Every winter the goats in the local hills are herded around for weed abatement. I turn a corner on my hike to find them here one day, over there the next. We look up at each other in surprise and wonder. Poems are like this too. Around every curve, someone else’s words delight me and underscore our weekly class themes. What a joy to practice being present together, season by season, moment by moment. 

 

Compassion and Kind Presence

Your Soft Heart (Nikita Gill)

Awe (James Crews)

Challenge Lover’s Prayer (Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer)

the dance between grief and love (sara rain)

 

“Healing comes when we meet our wounded places with compassion.” (Stephen Levine)

 

Sacred Space

“I meditate because life is too short and sitting slows it down. 

I meditate because life is too long and I need an occasional break. 

Sometimes I meditate because my heart is breaking.

Sometimes I meditate so that my heart will break [open]. 

I meditate because I’m composed of 100 trillion cells, and from time to time I need to reassure them that we’re all in this together” (Wes Scoop Nisker)

 

“This year, instead of making a resolution to change yourself, make a resolution to love yourself. Then positive change will come naturally because we want good things for the people we love, and we know they’re wort the effort.” (Lori Deschene, Tiny Buddha)

For a New Year (Holly Wren Spaulding)

One Deepening Connection (Rosemerry Wahtolla Trommer)

each breath

a sanctuary

I carry with me

 

Listening

Blessing for Sound (David Whyte, The Bell and the Blackbird)