Life’s Squalls

So many sweet friends and family members are going through major STUFF right now. One of the dynamics is how stuff comes out of the blue.

That reminds me of the Captain Ron movie. Kurt Russell, who plays Captain Ron, says, “It’s just a little squall. They come on you fast, and they leave you fast.” Hear this message in a gravely, pirate-style, voice and you will get the picture.

I enjoyed my daughter, Stacey, belting that out several times while we were at Cayo Costa. We went for a beach day. It was sunny when we got dropped off at the dock, and sunny when we started walking along the beach on a shelling adventure.

Off in the distance was an amazing cloud formation—what at home we call a “front”.

As we shelled, that front drifted right over our heads. Before we got back to where we had left our chairs and cooler, the sky overhead was very dark, the wind was quite cool, and the mist that was blowing our way was definitely more than sea spray.

This week, a good friend ended up in ER with chest discomfort and high blood pressure. Her heart checked out fine, but they spotted two lung nodules. She will be having a lung biopsy.

Captain Ron’s words popped into my mind. “It’s just a little squall. They come on you fast, and they leave you fast.”

Over the years, I have been privileged to witness so many folks weather storms in their lives.

From Presence, Kindness, and Freedom: Aaron’s Teachings on Living from an Open Heart by Barbara Brodsky:

Certainly, there are issues that need to be resolved, but you can relate to them in loving ways. First, know that there are no problems, only situations that ask for your loving attention. If you are willing to risk being undefended in a place of pain, as you open your hearts to these difficulties, then there is no “problem,” which implies a negative experience, only a situation that asks for attention. (p. 37)

I am enjoying a poetry group. The group leader, Gail Berreitter shares different poetry forms. The current assignment, Found poems, take existing texts and refashion them, reorder them, and present them as poems. The literary equivalent of a collage, found poetry is often made from newspaper articles, street signs, graffiti, speeches, letters, or even other poems.

A pure found poem consists exclusively of outside texts: the words of the poem remain as they were found, with few additions or omissions. Decisions of form, such as where to break a line, are left to the poet.

As a sort of poetic prayer for loved ones, I took that quotation from Presence, Kindness, and Freedom, and I created a Found poem.
No Problems
by Debra Basham 2/24/2017

Certainly (3)
there are issues (4)
that need to be resolved (5)
you can relate to them in loving ways. (10)

First, know that (3)
there aren’t problems (4)
just situations (5)
asking us for our loving attention. (10)

If you are (3)
willing to risk, (4)
be undefended (5)
in a place of pain and with open hearts (10)

to these (3)
difficulties (4)
there is no “problem“ (5)
nothing negative, just a call for love. (10)

After that squall, the sun came back out. We had a marvelous day.

May all beings relate to the issues that need to be resolved in loving ways. They come on you fast, and they leave you fast.