Saturday 27 August 2011

Wait for Me (A Poem by My Self)

i

Wait for me as I hover over a land of gracious beauty and delve into
  the waters of God
wait while I kneel on glass bleeding not feeling pain just grateful for being alive
wait yet longer while my heart pounds thankful for being in my chest
love me from a distance as I become my Self
hold my image in your heart and pray I will come
wait as I yield to the triumph of God –
blistering beauty of sunset
tranquil slate-smooth lake where we once met
hold the thought of me
let me be who I am becoming
wait while I feel every emotion and be all I can be
see me in light bright as bird wings flapping fast on a winter’s day
hold onto something
not me
let me go
let me be me


ii

Window opens onto glacier's blinding purity
purer than my own heart yet melting just the same
I fall into the melted freeze as it roars downwards into that smooth grey lake
  where we met
wait for me there
let your heart slow to the bird's wing as it alights the branch
see yourself above it
floating in ether
shimmering vapour
hold the vapour
that is me

Friday 26 August 2011

Rumi - On Living in a State of Love

The intellectual is always showing off,
the lover is always getting lost.

The intellectual runs away,
afraid of drowning;
the whole business of love
is to drown in the sea.

Intellectuals plan their repose;
lovers are ashamed to rest.

The lover is always alone,
even surrounded by people;
like water and oil, he remains apart.

The man who goes to the trouble
of giving advice to a lover
gets nothing.  He is mocked by passion.

Love is like musk.  It attracts attention.

Love is a tree, and the lovers are its shade.

  ~Rumi~




Note:  Rumi was a 13th Century Islamic Poet, Saint, and Spiritualist.  He challenged the hypocrisy so often found in religion, and wrote of the deep love between the human and the Divine.  He lived as he wrote, and his works still inspire us to live in a state of love and compassion.


Love and Light
  xxx




Thursday 25 August 2011

The Bush Turkey & The Bandicoot

We don’t often get to see Bandicoots, because they are, after all, nocturnal creatures.  Yet, here I am, at half past midday, watching the matriarch of the Bush Turkeys and the tailless Bandicoot sharing oats just outside my kitchen.  There are two Bandicoots - one with its tail, and one who must’ve had an encounter with the Farmer’s Wife.  They eat at different times, as Bandicoots travel solo.  That is, unless they’re travelling with their feathered friends.

I go out and throw some more oats around for them, and the Bandicoot, which used to hop away, terrified by my presence, doesn’t even flinch.  I watch him eating and just the sight of his little mouth chewing the oats fills me with such love that I can’t contain it!!  My heart is overflowing, and I thank God for these wonderful visitors who have changed their way of living in the world, just as I have.

Looking out the kitchen window, I spot another Bush Turkey coming to check out the little creature who just shouldn’t be here on her watch.  She struts, spreads her tail feathers and, backing up to the Bandicoot, throws sand all over him with her strong feet.  The Bandicoot is quite unconcerned, as his new friend, the matriarch, chases her away, and resumes her meal, side by side with her friend.  The other turkey comes back for another look, but the matriarch just chases her away again and again.  She is not only completely unfazed by the little fellow’s presence, but is protective of him as well.

Their behaviour fills me with awe, and shows me, once again, that we can all get on with each other with just a little tolerance and acceptance of each other’s differences.  I am truly blessed to be living in this state of Love.

Love and Light
  xxx

Sunday 7 August 2011

Bush Turkeys, Cockroaches, and Other Friends

I was awakened this morning by what I knew was a bush turkey throwing things around my front verandah, in order to get my attention.  I knew which one of the nine daily visitors it was, so I jumped into my uggies and went out before anything was broken!  There she was, all smug and self-satisfied, but at the same time pretending to be innocent, as she stood beside two overturned clay pots she'd been rolling around.  I gave her some leftover cooked brown rice –the early bird gets the rice (or the oats).  Once all the others realised something was going down, they descended from the She-Oak, pushed through the paling fence from next door (where they are not welcome), and came running along the footpath from their early morning scratchings in other people's gardens.

One of the younger turkeys likes to eat the oats I give them straight out of the cup, as I hold it for her.  The others aren't as brave –she's the Jonathan Livingston of the group!  If the door is open and she can see me, she'll scratch the verandah and stare at it, then look at me, as if to say, "There's nothing there!"  Sometimes, though, she just likes me talking to her, and she'll make little clacking noises back, peering sideways at me out of one eye, head slightly cocked.

I've had my entire front garden rearranged, and had to move some pots to the back verandah (which is blocked by a gate), so they couldn't dig out the soil.  I even put rocks on top of one pot, and the turkey who likes to roll pots around threw all of the rocks out –just because I wouldn't come out and feed her –the more noise the better!  As soon as I came out, she stood beside her work, looking very pleased with herself.  And I thought these birds were dumb... But that's the trouble with humans –we see ourselves as so much more intelligent and advanced than all of the other creatures who inhabit the earth.  And then we wake up from that dream, and realise that we're really not!

Even the humble cockroach is capable of understanding us, yet how many of us can understand them?  I was watching television one night, when a large brown cockroach scurried across the floor in front of me.  It was about the same colour as the floorboards, so the movement gave me a fright, and I gasped.  The cockroach ran, so I apologised for giving it a fright, and said hello.  It stopped, turned around and came to stand in front of me, antennae twitching, like an enchanted creature in an animated film, and listened as I spoke to it.  Later that night, I met it again in the bathroom, and it stood by the basin and watched as I cleaned my teeth and washed my face.  We had a little chat about the role of a Bodhisattva, and it just knew I wasn't going to harm it.

A couple of nights later, I found it on its back in the kitchen, and thought it was dead.  I picked the poor little thing up in a paper towel, and it came out of its coma (probably had too much to eat, as I hadn't done the washing up!) and held onto my finger with its front foot.  I put a drop of water on my fingernail and offered it, and the cockroach held onto my finger and drank the water from my nail.  I gave it a few more drinks, then took it back into the bathroom, scrunched up the paper towel, and gently popped the cockroach on top.  When I went back into the bathroom later that night, it was lying on its side, snuggled into the paper towel, with the most happy expression throughout its whole being.  Before that, I didn't know that cockroaches had emotions, but, in that moment, I realised the significance of working towards Enlightenment in order to raise the consciousness of all sentient beings –and that that included cockroaches!

Several years ago, when my dogs were still alive, I had a similar experience with a cricket.  It was lying on the floor, and I picked it up to throw it into the garden, but realised it was just dehydrated.  I put some water in a little plastic spoon, and offered it to the cricket. It sat on the end of my thumb, drinking from the spoon.  I almost swooned, my heart was so filled with love!!!  I put some sand and leaf litter in a shallow dish and put in one spoon with crushed dog biscuits and another with water.  I popped the cricket into its new home, and, later, saw it was eating the biscuit crumbs.  So happy!

Within a couple of days, there were about seven crickets in the house, eating and drinking, and singing up a storm.  I could hardly sleep for the high-pitched singing all night long, but I was so happy.  Lily and Winnie were as curious as I, and didn't seem to mind the singing either.  Eventually, the crickets all went on their way, and we had the house to ourselves, until the geckos moved in.  But that's another story...

Love and Light
  xxx 

Friday 5 August 2011

Sanctuary of Ruin: Touring Western Australia's Piano Graveyard, by Jason Cotter : Articles : Terrain.org

Sanctuary of Ruin: Touring Western Australia's Piano Graveyard, by Jason Cotter : Articles : Terrain.org


Ever since seeing this on the Arts show, I have wanted to visit.  To wander through this wonderful homage to the craftsmen who created these pianos.  I had never before thought about what happens to pianos when they die, and the thought of them ending up on the dump makes me feel quite sad.  This is a very respectful ending to a (sometimes) great life!!!

You can click on the link to read the article, beautifully written by Jason Cotter.

Love and Light
  xxx