Making Waves

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

I think we send out waves—

don’t you?

Not the waggle of a hand

in greeting or going

but unseen waves rippling out

from us into the world.

Call them thoughts,

call them prayers,

call them hopes,

they roll out like a rhythmic tide,

heartbeats set adrift

through invisible currents

all around us to

ebb and flow,

weave and wander

around and between us,

waves of presence unseen,

unbounded

unlimited,

untamed.

Mine meet yours and mingle,

expand the dance.

May they be waves of

grace and goodness,

generosity and joy,

compassion and strength.

May we wash the weary world

with wonder.

-kh-

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Until Peace Settles Deeply

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

A broken heart, I think,

sometimes shields itself

under the guise of anger,

resentment, and bluster.

It’s easier

and maybe feels safer

to harden

instead of soften,

to shield

instead of bare itself,

to try to control

instead of letting go.

That truly may be the wise path

until wounds turn to scars,

until we stop collecting thorns to

shore up that shield

and instead

gather for ourselves the healing herbs

of goodness and mercy

until peace settles so deeply in us

that we realize

that from now on,

thorns may prick,

but only scratch-deep.

They will no longer embed themselves

as splinters in our heart.

For we know who we are—

scarred but

whole and holy.

We are those who not only

gather goodness

but give it away freely,

even—maybe especially—

to those still collecting thorns,

still shielding their hearts.

Peace, love,

goodness and grace.

Gather and give.

-kh-

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Open-Eyed and Full-Hearted

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

Sometimes all you can do is

hope

that this year will be better.

I’ve long passed the stage of

buying into Jiminy Cricket’s

“If you wish upon a star…”

I’m way past believing

pie-in-the-sky.

I’m beyond thinking that

if I just do everything right,

everything will be all right.

I’m way past all that.

But I’m not past hope.

I’m not past looking the world

full in the face,

eyes open wide,

and knowing life can be better,

even great,

because

I know people who care.

I know love and peace and joy.

I know kindness and goodness

and grace and generosity.

I’m way past closed eyes

and grasping at straws,

but I’m not past hope.

May we never be past

open-eyed

full-hearted

hope.

–kh–

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

That House is Empty Now

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

The house is empty,

my sister texted.

The house where we grew up,

where my mom decorated

for every holiday on the calendar,

where my dad, without warning,

would break out in a random song

from his vast repertoire—

Gilbert and Sullivan, Carmen, crooner tunes,

love songs for mom even after she died.

On his own last day, from their bed in that house,

he warbled a couple of bars

of “Molly Malone”

and I finished the line,

“alive alive-oh.”

That house is empty now.

Then again,

it’s not.

Every room holds memories.

Every door and window,

every wall,

the fireplace, the kitchen, the back porch.

The memories don’t die.

The beauty doesn’t die.

The grace and generosity don’t die.

In Daddy’s last days,

when someone would visit,

he would say, “We had a good run, didn’t we?”

Yes, Daddy, we did.

We had a good run in that house, and

oh God, how do I ever repay all the good?

The answer arrives

before I finish the question:

Embody that goodness.

Match it.

Become it.

Give it to your children and their children.

Share it with everyone you meet.

Breathe it out to the world.

For this love,

this joy,

this peace

is forever and for all.

This house will never be empty.

-kh-

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Investing in Goodness

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“Goodness is the only investment that never fails.”

– Henry David Thoreau –

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm.

And invest in goodness – love, grace, hope, and peace – for all.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week – on a kitchen window screen:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Gathering Goodness

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“That man is happiest who lives from day to day

and asks no more,

garnering the simple goodness of life.”

– Euripides, 424 B.C.E. –

Garner means a bit more than just “to gather.” It comes from the Latin for grain and means “to gather into storage.” So notice the simple goodness of life this week. Gather it and store it within your spirit.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

For my posts on life and the wonder of it all, link here.

Carry the Calm

Karyn Henley

goodness

Making Waves

Until Peace Settles Deeply

Open-Eyed and Full-Hearted

That House is Empty Now

Investing in Goodness

Gathering Goodness