Listen

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What was once wisdom is now just a lack of questioning.

It's that dull, to and fro motion, 

like the sound of an echo bouncing off the walls of a canyon at 5 am.

That's before the lofty falcon has risen from his perch.
so listen.

To the good morning call of the canyon wren.
Ah........., this moment is 
a once in a lifetime event.
a once in a lifetime event.

And I've had a lot of these, each day of time and space
Between the dimension of the strings
One line to the next
Plane upon plane upon plane upon plane
Of lives, that could be the same.
But they are not.

And I trust that each line brings a slightly different listening
to the beautiful moment where 
stillness of the water
couples the meeting of the sun
against the ages of time.
Periods of history
illuminated for all that care to listen.

so listen.
listen.

Song continues as such:
Step inside my mind, step inside my head
We don't know, so we guess instead
Does it always, happen this way

You can be my muse, or my valentine
Where I'll have your heart, and you will have mine
Does it always, happen this way

Does it always, come apart at the seams
Does it seem, to come together
Just when we start listening

Step inside my heart,
Step inside my brain
Where the same things are different
Yet everything has changed.

so listen.  just listen.



Copyright 2002 Yvonne Ramage

Truth

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There once was a man who was successful in all things
he had a beautiful family, a loving wife and a great career.  
But still he was not happy.
"I must know Truth," he said to his wife.
"Well then, you must search for her." she replied
So he put all his earthly, worldly goods in his wife's name
She being very adamant on that point.
and he went out on the road a beggar for truth.
 
He searched in the hills and the deep dark valleys
and in the small villages and the big city
into the forest and along the great wide sea
he searched through all the wastelands and the flowered meadows of beauty
and one day, high in a mountain cave ... he found her

(song chorus:  
stop don't ask me I don't know what the answer is. Stop.
stop don't ask me I don't know what the answer is. Stop.
the truth... it's inside of you
the truth... it's inside of you)

Now Truth was a wizened old woman, 
with but a single tooth left in her head.
and her hair hung down on her shoulders in lank greasy strands.
Her skin was dry as parchment, stretched over prominent bone.
And when she signaled to him, her hand was crabbed with age.
Her voice was low and lyrical and pure.
And it was then that he was sure, that he had found truth.

(song chorus:  
stop don't ask me I don't know what the answer is. Stop.
stop don't ask me I don't know what the answer is.  Stop.
the truth... it's inside of you
the truth... it's inside of you)

He stayed with Truth a year and a day, learning all that she had to teach.
And when his year and a day were up, he stood at the mouth of the cave, ready to leave.
He said, "My lady Truth, you have taught me so much.  You have given me gifts that even I cannot tough."
But it is time for me to go back to my friends and family
and show them what I have done.

But before I go, i would like to do something for you, 
in gratitude, for all that you have given me.
Is there anything you wish.

Now Truth put her head to one side and considered.
Then she raised and ancient finger, 
and she said, "Yes."
"Yes, there is something you can do for me.   When you go back to your friends and family.. when you show that what you have done.  Will you please, please tell them that i am...    beautiful and young."

muddy shoes

Since young adulthood, I wanted a different path than what was presented to me as a child. I wanted a path that that promised sunshine and glee. My given path was made of dirt, dust and muck. So if I see only one murky path before me, how do I choose to walk a different path?


To answer this question, I sat in observation of people "on their path".  I looked at how I was different than these people.  They stood with perfect posture; so I took yoga.  They smiled a lot; I cleaned by teeth and practiced smiling in the mirror.  They had money; I placed myself on a career path.  All this and still nothing I tried seemed to show me a new path, a different way of living.  No forks in the road appeared before me.  So I sat down in the middle of my path and asked myself, “is this my fate?  Am I supposed to be on this ugly path?”

In the height of my quandary, I looked up and saw a beautiful, happy woman skipping down her path. She was so happy I followed her, an interloper per say, stepping onto this stranger's path.   It was shiny and made of sparkling marble.  How wonderful it felt to stroll down a path of success, even if only for a moment.  I looked down and saw the contrast between my shoes, my muddy shoes, and the sparkling marble.  My shoes were thick, caked in layers of mud; the weight was difficult to lift.  I shuffled one foot before the other.  Simply picking up my feet was strenuous.

As I walked, the mud dried and slowly fell from my shoes, layer by layer. It was the first time I had ever seen my shoes without mud. They were blue, and really cute, with a gorgeous height and stature.   I smiled a real, peaceful smile, felt deep within my soul.  These are my shoes; they are on my feet.  These shoes are the first glimmer of the rightness of who I am.

In an instant, I jumped off the marble path, wiping the marble clean from my muddy intrusion. I apologized to the stranger, and stepped back onto my own path. It was dirt, ugly dusty dirt.  Feeling immanently sad, I cried lakes of tears, which fell from my eyes and onto my path, creating puddles of mud.  I had no choice but to stomp through the mud again; this was my path.

But in the height of drudging along with "fate" and "having no choice", I realized that if I didn't cry, my path would not be mud but dirt.  The mud would eventually dry and fall from my shoes, lightening my load.

After a month of no crying, the mud dried.  For the first time, I saw clean shoes on my own path. They were a bit dingy, but still the cutest shoes I have ever worn.  Happy and elated, I noticed how much easier it is to walk my path with lighter shoes.  And in these lighter shoes, I could walk farther, faster and with less effort.  Instead of spending all my energy on drudging through my self-made mud, I spent it learning and growing in wonderfully positive ways.

Because I no longer soaked my path with tears, it turned from dirt, to a hard surface, to stone, and eventually polished into marble.  

No more muddy shoes.



Copyright 2014 Yvonne Ramage. 

THAT kind of day

I plopped on the sofa, feet aiming for the ottoman, arms out to my side, and feeling utterly depleted. It was one of the hardest days I have ever had.

It wasn’t that "hard" kind of day, where you work your butt off, busy as hell, appointment after appointment, then ending it with some sort of accomplishment. "Long day at work, but got the proposal in by the deadline." Or one of those days where you stand exhausted, but proud of yourself. Proud of who you are, how you handled yourself, feeling satiated and gratified.

                                             

Today was not that kind of day.

Today was the kind of day that starts off on the wrong foot. You trip slightly in the front lawn, leaving for work in the morning.   Before you stabilize, a wind comes and blows you off guard. Toppling slightly left, hopping on one foot, trying to quickly get the other foot beneath you. Then a gust comes and drops you to the ground like a wet towel.

You manage to get up, but now it's blowing you backwards; you struggle to lean into it. You try to walk forward, knowing and feeling that it is a futile attempt.

Then the rain starts, making the footing slippery. Yep, it's wet now. Shuffle the feet, stable, thinking REALLY STURDY thoughts. You start saying affirmations to yourself. "I am good. I am able. I am strong.  I am because I am." Over and over you chant, each statement becoming more like a plea. "PLEASE GOD, PLEASE HELP. I CAN NO LONGER DO THIS MYSELF."

Yeah.... that kind of day.

And as I was sitting on the sofa, recapping the events of the day in my mind, I was in 
complete wonder. ”How is it that I made it through this day? Why was this day SO bad?”

And then I heard her. She was gently and matter-of-fact-ly saying,"To point the way, by contrast. Someone you met, at some time today,will help you on your way.Who do you want to align with?"

Copyright 2014 Yvonne Ramage.