Hope & Healing Through Photography and Poetic Expression

Posts tagged “philosophy

My Lens


 

As we stand before
the garden
so
lush

~

you
ask:

 “Which lens
will you choose
to view
the world?”

~

Without hesitation,
I reply:

“I choose the lens
that
illuminates
the sky…

so
I may sparkle
amongst the
evening
stars,

and

slide down
the golden rays of
morning
sun.”

~

Approvingly,
you nod,
and
query:

“Can you tell me more
about this lens
you
long for?”

~

I exclaim:

“I wish
for

this lens
to
enlighten,

and
show me

how to dance
with trees,

 as they
sway

to
and
fro

with
reverence

for
wind’s most
soulful
song.”

~

You gaze at me,
with a most
curious stare,
and say:

 “Ahhh, but tell me,
can you
even
find

such a
lens to call
your own?”

~

I pause,

and
wistfully
declare:

“Oh yes, Oh yes!

 I will
find
this lens;

This looking
glass

that
inspires

my fingers

~

to

touch
the delicate
silken petals

of

even the
smallest
flower,

and 

to
explore
the deepest
lines

ingrained
on
 earth’s fallen
leaves.”

~

 You sigh,
seemingly
satisfied,

“Hmm,”

you say,
in a low
contemplative
tone,

“but this wonderful
lens you

speak of…

tell me
of
the most
perfect
vision
it

will
 ultimately
reveal.

~

And then,
I smile,
slowly closing
my
hopeful eyes,
and
profess:

“I choose the lens
that
 guides me
gently…

through
the open
doors
of

my own
heart,

so that I
can

see

~

with perfect
precision
and
clarity

~

every
glorious
color

of

~

Your

Love.”

~

© Robyn Lee

 

 

 


Will You?

Will you meet me there? Beneath the muddy surface…
Where we shed our armor..remove our masks…
Where we strip down the layers;
Where we go, willingly…
to unveil our hearts’
deepest truth.
~~~
©Robyn Lee

Please allow me to share this wonderful prose poem entitled, The Invitation, by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
It is a favorite of mine, and challenges us all to find the inspiration, the intimacy,
the courage and the commitment to live fully, every day.

Enjoy! ~RL
~~~

The Invitation
by Oriah
…………………………..
It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon…
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.

It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.
~~~

from the book: The Invitation
© Mountain Dreaming,
published by HarperONE, San Francisco, 1999 All rights reserved


Seeking

We search
to find
that which we
seek

Beyond the
skies
and ocean
deep.

~~

Our vision
blurs and
colors
fade

We ask
if there’s a
debt to
pay.

~~

We seek
for
Love

We look
for
Truth;

~

We seek
for
Joy

We yearn
for
Youth.

~~

We seek
for
Wisdom

Embracing
rules;

~

And then
we
pray

They’ll
get us
through.

~~

We seek for
Romance

Passion
too;

~

We crave to
sense

The world
anew.

~~

We seek to solve
the hurt
and
fear;

~

In our
Calm
Resolve

It
finds
us
there.
~~~

©Robyn Lee


Joyous Surrender (a sequel)

“And when the mind finds its perfect state of joy,
the whole universe plays along.”

~ Robyn Lee

As a sequel to my earlier post Stillness, wanted to share this shot of a happy child, one of the few souls who remained on the beach as the storm approached Sunday.  He seemed to be immersed in fun… and suppose it’s a good thing that lonesome lifeguard stuck around after all!! 😉

~RL