It is interesting where sayings come from that sit in our memory banks and shape our experiences without our noticing.
One such saying comes from the late 19th and early 20th centuries when two-story apartment houses sprung up during the manufacturing boom. Cheaply built, with identical floor plans on the first and second floor, it was common to clearly hear the person living above kick off the first shoe, and be waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I was the ‘responsible adult’ with a dear friend having cataract surgery this week. I spent the night and the following morning she and I were enjoying the gorgeous view from her deck, each of us sipping on our morning brew. We were both writing in our journals when this Braham Kumaris thought for the day popped in:
Suddenly the following poem poured onto my journal page.
View from the Deck
We will die. What dies?
Wasting the gift of this moment
living ‘waiting for the other shoe to drop’
When heart is open, eyes looking up
Every moment is precious ‘living on borrowed time’
Butterfly flits across the sky
Sea gull sings in the distance
Big dog toe nails tap dance on the deck
Being present to your breathing
feeling my heart beat
Carried beyond the chasm of panic
through the valley of doubt
fearing no evil
remembering all is well
with my soul
Is my soul other than this?
Light pierces the darkness
because that is the nature of light
Darkness offers a way of seeing
that transcends the human eye
Seeing suffering calls forth compassion
Sadness itself reaches for joy
Loneliness, despair, sheer terror—
calling cards each one
saying, “Come. Rest. Renew. Receive.”
Spring always follows winter
Which phase of the moon IS the moon?
Laugh at the gyrations when you see them; theirs is a false god
Fog is rolling in—thunder in the distance—so be it
The sun has not been touched
Be with yourself as the weather shifts
it surely will
Debra Basham August 20, 2019
As I finished reading the poem aloud to her, she burst out, “Waiting for the other shoe to drop! That is how I have lived my entire life.”
I told her that had been the working title for the poem….
We went out for a decadent breakfast of banana bread French toast, then she had me read the poem to the surgeon when she went for her next-day check.
She has had some cloudy vision, neither of us expected that. It is probably due to a burst blood vessel and a small blood clot.
The surgeon will see her again at one week, and he assured her all is well.
It will be wonderful if rather than expectantly waiting bad news, now that she has gone through this process, she can continue to appreciate the evidence that she is making progress. All is well. She is for sure seeing more clearly every day.
No more waiting for the other shoe to drop!
Weather shifts…. it surely will.
You must be logged in to post a comment.