Having the Maybes

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

I’m having the maybes today.

The longer I live,

the more maybes I have.

Maybe I will breathe easier.

Maybe my shoulders will

relax—

or my arms

or my hands,

maybe all three.

Maybe peace will come.

Maybe I’ll

be still

long enough to feel it,

know it,

catch it,

carry it within me.

Maybe I’ll get an insight—

or not.

Maybe I’ll never be

so arrogantly sure of myself

ever again.

Maybe my heart will

re-tune itself to hum

a richer, fuller

melody.

Maybe I’ll hear Life laughing

in delight

at me and my

maybes.

Is this wishful thinking?

Is it hope?

No matter.

Maybe my maybes will

come true.

-kh-

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week:

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The Thread Connecting Us

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

The silver SUV pulled out of the driveway

as my son and his young family headed

to the airport

after the holidays.

I don’t suppose they saw me

wave them out of sight.

I don’t suppose they knew my throat was thick,

my shoulders heavy,

my eyes blinking fast to block the tears.

I hadn’t meant to cry,

but my mind pulled up a years-ago memory

of a hot blue-sky Texas morning

when it was my young family

pulling away from Mom and Dad’s house,

and I looked back to see my dad

standing on the front porch

waving us out of sight.

At that moment, I instinctively knew

why—

why he watched,

why he waved,

why he waited

until he could no longer see us—

maybe longer, who knows?

He was holding the thread of connection

as long as he could,

Knowing it might be the last time he saw us.

It wasn’t—

not then.

He could not know,

nor could I,

that my sisters and I would be with him

for the last goodbye,

and that in my memory,

he is still on that front porch,

waving as the distance grows between us,

just as I wave to my children and grandchildren,

holding the thread of connection

as long as I can,

for they always leave

with a good part

of my heart.

–kh–

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week:

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In The Realm of Inner Peace

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

In the realm of inner peace

of deep, cleansing breath,

of heart and hope and holiness

of the spirit’s table set for welcome,

in this realm of inner peace,

the weather is not constant

but ebbs and flows like waves of the sea,

like the drift and rush of wind,

unseen and elusive,

now whispering with joy,

now howling with grief,

weaving each together in a swirl

of uncertainty,

breathing life into our fragile frames,

humming wholeness into our startled hearts,

returning us to the settled sureness

of in-breath and out-breath,

the steady beat of life.

In the realm of inner peace,

of the momentous moment,

ordinary or extraordinary,

witty or wary,

of questions held gingerly,

answers held loosely,

in this realm of inner peace

two rivers flow,

one tumbling incautiously over stones

gray with pain,

one smooth and rippling,

easing its way with glints of courage,

fresh vision,

and quenching calm.

These two rivers often run side by side,

one splashing into the other

before joining and sharing their waters.

We dip cupped hands in and drink

and bathe our spirits in both.

We laugh.

We weep.

We find our own way through the rapids

and into pools of momentary stillness

before we journey on.

For this is the way,

the path,

the course of life.

There is no map.

But listen.

Listen to the wind.

Follow the flow of the two rivers.

For here in this realm,

there is inner peace,

and the table is always spread

for welcome.

– kh –

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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A Nest and an Apple Tree

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

My heart is like a singing bird

Whose nest is in a watered shoot;

My heart is like an apple-tree

Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit.

– Christina Rossetti –

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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If You Want to See Birds

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“If you want to see birds, you must have birds in your heart.”

– John Burroughs–

I think, too, that if we want to see peace, we must have peace in our hearts. If we want to see kindness, we must have kindness in our hearts. If we want to find calm, we must carry it within.

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm.

Nature of the week – A bluebird visited this week, which is a rare event. I barely got a picture of him before he flew away. Yesterday, he and his mate returned carrying grassy twigs and made themselves at home!

Shadow of the Week:

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Finding Morning

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“In the dew of little things

the heart finds its

morning and is refreshed.”

– Kahlil Gibran –

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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The Singing Bird

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.”

Chinese proverb

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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A Heart Without Words

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“When you pray, rather let thy heart be without words

than thy words be without heart.”

– John Bunyan –

Prayer often has no words but is simply a heart silent and open and listening, searching and sensing and settling, like a child reaching out and grasping a mother’s hand. And that is more than enough. You are the prayer. Your heart is heard and loved.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, be the prayer, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week: