Hope.
A word that floats in the back of my mind
As emotions ebb and flow.

Hope.
When everything feels so unknown;
When seasons come and go.

Hope.
A feeling in my belly,
Like the flutter of a butterfly.

Hope.
The promise for a new tomorrow.
The steadfast love between you and I.

Hope.
When there's nothing left to do,
But surrender.

Hope.
The piece of puzzle in life that will help us
Make it through this time together.

Hope.
More than just a word or flutter;
The only thing I can cling to now.

Hope.
A gentle and sweet reminder,
We'll make it through somehow.

Hope.
For today and for tomorrow,
And just for right now.

Hope.

©KSS 4/2020

Whimsical as it may seem
I still find myself
Getting lost in a daydream.
I look up, and look around.
Beauty surrounds.
Life gets hard sometimes,
That will always be true.
But I have found
Joy in the mundane.
I've learned how to breathe
Through the pain and anxieties.
To live mindfully.
What does it mean to
Daydream now?
To find peace in
Doing nothing—
Except watching the
Clouds.
©KSS 8/2020

Blurring lines between unfounded angst
and foreshadowed grief to act upon
in crippled joy, or ignore chancing loss!

A bridge to cross, a path slowed
from months to days to minutes,
drops suspended in wonder, in gratitude.

Losing grip, claws out.

I’m OK, you’re OK
That’s how I’m gonna start today
A neutral position to drive through
The brilliant feeling of new me, new you

I’m OK, you are not Ok
This isn’t going to end well
I can tell, you fell

I’m not OK, you are OK
I give in it’s yours to take
Let’s hope your path is not a mistake
Let’s hope my news is truly fake


I’m not OK, you are not OK
The worst position of all
Ok fine I hear you
Let’s end this call

Inside of every line there is a meaning hard to find
A moment of the mind
A breath of sacred life
A body not to bind
A sharpness like a knife
Pure attention
Not a weapon, but slicing through each second
Severing summoned notions
With smooth motions
Leaving only seamless being
Flowing like an ocean
Coming and going
The ebb and flow
Of life under the light
No longer lost in night
Now caught in perfect sight
For but a moment
Where the flow went
Before returning to the sea
To effervescent infinity
With equanimity
You are here with me
Flowing
Like the ocean

what the cat understands
whether he knows that he understands it
or not is that in everything
there can be newness

I do not know when he does most
of his sleeping,
but I watch each morning
as he greets the house,
lifting his nose up to everything
familiar in order to remember
where he is

he traces each surface
with his paws
wanders around and around
until he lays and falls
asleep, then again
waking with the same
dedication to discovery

he sits in the same windowsill
every day, looking out
at the same things,
concerning himself only
with the present

Step into your warrior
Step into yourself
To face your mind you must be
Well positioned, adopting a stance worthy of battle
One may only fight from a place of presence
This place called "awareness"
It is the strongest, safest place available to you
Without it you are a naked person
Standing defenceless before a dragon
At its unlikely mercy.
If you embrace your being
Find presence within yourself
You will find and possess both strength and power (armour/resolve).
Possibility will be your friend.
You may find the footing you need
To survive and prevail.
If you do not possess your mind
If it possesses you, grips you with its icy claw of fear
Or consumes you in the red hot fire of rage
You will be immediately overwhelmed
Overtaken by this mighty force
So you must possess your mind
Embody it, own and inhabit it
Only then can you become its master
Wield your sword of mindful effort
And call yourself an Inner Warrior
"A Warrior of the Soul"

Heart-Pounding,
Beating out of my chest even.
Deep breath in, deep breath out.

Lips Quivering,
Teeth lightly nibbling the inner lining of my mouth.
Deep breath in, deep breath out.

Clouded Vision,
Constant tears dripping down my cheek.
Deep breath in, deep breath up.

Hands Trembling,
Objects easily slipping from my grasp.
Deep breath in, deep breath out.

Unruly Speech,
Unwanted whispers rolling off my tongue.
Deep breath in, deep breath out.

Limited Oxygen,
Panting heavily in a struggle for air.
Deep breath…

Wait.

Stop.

Think.

Why must we always take a breath?
Why must we be forced to push away our emotions,
Masking them with the habitual action of meditative respiring?
Why must we always breathe in, breathe out?

But are we really disguising our emotions?

Are we not just calming the soul,
Clearing the mind of unwanted thoughts and anxieties?
Are we not just providing ourselves with healing,
Alleviation from the painful memories engulfing the mind?

Yes.

Yes, we are.

So…

Deep breath in, deep breath out,
Quiet the pounding of your heart.

Deep breath in, deep breath out,
Tranquilize the tremulousness of your lips.

Deep breath in, deep breath out,
Stop the flow of your once never ending stream of tears.

Deep breath in, deep breath out,
Relax the overactivity of your limbs.

Deep breath in, deep breath out,
Replace your anxious whispers with peaceful meditations.

Deep breath in, deep breath out,
Rectify your oxygen flow.

Don’t mask your emotions,
Regulate your responsiveness.
Evaluate your situation.
Intelligently weigh your decisions.
Dominate your way of thinking.

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

It works.

I promise.

I find
My
Self
Settling
Into the place
And time
I call
Here
And
Now,
And let go
Of the job
Of doing
The
Calling,
Just
In Time
To pick it up
Again.