alien on the rock

I am an alien on this planet.
I speak my own language.
I am strange and, most often,
not understood.
But the trees tell me I belong.
And the wind tells me to stay.
And the sky says, even this loneliness
will not last.

~

RNH

dark water

When the levy broke,

at least you did not buckle 

from the havoc,

at least,

you found the strength

to hold your ground. 

~

RNH

cleave

you blanket

each new peril you meet

with that treacherous 

cast

and I walk behind you, hammer

and chisel in hand,

setting them free. 

~

RNH

arrows

one pointed
toward you
and the other, to fear,
and my heart
broke between them,
divided by uncertainty.

~

RNH

an unfolded circle

she had been the lone ranger
the sole captain
the odd stranger
for so long
that she had forgotten
what it meant
to be accepted.

~

RNH

In Nature

I have difficulty sitting still.

Even a half-hour TV show while I'm eating dinner. A whole movie ?? Forget about it.

I prefer to be active--to be shaping things and doing things and making things better. If I'm sitting, it's only because I'm reading.

But when I'm in nature, I can sit or stand without that sense of pressure.

I don't feel anxious or worried, or even guilty, for being still. And when I am still in this way, I can think about the things that might be causing me stress and feel more flexible toward them. I can think about those ideas in a new way and, like a puzzle, find different solutions to them. Or I can just know that, yes, those problems or concerns are out there, but they do not define me.

I can choose who I become. I can choose what I think about.

This feeling is very peaceful. And for someone who usually operates at 120%, it is a chance to let go. A chance to connect more deeply to what really matters, and shed the rest.

I am grateful for this world that we are given and the opportunity to cultivate such feelings of calm.

I am grateful for the places in nature where I have felt so at home and immersed in wonder.

~

RNH

emblazoned

There will be fire

And you will walk through it

As you have done before.

~

RNH