tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534213159631609292024-03-20T08:11:42.665-07:00 *Counselor Connections*Musings from a cluttered, quirky counselor mindAmanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-38647183640103695552024-02-11T10:48:00.000-08:002024-02-11T10:48:26.759-08:00Pardon me<p style="text-align: center;">Pardon me, while I invite you to stare at all the mouths for a while...weird teeth and double chins and lips that curl when they smile, like they're advertising orthodontics or toothpaste and the birds are reminders too. Watch them when you walk-maybe you'll see a bird drop out of nowhere, off a branch suddenly materialized and cast off into a beak first nosedive. You'll gasp, imagining a near definite disaster, gravity's grip is just so fierce, until suddenly the wings support the landing and when you see it, you smile. Because, now, you get it-we aren't birds, but goddamnit we have WINGS, we can find our glide, sure as the sunset finds it skyline, and then walking on, more discovery takes hold. Houses tucked aways, eyes unearthing them like they were never there before, except they certainly were. Just not seen. Your eyes awakened new, you may laugh with the lady passing by on the bike in your moment of close contact, and then inhale deeply the wake of her perfume that somehow reminds you of the color purple. You will come upon a delightful older man tending watchfully to his beautiful arrangement of spring blooms- hands on hips a sense of satisfaction in his stance that can only be enhanced by the admiration of a passerby. So you'll play this role and tell him "how beautiful!" and he will absolutely light up and say "how kind of you to say" and when you return to your own humble abode, sweaty and tired, you'll pause a bit more to the evening events of your neighborhood's nature channel, a plumpy cardinal will visit and as you process full body chills, you will know that all of this is just ethereal confirmation of the sublime. You will know that the line between right and wrong, masks and vaccines, all of it, will remind you that the line between good and evil is not as blurry as you feel. It's all to be found in the here and now, in the sun you squint back, in the daring to feel. That is what I invite you to see, as real. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><Notes scrawled in a journal on June 4, 2021></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-70671831279222489542023-07-10T06:32:00.002-07:002023-07-10T06:32:16.443-07:00The Forgetting and Remembering<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The forgetting and remembering </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Are braided so tightly</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">It leaves deep angsty grooves</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">In the mind and in the body</span></p><p><b id="docs-internal-guid-0e3cd887-7fff-5955-1b0d-cef8d4cdf5b4" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Tension that True Nature wishes to relax,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Over-efforting fails to smooth out</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Mental creases </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Until the sitting occurs</span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">And it is not immediate or pretty</span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Inner chatter broadcasts in the brain</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Physical form attuned, shifted</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Opening the eyes, then sighs</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Making notations belies what is wise</span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Attachment, Aversion, Delusion-</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Three poisons dripping all over everything</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">How to deny consumption?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">With each breath, return to the path</span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The exhalation allows release</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Dismissing imperfections like this </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The inhalation welcomes awareness</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Including what is not amiss</span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Right here</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Right now</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Is only</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">This moment</span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Come back to practice</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Over and over; and over again still-</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Remember what has been forgotten</span></p><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The braid hangs loose, at will</span></p><div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-53930261482832376272022-08-27T13:55:00.003-07:002022-08-27T13:55:23.117-07:00Family Heirlooms<p>Shame slips in, hooded in the cover of darkness</p><p>Insidious, it begins its work, undetected until</p><p>A landslide leaves you, stunned suffocation-</p><p>Shock is a sneaky way to rewrite a story</p><p><br /></p><p>And while you begin the work of removing</p><p>Heavy narratives and half truths, breathlessly swimming</p><p>Inside a thickness of what you've been told is yours</p><p>The poet has opined as much (in prior drivel)</p><p><br /></p><p>Then stopping to sit, a rare shaft of light</p><p>Brightens what has yet to be considered</p><p>And sudden expansion replicates-</p><p>You write lines that move and hold true</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-64243900985002036502022-08-08T08:39:00.002-07:002022-08-08T08:39:27.437-07:00How Shameful<p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How shameful to be pulled </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So far </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> (Society’s collar and leash)</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">From the fraught moments of childbirth </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">A baby then breastfed</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Warmed by more than milk-</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> (A nourishment inherent in this pause)</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Sacred </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Bathing in retrospective sweetness</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The miraculousness of a milestone </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Met and forgotten</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> (Frivolously filed away, a new day)</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">New strangers dressed up as years </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> (Wedged and hardened, sticky)</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Bloated rings, an overgrown Elm </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Brittle bark flakes, reveals and conceals-</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> (An easily contained ecosystem)</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Lurking beneath the surface </span></p><p dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Insidious and darling, all of it </span></p><div><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></div>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-336913554550112652022-04-11T10:10:00.001-07:002022-04-11T10:10:27.123-07:00A Soft Place to Land<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">I call upon words to wrap </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">like a blanket or a balm </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Pinning pain before it evolves into</span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">suffering</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">In doing so, </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">I will it to have meaning</span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Or beauty</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Or integrity</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Something. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">The staccato currents internally dodge</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Conventional language and dancing fingers </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Spread longing, letters lacking character </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Pecking at a keyboard with intentions</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">A collection of the mind's inventions</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">What is missing?</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">A rendering to capture this experience:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">The core truth of it ambles onward, </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Strikes blast in such a way to remind </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Standard discourse, unwilling to convey </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Grasping occurs anyway until I hear</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">"I am going to be okay"</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Because essence matters enough</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Today.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Grappling with paradox:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Practice prides itself on purposefulness</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">The terrain of possibilities </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">unfurling like a dragon's breath</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Mystical, with a reach that extends</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">into vast space and time</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Corners crumble and curl away</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">surrendering to infinite rolling</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Billowy smoke stacks fill the chest,</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Demanding emancipation</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Holding on is futile</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">The sense of uncertainty sitting </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Tall is all </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">That can be called Certain.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Stones settle:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Sacred.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Worthy of respect I come to see</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">that I can honor with reverence </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">the silt that slips, unsure </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Of what is and will be more. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">An opportunity to practice</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">true release and faith feeling into, </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">The uplifting in the beyond</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Divine Order </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Grace </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Mercy</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">A tall team felt so strongly</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">In colors pulsing behind my eyes </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Fluffing my wings, ever so lightly</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Clearing a safe pathway </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Reminding me to "look up"</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Inviting me to request </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">A free fall backwards</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">into what lies ahead </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Assuring me a landing, soft-</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">A bed of poems and metaphors</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">That will catch me </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Carrying me all the way home</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">To My Self. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-24133486134502191082022-02-27T09:27:00.006-08:002022-02-27T09:29:05.954-08:00Goodbyes to Ghosts<div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: Rubik;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Shadows tip-toeing behind us, faded</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>Our eternal light, luminously created</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>Dark parts held firm, nice and steady</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>Integration awaits my heart, open and ready</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>I see our iterations, so dear and so clear</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>Our silhouettes wearing suits made of doubt, fear</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>What was once you I see now as a ghost</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>What was once me I see now as a host</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>A reckoning rattles- releases- a grip</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>Our story an old tale, a beautiful blip</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>Ghosts that gaze, connecting as one</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>I am released- sigh- that story is done </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>The me that I see discovers you waiting, at ease</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>Your heart now thawing out, a long deep freeze</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>Sunlit fingers laced together, we pray</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>The contours that back us now point the way</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>Goodbye</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>My shadow will always belong to me</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Rubik;"><i>Your ghost will always be kindred, free </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-36007633764469838352022-02-21T06:35:00.000-08:002022-02-21T06:35:21.084-08:00Presidents Day Haiku <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: x-large;"><b>Dirty window glare</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: x-large;"><b>Dog hair scotch tape shadow truth</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: x-large;"><b>Dust floats as a ghost </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: x-large;"><b>🐚🐚</b></span></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-55300592896603140642021-12-29T07:00:00.008-08:002021-12-29T07:07:19.461-08:00On "doing the work"<p style="text-align: center;">Recently someone asks what it actually means</p><p style="text-align: center;">"to do the work" </p><p style="text-align: center;">Appreciation for candor and demands to simplify abstractions</p><p style="text-align: center;">Yet leaning into it, and making space for what comes up</p><p style="text-align: center;">is indeed the work </p><p style="text-align: center;">When a bird appears outside the window, may we find the ability </p><p style="text-align: center;">to pause.</p><p style="text-align: center;">May we untangle ourselves from the frenetic pace of doing </p><p style="text-align: center;">to observe.</p><p style="text-align: center;">May we allow it to be there in all it's bird-ness </p><p style="text-align: center;">to get curious.</p><p style="text-align: center;">Most especially if it's a crow or a blue jay-</p><p style="text-align: center;">May we examine what is happening </p><p style="text-align: center;">on the walls of our interior world</p><p style="text-align: center;">May we see magic, matching exterior decor</p><p style="text-align: center;">Warning: it may feel yucky...stay with it</p><p style="text-align: center;">Sink deeper still. </p><p style="text-align: center;">May something soar through:</p><p style="text-align: center;">A memory</p><p style="text-align: center;">A realization</p><p style="text-align: center;">A connection</p><p style="text-align: center;">Swimming in liquid metal, insight pools </p><p style="text-align: center;">Permanent welding to this discomfort, not a chance</p><p style="text-align: center;">Marinating does not breed pain</p><p style="text-align: center;">Rather raises it for illumination, new spotlight:</p><p style="text-align: center;"> Truth. </p><p style="text-align: center;">Clear seeing, leading to wise understanding</p><p style="text-align: center;">leading to acceptance, leading to release.</p><p style="text-align: center;">May you watch the bird's wings as it flies away-</p><p style="text-align: center;">You've done the work. </p><p style="text-align: center;">Keep going...</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-10781584268380212962021-11-21T09:06:00.002-08:002021-11-21T09:06:44.009-08:00Softness and Truth<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Rubik; font-size: medium;"><b>Electric liquid pools in wrists and hands</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Rubik; font-size: medium;"><b>Activated by a heart being noticed</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Rubik; font-size: medium;"><b>Autopilot mode's power cut off</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Rubik; font-size: medium;"><b>Mindfulness floods in hot and fiery</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Rubik; font-size: medium;"><b>Gentle care like cotton fleece</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Rubik; font-size: large;"> Supports the work of becoming aware</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Rubik; font-size: medium;"><b>A breath the cushion for a hazy stare </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Rubik; font-size: medium;"><b>The push to determine next steps</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Rubik; font-size: medium;"><b>Shouting callously from somewhere </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Rubik; font-size: medium;"><b>To be here now </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Rubik; font-size: medium;"><b>Is all that it is fair</b></span></p><p><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-27902269194308333252021-11-14T06:38:00.011-08:002021-11-14T06:53:10.969-08:00Space<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>"Space"</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Amanda C. Symmes, LICSW</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Sitting down with the feelings today</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>No knocking needed- just come on in</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>and join me for a cup of tea</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>(or whatever you'd like to sip on) </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Then spill it -</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Tell me what I need to know right now,</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Why are you here?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Resentment, you can talk first, </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>You've been </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>awfully loud lately...</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>what gives?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>PAUSE</b></span></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>CLOSE EYES</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>BREATHE</b></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Ohhhhh, what an interesting shade </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>of excrement you are</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Sitting quietly with you </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>here and acutely mulling over-</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>your role</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>purpose </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>message </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>You fizz into everything I do lately</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Your rancid stench is strong and refuses </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>dissipation</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>I'll find what's rotting, to free you</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>What's that? </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Your near enemies are stress and frustration? </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>And since they've been improperly cared for</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>you had to step in? </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Welcome</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b> I am ready to listen</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Breathing leads to seeing leads to hearing leads to healing</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>You say your far enemies are</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>autonomy and space? </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Why YES. Of course they are.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Okay, I see you</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>I appreciate this offering </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Breathing in, I make space for all of it</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>And your message</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>seems tangled up in </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>something else?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Who is that hiding</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>behind you? </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Why are they holding your</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>hand? </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Come in, come in</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Share your tea with me, please.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Ohhh, there you are Fear.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;"> I almost didn't recognize you. </b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">Perhaps, I neglect to actually look at you mostly,</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">it is simply too much to hold</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">but seeing you hold resentment's hand </b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">I feel less afraid. </b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">I see you in yourself. </b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>You come in so many colors-heavy and expansive</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>The gradience of gray</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>comes alive now, </b></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>majestically</b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Purple and emerald are </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>fused here twisting around inside as well</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>My chest tightens only briefly at</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>at the thought of letting you stay </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>But in your other hand I see</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>your tea you clutch is trembling as you</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>seek your own release from me</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br />It's not the other way around</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">Has it been this way all along?</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">I wasn't paying attention Fear</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>and I am sorry for that</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>You are obtuse and seeing all</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>the dangers ahead is your job </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>and it can serve me if I listen with wisdom</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>and discern well</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Rather,</b></span><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;"> in my rejection of you</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">you've become caged here</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>with me</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Each of us stuck holding the key for the other </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>So while resentment has stepped to the side</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>It waits for you and I</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>to do our thing...</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Inhale, Exhale, Release</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Oh how beautiful</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Your tea is gone and we've</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>pulled ourselves together</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>You are not shaking and</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>foreboding at all</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>You are a magnificent swirling</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>energetic light </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">Pure power and potential </b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>When I see you as this</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>you only become more</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>precious and beautiful </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>and like a ribbon or an aurora </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>You call for me to trust</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">Encircling me in electricity, fueling me with newness-</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Faith</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Each of us, drawing energy from the other, </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>we gain strength to move on</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Your near enemy may be worry,</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>But your far enemy is the</b></span><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;"> bravery that I need right now</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>I had no idea that looking </b></span><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">just a bit closer and holding </b><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">myself still here, </b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>That I would find you...</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>What is coming next, I do not know</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>How wondrous to not get to know!?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Relief whispers that our </b></span><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">path has not ended yet</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>We dodged the temptation to shove</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>ourselves onto the highway</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>of "expected next steps"</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>for a quick trip to nowhere good</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b> Continuing this slow journey</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>With caution-</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b> This terrain is less traversed</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>So the perils that lurk can hurt, at times</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>These messengers that dropped in for tea </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">Remind</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>to give mind to all of it</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">They were never trying to take up residence</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>In fact they have already alerted the </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>more important guests to arrive</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Soon</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>They just sought time </b></span><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">tea for tea</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">With me</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Dancing Script"; font-size: x-large;">To spill into this space together</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Now that I feel them</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>slipping out the door</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>I am content in my home with Space. </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-46560844799080448722021-08-22T07:11:00.002-07:002021-08-22T07:11:20.753-07:00This<p>Staring out the open window,</p><p>the thought returns-</p><p><br /></p><p>the urgency grows as it clings and</p><p>contains </p><p>the etiology of the question </p><p>remains</p><p><br /></p><p>Information is given,</p><p>not as a gift to behold</p><p>rather a burden or curse</p><p>a game of hot potato</p><p>and what is deemed worse</p><p><br /></p><p>and while it's tempting</p><p>to go for the low hanging</p><p>fruit:</p><p>past crimes</p><p>improprieties </p><p>anecdotal encounters </p><p>that reside</p><p>in slime</p><p><br /></p><p>it has not gone there</p><p><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> -yet </span><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>you must be curious why?</p><p><br /></p><p>perhaps you won't wonder</p><p>forever because</p><p>the real truth </p><p>stands up for itself </p><p><br /></p><p>while you hide under</p><p>cloaks and with shields-</p><p>a new narrative </p><p>wrapped inside of </p><p>a subversive spin</p><p><br /></p><p>through media</p><p>mitigating your loss</p><p>stealing truth for itself</p><p>can only happen for </p><p>so long</p><p><br /></p><p>for the authentic Truth</p><p>resides comfortably</p><p>inside of itself</p><p>waiting for reality's</p><p>light to shine brightly</p><p>and illuminate all that</p><p>is right </p><p><br /></p><p>so as I brace myself</p><p>for your next pointed</p><p>assault</p><p><br /></p><p>on character, calculated</p><p><br /></p><p>printed and broadcast</p><p>with tools only ever</p><p>intended to harm</p><p><br /></p><p>I know we will be safe</p><p><br /></p><p>Seeing the storm for</p><p>what it is-</p><p>I see the way the trees</p><p>bend and give way</p><p>withstanding the weight</p><p>of what threatens- </p><p>and allows </p><p><br /></p><p>This intensity</p><p>is temporary and </p><p>the strength of the trees</p><p>stands for itself</p><p><br /></p><p>as do we, rooted</p><p>in all that is sacred</p><p><br /></p><p>because love and kindness heal </p><p>and whilst under this brutal attack</p><p>it will remind us what is real</p><p><br /></p><p>scrutinizing the winds that bloat </p><p>shifting not with a lightness</p><p>but the option to float </p><p><br /></p><p>because change must happen</p><p>now-</p><p><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> -and will,</span></p><p>regardless of your plan</p><p><br /></p><p>I am blown back to thoughts</p><p>about the importance of our soul-</p><p><br /></p><p>What dwells within yours?</p><p><br /></p><p>A deep restorative breath </p><p>reminds me</p><p>truth lives here</p><p>in my lungs, home, heart</p><p><br /></p><p>In my metta practice too</p><p><br /></p><p>May you have goodness</p><p>to fill your soul and abate</p><p>May you have healing</p><p>to teach the soul to shed hate </p><p>May you have insight</p><p>to learn the soul determines fate </p><p><br /></p><p>Please know, it's never too late</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-50836239449910221842021-07-28T14:59:00.003-07:002021-07-28T14:59:25.338-07:00The River<p>Today I watched the river </p><p>I heard a cadence of consistency-</p><p>A pulsing, a rushing acting with</p><p>Ardency perhaps and yet no,</p><p>It was actually nothing </p><p>like it at all, really </p><p><br /></p><p>While the water moved in endless</p><p>urgency, it was I who saw it that way,</p><p>that was my story I was tossing</p><p>out and dressing it up with</p><p><br /></p><p>Reckoning with this habit,</p><p>I noticed with clearer vision-</p><p>water approaching a large boulder</p><p>And it climbed itself along</p><p>its surface in smooth strength</p><p>until it couldn't any longer</p><p><br /></p><p>The dimensions were just not</p><p>fitting any further for the flow</p><p>to pass over</p><p>And the current was forced</p><p>to split itself in two</p><p><br /></p><p>And as I watched this</p><p>endless process of</p><p>climbing and splitting and sliding</p><p>only to </p><p>careen away and fall much further</p><p>below</p><p><br /></p><p>I thought to myself</p><p>It's right there, I know</p><p><br /></p><p>A blissfully simple and yet exquisite bending</p><p><br /></p><p>Just as there is no individual drop of water</p><p>in a river </p><p>There is no I in Self</p><p><br /></p><p>It is the moon</p><p>It is the sun</p><p>It is the earth </p><p>And sky blending</p><p>the water and us</p><p>straight into one</p><p><br /></p><p>Today,</p><p>watching the river,</p><p>this was what I saw.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-11480684917332006112021-07-27T05:16:00.005-07:002021-07-27T05:17:39.052-07:00Keeping on<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b>Clinging to "the and" has brought relief</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b>Equanimity, as waves smash the reef</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b>Yet is there something solid to be found?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b>The landscape shifts and roots re-ground</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b>Poison bleeds into the layers unseen</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b>Breathless pain when things get mean</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b>Certainty does not dwell, in or out</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b>Will not assuage massive doubt</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b>What is being sought, subtly shifting</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b>A landscape in flux, flightless drifting</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b>Keep on moving, forward and know</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b>This is how we are meant to grow</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-32366797085870543252021-07-05T05:34:00.009-07:002021-07-05T05:43:18.181-07:00Sense and Solitude<p>Making sense of what has transpired is like </p><p>Counting drops of liquid in a cup</p><p>Life comes and goes, ebbs and flows</p><p>I ascribe meaning on top of all of it</p><p>And these stories often hinder my truth</p><p><br /></p><p>What is it I see when I open my eyes?</p><p>What is it I see when I close them?</p><p><br /></p><p>Closing them is key </p><p>Scary as it may be</p><p><br /></p><p>Sitting with the muck I see myself</p><p>an actor with roles in stories and events</p><p>makeup and costumes and automatic lines</p><p>retorts and expressions memorized, leading me</p><p>to more of the same, an endless game</p><p><br /></p><p>Staying with it, I ride the breath to</p><p>a new horizon where True Nature rests</p><p>and I see I can come home to myself</p><p><br /></p><p>Whenever I wish, right here in this </p><p>breath and in this moment</p><p><br /></p><p>I make a choice to put down attachments</p><p>and allow ideas and limiting beliefs to rest</p><p>no, this is not some sort of existential test</p><p><br /></p><p>rather, a lovely invitation to be lovely</p><p>and to see the lovely and in the lovely</p><p><br /></p><p>Scanning the senses with gleeful curiosity </p><p><br /></p><p>I hear birds chatter and find melody that delights</p><p>I see the clouds' quick moves and feel hopefulness for change</p><p>I feel wind like a cosmic breath and know I am connected</p><p>I smell trees nutty freshness and sense timeless rooting</p><p>I taste the fruit with new lips and miracles abound </p><p><br /></p><p>There is so much more, always happening</p><p>I can continue to sink deeper into all of it</p><p>I will commit to understanding beyond </p><p>that which my intellect can have power over</p><p>So that I may evolve and grow new wisdom </p><p>And peace and gratitude will flow creating</p><p>space for power between, uplifting the unseen</p><p><br /></p><p>I will sit in solitude and know</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-20461511900773561412021-03-24T07:06:00.004-07:002021-03-24T07:06:28.064-07:00Moldavite Muse<p>Birds in bushes bristle and burrow</p><p>But resist dwelling in sorrow </p><p>Taking flight into tomorrow</p><p>Music is a language from beyond</p><p>and if our people are using this</p><p>with wise intention</p><p>we must heed the call of musing</p><p>hold the meaning in the moment</p><p>with aligned action we must leave</p><p>the bush and fly too </p><p>Feel it and know</p><p>Be with it and go </p><p><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-77662911473183431982021-03-17T05:54:00.007-07:002021-03-17T06:15:53.629-07:00Cardinals and Birthdays and Love<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I am thinking of you (and Nanie) on your birthday, Grampie. And I think this has meaning beyond the calendar</span></span></p><p>Yesterday, on the eve of your 101st birthday I took a walk. I was a bit distracted with follow up for work and not really paying attention to my experience or surroundings. I had finally just put my phone away and decided to mindfully enjoy the rest of my rail trail stroll, when a bird came blazing straight toward my face. It was brilliant and red of course when it veered off into the tree next to me, I confirmed it was a Cardinal. And then I thought of you Grampie. When I see Cardinals I always do. Then, I remembered it was the day before your birthday, and smiled until a rustling grabbed my attention, sort of like Nanie might do, "Ummm, hello? I'm over here?" And there, I spotted your female mate perched nearby, slightly above and more settled in a regal sort of way. Of course. Hi guys! I marinated in this moment full of peace and contentment and a feeling of certainty I was with you both. </p><p>Today, on your birthday, as I dropped Remy off at my sister's house to do her remote learning, I stepped out of the car while still groggy and a red blur whizzed past, waking me up fast. Yes, it was another male Cardinal, patiently waiting for me to take notice. And so I did. I promptly shared it with Remy, reminding her of his birthday and then Marley and then Meghan too. Once we had all had a glimpse they were off again. Happy Birthday indeed.</p><p>Cardinals are not entirely uncommon, I realize this. And yet there is significance here. Nanie loved them. She had pins and mugs and wall hangings and all sorts of other doo-dads. I regret not ever talking to her about where this fondness originated, but after she died it was evident in a more pronounced way and I recall keeping a few things to remember her by with this special symbol. Years later, when it your time to pass Grampie, you were truly so ready. It was hard saying goodbye but also so deeply moving to see a life so complete. You had missed Nanie dearly (I can imagine you saying it just this way) and it was time to move on. </p><p>Grampie, you were pragmatic as hell, and I remember accompanying my dad after to collect the attire for the wake, only to learn that YOU HAD SELECTED IT for yourself much prior. You it hanging just so, and it was specified elsewhere that this would be the outfit. When I saw it, I immediately began crying. Grampie you were well known for your penchant for plaid on plaid and bolo ties. I loved these bolo ties and felt proud of your unique style. On this occasion it was the bolo tie that called out to me. It almost flew to my eyes, much like my Cardinal sightings these last few days. It was a cardinal on your bolo tie. I had NEVER seen this one before. I asked my dad about it and he said "Well that makes sense. My mother loved cardinals." </p><p>Grampie, you are incredible. You dressed up to meet your mate again, just as I had thought...You wanted to make her happy. </p><p>Cardinals are always found in pairs. My grandparents were a pair unbroken through death and I believe to be reunited in peace. I enjoy believing it's them that I spot Cardinals and to be honest, it is <i>always</i> in moments of significance (if I am paying attention and reflective enough to see the connection or the offering of support). </p><p>In fact, I will never forget pulling into the parking lot on the day of my interview for the school I currently serve. The position felt truly special for some reason and I was hopeful I would be found as the right fit. As I drove in with nervousness and hope, a beautiful Cardinal swooped right across my windshield and my nerves lifted away with the birds. I said thank you. And I got the job. And I said thank you again.</p><p>Yesterday and today's sightings are reminders that there is always more. No feeling is final, and ultimately our lives are not final. We live on in energy and gratitude and hope and truth and in faces and characteristics and big moments and challenge and memories and inspiration and change. We cycle through these things and in one another over and over and over. On this day, I am grateful to have come to truly know that to live on this way is to never truly die. Thank you to the Cardinals for these lessons. </p><p>Happy Birthday Grampie. We miss you and Nanie. Thanks for the wisdom. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIEpTJSmH6n72VD4HBkWHIlsOjh9r9f0_L63cWjOiB_1RaY_1J4zZaOhN_bvMx8ApdpIjnuI_Yv9xxFhmtIIk7CV_9O3ke6YgzzWyod2XFKH_jpQU1Oh1dHJVsBsZRSiodRtR492tej8/s799/MandaGrampie.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIEpTJSmH6n72VD4HBkWHIlsOjh9r9f0_L63cWjOiB_1RaY_1J4zZaOhN_bvMx8ApdpIjnuI_Yv9xxFhmtIIk7CV_9O3ke6YgzzWyod2XFKH_jpQU1Oh1dHJVsBsZRSiodRtR492tej8/s320/MandaGrampie.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-20031720637924485732021-02-20T06:35:00.001-08:002021-02-20T06:35:12.061-08:00on seeing and being<p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>snow on tree branches calls out</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>clinging yet without extending effort</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>bouncing with a weight defying measure</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>and in this simple act of being </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>I am seeing my mind</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>unfettered and free, </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>aware of the path and my ability</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>to return each time attachment</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>and longing pulls me into ego traps-</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>the paralysis stumps me </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>the seeing mind trumps me</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>the being mind waits for me</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>suddenly the smallest of gusts</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>arrives and clears several branches </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>and a silent and serene storm sways </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>into morning's first light and as these </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>tiny delights awaken me, I think </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>"Oh my goodness I get to see this-</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>Everyone, LOOK!"</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>and the truth is we all get to see </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>we can really see it so much that</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>these moments of insight tuck right</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>inside of us forever-</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>dwelling within, helping to soften</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>all that feels daunting and terrible</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>into a more balanced world </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>one that invites us to witness</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>the wonder and the joy</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>please sit and look at the branches</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;"><b>and tell me something different</b></span></p><p><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-41851631988195321492021-02-20T06:11:00.003-08:002021-06-16T07:41:00.399-07:00What's the point?<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>What's the point of a snowstorm</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>that dumps endlessly if you're not</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>going to walk in it at night</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>and marvel at the way it sparkles in the</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>street lights before wistfully </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>joining the blanket hugging the ground </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: large;"><i>which whispers</i></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>"we are magnificent" </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>to absolutely no one </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>and still, she is </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>What's the point if you don't</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>wrestle on layers of snow gear </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>contorting and shifting and </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>sweating to prep with proper</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>measure just in case the </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>sledding is so thrilling</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>and consuming you need to</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>be well equipped to just </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Let It Ride</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Snow is for playing in, hard</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>What's the point of having</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>a life that you work so hard at</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>buffering out challenge or difficulty</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>if the real truth is that when </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Travesty strikes you actually </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>finally feel like the truest version</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>of yourself </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Navigating loopholes while </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>clarifying Values and Vision</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>What does it feel like to be </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>without a toothache?</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>No one really knows</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>What they know is the pain</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>and they know the reality of</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>what pain teaches them and</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>what next best steps it tells</i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>them to walk </i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: medium;"><b><i>And that's the whole</i></b></span><b style="color: #073763; font-family: Oswald; font-size: large;"><i> point. </i></b></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-10083506997530427822021-01-28T06:56:00.018-08:002021-01-28T07:55:08.119-08:00On Knowing and Growing<p>A collective push to "go back" because</p><p>Well, "back" is where we belong</p><p>Yet it feels like reciting the lyrics</p><p>Without the melody inside of the song</p><p><br /></p><p>And there is resistance, sharp and mighty </p><p>In this, some dark underlying hues</p><p>Stay open, look and listen closer</p><p>I think we can garner some clues</p><p><br /></p><p>Education as a whole is <i>what?</i></p><p>Is it reading levels, facts and tests?</p><p>Is it curriculum over connection?</p><p>Is it expecting our personal bests?</p><p><br /></p><p>What is our end goal for students?</p><p>To deposit an arbitrary amount of info?</p><p>To create robots who consume and produce?</p><p>To imply to know means more than to grow?</p><p><br /></p><p>This pandemic sure has thrown us-</p><p>"Schooling" cracked open and wide</p><p>There was so much failure before this too</p><p>Can we dare to step inside?</p><p><br /></p><p>The school to prison pipe line is as real</p><p>As the institutional response to query</p><p>Get in line, do this, do that as such </p><p>Does it surprise us our vision is bleary?</p><p><br /></p><p>It seems that creating life long learners</p><p>Would be one of the essential goals</p><p>So we must back up to find this path</p><p>Releasing square pegs from round holes</p><p><br /></p><p>We have all the buzz words and concepts</p><p>Yet we neglect to apply it so well</p><p>We are missing the forest through the trees</p><p>Denying wisdom that our stories can tell</p><p><br /></p><p>Our system is predicated on production</p><p>Creating consumers supports status quo</p><p>Are any of us interested in a system</p><p>Where to wonder is better than to know?</p><p><br /></p><p>I ask all these questions today because</p><p>If we don't discuss it now, then when?</p><p>What didn't work then, won't work next</p><p>We have a chance here to begin again</p><p><br /></p><p>So yes of course, we must all "go back"</p><p>But what will this look like to do?</p><p>Can we hold the trauma and shades of fear</p><p>Are we ready to try something new?</p><p><br /></p><p>Each class has always deserved two staff</p><p>One to inspire, engage and teach lessons</p><p>Another to temperature check the room</p><p>Supervise and provide small check-ins</p><p><br /></p><p>Essential is this right here, right now</p><p>For teachers both on zoom <i>and </i>in person</p><p>Attendance, reading levels and oh ya, <i>feelings</i></p><p>Without this, we'll continue to worsen</p><p><br /></p><p>Yet with more students and less space I question</p><p>Will protocols simply loosen and give way?</p><p>Do we try it and then wait to see what happens?</p><p>Or perhaps try a therapeutic new way?</p><p><br /></p><p>Hire more staffing, we need adults who care</p><p>And bring in more counselors and people to play</p><p>Keep class sizes small, make schedules freer too</p><p>Rotate in large spaces and hear what they say!</p><p><br /></p><p>I believe that logistics can handle what's next</p><p>Remember that playfulness heals and repairs</p><p>Consider what do YOU hold fondly from school?</p><p>Not rules and silence, straight lines on the stairs</p><p><br /></p><p>You remember the outside the box stuff</p><p>The times you truly felt truly <i>seen</i></p><p>You recall when you found a true strength</p><p>And with mindful work you did glean</p><p><br /></p><p>You remember the offhanded personal stories</p><p>Your teacher may not even recall they told</p><p>You recall how true connection made you feel </p><p>You learned authenticity could not be sold</p><p><br /></p><p>You learned serious hard skills like science,</p><p>Math, literature and history as well</p><p>Soft skills like perseverance and empathy</p><p>Or flexible thinking a much lesser sell</p><p><br /></p><p>And this unrealized message sticks with us</p><p>Please just shut up and listen to me</p><p>Your truth and experiences are irrelevant</p><p>Get the work done, spare individuality</p><p><br /></p><p>We cannot keep going on like this</p><p>We have a chance before it's too late</p><p>We need to inspire our children now</p><p>Educators who teach <i>and </i>participate </p><p><br /></p><p>Let's remind our students how to laugh</p><p>Deeper still, because learning <i>is fun</i></p><p>To be truly alive and immersed in a moment</p><p>It will be here that the real work is done</p><p><br /></p><p>We are ALL life long learners you see</p><p>I learn this from children each day</p><p>If we take a deep breath, put agendas aside</p><p>Bravely we'll find a new way</p><p><br /></p><p>We will follow their lead and listen</p><p>We can teach them the sound of their voice</p><p>Understanding education can be so much more</p><p>Our students deserve to have more of a choice</p><p><br /></p><p>It is their future they seek to inherit</p><p>We wish them to have happiness and smarts</p><p>But we need to discuss how to define these</p><p>Let us begin to teach to their hearts</p><p><br /></p><p>I know that this prose is flowery </p><p>I realize there is not lots of concrete</p><p>I encourage us to walk a different path</p><p>I am happy to sit down and meet</p><p><br /></p><p>If you hear my intention and urging</p><p>If you see what I mean and agree</p><p>Will you take a chance and will you go there</p><p>Will you wander to wonder with me?</p><p><br /></p><p>There is no "going back", that's all gone now</p><p>There is only what lies before us ahead</p><p>There is possibility and hope if we see it</p><p>There is so much more to be said </p><p><br /></p><p>Let us be brave and go do it</p><p>Let us sit quiet and still 'til we know </p><p>Let us share out our new wisdom boldly</p><p>Let us be proud when we reap what we sow</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-60428863876234176452021-01-22T06:37:00.005-08:002021-01-22T06:44:07.222-08:00I Seek <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>I seek to live inside the sun </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>where mind, body, soul</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>can undulate as one</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>I seek to dance upon the moon</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>hearing the stars as they sprinkle</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>laughter with tune</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>I seek to hide inside a wave</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>to locate my inner current</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>riding my soul to save</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>I seek to scream atop the mountain</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>and take up space wide, like water</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>moving through a fountain</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>I seek to sketch myself inside a cloud</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>making notice of my body</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>learning how to feel proud</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>I seek to settle into a stream</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>notice piercing not as pain</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>but beauty of a waking dream</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>I seek to fly inside a wing</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>align with the hawk's mighty grace</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>carrying me to what I bring</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>I seek to collapse into dirt</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>marinating in the texture of life's cycle</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>aware of what cannot hurt</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>I seek to travel by ray of light</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>walking with eternal faith </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>my place in time, day or night</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>I seek this for me</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>I see this for you</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Quicksand; font-size: medium;"><b>I seek this in the name of all that is true</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-68633354852295794112021-01-07T04:36:00.007-08:002021-01-07T07:29:52.613-08:00Negative Space and Me<p>Tony told me the other day </p><p>That often times in art</p><p>It makes "the most sense" to focus on </p><p>The negative space </p><p>In order to bring shape to </p><p>what is</p><p>And while he admitted this is hard,</p><p>he concluded it to be where the</p><p>most power lies in creation.</p><p><br /></p><p>Today, I sit sleepy eyed on my porch,</p><p>with a space heater, warming me</p><p>while I pandemically work from home,</p><p>the day after Trump supporters</p><p>stormed the capitol. </p><p><br /></p><p>This is reality. </p><p>It is simply what is. </p><p><br /></p><p>I cannot control what is happening,</p><p>but I can <i>always control my response.</i></p><p>And so I feel the weight of my coffee in a stainless</p><p>steel tumbler (so it won't chill quite as fast)</p><p>I breathe in, and exhale out with extension</p><p>Quiet is the truest companion.</p><p>I relish in the buttery softness of my leggings</p><p>clinging around my legs.</p><p>I hear birds and imagine myself inside their messages.</p><p><br /></p><p>Without effort, I glance to the right:</p><p>Traffic, like shooting stars, comes and goes:</p><p>Destinations unknown, </p><p>their backdrop a simple canvas of</p><p>muted gray, uninspired and plain.</p><p><br /></p><p>Swiveling to the left I am struck</p><p>by that which often goes unnoticed. </p><p>Streaming through a sliver of eastern window</p><p>Poking out like a surprise past my neighbor's</p><p>front porch:</p><p>the most breathtaking sunrise becoming born....</p><p><br /></p><p>A beacon or a baton, it rises up fluidly</p><p>Trailing ribbons of pink and blue</p><p>Eventually cascading into an orange </p><p>that bleeds out without caution or concern </p><p>Azure clouds horizontally support the display </p><p>I see their measure and I value their purpose,</p><p>They highlight simple excellence with dignity</p><p><br /></p><p>I am sandwiched between plain ignorance</p><p>and a brilliant beautiful truth- </p><p>A collision of consciousness of the</p><p>both/and phenomenon and </p><p>I feel grateful for my ability to see</p><p>on both sides of me and appreciate. </p><p>Simply SEEING what is there and </p><p>being with it is an utterly useful way to</p><p>initiate a day. </p><p><br /></p><p>Taking in another sip of coffee,</p><p>I look to what lies directly before me,</p><p>Outside and straight ahead, additional pause. </p><p>This is my inside as well. </p><p><br /></p><p>Several naked trees posing for no one-</p><p>Winterized and whole separate, yet </p><p>somehow also joining together in my vision</p><p>Strong and dark on top of the white landscape</p><p>They are propped and unmoved at their base,</p><p>Inviting my eyes to continue to consume upward,</p><p>to take them all in, alone and collectively until</p><p>I land upon the tippity top the filaments fragile</p><p>yet carefully bending and giving way to the elements </p><p>that threaten the exterior</p><p>Supported from the inside out and underneath,</p><p>a foundation that cannot be broken. </p><p><br /></p><p>I notice that this is where the negative space </p><p>Calls out the loudest in a language we can all </p><p>understand if we all were to make a choice:</p><p>To look, to listen, so that we may step into the world </p><p>The one that sits patiently existing</p><p>Beyond what we see,</p><p>Beyond what we know to be true,</p><p>Beyond what is real and unreal.</p><p><br /></p><p>We have a heart center that lives deeper.</p><p>It's here.</p><p>And we can not only be reminded of it.</p><p>It's here we can see it reflected.</p><p>It's here we can be energized anew.</p><p><br /></p><p>It's here we can meet up with it</p><p>and be with it and in doing so</p><p>find our way to equanimity and fortitude, </p><p>our guides.</p><p><br /></p><p>Find our oneness. </p><p><br /></p><p>Find ourselves inside of tiny </p><p>triangles dripping off of branches</p><p>See the way souls are simply</p><p>light that illuminates brightly</p><p>off of something else.</p><p><br /></p><p>All of us. All of us. All of us. </p><p><br /></p><p>If we want to be okay, really okay,</p><p>we must come to recognize this in nature</p><p>so that we can return to our own true</p><p>nature and <i>be with it. </i></p><p>We can learn to accept what is with </p><p>whole hearted awareness and without alteration.</p><p><br /></p><p>When this wise view is really clear</p><p>we are free to cultivate our intentions</p><p>and actions and ultimately we can lead </p><p>ourselves right on into our own redemption.</p><p>There is nothing negative about </p><p>negative space, and for right now, it's</p><p>the only place I feel free. </p><p><br /></p><p>Won't you join me?</p><p><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-49990204264699235392021-01-05T06:02:00.000-08:002021-01-05T06:02:05.513-08:00Snowflakes and Meaning<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">We are all snowflakes</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">erratically rushing toward</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">our own demise</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">Autopilots of Grace</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">and meteorology</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">Sometimes growing larger</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">or spinning sideways</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">gaining traction in a new</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">direction, seeking one's</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">own reflection-</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">Suddenly a reversal</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">upwards while the others</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">shuffle and pass on by</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">A new try!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">We create ourselves each time anew</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">We shape ourselves with intricacies unseen</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">We rush to be absorbed into something else</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">We long for identity and meaning, gleaming</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">We accumulate in collective posture, if lucky</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">We melt away, if not today, another day</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">Impermanence plants itself in everything</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">Even in this moment it will sing</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">These words are quiet and still, here</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">They arise and puff themselves out,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">Boasting, seeking belonging and purpose</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">then float on to another pocket of prose</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">or a new poet's pen</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">Causing the wondering thought:</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">why bother?</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">who cares?</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">what's the point?</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">The point is in the experiencing</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">The meaning is in the noticing</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">There is beauty inherent</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">in noticing</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">There is love inherent </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">in beauty</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">There is meaning inherent</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">in love</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">There is purpose inherent</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">in meaning </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">There is connection</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">inherent in purpose</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">There is truth inherent</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">in connection</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">and on and on and on</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">like soft flakes falling</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">it continues</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">And an interwoven crystal web</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">Seemingly quiet</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">Reverberates in unison</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">In and out of the soul, </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand;">It will always remain.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-41688509934069796992020-11-25T05:02:00.003-08:002020-11-30T03:04:00.289-08:00Hands and Hearts<p>Sometimes if I am paying attention, </p><p>I catch sight of my Nanie hands </p><p>A desert landscape vast and </p><p>Freckled with nurturing kisses from nature</p><p>Changing without recollection</p><p>of what came before and it is here </p><p><br /></p><p>I remember </p><p><br /></p><p>Deep curiosity with sneaky eyes</p><p>catching glimpses like snapshots of my</p><p>grandmother's aging hands:</p><p><br /></p><p>knitting large afghans effortlessly </p><p>folded neatly on lap at rest and peace</p><p>reaching slightly when receiving affection</p><p><br /></p><p>Weathered like leather, year after year </p><p>they spoke of risk and adventure</p><p>deep trenches and uneven terrain </p><p>Striving still with grace and purpose</p><p><br /></p><p>And now I have found my own hands</p><p><br /></p><p>Softly shaping skin into dunes resting </p><p>Incomplete without intentional fault lines </p><p>tracking back to random grooves,</p><p>scars serving as guideposts for a life lived</p><p><br /></p><p>Carried by hands </p><p>Stored in hearts </p><p>Broadcasted on faces </p><p>Illuminated through feelings</p><p><br /></p><p>What do you see when you </p><p>look at your hands?</p><p><br /></p><p>Where has your journey</p><p>carried you?</p><p><br /></p><p>How will you use them</p><p>to find new spaces?</p><p><br /></p><p>Who will you let hold</p><p>them when you need it?</p><p><br /></p><p>Why does any of this</p><p>mean anything?</p><p><br /></p><p>The answers are written on hands </p><p>Like an existential map book</p><p><br /></p><p>Traveling by way of our hearts.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-35322777283963498532020-07-21T11:00:00.002-07:002020-07-21T11:00:28.351-07:00Tuesday Haiku<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Busyness shows up</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Stress invites meditation,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Everything softens </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
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<img alt="50 Shades of Zen: How to Meditate For More Results In Less Time" src="https://blog.daveasprey.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/meditation_sun.jpg" /></div>
Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253421315963160929.post-86087348421414813432020-07-18T08:01:00.000-07:002020-07-19T05:29:04.591-07:00ProcessPause<br />
<div>
Observe</div>
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Name</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
FEEL<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
Reality </div>
<div>
is not always</div>
<div>
what's real.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Seeking round</div>
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holes</div>
<div>
unaware</div>
<div>
that our edges</div>
<div>
are sharp</div>
<div>
and moving</div>
<div>
about space</div>
<div>
without caution</div>
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<br /></div>
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AND</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
we can soften</div>
<div>
we can bleed</div>
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when we concede</div>
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each moment</div>
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to the breath</div>
<div>
and the anchor</div>
<div>
of truth</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
change </div>
<div>
definitely</div>
<div>
feels </div>
<div>
some </div>
<div>
kind of</div>
<div>
way<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
safe</div>
<div>
to </div>
<div>
say<br />
<br />
have<br />
it<br />
your<br />
way<br />
<br />
a<br />
new<br />
day</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
is it pain</div>
<div>
or disdain</div>
<div>
a refrain</div>
<div>
to stay sane</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
time to </div>
<div>
dance in the </div>
<div>
rain</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
wash ourselves</div>
<div>
clean with </div>
<div>
kaleidoscope</div>
<div>
truth</div>
<div>
and crystallized</div>
<div>
proof</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
becoming</div>
<div>
more comfortable</div>
<div>
with discomfort</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
until we can </div>
<div>
hold it all </div>
<div>
united we stand</div>
<div>
when we understand</div>
<div>
divided we fall</div>
<div>
when we miss the call</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Amanda Symmes, LICSW http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388311846648616405noreply@blogger.com0