Second Chance Dance
For some there comes a time when a second chance is given.That time then becomes a celebration of the unrecognized gifts of the past and humble gratitude for the wonder of present. This then is a collection of reflections and comments on life,work,love and faith to be sung ,and danced to, in thanksgiving for a second chance.
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
The Continuing Contemplations on Cosmic Coincidences Part 2
Sunday, March 31, 2024
A Triumphant Journey - An April Fool's Lamentation
"All that was East is West of me now" - G. Hansard
----
The Inspiration
Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months , seasons and years continue
to flow without
ceasing. Some cosmic philosopher once proclaimed
how when he wakes in the morning
that light at the end of the tunnel is get brighter.
Yogi's breathe "here and now" while
some self appointed motivational speakers promote
"success" by filling the silos and
other grandiose propositions concerning ego and
accumulating things and people.
Sometimes illumination about our Odyssey occurs
with the sound of a singing
blackbird or a distant ringing bell or chimes .
Their sounds carried by that mystical
wind of a mysterious source. Sometimes these
inspirations are rare surprises and sometimes
they come like the ocean of mercy's rolling
waves washing wandering souls leaving
no footprints on our beach.
A recent medical procedure that required a general
anesthetic for the seeker who woke
from a dream where his essence was lifted by a
magnificent force gently taking him
traversing the universe . Before he knew it the
solar system that he believed was
everything had disappeared . Bypassing solar
systems he was immersed in a light
bathing and consoling his spirit. And, just like
that he was launched back to from
where he came. In his waking everything was
the same as before but somehow
new and transformed.
The birds' songs seemed sweet, clear and purposeful
and the trees and flowers began to
show the buds of their forthcoming
explosion of beauty and serenity. For a
micro second he questioned,
" What is this place? What am I doing here and why?"
"Moksha...nirvana , serenity, enlightenment ,
impermanence and being " the
sound of the transformative mesmerizing
majestic sanctified song of the cosmos
filled him up.
The metanoia broke through the walls that had
kept him at bay from becoming complete.
----
The Writing:
The Triumphant Journey : An April Fool's Lamentation
A sweet soft serenade of every bird singing at the first light
as that blue virgin canopy
redeemed all things as the cold rains of yesterday are forgotten.
Generous beneficent beauty bursts forth as the daffodils
hide the secret of their healing human diseasse as they effortlessly
provide nutrients in the earth where they reside
for such a short lifetime and just like that
they are gone until next spring.
"Everything dies someday one back" sings the boss.
Was the mystic Rohr right in his observation?
"The universal spiritual pattern is death and resurrection, or loss and
renewal , if you prefer."
A few believe that that these nano specks of the cosmos are
merely microcosms of coincidence and accidents that make up the
universe . Do the one of the million names of God provide the answer?
Contemplation of the now reveals the truth - illumination
of the sacred is revealed in the present .
- JF Sobecki
-----
Poetry and such:
"Poetry is an Act of Peace .
Peace goes into the making of a poet
as flour goes into the making of bread."
- Pablo Neruda
"Ring the bells that can still ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack , a crack in everything
That's How the light gets in"
- Anthem, L. Cohen
Poem
I know know you never intended to be in this world
But in it all the same .
So why not get started immediately.
I mean belonging to it .
There is do much to admire, to weep over.
And to write music or poems about.
Bless the feet to take you to and fro.
Bless the eyes and the listening ears.
Bless the tongue, the marvelous taste.Bless the touching
You could live a hundred years , it's happened
or not.
I am speaking of the fortunate platform
of many years.
none of which , I think , I ever wasted.
Do you need a prod?
Do you need a little darkness to get you going?
Let me be urgent as a knife, then,
remind you of Keats
so single of purpose and thinking, for a while,
he had a lifetime.
- Mary Oliver
The Blackbird and the bell - David Whyte
https://youtu.be/rEDAh4lQLfc?si=iicuSONntSnP6UK4------
The Music :
Some tunes to help for reflection:
Enlightenment - Van Morrison
https://youtu.be/pOUilsuZj1E?si=z1ae3iGqXMZ5ZwFX
A Human Touch - J. Browne/L. Mendelsohn
https://youtu.be/T9azpvOHBgo?si=sJ-sA-DgjBY6UFn3Thursday, February 29, 2024
Leap Day Humble Intentions
The Inspiration
Does having an extra calendar day
in a Leap year make a substantive difference in a day in a life?
Sometimes it rains and sometimes it seems that the frozen
wild whipping wind of winter will never cease.
Just as the darkest hour appears to be infinite
a sweet sounding song of the solo thrush who
journeyed in advance in community
to welcome in celebration the crack in from
the heavens letting in the light.
Sometimes the universe just nudges those
who worry or forget .
If seekers listen closely ,with eyes closed , their souls
know that song , that illumination, that hopefulness and faith.
Sadness comes and goes. Tides come in and out.
Creatures of all sizes have no say in their arrival.
Yet, there is a secret awakening to how all
creation is of an abundant unconditional love
and how all things do pass.
In between the the falling sands of time
there is a positive power in how
the universe responds to intentions
of the desire to let go , just being , hopeful ,
humble and grateful.
Many mystical traditions understand the interconnectedness
of everything . Is it a coincidence that one seeker discovered
the commonality of how the gleam responds to humble intentions?
One practice that has helped wandering spirits....
is known as " Metta Meditiations."
(The author has been practicing forms of Metta meditation for years
in his daily journals and contemplations)
(Loving Kindness Metta Meditation
https://www.ekhartyoga.com/articles/meditation/loving-
kindness-meditation-script-and-7-reasons-to-use-it )
The Writing
Leap Day Humble Intentions: A Metta Meditation
(For myself , you , our families, friends, neighbors , mentors,
those who suffer and those in need , those we met and will meet)
May this space, this moment , this time, this day , this journey -
Be joyous , filled with - love - peace - hope - mercy - selflessness
- holiness - good health - mindfulness - gratitude - humility and
authenticity , free from worry , pain , suffering and harm.
May we have the strength , wisdom , courage and faith
to stay the course that we are meant to be on - letting go .
May we all love one another without judgment about
our own worthiness and the worthiness of others.
- JF Sobecki
---------
"Poetry is a gateway into intuitive consciousness.
It knocks on the doors
of the heart and the heart opens"
- Mirabai Starr
"Poetry is an Act of Peace .
Peace goes into the making of a poet
as flour goes into the making of bread."
- Pablo Neruda
"Ring the bells that can still ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack , a crack in everything
That's How the light gets in"
- Anthem, L. Cohen
Spring
In the north country now it is spring and there
Is a certain celebration. The thrush
Has come home. He is shy and likes the
Evening best, also the hour just before
Morning; in that blue and gritty light he
Climbs to his branch, or smoothly
Sails there. It is okay to know only
One song if it is this one. Hear it
Rise and fall; the very elements of you should
Shiver nicely. What would spring be
Without it? Mostly frogs. But don’t worry, he
Arrives, year after year, humble and obedient
And gorgeous. You listen and you know
You could live a better life than you do, be
Softer, kinder. And maybe this year you will
Be able to do it. Hear how his voice
Rises and falls. There is no way to be
Sufficiently grateful for the gifts we are
Given, no way to speak the Lord’s name
Often enough, though we do try, and
Especially now, as that dappled breast
Breathes in the pines and heaven’s
Windows in the north country,
Now spring has come,
Are opened wide.
- Mary Oliver
The Music
Anthem - L. Cohen
https://youtu.be/c8-BT6y_wYg?si=QLyTHexF3RoLs79BMeditation time:
Sit Listen/Watch
Being Here - B. Murray
https://youtu.be/o9TvFkiLLMo?si=iTUsPzUS7GZZkG7t"Everything that we preach is what we
need to hear."
- Bono
"One day I will find the right words ,
and they will be simple."
- Jack Kerouac
"The most important thing is not why we
write but how we write.
Write dangerously , Beckett.."
- James Joyce ( From the new biopic on
S. Beckett " Dance First.")
AMDG
Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved JF Sobecki LLC
Thursday, February 1, 2024
Surrender: 27,740 Days
"All spiritual maturity is about
letting go."
- Richard Rohr
"You admire the man who
pushes his way
to the top in any walk of life,
while we admire one who
abandons his ego."
- Seven Years in Tibet . H. Harrier
"The spiritual journey is non- denominational."
- a Jesuit priest
Inspiration:
During certain times of the year the public
submits to
an avalanche of college and professional athletic
"playoffs." Winning is everything!
Winners receive the honor , rewards and crowns
of olive leaves.Losers are left in the cold
with crowns of thorns.
The global culture promotes hard work
and success with awards and recognition and
those who qualify are adored regardless
of their integrity and morality. Chapels and
cathedrals honor the divine mystery
promoted by the self made witch doctors dictating
dogma, canons and dance steps
for pillaged pilgrims to subscribe to without questions.
Confused, one potential pilgrim lost as to what candle
to light and what course to chart hears that
whispering wind lifts a voice from ancient theater
where a player could be heard
"You don't choose a life. You live it."
-----------
The Writing:
Surrender : 27,740 days
Almost 27,740 days on the worn out
overcrowded Camino,
the seeker carried collected maps and
books by mystics
and soothsayers charting the course
to discover the great promised treasure.
How many revolutions on the great circle
does it take before an anxious meandering
Bedouin wakes up to the truth
about his passage?
Scholars say that Homer's Odyssey
was a fable about the search
for one's soul. Disguised teachers dressed
in sherpas rags lift the baggage carried
by pirate pilgrims and just like that
a great burden weight evaporates.
Why didn't the solo seeker learn from
Bosch's "Death of the Miser"
or from his part-time partner who
practiced at emulating
the actions of Richard Cory
who lived on the hill?
It was that old salt who
anchored in a lost cove
while mentoring the seeker secretly on
all things of the great sea,
Including the ins and outs of
sailing by rigorously
having the seeker practice the art of
letting go of the tiller
when confronting rolling rough waters.
The vessel somehow rights herself
as she heads into the wind.
Some imperfect learners are slower
in letting go of their worldly attachments ,
their desire for control,
... refusing to surrender ,
but somehow they remain completely loved .
- JF Sobecki
_____
The Poems and Such:
"Poetry is a gateway into intuitive
consciousness.
It knocks on the doors
of the heart and the heart opens"
- Mirabai Starr
"Poetry is an Act of Peace .
Peace goes into the making of a poet
as flour goes into the making of bread."
- Pablo Neruda
When you are Old - WB Yeats
( read C. Murphy)
https://youtu.be/dEHjBPS21A8?si=k6OIo82cNUVIyaLc
My Wish - R W Emerson
What is happening here? Who is this miser? |