Ordinary life with extraordinary love or my weekend with Cathy

My spiritual teacher Fr. Thomas Keating says that the goal of the spiritual life is "To live ordinary life with extraordinary love." That sums up my weekend with my dear friend Cathy. She just turned 76 a couple of days ago, but she is the youngest and most energetic person I know. I always feel that when I am with her that I am on vacation. It is that unconditional love that puts me at ease even when she gets impatient at my clusmy self spilling my coffee all over her table that it is tempered by love. We have the best time doing "nothing" together. I find the whole visit very healing. There are no expectations of each other but we encourage one another to be better.

I love her dearly and I can honestly say she is the closest person to me on this planet.

From Louise Gluck

The Red Poppy

The great thing
is not having
a mind. Feelings:
oh, I have those; they
govern me. I have
a lord in heaven
called the sun, and open
for him, showing him
the fire of my own heart, fire
like his presence.
What could such glory be
if not a heart? Oh my brothers and sisters,
were you like me once, long ago,
before you were human? Did you
permit yourselves
to open once, who would never
open again? Because in truth
I am speaking now
the way you do. I speak
because I am shattered.

This is a well loved book of poetry. Louise Gluck was Poet Laureate of the USA a few years back.

Stanley Kunitz was a champion of hers. He started Poet House in Soho but they recently moved to Battery Park: http://www.poetshouse.org/. Its a reading library and a place where poets can write and research. They sponsor many events and for kids too.

Autumn is my favorite time of year. The cobwebs of heat and humidity make way for clear thinking. It is really my time for focusing on health and well being.

This is a view from my window.

Reflection is a big part of my process. It helps me to look deeper and gives time for revelation.

Happy Friday!

Life is poetry

Life is poetry if we look deeper and spend time seeing the inner life of all things. Life is filled with these wonders. In this age of rapid response the silence and stillness where real beauty lies is over looked. This blog is an attempt to show you my world. I don't always get there, but isn't life about moments anyway?

I will include poetry, pictures, recipes, interviews and whatever else inspires me. One of my favorite quotes is "The cruel truth without love is a lie." (from the film: Burnt By The Sun) Even the truth can be deceiving if not spoken with compassion.

To kick off this blog, here is a sampling of my own poems:

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Group of Poems by E. E. Green

Precious Mettle

The way I see you

Is the way

The night moon sees you

Illuminated in shadows.

The dream of my life

Has reached

Its shelf date.

So I am waiting

In glorious readiness

For a moment when

You turn towards me

& gaze at your own dream

Looking back

With all the tenderness

The human heart can hold.

A touch of silver

In the mud, Funny

What clay reveals

Hearty revelations

Of diamonds & gold.

The stars & I sing the psalm

I mean to wake the dawn.

I mean to let it rise right

Through me, as if

The sun & I through

Sleepy sweat soaked mornings

Opened our eyes at the same time

_______________________________________

NOAH

My heart is small

A nugget perhaps

That holds

A kingdom of regret.

My words are few

A sentence or two

That cannot convey

My thoughts to you.

My arms are wide

An ocean maybe,

Filled with tears

& countless fears.

I am the world

At its most transparent.

Ready…

To disappear at will

Into the Deluge.

SHADOW OF THE HORSE

In bright sun’s wash

Over concrete & stone

Outlined in strong contrast

The shadow appears

Before the white horse

Who bows its curved head

In acknowledgment.

The images stream-

And its swift appearance

Stays, as light & heat seem

To do, although, it’s been

Only a short while.

The folklore of archetypes

weaves tales

Of a soul longing to be seen.

“I see you & I love you,”

The shadow tells the horse

Without uttering a sound.

The evidence is in the light. In

The arrest of time-

In the passing moment like

The crucial note in a song. The

Horse sees that its not alone.

The dream of the horse & the shadow

Is hard to let go of.

There is comfort in love that

Doesn’t talk back. A long walk

Down the bridle path releases

The need.

The sun fades & filters through

The leaves & the breeze...Yes,

The sun fades & filters through

The leaves & the breeze as

Autumn comes & the horse

Gives thanks by merely living

the seasons.

The shadow increases & decreases

At will. And the curvature of the earth

bows low with a simple nod.

Your World is not Mine

This feeling

appears

Like the sweeping titles

of Gone With The Wind

It opens with bump and flow

and the thought

Reveals

that I am not one of you.

I have landed here from

dreams

In some kind of sleep paralysis,

I’m stuck.

Let me out.

Phone home.

Part the Sea.

I am on a collision

Path

With myself.

Set me free…

DOUBT

In the realm of doubt

I stand strong and mighty

Like a national glacier

In a preserved wilderness.

In the realm of doubt

There is no room

For faltering

For finding

Your way.

One must be

Moving slightly

Across the landscape.

In the realm of doubt

Strength comes from

Self knowledge

From the metallic taste

Of fear

Even if it enters

Your lungs.

Your breath is your life

And fear like muddy waters

Settle after a time. And

When it clears

It reflects the truth

By way of sky & clouds.

In the realm of doubt

Truth can stand, tall

& prickly

In the desert of suspicion.