Wishes and Hopes

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

I’m dreaming a dream,
wishing a world of childlike wonder,
hoping to recover the love of
blowing bubbles,
blowing out candles,
blowing fallen blossoms,
blowing dandelions,
the deep down delight of discovery—
butterflies, crickets, ladybugs, beetles,
the scent of rain,
the magic of the moon in the morning,
fireflies rising to treetops at dusk,
treetops dancing, brushing the stars,
feathering the clouds.
I’m dreaming a dream,
wishing a world of childlike wonder,
hoping to recover the love of
smooth flowing rivers,
fountains that glint in the sun,
sunsets that stream a surprise of colors.
Dreaming, wishing, hoping,
I face the fog of a future
that’s unknowable,
unmapped,
untapped.
I stand
between now and what’s next,
musing on the mystery
of the drifting mist ahead,
watching the future’s delicate fog
weave its wonder.
Take the step, it whispers.
Into where? I ask. Into what?
I hesitate, uncertain,
but uncertain steps
become solid as they’re taken,
the fog clears at my pace,
and I carry a compass
of wishes and hopes
held in heartbeats and footsteps,
in cupped hands and deep breaths.
Wishes and hopes,
hopes and wishes.
I dream of a world without fear,
open and grateful and hopeful,
pure and whole and holy
and deeply wise like a child
who dares to dance and dream.
If I dream in my part of the world
and you dream in yours,
if our hopes and wishes hold hands
and we work to make it so,
then maybe someday,
our dreams and hopes and wishes
will come true.
-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.

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.

Life’s Secret Answer

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

When I was younger,

I thought I had to find

all the answers.

I thought there were

answers to find.

Now that I’m older,

I’m holding the questions

and turning them over,

watching them sparkle and twinkle

and laugh,

for holding the questions

is life’s secret answer.

Every day, all is new

and uncertain

and certainly mystery.

What matters is not

the answers

but the questions,

how I hold them

and lightly unfold them,

how I ask them

and listen for a hum,

a nod

a yes, this is a good question,

a mystery,

an unmapped path,

a happy chance,

a happy choice

to carry the questions,

to ponder and muse

with “perhaps” and “maybe”

and “we’ll get there.”

Get where?

And when?

Who knows?

Do I care?

Not really. It’s more

exciting and joyful

to live in the unknown,

muse on the mystery,

cradle the questions,

and laugh out loud

at the memory

of thinking I had to

know.

No.

There’s no knowing

and no joy in stopping the search,

of being so certain.

The quest and the question—

now there’s the dance,

the chance,

the romance.

There’s the flying,

the flow,

the soft, easy drift of

not having to know.

It’s the smile of the soul,

the serene and the settled,

the secret of being satisfied with

open windows and doors,

wind blowing thoughts around,

presenting possibilities

holding hopes lightly

and wishes wisely

and reveling in

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.

At the Edge of My Coffee

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

A tiny bubble

at the edge of my coffee

reflects my kitchen windows

in miniature,

a visual echo of daylight drifting in

on a cool, rainy day,

a calm take-your-time afternoon.

Peace comes in the wink of a bubble

at the edge

of my coffee

at the edge

of my thoughts

at the edge

of my hopes for the day.

– 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.

Carry the Calm

Karyn Henley

hopes

Wishes and Hopes

Making Waves

Life’s Secret Answer

At the Edge of My Coffee