Creative Contentment

I have a special guest for this months blog. Since meeting Susie Lipps I have had the opportunity to get to know her well and have been inspired by her life's work. Her leadership, open heart and quiet activism has touched me in many ways. In particular, this poem we are sharing with you today, paints a beautiful picture of a truth that touches my heart so much - the way nature and spirituality are deeply intertwined. I have the wish that each one of you – my friends, students, family and strangers alike - can be uplifted by her wisdom as a poet, a teacher of leadership principle and a passionate nature lover, as well.

Artist’s Statement

I’ve written about daffodils and irises… grapevines, redwoods and oak trees… each grows out of soil, which is where death and life intermingle. Each unique creation (flower and tree) is content to just BE what it was intended to be. An iris doesn’t aspire to be a redwood, for example! Sometimes our own souls are not so content with how God created us… but, as we begin to understand the contentment of every other created thing, whether it is tiny or mighty… or heading towards death or growing in life… we can embrace our own being. Each of us is made in the image of God, deeply loved by God, and meant to reflect something beautiful about God… when we embrace that, we are content.

Contentment

Walking, Breathing, Noticing

Patient eyes listen and understand…

The mystery of yellow

That paints a daffodil and

Turns it, tracking toward

The Sun…

Wild and free purple irises in

Ecstatic dance

Unfurled and raising a ruffled

Trinity of petals

Brushed with delicate white

Pinstripes of joy…

A baby bud

Hidden and held

In the womb of the vine

Bursting forth with tendrils and

Leaves and

Flowers for fruit…

Ancient, soaring redwood cathedrals

Resonating with a

Soft, slow song

Sharing the echo on the wind

For millennia…

A smooth, brown satin acorn

Diving into dead leaves and

Primordial compost

Stubbornly living…

Transforming… Becoming...

Shade and a place to rest.

Breathe in the exquisite beauty of

Eternal souls sharing the

Soil of Paradox

Death and Life…

Miniscule and Mighty…

Grounded with lifted gaze

Tracing each ordained day

With grace,

Perseverance and exuberance…

Embracing

Infinite

Unique

BEING.