Thoughts from Under the Tree

Thoughts from Under the Tree

Sitting beneath the craggy live oak

Its dappled shade falling on my own limbs

So peacefully,

So quietly.

It’s a time to let my mind wander.

So, why does it lead me to

Wounds, both fresh and old

Angers and affronts, both real and imagined?

Memories of things undone,

Unsaid

Roar into my mind like a runaway freight train

Destroying any semblance of peace.

**********

Sitting quietly, watching how my breath fills my lungs

Then, on exhale, sends that oxygen down

To nourish the tips of my toes.

Air in

Air out.

My shoulders feel their tension and then let it go.

My belly releases its tight grasp on my stomach.

This falling leaf reminds me of falling and failing.

I watch as the leaf and the thought

Gently blow away in the breeze.

That chirping bird reminds me of a shrill-voiced lover

Who “done me wrong” long ago.

I send the thought dancing on its wing.

My mind becomes slick like soapy hands

Thoughts coming and then sliding away.

********

So, maybe what it comes to

Is that having peace is choosing peace

In each moment.

Turning one’s back on

Painful thoughts, angry stories

And turning gratefully toward

Visions of unlimited delight.