 photo from Flickr via Weebly. Do not copy or alter. Destiny Monarch butterfly Spreads her wings Into the wind Lifts off to fly Northward Buffeted by wind Blown off course Still flies, corrects Toward the North Again Huddles from the rain Overnight Sheltered but wet And bedraggled And cold In the morning sun Spreads wings to dry Lifts off again Over dusty Hot lands Comes to fertile fields Green plants, milkweed She lands and waits Male arrives They mate She finds the milkweed And lays her eggs Then, fulfilled Flies weakly And dies.  photo courtesy of SFBayOspreys cam in Richmond, CA. 3 Quatrains It must feel wonderful To fly in the sky Wild and free Soaring on high. Birds are just doing their thing, But I can't help but think They must feel joy When they fly and sing. I too, would fly, Soar high in the sky, A bird on the wing, With a song to sing. Dreams I used to dream that I could fly. I would run and run until I Was lifted into the sky. I used to dream of a wave That would sweep me away, And I was not afraid. I don't dream anymore. I've become a bore, Feet held fast to the floor. Fledgling to its Mother When I leave the nest, which way is the best, North, South, East or West? How do I know which way I should go? Can't I follow you, go where you go too? No my fledgling no, trust the wind and go. Follow the wind, follow. Follow the wind, follow. Such a long way, how will I know the day I have found the place where I should stay? Will there be a sign that says this place is mine? Will there be osprey on that Southern Bay? Follow the sun's ray, it will show you the way. Trust the wind and go, follow the wind, follow. When I fly back to this nest I love the best, Can I live with you, stay on this nest too? I don't want to leave home and be on my own. I want to stay here, oh, my Mother Dear. Trust the osprey way, fly up and down the Bay, Trust the wind and go, follow the wind, follow. Fly around and one day, you'll find another osprey. You'll build your own nest, the place you'll love the best, You'll raise fine chicks and learn all their tricks. Then one fine Fall day, you'll again be on your way, Trust the osprey way, trust the sun's ray, Trust the wind and go, follow the wind, follow. | Nirvana Discontent is fertile soil for anger and hostility. On the other hand, content spawns affability and love. To counter the former, And to foster the latter, Stop willing and wanting, Breathe slowly and deeply, And nirvana is yours! Or so Buddha would argue. Let Be Let winds blow And leaves flutter. Let streams flow And waves lap. Let swamps be And frogs croak. Let forests grow And animals live. Let children play And birds sing. Let thinkers think And doers do. Let the living live And the dying die. Let be what is And is meant to be! Gnothi Se We are not that or this But that we are also Something far more. It's only beyond first glance And only beneath the skin That each in all life's subtleties May be found and grasped in full. The Greeks said Gnothi se, Today it's know thyself. 'Twas too challenging then, 'Tis too troublesome now! Choice and Chance Life is birth, death, and all betwixt. Birth and death are fixed realities, It is the span between that counts, Here choice and change in interplay Determine our decisions, shape our lives, Here sheep and goats go separate ways. Chance circumstances of life compel, But choice is still for us to make. There are those who passively allow events To prevail with but a hapless shrug, And those who challenge forceful chance, Make their choice and forge their way. Those inclined to yield to chance Are "what happens to them." Those who seize fate by the forelock Are "their own happening." -JM Words of Wisdom from JM Chance is yours to accept and choice is yours to make. Where there is a will there is a way, but it's not always paved. Better to do what one wills to do than to do what others will one to do. All is more chance than choice. Each person is a given that can be modified but not changed. Píccola says: I will shelter in place as long as I can be with my two humans and can do the biscuit dance. |
Gogi Grant singing The Wayward Wind at age 80