FootprintsintheWind.com

Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1411

There will be those who come after me
who are greater than me
there is no doubt of this

they stand on my shoulders
I provide lift
a whisper
a not yet clear vision
demanding a decision
I do not know I demand

these hold hands with me
already I feel their hands in mine, feel their resolve
and they give me resolve

I say to you among them
great as you are, little or much as you know your greatness
there will be those who come after you
who will be greater than you
there is no doubt of this

you do not have to work so feverishly to get it all done in your lifetime
you do have to work diligently
so they will catch fire

this is a bigger responsibility

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1410

Once you know the way
it’s no longer the way

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1409

We grow in humanness
as we age
and that only by way of
being softened
To become wise is to become vulnerable
the older we get the more drops away
life takes
this is the school of aging
and the work of each of us aging
the more we lose the more we grow
to accept vulnerability is the path
The living have work to do
right up to the very last breath

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1408

The powers that be—are we.

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1407

Tears, sadness, loss
Tell me, oh tell me:
What do they do to you?
How do they bring us close
To our elemental togetherness?
I cajole, I plead with you
What is the elusive
Fundamental
Joy to which they open,
A valley in the morning
sun and dew?
I leave a stillness open before you
Tell me your sadness
To remind me of mine
And us of one fleeting
Eternal
Joy

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1406

Frying pans!
Boiling pots!
Let’s have
some slow cooker
conversation

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1405

What kind of dreams would you, Dreamer, dream if the world would dream your dreams?

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1404

Not chemistry
Not magic
Together deeper, farther, more

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1403

The silence is part of the prayer

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1402

Declaring possibility creates it.

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1401

The Olympics are an opportunity, once every 4 years, to gather our very best and turn 90% of them into losers.

We humans are not about being better than others but being with.

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1400

Butterflies work
with the flowers
to change things
don’t you?

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1399

Grief and Imagination
The handles
At the still point
For the turning

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1398

Don’t choose to do a big thing: that takes too long. Choose and do a small thing in a major way. Major acts are those that evoke—or are evoked by—a felt change in awareness.

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1397

The very center
of humanity
—like that of the universe—
is here in the midst of us
right here,
that which we work upon:

Seek no larger shore
do the daily,
knowing

Do at the still point
of humanity’s turning

More and more
this
is the still point
of the turning
we know instantly
the news of the day
some time soon
within the instant

More: we want to know
Why?
We need to
know each other
intimately
vulnerably
from the inside

So we
are turning
every place

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1396

In life you don’t know what you’re signing up for. Sign up anyway.

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1395

The skirt of the evergreen
is lovely in white and green and black
the old lady will add to her skirt in spring
and I seldom notice
save on snowy days like today
do I see when she
dances with the winds?

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1394

What is white
Must come down

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1393

When you invite
ask of each something difficult—
three days of their lives, a week entire
commitment, active commitment
responsibility taken up for what they love
sacred life substance spilled—sweat…tears…blood
work, effort full work against unfavorable forces
—something hard to give
a thing of great worth

Spilt blood you need not ask every time
yet keep this symbol in your gut
if it’s worth gathering at all
ask for more than you dare
a thing of great cost
for you to ask, for them to give
This is the only thing worth inviting

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1392

The way to learn is to let in something new.

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1391

Rediscover, redefine
Your living, playful path
But larger than that, remember
Your birth is your terminal condition
So rediscover, redefine
Your dying path
Fill it, empty it
Paint it with colors subtle
Dance it with steps nuanced

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1390

To criticize, to analyze
is to squint your eyes
and so your soul
to see less and less
but if we look in the direction
of what is marvelous
larger
we open ourselves
and might see
under the hide of things

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Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1389

Inviting ever inviting
Our spirits for growth
As our bodies food
Need diversity
Even conflict

Conflict is but a track
In the wilderness
Nearby, watching,
That great she-bear,
Complexity

And we her cubs

Screaming, anger, terrorism:
Not the birth-pangs of our new peace
But of complexity
A likely story
Inviting ever inviting

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