit others.

They swish into the sky's blues and grays. Add pigments in all seasons and glow at sunset.

     













With a stretch, trees might pet the clouds.

Roots create designs as they nourish the earth in reciprocity.

All leaves eavesdrop on bird conversations.

By a branch swish they call      

  to children

   whose hands and fingers 

      fly on handhelds.

Trees wish to involve

   those who cannot say

      names of birds or flowers.

   Applauded by the wind,

            they offer housing and resting spots.

Immortal by capability, trees encourage translation into usefulness and art.

How will you honor a tree today?

Immovable Wisdom

'It is very important to develop a state of mind called, "immovable wisdom." It means having fluidity around an unmoving center, so that your mind is clear and ready to direct its attention whenever it may be needed." - Takuan

Discover ways to conquer distraction. Observe how your mind wanders. Watch the flow. Do you find the thoughts creative or judgmental?

Find a focus and let your mind run its route.

Take a few moments to feel Gratitude.

Exercise your sense of smell and remain alert to changes.

Listen to the day's cacophony. Turn it into a symphony.

When Mountains Call

Writer, Ursula K. Le Guin was asked, "Who is the most important person you ever met?"  She replied, "A mountain. I discovered that Tamalpais was at the very center of my being." 

Etel Adnan fell in love with Mount Tamalpais, the first vertebrae of the backbone that stretches all the way to Tierra del Fuego. She found herself,  “left with the sort of wonder that the sense of eternity always carries with it,” with a “feeling of latent prophesy.” The mountain became her muse, which she celebrated and serenaded in a flood of paintings and poetry. 

With Adnan’s insights, the mountain became both object of reverent curiosity and sovereign; both metaphor and not-metaphor.

Etel Adnan: Mount Tamalpais, 1985. (Sursock Museum, Beirut, Lebano

Skinner Butte in Eugene, Oregon inspires with its views of the city and beyond to Spencer Butte's silhouette. 

Eagles nest in high branches. Along the snaking trail, squirrels, hawks, osprey, bluejays, flickers and sparrows share the journey to the top. 

Mind mountains attract daily as a struggle or an insight. Enlightenment arrives from reflection on sensual delights and challenges of nature's experiences. We learn lessons of solitude and climb beyond the fear of falling. In the step-by-step process, we defeat self-doubts. 

A mountain's simplicity and tranquility calm and soothe us into views where blues of sky meet the azure sea.

Take time when mountains call to listen to the messages