So, it seems that
A Long Time Ago
Some people understood
The human body, emotions,
Mind, and Spirit.
They went about their lives
Carefully, eating
Warm wet food,
Wrapping up
Against cold wind.
They expressed feelings
As they arose.
They watched, listened,
Smelled, and tasted, sensing
Their environment
Directly without
The complications of
Second-guessing, judgment,
And constant fear.
They could tell when someone
Was lying.
Today we are wrapped in webs of lies
And confusion spun by people who want
Power and money,
Want to dominate Life,
From people to animals
To whole oceans. The harvest of
This socially acceptable behavior is
A garbage dump of toxins, a heating
Blue marble, an echoing
Emptiness, where thousands
Of species used to chatter,
Sing, thump, burrow, swim…
Change can be hard.
The People from a Long Time Ago
Understood this
And made some central precepts:
Accept What Is.
Change Will Come.
Allow.
Stand up for yourself,
Your family,
Your land,
Your health.
Your inheritance
Includes the right
To these understandings.
Your life is meant to be
Joyful.
Be led by Heavenly impulses.
Consume wholesome thoughts
And food so your Blood is
Full, bright, and rich.
Remember and believe that your
Unique gifts and talents
Are folded neatly, lying in wait
To unfurl, spoken into the
Receptive ear of your Heart.
Transmission, reception, feedback.
Transmission, reception, feedback.
Learning. Growth.
Freedom:
This is how It Is Supposed to Work.
Not defeat, poverty,
Uselessness, abuse,
Bondage, sterility…
There will always be some destruction
Of form, because there will always be
Change. Don’t hold on to stuff.
Let it go; creation follows, and
Something better is coming.
Believe this: Some People
Know How Things Really Work.
Find those people.
Ask for their help.
They are waiting for you.
As I have been sitting,
Absorbing, reflecting,
It seems to me
It all comes down
To Shen:
Spirit, that sparkle in the eyes,
The outward shining of inner light
That signals alertness, engagement,
Fullness of being.
I look around and see
Shen missing in action:
Cagey eyes, guarded, snowed in,
Fogged out, smothered…
And it happened choice by choice.
No one is born that way.
I am calling for a mass migration:
Stirrups under the soles of our feet,
We can gallop towards destiny
While standing up straight in one place:
Come home
To your own light,
Vitality, radiant well-being.
Let’s unpack the instructions.
Let’s enjoy this,
One day at a time.
Let’s treat the Shen
In the ways of ancient Daoist shamans,
Embracing ourselves
In the clear view of health’s
Energy constituents.
Streams of pure water
Clear fetid ponds.
Open roadways replace rubble-strewn
Chokepoints, and deficiencies
Resolve. Fertile,
Well-drained soil effortlessly absorbs
Material, and excesses disappear.
Pathologies release.
Rabbits run over the hills
While piccolos play sprightly tunes
And in the distance, bassoons
Reverberate harmony.
Our bodies are our land.
Every person was given
40 acres and a mule
By God to tend.
We can flourish here.
Let’s leave behind the wasteland.
Leukemia sent into remission,
Liver cancer fourth stage
Vomited into the gutter,
Insanity banished in one hour:
Story after story.
These are real people
Of today’s age, not myths.
They were suffering,
Then their lives changed,
Led by Shen.
They met living sages
Guided by some pure intentions:
Study The Way Things Are;
Preserve and protect this knowledge;
Express these truths in service.
You might say, this
High falutin philosophy
Means nothing to me.
I would say, what does
Matter to you?
What do you need?
Let me know and let’s
Find the Way together.
March 9, 2023