Monday, November 3, 2008

The eternal poetic truth

The barn burned down; now I can see the moon. Masahide
A lovely reader, Cheryl, sent me that quote. Masahide was a 16th century Samurai who studied haiku and wrote in the style of fueki, eternal poetic truth.

Eternal poetic truth.

Our lives are constructed of an eternal truth -- we are born to live. Sometimes, the poetry of that truth is lost in our fear of dying, in our daily grind of figuring out where to step next, or what to do now. Yet, living in the poetry of living fearlessly in the moment, life is a constant adventure into the unknown. A leap into the void of creation.

Masahide found the truth. No barn. Look at the moon.

Yesterday, I cleaned the old house with my eldest daughter, Alexis. Liseanne, her sister, had cleaned the basement level the night before so we only had to concentrate on the main level and the upstairs. As I scrubbed cupboards, and doors, cleaned out the fridge and swept out debris, I thought about the seeds of joy that were planted in that house just 9 months -- yup, it's true, we moved in 9 months ago and now we've moved out! Call me insane, but regardless, this move is a great move -- is that possible? It is if I watch for the moon.

In spite of the aching joints, the chaos and boxes and paper, of not being able to find the pair of shoes I'm looking for, or the scarf that goes with that one sweater, there is joy in this move. We moved in together into the last house -- but we weren't sure it was the right one. And quickly discovered our concerns were right -- it wasn't big enough, it had too many things that didn't quite work for us, and too many things to fix.

Moving again was not what we planned. But in the process, we've found a home that fits. That reflects both our styles, and our desire to create a home of comfort, a place to come home to where peace and tranquility reign, where our children find a welcoming hearth, and a comforting place to relax -- once we're rid of the boxes that is!

In clearing out the old house, I could see how much stuff I've gathered that is unnecessary. Like the barn burning down, in cleaning out cupboards and drawers, I found the beauty in simplicity and space.

My goal; to divest myself of more stuff so that I can see the simple truth of what I've got. To rid the chaos from my life so I can move in the calm beauty of space uncluttered, caught up, set free with clear thinking unfettered by baggage, my dreams filled with deep breaths and the light of hope and peace and love.

There is joy in moving out from behind the clutter. Joy in stepping our from behind the space where I hide out from seeing all I need is a loving heart and peace of mind to be richer than my wildest dreams.

The eternal poetic truth of my life is a dance of adventure. My poetic truth sets me free to dance with joy beneath the light of the moon, arms wide open, catching stardust and moonbeams in my hair.

The question is: Are you stuck behind four walls, fearful of the world out there? Are you willing to step out and dance beneath the light of the moon?

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