what is love...

When you love somebody
you don’t love their faults too
but there is something there
if it is really love
that makes you feel for them
and their struggles
that replaces anger
with sadness
and compassion
that makes you want
to stay and try to help them
instead of washing your hands
of it all
and running away
I worry for you
I always think about you
I always want you
to be safe
happy,
to feel good
and to know you are loved
I want you to explore yourself
and the world
I want you to do all the things
that make you happy
and grow as a spirit
I want to share beautiful things
with you
I want you to feel it’s ok
to be yourself
but like all of us
we could all use
a little adjustment
in how we express
who we are in the world here and there
I want to cry today
for you
cause I just don’t think you get it
or maybe you do and it’s making you
feel really bad
and the later makes me even sadder
my heart
is not wrapped
in bubble wrap
in fact
it has no packaging
or instructions
at all.

~Jenny

today's news

where are the mural painters
the dreamers
the clowns
the stand up comedians
the artists
the poets
the naturists
the forest rangers
the authors
the crafters
the wreath makers
the candle dippers
the planters
the sowers
the astronomers
the traders
the merchants
the teachers
the parents
the decency
the commitment
the word
the silent agreements
the simplicity
the vacations
the life purpose
the calendar
time
skill
enjoyment
masters of
counselor
optimists
amusement parks
ice cream
children
holidays
routine
contentment
all wrapped up
nicely
in a federal
green wrapping paper

~Jenny

The Hidden Value of Social Networking

I often see Facebook as a curse, and addiction
a morbid curiosity in to the past,
present
it can, like all things
be used for “good” or “evil”

I have a friend
who recently had a stroke
she is a young mother
and while we just started communicating
again after years,
there are still all those ties
of friends
inside jokes
shared experiences
ups and downs
history

She doesn’t want anyone
to come see her
she says she’s a mess
so she posts on Facebook
and communicates that way

and we all respond
I see how it keeps her
connected with the outside world
and tied to the invisible
bonds so many have to her
bonds of admiration
and love

So I feel as if
each time one of her
friends comments
or gives her feedback
that we are all
silently
holding
her up
with one finger each
and doing our best
to gently carry her
through this time
with our hearts.

~Jenny

Ode to Gretchen

(not my Gretchen, but a good representation of her)

 

 

 when you don’t feel good
I don’t feel good
sputtering
and coughing last night
nothing could sooth you
they took you away today
I imagine you
riding sadly
on the tow truck
all alone
breaks my heart
you let me smoke in you
leave trash in you
we have
that kind of relationship
I allow you
to run loud
and take your age
into account
who knows
where you served before me
20 years ago
perhaps royalty?
When your paint was not so faded
and you were shiny brand new
or perhaps across the deserts
of Africa
or somewhere
in the middle east
proudly wearing
your logo
you and I
we don’t go far
you are like an old horse to me
done your duty in this world
and now retired
to a girl
who does not push you too far
and thinks of you
as a person.

~Jenny

sym-bi-o-sis

n. pl. sym-bi-o-ses (-sz)
1. A close, prolonged association between two or more different organisms of different species that may, but does not necessarily, benefit each member.

What you did not know
is you host us
we are “brains”
living organisms
that require a body
to carry out our work

~Jenny

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13751783

Blanket of sadness
heavy
and brown
circles round
shoulders
head tucked under
embroidered from the 
inside out
to make it nice
and beautiful
for you
for world
for those who don’t understand
why you are walking around
with a blanket on your head
it will not come off
until
you are better.

~Jenny

Once Upon A Time

It’s morning
she’s filling her cup
at the water cooler
thinking back
to a time
when things weren’t
so good
that morning
stumbling out
of the hotel
embarrassed in high heels
at the break of dawn
riding in the cab
seeing all the good
people go to work
how she had wished
she had a job
she fantasized on the way home
about getting up
at the same time each day
making a cup of coffee
doing menial
but safe routines
and tasks
he had left her that night
after she paid for the hotel room
it was his idea
she thought he would stay
so she gave herself to him
she thought he would stay
because he still loved her
somewhere, somehow
beneath his drugs
and her alcohol
that he still loved her
she told him a story
about a myth
involving women
she was trying
to explain her heart
in a parable
but fell
all
over
herself
he smiled
she thought it was
alright
then he took a phone call
and said
he would be back later
he never came back
and she slept
on white sheets
and puffy pillows
in a fancy room
she had paid for
all alone
it was dark
now it doesn’t
seem to all matter
it was so long ago
or was it?
These things
should be forgiven
and forgotten
right away
in a perfect world.
But now she is cleansing
herself
does not rent hotel rooms
anymore unless it is
for a vacation
and she knows that
her companion will not leave her
now, she is here
and he....
Is dead
why does it still matter?

~Jenny

No title

do we have to have a name for it?
She asks inside only
he crosses his legs
clears his throat
he is so difficult to hear
her ears are plugged
she is easily distracted
by her own thoughts
but then aren’t we all?

take this pill
to make you grow larger
take this pill to make you grow smaller
Alice
we want to keep you in
keep you from wonderland
what...
Shall we name it

self obsession
takes the place of vices
but is not self obsession
a vice
is not
asking this question
self obsessive itself

I read today
that joy
is the most important aspect
of life
what makes you happy

I plan
on making a list
to remember always
what makes me happy
for when I forget
and become caught
in traps
of over-analyzation

and there are a million
best friends out there
a trillion
just like you
you just haven’t met
them all yet.

~Jenny

"The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive.
To him
a touch is a blow,
a sound is a noise,
a misfortune is a tragedy,
a joy is an ecstasy,
a friend is a lover,
a lover is a god,
and failure is death.
Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating." -Pearl S. Buck

From Innerlinks

Angel of June is Faith

Inspirational Message The unshakable knowing of the heart when nothing makes sense to the mind. Optimism is an expression of faith in action. Faith is the breath of God that animates our soul. We cannot see it, we can only feel it — when we pay attention. Doubt is the uncertainty that our source of spiritual power will be available to us in times of misfortune, pain, and illness. It is normal to experience spiritual doubt. In fact, times of doubt can lead to our greatest transformative moments and is the 'can' opener to faith. The future is unknowable and therefore brings with it a feeling of uncertainty. It is faith that teaches us to contemplate the invisible which is beyond our grasp; not through the power of knowledge. Our faith connects the past to the future and gives us a kind of spiritual gravity. It reassures us that God is in the future just as in the present and past. All that is unknowable is held within God and that includes us, our families, friends, and all our collective well being; yesterday, today, and tomorrow in all ways. Worry is a flag waving where faith is waiting to enter. Fall out of your mindsets and have confidence your heart will catch you. There are no accidental experiences or chance inner states. The spiritual dimensions of life are real, more real in fact than what we call life on this earth. Faith is the unifying principle that weaves together all experiences. May this month provide a 'faith-lift' bringing you a refreshed outlook and renewed perspective. Warmly, Kathy P.S. If you worked with the Angel of Discernment during May, take a few moments to release it with your gratitude before welcoming the Angel of Faith into your life for the month of June. ©1981-2011 InnerLinks Angel® Cards is a registered trademark of InnerLinks. Please link to our site to share with your visitors. ANGEL® Cards

Let Spirit Flow Unimpeded life is a pilgrimage a flow through time eternal so relax into the journey let go trust the gentleness of the wind be at peace with the rain give yourself over to the currents of the river and drift with the ease of clouds for all these with you belong to the design of life they respond to the seasons respond with them allow life to manifest through you know that all actions once afoot end in one purpose recognize this trust this have faith in this and be a blessing in each of life’s moments offer your love to the universe unreservedly let it flow out from you now bathing our planet in the beauty and light of a new consciousness and, like soft warm rain, blessing and nourishing all life on earth. Lovingly, Joy

Searching

I stopped talking to God
yes, too much chatter
now I feel for him
like a blind man
in the dark
my fingertips
searching the contours
of his face
my skin
feeling his breath
my heart
feeling his presence
up there
in outer space
where the planets move
and the stars shine
and he says nothing
of it all
he just smiles

~Jenny

Gentleness

there is a dove calling your name today
gentleness on the wind
God teaches
that he does not speak
but blows on our hearts
and being
like the breath
of a musician
on the reed
and we vibrate
to match him.
and it feels so ethereal
and so lovely and good
This is how he speaks
if he were to speak

~Jenny