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Posts Tagged ‘Presence’

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

This new year has come in quiet, restful, on tender feet. Twenty Twenty Four has a nice sound to it.

My family has been talking a lot about the Enneagram. On the long drive to and from North Georgia, we listened to The Enneagram Journey with Suzanne Stabile. My husband and I were riding with our middle daughter and her 4 year old son. Enneagram language has now entered our family talk. It has transformed the way I speak to and about my daughters. And now, after 12 or so hours of instruction, my husband and I speak about it as well. It is an amazing tool toward empathy and understanding.

I subscribe to an Enneathought of the Day. This little short piece of advice is helpful in keeping me healthy in my ever present mind. I am a four which means my orientation to time is the past. I can get stuck in my feelings about things. My work toward a more healthy way of being is to be present.

I am still working on my One Little Word for this year. Come back on Spiritual Thursday for that post. (And certainly if you are a blogger and want to write with us, you can join with Inlinkz on Thursday.)

Today’s Enneathought teaching “Health is a measure of our capacity to be present.” I think this teaching is valuable to all of us. Here is my reflection:

Health is the Measure of our Capacity to be Present

Present to the muse inside.
Waiting with stillness.
Open to longing
all the while content with its
Begging of me
To do something courageous.
Get out of my head.
Put on my walking shoes.
Say hello to the morning light.
That is all that is required.

Margaret Simon
Amicalola Falls, Georgia (photo by Margaret Simon)

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Poetry Friday round-up is with Kay at A Journey Through the Pages.

 

I’ve had a lot of time lately to look out the window.  A hard freeze blew through the deep south, and gifted me with time alone at home on the bayou.  The winter bitter winds do not scare away the water wading birds.  They must be covered in some powerful down.  I’ve watched a particular blue heron, an occasional great white egret, and this morning, a family of wood ducks.

Watching the bayou inspires me to write poetry.  If you come by my blog often, you know this is my ongoing topic.  My blog title, Reflections on the Teche, is informed by the Bayou Teche (pronounced “Tesh”)

Taking a picture of a blue heron is nearly impossible.  They respond to any human activity with flight.  I painted a portrait of one a few years ago after a photo by Ralph Fletcher.  This painting now hangs in my parents’ dining room.

Blue heron painting by Margaret Simon

 

Heron Watching

I stand still
at the window
watching.

Take in slow breath.
No need to pray
when seeing this heron.

He perches,
head down,
beak pointed to

water’s surface
where the sun glimmers
like waves in old glass.

Is it a minnow,
mosquito, moth?
I focus on the horizon,

wonder
what his patience
invites me to see?

Margaret Simon, 2018

My One Little Word for my writing life is Present.  I want to show up to the page every day.  I wrote a post for TeachWrite Chat Blog here. I made a Canva image of my goals for being present thinking of the heron in my backyard and his lessons of patience.

 

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Link ups at Irene Latham's site, Live your Poem

Link ups at Irene Latham’s site, Live your Poem

Being a part of an online blogging community keeps me writing and thinking and reflecting.  Irene Latham asked our Spiritual Journey Thursday group to write a reflection about our One Little Words for 2016.  So here I am… Present.

My OLW for 2016 was Presence.  This word mantra has helped me in many ways this year.  When I’ve been worried, I turned to presence.  When I’ve been celebrating, I turned to presence.  Being with whatever is happening in the moment is a valuable skill, and I am so glad I chose presence this year.  The year I spent two weeks in Africa.  The year my middle daughter got married.  These experiences still live in my heart because I was fully present to them.

But everyday, I have to call myself back to presence.  I take walks alone, valuing time to see things in my world, to focus on the gift of nature.  Sometimes while walking I’ll take out my phone to send a message to someone who has come to mind, or to type a poem or an idea for one, or to take a picture to capture a moment.

Practicing presence fits my personality, too.  I am one of those people who is always on the look out for ways to help others.  While some may think this is a positive trait, it can also lead to burn-out and low self-esteem.  By being present, I take care of myself.  And by taking care of myself, I am better equipped to help others.

I haven’t started thinking about my word for 2017.  I’m not ready to let this one go.  I don’t have to, of course.  I can build on Presence along with Reach of 2015 and Open of 2014.  I enjoy words and playing with words, so this tradition of finding one little word to guide my year is fun and inspiring.  I think deeply about what I really want and the possibilities that are open to me.

Thanks, Irene, for calling me to be reflective about my one little word.

 

Haiku-a-day #15

Be present today
open to whatever door
Turn the knob, enter

–Margaret Simon

From Richard Rohr's Center for Action and Contemplation

From Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation

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