Bloom Where You Are Planted
by Michelle Maynard-Koenig
This poem is dedicated to all of the “dandelions” in the world. Keep facing the sun of your truth and grace our universe with your beauty!
Not everyone appreciates dandelions,
like they do pristine roses,
mowed down as unwanted weeds
and simply disposed of.
But I see each of us as flowers
in the garden of life,
with diverse stems and petals
contrasted in width and height.
Roses, Poppies, Daisies,
Ivy, Lilies, and Orchids so blue,
Sunflowers, Carnations, Cattails
Peonies and Dandelions, too.
Each having unique existence of
personality, beauty and purpose,
with nectar of love and kindness
that radiates into the universe.
So wherever you are planted
among people, places, and things,
fear not being mowed down
as an unappreciated weed.
Bloom where you are planted
at home, work or school,
allow the light of your being
grace the universe with your truth.
Life’s Mystery … Solved In A Grain of Sand
A Grain Of Sand
If starry space no limit knows
And sun succeeds to sun,
There is no reason to suppose
Our earth the only one.
‘Mid countless constellations cast
A million worlds may be,
With each a God to bless or blast
And steer to destiny.
Just think! A million gods or so
To guide each vital stream,
With over all to boss the show
A Deity supreme.
Such magnitudes oppress my mind;
From cosmic space it swings;
So ultimately glad to find
Relief in little things.
For look! Within my hollow hand,
While round the earth careens,
I hold a single grain of sand
And wonder what it means.
Ah! If I had the eyes to see,
And brain to understand,
I think Life’s mystery might be
Solved in this grain of sand.
Just as there is nothing ordinary about life, there certainly is nothing ordinary about sand. In fact, as the images below reveal, there is more astonishing beauty going on in the world around us than meets our human sight. I challenge you to see beyond the limitations of human sight. I propose each grain of sand is a galaxy amid a galaxy of galaxies. The more you question, the more you know that you don’t know. That is what makes life exhilarating … for me.
“The total number of stars in the Universe is larger than all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the planet Earth.” ~ Carl Sagan’s, Cosmos Episode 8, “Journeys in Space and Time.”
Sand grains magnified 110-250 times reveal each grain is unique.
The tip of a spiral shell has broken off and become a grain of sand. After being repeatedly tumbled by action of the surf this spiral sand grain has become opalescent in character. It is surrounded by bits of coral, a pink shell fragment, a foram (a type of protozoa) and volcanic material.
A handful of sand grains selected from a beach in Maui and arranged on a black background.
Magnified 250 times. Every grain of sand in the world is unique when viewed through a microscope.
Sand Magnified 4 X.
The glacially deposited sands around Lake Winnibigoshish, Minnesota, contain abundant sediments from the igneous and metamorphic minerals of the Lake Superior basin. A sample includes pink garnets, green epidote, iron-rich red agates, black magnetite, and hematite.
Puffy Stars — Star-Shaped Sand Grains from Okinawa. These tiny foram, a type of protozoa, secrete beautiful star-shaped, calcium carbonate shells, or tests.
A small grain of copper impacted into a larger grain of copper. These grains precipitated downwind of a smoke-belching copper smelter. (Magnification 110x)
Many grains of sand are tiny crystals (shiny, flat sided solids). Sand from Zushi Beach, Japan, contains what looks like a sapphire crystal. The crystal is larger than the surrounding grains and has survived eroding because of its hardness and quality.
Fragments of baby sea urchin shells. Biogenic sand, which forms from the remains of marine life, is the major ingredient of many tropical beaches. (Magnification 100x)
A magnified view of the tropical beach sand from the Caribbean island of St. John (U.S. Virgin Islands). The grains include porous fragments of brightly-colored corals, minute foraminiferan shells, fragments of sea shells and shiny, star-shaped sponge spicules.
A Grain of Sand – Nature’s Secret Wonder
The Amazing Microphotography of Dr. Gary Greenberg
Every grain of sand is a jewel waiting to be discovered. That’s what Dr. Gary Greenberg found when he first turned his microscope on beach sand. Gemlike minerals, colorful coral fragments, and delicate microscopic shells reveal that sand comprises much more than tiny beige rocks.
Author and photographer Dr. Gary Greenberg is a visual artist who creatively combines art with science. He has a Ph.D. in biomedical research from University College London and holds 17 patents for high-definition 3-D light microscopes. Dr. Greenberg lives in Haiku, Hawaii.
Carl Sagan famously remarked “the total number of stars in the universe is greater than all the grains of sand on all the beaches on the planet Earth.” It is estimated that the total number of ‘all’ grains of sand on the whole planet could be approximately 2000 billion billion. Scientists still believe there are more stars in the Universe. (hassers.blogspot.com)
And as to planets:
If a grain of sand represented an entire galaxy; so each grain of sand, or galaxy, contains 100’s of billions of stars, you would need to fill six rooms full of sand to contain all the galaxies in the known universe. If you drilled a tiny whole in one of the grains of sand, ‘our Milky Way universe,’ that would be the area that we have been capable of searching for planets so far. 534 planets have been discovered so far. (directedplay.com)
Buy the Images: www.sandgrains.com
Buy the Book: A Grain of Sand: Nature’s Secret Wonder by Dr Gary Greenberg
www.amazon.com
Who Do I Have To Hate To Be Your Friend?
Who do I have to hate to be your friend?
When are we gonna see us is them?
Unforgiveness is the prison we are living in.
Who do I have to hate to be your friend?
Hello Mother, alone, we regret to inform you
That someone you love is not coming home.
Charles and Maggie, Thomas and Stephen,
Body for body, we call it “getting even.”
Ahmed, Mohammed, David and Abdul,
Along with Jameela, won’t make it to school.
Boaz and Leah, Jonas and Chavez are carried away.
Tell me which ones to grieve and which ones to celebrate.
Who do I have to hate to be your friend?
When are we gonna see us is them?
Unforgiveness is the prison we are living in
Who do I have to hate to be your friend?
Rage, like poison, we swallow the pill,
Making us sicker each day,
When it’s them we are trying to kill
We build a wall that’s unbending with shame.
Lands and languages differ but our pain is the same.
Haasad is wailing and mourning Ameer,
Joseph’s son Joseph is supposed to be here,
The blast – it happened so fast, Johnny could not get clear,
And the cry of his newborn son he’ll never hear.
Who do I have to hate to be your friend?
When are we gonna see us is them?
Unforgiveness is the prison we are living in.
Who do I have to hate to be your friend?
Who do I have to hate to be your friend?
(These introspective words were written by Bret Martin, aka “The Cancer Crooner,” from Santa Rosa; Tommy Smothers performed “Who Do I Have To Hate To Be Your Friend?” during a 2007 Live Vegas Stage Show at the Orleans Hotel, the video can be viewed HERE.)
No Apologies
by Michelle Maynard Koenig
I make no apologies for smiling
where light of the heart contrasts the darkness of fear;
I make no apologies for honesty
in witnessing my soul embracing itself in another soul;
I make no apologies for inquiring
the divine greater-than-I-am-and-know that expands boundaries of awareness;
I make no apologies for gratitude
for all that sustains;
I make no apologies for harmony
the concerto of life;
I make no apologies for love
the source of everything;
I make no apologies for being
everything and nothing
an infinite masterpiece.
You Deserve To Be Loved, Not Tolerated
by Michelle Maynard Koenig
Love the source within you. Then surround yourself with people who recognize that source. It matters not how many or how few. People seasoned with love will accept you for who you are or are not.
At this very moment …
there are people across the Earth similar to you.
People who are from all walks of life.
People who are feeling lonely or missing somebody.
People who are tolerated, but not loved.
At this very moment …
there are people across the Earth similar to you.
People who may find themselves in a situation or relationship that breeds chaos and angst.
People who have secrets haunting them day in and day out.
At this very moment …
there are people across the Earth similar to you.
People who wish.
People who dream.
People who hope.
At this very moment …
there are people across the Earth similar to you.
People gazing out the window of a car, bus, train, or even from the confines of their home,
and wondering if there are others in the world like them.
At this very moment …
there are people across the Earth similar to you.
People who, if you shared with them the self-doubt occupying your thoughts, the worries wrenching your gut in pain, or the faceless fears that continuously rob you of serenity, recognize the familiarity in their own life and understand you.
At this very moment …
there are people across the Earth similar to you.
People who could be reading these words, just as you are.
At this very moment …
I am writing this for you.
You are loved, not tolerated.
She Let Go
A poem written by Rev Safire Rose
She let go.
She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.
She let go of the fear.
She let go of the judgments.
She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.
She let go of the committee of indecision within her.
She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons.
Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.
She didn’t ask anyone for advice.
She didn’t read a book on how to let go.
She didn’t search the scriptures.
She just let go.
She let go of all of the memories that held her back.
She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.
She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.
She didn’t promise to let go.
She didn’t journal about it.
She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.
She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.
She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.
She just let go.
She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.
She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.
She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.
She didn’t call the prayer line.
She didn’t utter one word.
She just let go.
No one was around when it happened.
There was no applause or congratulations.
No one thanked her or praised her.
No one noticed a thing.
Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.
There was no effort.
There was no struggle.
It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.
It was what it was, and it is just that.
In the space of letting go, she let it all be.
A small smile came over her face.
A light breeze blew through her. And the sun and the moon shone forevermore.
Be Not A Slave To Anything
by Michelle Maynard Koenig
Be not a slave to anything:
fear,
thoughts,
notoriety,
being right,
wrong,
or of insatiable greed.
Within the Corinthians’ text of old,
I am allowed to do anything, I’m told,
Yet, not every indulgence, you see,
is conducive to nurturing the essence within me.
Attachment is the shackles that binds,
A mind, heart, and soul, it does blind,
“Be not a slave to anything,”
Is simply the song my soul doth sing.
Perspective
Through eyes of peace,
I see all life a gift.
Through eyes of fear,
I see myself captive.
Through eyes of forgiveness,
I see humanity soar.
Through eyes of anger,
I see darkness roar.
Through eyes of serenity,
I see the power of stillness.
Through eyes of intolerance,
I see with blindness.
Through eyes of shame,
I see not my purpose.
Through eyes of clarity,
I see honesty courageous.
Through eyes of hate,
I see the soul bleed.
Through eyes of love,
I find everything I need.
Chung Fu: Inner Truth
Nine at the beginning [yang at bottom] means:
Being prepared brings good fortune.
If there are secret designs, it is disquieting.Nine in the second place means:
A crane calling in the shade.
Its young answers it.
I have a good goblet.
I will share it with you.Six in the third place means:
He finds a comrade.
Now he beats the drum, now he stops.
Now he sobs, now he sings.Six in the fourth place means:
The moon nearly at the full.
The team horse goes astray.
No blame.Nine in the fifth place means:
He possesses truth, which links together.
No blame.Nine at the top means:
Cockcrow penetrating to heaven.
Perseverance brings misfortune.
(Chung Fu [I Ching])
The wind blows over the lake and stirs the surface of the water. Thus visible effects of the invisible manifest themselves. The hexagram consists of firm lines above and below, while it is open in the center. This indicates a heart free of prejudices and therefore open to truth. On the other hand, each of the two trigrams has a firm line in the middle; this indicates the force of inner truth in the influences they present.
The attributes of the two trigrams are: above, gentleness, forbearance toward inferiors; below, joyousness in obeying superiors. Such conditions create the basis of a mutual confidence that makes achievements possible. The character of fu (“truth”) is actually the picture of a bird’s foot over a fledgling. It suggests the idea of brooding. An egg is hollow. The light-giving power must work to quicken it from outside, but there must be a germ of life within, if life is to be awakened.
THE LINES
Nine at the beginning means:
Being prepared brings good fortune.
If there are secret designs, it is disquieting.
The force of inner truth depends chiefly on inner stability and preparedness. From this state of mind springs the correct attitude toward the outer world. But if a man should try to cultivate secret relationships of a special sort, it would deprive him of his inner independence. The more reliance he places on the support of others, the more uneasy and anxious he will become as to whether these secret ties are really tenable. In this way inner peace and the force of inner truth are lost.
Nine in the second place means:
A crane calling in the shade.
Its young answers it.
I have a good goblet.
I will share it with you.
This refers to the involuntary influence of a man’s inner being upon persons of kindred spirit. The crane need not show itself on a high hill. It may be quite hidden when it sounds its call; yet its young will hear its not, will recognize it and give answer. Where there is a joyous mood, there a comrade will appear to share a glass of wine.
This is the echo awakened in men through spiritual attraction. Whenever a feeling is voiced with truth and frankness, whenever a deed is the clear expression of sentiment, a mysterious and far-reaching influence is exerted. At first it acts on those who are inwardly receptive. But the circle grows larger and larger. The root of all influence lies in one’s own inner being: given true and vigorous expression in word and deed, its effect is great. The effect is but the reflection of something that emanates from one’s own heart. Any deliberate intention of an effect would only destroy the possibility of producing it. Confucius says about this line:
The superior man abides in his room. If his words are well spoken, he meets
with assent at a distance of more than a thousand miles. How much more
then from near by! If the superior man abides in his room and his words are
not well spoken, he meets with contradiction at a distance of more than a
thousand miles. How much more then from near by! Words go forth from
one’s own person and exert their influence on men. Deeds are born close at
hand and become visible far away. Words and deeds are the hinge and
bowspring of the superior man. As hinge and bowspring move, they bring
honor or disgrace. Through words and deeds the superior man moves
heaven and earth . Must one not, then, be cautious?
Six in the third place means:
He finds a comrade.
Now he beats the drum, now he stops.
Now he sobs, now he sings.
Here the source of a man’s strength lies not in himself but in his relation to other people. No matter how close to them he may be, if his center of gravity depends on them, he is inevitably tossed to and fro between joy and sorrow. Rejoicing to high heaven, then sad unto death-this is the fate of those who depend upon an inner accord with other persons whom they love. Here we have only the statement of the law that this is so. Whether this condition is felt to be an affliction of the supreme happiness of love, is left to the subjective verdict of the person concerned.
Six in the fourth place means:
The moon nearly at the full.
The team horse goes astray.
No blame.
To intensify the power of inner truth, a man must always turn to his superior, from whom he can receive enlightenment as the moon receives light form the sun. However, this requires a certain humility, like that of the moon when it is not yet quite full. At the moment when the moon becomes full and stands directly opposite the sun, it begins to wane. Just as on the one hand we must be humble and reverent when face to face with the source of enlightenment, so likewise must we on the other renounce factionalism among men. Only be pursuing one’s course like a horse that goes straight ahead without looking sidewise at its mate, can one retain the inner freedom that helps one onward.
Nine in the fifth place means:
He possesses truth, which links together.
No blame.
This describes the ruler who holds all elements together by the power of his personality. Only when the strength of his character is so ample that he can influence all who are subject to him, is he as he needs to be. The power of suggestion must emanate from the ruler. It will firmly knit together and unite all his adherents. Without this central force, all external unity is only deception and breaks down at the decisive moment.
Nine at the top means:
Cockcrow penetrating to heaven.
Perseverance brings misfortune.
The cock is dependable. It crows at dawn. But it cannot itself fly to heaven. It just crows. A man may count on mere words to awaken faith. This may succeed now and then, but if persisted in, it will have bad consequences.
(The source of the above commentary can be found at http://deoxy.org/iching/61. For more information on I Ching, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching.)
The Beauty In Honesty
The beauty in honesty:
authentic, yet imperfect
courageous, yet unknowing
everything, yet nothing
sourced in love.
~Michelle Maynard Koenig
Once upon a time, there was a li tree so spectacular, which was a rare sight to behold.
So huge it could shade a herd of several thousand cattle. So enormous it could have a dozen boats cut out from it. It towered eighty feet over the hilltop, before branching out.
Crowds stood by gazing, murmuring disbelief. But when a carpenter walked past the tree with his apprentice, he went on without casting a look.
Curiously the apprentice asked, “I have never seen such a splendid piece of timber, Master. How was it that you did not care to stop and look at it?”
“It’s not worth talking about,” replied the carpenter. “It’s good for nothing! Made into a boat, it would sink; into a coffin, it would rot; into furniture, it would break easily; into a door, it would secrete; into a pillar, it would be worm-eaten. It is wood of no quality, and of no use. That is why it has lived so long.”
Is the tree useless?
Late that night, the tree visited the carpenter in his dream. “You said that I am of no use, what you compare me with?” asked the tree.
“Do you compare me with the fine-grained wood? Or cherry-apple and other fruit bearers, who would be stripped of their indignity as soon as their fruit ripens? Their boughs are snapped off, the branches scattered around. These trees, by their own value, injure their own lives. They cannot fulfill their life span, and perish prematurely because they destroy themselves for the admiration of the world. “
The carpenter woke up from his dream. He knew he had wronged the tree.
Had the tree not been useless for the small purposes, how could it have survived for the bigger value — allowing the world to have a sacred tree so huge? (A fable of Chuang Tzu.)
The beauty in honesty promotes the examination of one’s true self from a distance; to inquire. “Who am I? What am I doing? Why am I doing this?” By bathing self in honesty, one can find the spectacular li tree’s existence within.
Knowing not knowing is true knowledge.
Not knowing yet presuming to know is sickness.
The Sage is not sick because he sees the sickness as sickness,
By seeing the sickness as sickness, you are free from sickness.
~Laozi, Dao De Jing
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