When I look into the eyes of a child

A sense of fun, love and beauty smiles down on me.

When I look into the eyes of a child

I remember stillness  and the stillness of  just being me

I remember love and the joy of knowing love

And of needing not to be.

When I look into the eyes a child

There is an elusiveness that reminds me

That there is something  I still need to remember.

I am encased in all that I am but not all that I have to be.

May your life stretch out before you
As a rainbow, on which you glide,
In health, joy and happiness.
May you walk
Through fields of flowers,
And see beauty
In the way things are.
May the love I have for you
Warm you.
May there always be
Someone close
To share love with you,
And wipe your tears away
With their kisses and caring.
May you never make the mistake
Of punishing yourself, or others.
May you be free to
Throw away early conditioning,
Which might separate you from yourself.
Allow the light and wisdom
Which lies deep in your subconscious
To be set free.
May you see your life's purpose
And create and fulfill your destiny,
May happiness be with you always.  
        

Depression had been my companion for a while,
I felt trapped in a body wracked with pain.
My heart was heavy.

I saw her running down the isle of the supermarket,
All of three years old, golden curls billowing behind,
A look of pure joy on her face,
An angel straight from heaven right in our midst.

Her mother walked behind,
Lines of care and tension etching her face.
I saw she was living in a world of struggle and turmoil.
"Glenda" she called,
"How many times have I told you not to do that".
Her hand spun out -- she gave the child a whack.
I saw surprise and a veil dull the eyes
That a moment ago were so alive.
"Don't ever do that again." she slowly said.

For one moment I remembered what it felt like to be so free,
For in that child I saw me.  
I remembered how it felt to have a heart that had no boundary,
To have a body light as can be.
When was I told not to be me?

I wanted to say
"Dear child don't let that experience deter you
Remember who you really are.
Always remember that feeling of freedom that surrounds you.
Dont forget who you really are
And never be afraid to be who you are."
Stay open and remember where you were
Before you even arrived here on earth

You come from a place of rainbows, butterflies and angels,
A place where everything is possible and achievable
A place where miracles happen
And a place where there is only love
Reach for the moon, reach for the stars
You are a light sent from afar

If your words were seeds,
What kind of flowers would grow?
If your thoughts were flowers,
What garden would show?
If your feelings were colors,
What picture could you paint?
Your past and future,
The pattern of your life
And the world around you,
Are the results of your
Collective thinking.

As I reflect on my experience of you
I remember the first time we met.
You were placed in my arms.
As I unwrapped you, you opened one eye,
Sized me up and went to sleep.
In that moment I got to see
The being you truly are – PERFECT.

Unfortunately it was not long until I got caught up in the role
of what I thought a parent ought to be –
Which was not to become like my parents.
I started working on the long list stored in my mind.
The memos that began with "a parent should not"
Somehow were the easiest ones for me to repeat.

Luckily in time, with your help,
I realized I was reflecting myself on to you.
With the result that I was behaving in an inappropriate manner.
I'm  now sorry for the pain my ignorance caused you.
Me reflecting my inadequacies on to you,
was my attempt to teach me what I had forgotten,
And that was just how perfect you are.

I also had forgotten how perfect
I was when I too arrived on this planet.
So the game of parenting had begun.
Your training began with me teaching you my faults
which of course I was reflecting on to you.
You in your quiet way stood your ground
and showed me what I wanted to see.
                            

What I admire you so much for,
is that  you remembered who you are,
you began teaching me life as you saw it.
I was a puppet in your hands.
With each lesson you taught me,
I landed up richer in experience
And my mind was stretched
into seeing a different aspect of truth.

Today I am able to ask "What is truth?
What you taught me? is that truth is what it is.
And when it comes from an open mind
and a loving heart it is always kind and supportive
and that there always is room in it for growth.
  I think that  I known that when you were younger
you would have had an easier time.

You gave me so many wonderful opportunities
of seeing life through your innocent eyes.
The games we played together
and the stories we read enabled me to see
many other aspects of life,

As you sponged up experience and knowledge
I little realized that I was absorbing things anew.
The person you are has made me a better person
than I could ever have been without you.

Early childhood milestones **** by,
   first tooth,
       first words,
           first steps,
                first days at school.

Teenage milestones are anticipated,
    first date,
       first dance,
            first kiss.

Adult milestones arrive,
       first job,
           twenty-first,
                 engagement,
                     marriage,                                                                              
                       offspring.

Middle age milestones are measured
             by milestones of offspring.

Through latter years one yearns for
             milestones that have been.

At the end of one's years
        one waits for the inevitable,
              ultimate, milestone of
                    death and rebirth

Do not sell your ideals for a love
That is conditional and transitional,
It might cause you to give up the real you.
Seek that which is enduring
It will fulfill you more than passing pleasure.
Understand the limitations of others
But never let them trap you in their own reality.
Know what you really are -
You are a universe, you are beauty,
You are truth, you are love.
Forgive yourself for all the times
That you have hurt yourself and others
Know, that had your realised the truth
You would not have done the things to them
And most of all to yourself
Love all that you are
Love all that you see
Judge not, stay free