genius

Genius

seems to come

at a very steep price.

Typically,

heavy drugs

for a gifted musician

or

egregious infidelity

for a talented athlete.

Why?

The weight of The Pedestal,

the unrealistic expectations,

the Godlike projections?

Or dizzying fame

borne too quick & too young,

allowing no adequate time

for a stronger foundation?

Always a similar story,

a shared humanity,

the need to escape the anxiety,

that knawing

lethal

relentless

core belief

of innate

unworthiness.

Alas, nowhere to run,

the angst always comes back.

Some heal, eventually learn.

Others, they cannot return.

dress rehearsal

six years ago,

a dress rehearsal.

Fierce Grace,

it was,

though we did not believe so.

asked to slow down,

to be Still,

to go in,

we choose

to move fast,

to look out,

to go back

no matter the costs.

when will we learn?

what will it take

to grow up,

to repent,

to repair

all that has been lost?

a clock ticks,

a cliff awaits,

Earth, regenerates.

where there is fear

where there is fear,

there can be no Love.

where there is fear,

there can be no joy.

where there is fear,

there can be no Altruism.

where there is fear,

there can be no

accountability.

where there is fear,

there is no reason –

only vast illusion.

where there is fear,

there is no freedom,

only manipulation.

where there is fear,

there is no authority –

one’s agency rendered

a mere commodity.

where there is fear,

there is no clear vision –

that we are One –

interconnected –

can be preached

but not seen or embodied.

where there is fear,

there lives hate –

disdain of “the other”

and, therefore, the self.

where there is fear,

there can be no satisfaction,

only constriction

no sense of self-actualization –

“life” becomes about survival

at any cost, collaboration

rarely genuinely sought.

where there is fear,

there is Wall,

a massive edifice,

around mind, body, and

Soul –

voluntary imprisonment

in the name of security,

nationalism,

and tribe preservation.

where there is fear,

subjugation and humiliation

do not hide

and distorted masculinity

thrives.

where there is fear,

there is also opportunity

to perceive differently,

to soften,

to widen,

to cultivate a faith

that surpasses

human understanding.

The Heart ❤️ once wildly lost

can again be found 🙏

money

money –

conflicted:

a source of evil

or

a manifestation of

abundance?

a burden or a savior?

both?

a matter of perspective,

born of ancestral perceptions.

at its core

like all things human,

simply neutral,

money,

a blank screen

for our fears and projections.

stripped to The Bone

Life

will strip you

all the way down

to The Bone,

to your very Essence,

when you surrender –

holding absolutely

nothing 

back!

Succumbing to The River,

arms wide open!

Receptive,

softening the jaw,

the breath,

the doubt.

Being,

present,

feeling it all –

the fear,

the angst,

the panic,

the tenderness!

Relent!

Resistance is futile!

As Life takes the reigns,

Radical Trust

becomes the curriculum.

The madness of the mind

melts

into the background –

its rightful place –

in deference

and service

to its Master,

the grounded Heart.

the remembrance

came in a dream

last night, two words:

Stillness

Freshness

all that is recalled,

pieces, clues

from within

the subconscious Mind.

Stillness

conjures a Mountain,

the mighty Oak,

the Earth,

Wisdom.

Freshness

less somber,

lighter,

Innocence,

play.

Balance,

perhaps,

a message to take away.

Or, the remembrance

of a Truth

in a world

addicted to noise:

The Still

births

The Fresh –

always was,

always is,

always will be.

Rise, rooted

nervous,
proceed anyway –
breathing,
praying 🙏
hands sweaty, voice trembling,
do it!
that thing
on your Heart
for decades –
perhaps even lifetimes.
the irritant in your Soul
that simply
will not
leave you alone,
begging you
to Rise,
rooted
firmly
in yourself,
your dharma,
your imagination,
in forces far beyond
your comprehension.

Luminous Things

bright,

smart Beings,

they don’t stay

they inevitably fly away.

why?

what of the conditions –

the soil,

the ethos –

here, now

discourage commitment

inspire flight?

perhaps,

a misalignment of values?

a sense of directionlessness?

a desire for a bit more

stability and community?

all this and more,

trusting an instinct

to Go

Now

and explore.

Luminous Things await

on fear’s other side!