Hear

The seed is planted.

Take time to deeply listen,

Let the Word take root.

(Photo take at St. Ignatius Chapel, Seattle University on August 12, 2016)

Mighty

Perhaps those who would claim to be mighty
(or come across that way)
are not, in truth.
Maybe it is just something they hide behind
To make them appear to be bigger 
Than what they really are:
The fake wizard hiding behind the wall,
Insecure bullies, small-minded big mouths.
They are not mighty unless we allow them to be.

What of the ant that can lift one hundred times its own weight,
the distant sun which can burn so brightly it forces one to remove one's coat,
the written word,
the majestic symphony which rises from a few quiet notes,
the dreamers visions that start as small as the tiniest seed?

What may seem insignificant, subtle, or humble may very well be the mightiest of all.
Give me eyes to see and ears to hear, Creator, the mighty in the unexpected places.

Sidewalk Mindfulness

Sidewalks can teach you things.

Each panel, different in some way
     Cracked, split open
     Cracked with fillings to prevent further cracking
Pock-marked with holes from the size of dimes to half dollars

Dark tiles
     Cream colored tiles
Smooth
     Rough
      Clean
         Dirty
Some with stones poking through
     Grass growing between the tiles - or maybe a dandelion
Power washed with some missed patches
Littered with stones,
     mowed grass,
            pieces of gum,
                  twigs,
                       bird droppings

A panel with a gutter running across it, smoothly indenting it
     Corners dipping down to make sidewalks accessible
           Sheered tops that make for uneven walking
Dual purpose panels serving as entry ways to driveways
An occasional chalk drawing
     or a pattern for hopscotch etched in cement.

And in the sidewalk, I see pieces of myself
   and metaphors for my life.

This is what sidewalk mindfulness teaches me:
Whatever the stuff is that I walk through day to day,
The path still leads me home.

Whatever the stuff is that I walk through in life,
I am still on the path
    with God
        who is leading me
Home.