Using Stillness

Imagine a hummingbird as a statue on a branch, its flurry of activity at rest.  Identify each color and feather in detail.


We approach the time of year where rushes of activity appear endless. The frenzy entangles our actions.  

How would it feel to quiet your day?

Take time to sit and breathe in six breaths, then breathe out six.  Continue until you can extend your exhalation to ten.

Consider this time of silence when you slow the breath, feel stillness and relax. Sounds may arise around you but they represent energy when you put yourself into a focused state.

Notice that the space around you opens.  Nothing will overwhelm you when you pay attention to the rhythm of your breath.  Give this feeling of rest a name as you search for balance.  Use the name and revisit its calming effect from time to time each day.

Choose a name for your tranquility and sense of peacefulness. Dialogue with this new friend.

Ode to Body Parts

. . . my feet were two fish made of wool,
two long sharks
sea blue, shot through
by one golden thread,
two immense blackbirds,
two cannons,
my feet were honored in this way
by these heavenly socks.
They were so handsome for the first time
my feet seemed to me unacceptable
like two decrepit firemen,
firemen unworthy of that woven fire,
of those glowing socks.
 - from Ode to my Socks by Pablo Neruda


An ode praises a person or object in ten lines. The Greeks used rhyme in irregular meter.  The English ode has 10-line stanzas that repeat and rhyme in the format of ABABCDECE.

Write to a body part that you take for granted.  An ear, a big toe, an elbow or knee might inspire a poem.  What do they need from you?

Choose a muscle with a musical quality like a rhomboid, intercostal, deltoid, or quadriceps.

Use the prompts below to generate ideas.  Play and make humor reign. Don't worry about format.

Ode to a body part:

l.    Salute it
2.   Describe its qualities.
3.   How does the part make you feel and why?
4.   Add a frustration
5.   What would you prefer in its place?
6.   Detail shape, color, texture
7.   What talent results from it?
8.   If it ran away how would you mourn?
9.   Would you exchange it for a different part?
10.  How would you write a want ad?

Flying Fascination

The amazement of flight begins as I feel the swoosh and awe of lifting beyond gravity into the unknown.  How does this silver bird do it?

Since the tale of Icarus and the Wright brothers' experiments, creativity and technology have evolved. Wonder weaves into my thoughts when considering the amount of trust involved boarding a plane. It takes the pilot's skill to reach a destination.

Concern disappears as my mind settles and plays with patterns in the wild blue.

Holes in the carpet of fleece reveal a miniaturization of landmarks. My running routes and birding areas evaporate as we rise.

I imagine how to wriggle my toes in the textures. What would those marshmallows taste like? They might sit on my tongue or melt into sweetness. Movements in hearts and dragons, frogs and falcons arrange in and out of focus.

When we begin our descent, moving through the clouds feels like easing into a bubble bath. The bubbles calm me into comfort.  Jasmine combines with roses. No sounds escape beyond the rumble of engines.

Immersion into this world of sensory experience ends with the jolt of landing gear. Another day's fascination of flying has sheltered and shuttled me back to earth.