Zen & the Art of Visualization

Zen & the Art of Visualization #1

closing eyes

a scene unfolds on mind-dark panorama

over-grown with weeds & fragrant wildflowers

a path opens up before me…

the intrusive drone of distant traffic

fades in forest echoes

fades… softer…fades… fainter…. fainter –

whisperings of cool wind ripple treetops gently

caressingly fingering blushing green

as pools of sunlight stream

through filigree branches…

soft mosses glisten with sweet pure moisture

‘neath trees of regal poise

I step onto the beckoning path

no fear to where it goes

just yearning within my heart & soul

to walk a little ways

to sooth my flagging spirit

in incandescent haze…

closed eyes miss not a single sight

such profound tranquillity wrapped in an echo of sound

I let my feet slowly wander

not caring where I was bound…

willows brushed the path-edge….a delicate gentle tune

and between the lace-like branches

I glimpsed both sun and moon

star-jasmine grew in trailing vine

… and as I paused to breath the perfumed threads

tendrils wove a garland

which was placed upon my head….

on I walked with measured pace

through fragrant air that was soft & light

the haunting notes of an ancient flute

spoke of the balance of day & night

emerald shadows beckoned me

to leave the overgrown path

beckoned me to follow

the hollow echo of a distant laugh…

the way opened up before me

and closed as I passed through

no fear nor phobia plagued me…

no negativity trailed my step

I felt so strange yet oh so calm

as if I was returning home

to a place

…. I could neither remember nor forget…

and still I walked… quite boldly

the way the forest showed

lost in surreal tranquillity

enchanted by an ethereal glow…

a clearing opened around me

and in amongst tumbled stone

a waterfall danced merrily

singing for me and me alone

and in this place of whispered echoes

I knew had come home…

sharonlee©

9-Oct-11

Zen and the Art of Visualization #2

closing eyes

a scene unfolds

full coloured shades on mind-dark canvas…

peripheral sounds fade… softer… softer

until all that remains is a supple soughing wind…

a gentle breeze tenderly offers

a fragrance rich in earthy memories

my mind follows the scented trail

of humus & wild wattle… heady drifts of native flowers

hang heavy in the air…

… mind steps forward with familiar confidence

so memorable is this essence

that I am drawn willingly along a twisting track

that wends its way past tea-tree, acacia & mimosa

… winds its way to a giggling creek tickling

over water-pounded pebbles

that speak of eons past…

so swept up am I in recollections of this scent

soothed and coddled by nuances

of younger freer days…

… birds sing herehere herehere…

and following their guiding call

I stumble into a cloud of lemon myrtle

fresh lemony-sharp citrus perfume

funnels down the tunnels of memory

to such a carefree day, a lemon-scented day

when trees were meant for climbing

and creeks for freshwater swims that cleanse

both spirit & skin…

… closing eyes…breathing in

fresh air… wild myrtle… and…. and something softer

sweeter…. more delicate in both scent & recollection…

bouquets of love fill my mind

… a smile, soft and reminiscent, blushes my lips…

closed eyes see all…

like pages of an autobiography

mind images flip

to another day

another me…

eagerly the images show

paper-bark-trees by swampy stillwater

quivering fragrance of wild orchid

growing in delicate array

lifts my feet

off solid earth

as once upon a long time ago

love lifted me so, when strong arms

held that younger woman me

up in the fragrant branches of a paper-bark-tree;

sharonlee©

10/1/12

Rainbow Connections

**
 

Rainbow Connections

are we not more like rainbow people

not red man… black man … or white

no distinction of color

we all look the same

in the absence of light…

 we all feel and bleed and breathe…

and weep our pain & shame

histories burdens are ours to bear

it’s past time for a change…

in unity and acceptance

let us shed all past paradigms

pledge a new allegiance

to peace & harmony …

reach for your brother… in the gutter

clothe your sister with your own coat

share your wisdom with all children

let color and race not denote

any differences of equality

or the who, how much and where

are we not more like rainbow people-

- a Global Race who cares.

Sharonlee©14-Apr-12

Come November

Come November
I took my thoughts for slow walk
Autumn lay soft cool fingers
in the shadows and shades of the day
sunlight bathed the mountains
in a radiant luminosity…

the dog-walker and joggers were out in force-
- what better way to start a Good Friday holiday
then pounding & panting along the boardwalk…
…. I ambled… as I do
my eyes and soul feasting
on the vibrant beauty of Natures grace…

…. high tide and schools of fingerlings
huddled around the rocks
the calm surface of the bay
mirrored clouds of clotted cream
and one would think
I was living the dream…

but I realised, this day
that it was time for me to go…
… the gypsy in me was restless-
- I had seen all there was to see
almost 4 seasons now
there was nothing holding me here
no friendships binding me
to a place that was just a place
and not a home…

and come November
when my lease was up
my gypsy soul & I
would find another place to roam…

sometimes I wonder
what am I searching for
and where is that place
that is not just a place…
but where my soul calls home.
Sharonlee©6-Apr-12

Wednesday Wanderings -Follow that Butterfly

Wednesday Wanderings -Follow that Butterfly

Morning walk
…feet slower than usual
mind lost in thoughts so deep
they invade my sleep…

… the grass is cool
such a vibrant green carpet
for bare feet…

a dancing butterfly
glides past my head
as if to jolly my thoughtful mood
but, though camera is at the ready
the flutterby flutters by too soon…

cheeky little thing
all dressed in brightest hues
of shiny black & patchwork blue
comes back for another look
at this human, as if amused…

I followed the butterfly
all the way to the beach
but not once did she rest
within cameras reach…
and yet… when my mind seemed to stray
she came back… as if to say… this way…this way…

together we wandered the sandy shore
the butterfly playing hide n seek
often vanished… only to reappear
as if to let me know she was still here…

I stopped to watch a hermit crab
hauling his home up the beach
and lost sight of the lovely butterfly
… she flew beyond my reach

but she had lead me a merry dance
flying on a breeze that sang
and I wondered… if she liked how I smelt
I was wearing oil of ylang ylang…

and look where my friend had lead me…
… to Bigrock, my favourite place to sit
and so I sat and rested…just for a little bit…

All photo videos & thoughts

sharonlee©4-Apr-12

****

Wednesday Wanderings – On And On And Beyond

I wandered on and on and beyond
beyond the point I’d ever been
scrambling over boulders
paddling in rockpools clear and clean
taking in new sights that I’d never seen…

… I wandered and I wondered
what was behind every rocky outcrop
I wandered on and on… with no thought to stop
no thoughts at all if truth be said
my mind has gone so deep
that the thoughts I keep there
can’t be reached or read…

and I wondered
what the beachscape would look like
from the top …
on and on I walked
with no thought too stop….
sharonlee©4-Apr-12

Sunday Morning Walk…

Sunday Morning Walk…

leaning on the doorway
I watched the dawning of a new day...a Sunday
... early morning breeze my only company
fresh and mischievous it was too
teasing me to come out and play…

…Sunday morning walk
the smell of someone cooking bacon
mingles with traffic fumes and salt-laden air…
… a white cockatoo glides like a child’s kite
- the joggers and dog walkers
are already out…
… families playing in the park…

… the morning sun is so bright
the shadows a dark contrast…
I took the new path
so few do
and I knew
that peace would be found there…

…but I found more than I expected
a beach almond harbouring
a dozen black cockatoos
oh what a serendipitous treat!
… I crept to the shade of a nearby tree
and sat, my camera snapping away happily…

… at the top of the beach almond
a male showed off his head crest
to a female…
… until a father & son & over exuberant mutt
walked past… and the black cockatoos took flight…

… I continued on my way… feet deliberately slow paced
for me this was not some hurried race
I had no plans… no desire to return home
to crack a beer and watch football
… everything I needed was right here-
- well almost everything…
but let’s not go there;

the beach was almost desert
this time of day…
I wander along the sand
leaving a message for someone else
who might wander this way…

down the far end where so few go
I turned the rocky bend
to where my friend Bigrock sat
an eternal sentinel
watching the changing seasons
as they came and went…
… Bigrock is a focal point of my beach walks
the end where I sit
before returning to follow my footsteps home…

always sitting surrounded by water
a rock far taller than my 4 foot 11 ¾
… but today …oh today the tide was out
further than I have ever seen…
… my walks had never coincided
with the tide at its lowest ebb…

… and finally… finally I touched it!
I managed to walk right up to Bigrock
( well… I had to clamber inelegantly
with dress hiked up above my knees…
… why do I persist in wearing long dresses
and long hair that tangles in the sea breeze
on these jaunts of mine!)

…but I did it… I paddled out and placed my palm
on Bigrock’s firm cool surface…
…I sighed so deep I almost cried-
- almost stopped breathing…
… perhaps I did for a heart pounding moment…
what is it about trees and rocks
earth and mountains and moving water
that draws me so….

I was flooded by such calm
such release of energy…
… I felt lighter than the briny- sweet air
that tousled my wayward hair…
I walked away ever so slowly
filled with such an indescribable feeling
that I, poet laureate in my own soul
could not find words to describe…
Sharonlee©1/4/2012 12:58:24 PM

Another Random Ramble

 Another Random Ramble

  

A thought came to me today as I watched the rain tumble in down in heavy squalls… …. I love the rain for that very reason, the free-flowing thoughts that seem to drift in on the fragrance of rain… … this was more a memory that a mere thought…. a delicious memory from a very troubled time in my life… … it was a year after my partner passed away… I was having trouble filling the empty spaces in my life that his absence created… I was emotionally vacant to everything but my children and the children were well and truly over my overprotective mothering my clinging need to check & recheck on their safety and well-being…  

… as it happened I seemed to ‘collect’ people who needed nurturing, and four other adults found shelter under my motherly wings… and this helped fill some of the empty spaces… but did not soothe the inner ache I held deep inside. One night while feeding this tribe, one young man mentioned he had been given property in an inheritance, 80 acres that came with a massive shed…. 80 acres he was yet to set foot on. I felt my eyes light up. 80 acres of Mother Nature…. the thought excited me at a time when nothing else could. I suggested we go there… all of us… and he agreed a weekend trip might be fun. A weekend trip! Oh no I said… lets live there! Here his eyes lit up… but he was full of buts… but no water…no power…. No buts! We could do this I told him… we could…. so we did…. we moved to ‘The Farm.  

…anyway….the memory…. is of the bathroom at ‘The Farm’…. the bathroom was a tin shack built by us on the outside wall of the shed…the tin had old nail holes in it & was rusty in places… I prefer to call it rustic…. there was no running water… no plumbing… just a massive big old fashioned bathtub and a copper heater with a big copper pot to boil water over a fire… … on days that began and ended with continual rain I loved nothing more than to appropriate the bathroom…. I would start the fire…. set the water heating…. and warn everyone that I would be bathing with the door open so I could see the rain. Neck deep in hot water with the fire heating more water no more than two feet from the tub… … flames dancing and leaping… I’d gaze out the door at the falling rain… hissing ‘round the trees and puddling on the earth… sigh… that was the best bathroom I ever had….  

 Just thought I’d share that… and here is an old poem written about that time… 

 

simple pleasures

she watched kangaroo's grazing

in the nearby pasture,

afternoon winter-sun soothing on her face

enjoying the isolation

from the modern world’s rat race,

she bent to gather sticks

to stoke the copper

already full to it's miss-shapen lid

with water pumped from a dam

that boasted three tame ducks,

she began the process

of the daily fire heated bath

and with deliberate planning

she was to be the last,

the precise moment of her escape

into the candle lit warmth of fragrances,

her pleasure

had to coincide with previously washed

and now winter-fed

sleepy children protest not

but trudge willingly to bed,

and with winter's perving feelers

chasing goosebumps along her skin

and candle shadows dancing

to flames that whisper of passions

blushing from within,

she sinks into the water's warm motherly womb

with sighing eye's that close against

fatigue and hidden pain

she rubs roughened soap lathered hands

over muscles that cry for the struggle and strain

the sudden heart breaks and anorexic sorrow

and her rain misted hopes for each tomorrow,

but the comfort of shadows flashing warmth

on the old tin walls

draws from her the aches

of life's daily toils,

restoring her with fire lapped ministrations

that release unknown urgings of energies

and the sudden desire to fill

each new tomorrow

with the simple resolution

to let go of her sorrow,1996

 Man, I wish I still write like that.

Peace & Love to All

Sharonlee©

I Remember the Afterglow

Art by Sharonlee©13-Mar-12

I Remember the Afterglow

I remember how great coffee

use to taste

and how satisfying it was to breathe…

and how it felt when Love was mine

not a fragile wish

on a brittle breeze…

I remember the afterglow

how moist hot skin glides

against moist hot skin…

that gratifying moan

… oh the moan… that went soul-shiver deep…

the sweet lullaby of echoing heartbeats

that lulled me to sleep….

I still remember how it feels…

… to hold hands in winter

and make love in summer…

… how words can flow past midnight

and sighs hold back the dawn…

Sharonlee ©13-Mar-12