Everywhere I turn
I hear them say
The exact same thing
in various ways
Be in the moment!
Enjoy your life now!
Get into the flow!
I only ask “how?”
Stilling the mind
is so hard to do
There’s so much to think of,
such a long list “To Do”
The pen and the paper
before me await
my undivided attention
and I’m ready... But wait!
The dog wants some food
and that plant needs water.
Look at that dust!
And can’t this coffee be hotter???!
Oops, the cat’s on the ledge!
Now my mind’s whirling,
my nerves are on edge,
tossing, turning, churning....
Take a deep breath now
and settle in again.
Straighten the legal pad,
pick up the pen.
Then, oh my, that curtain
how it needs to be washed!
Now off to the basement,
the laundry to be tossed.
Okay, that’s better,
now I can think.
But first better put
some dishes in the sink.
Oh, there’s the mailman,
I wonder what came.
Bills to be paid, and,
Hey, great! It’s that game!
Should pay the bills now,
and letters to write.
Geez, now it’s so late
might as well give up for the night.
I think of young mothers
most every day.
How do they focus
in the heat of the fray?
As I sit here alone struggling
to connect paper and pen...
It seems my unconscious
is just not my friend.
I hear them say
The exact same thing
in various ways
Be in the moment!
Enjoy your life now!
Get into the flow!
I only ask “how?”
Stilling the mind
is so hard to do
There’s so much to think of,
such a long list “To Do”
The pen and the paper
before me await
my undivided attention
and I’m ready... But wait!
The dog wants some food
and that plant needs water.
Look at that dust!
And can’t this coffee be hotter???!
Oops, the cat’s on the ledge!
Now my mind’s whirling,
my nerves are on edge,
tossing, turning, churning....
Take a deep breath now
and settle in again.
Straighten the legal pad,
pick up the pen.
Then, oh my, that curtain
how it needs to be washed!
Now off to the basement,
the laundry to be tossed.
Okay, that’s better,
now I can think.
But first better put
some dishes in the sink.
Oh, there’s the mailman,
I wonder what came.
Bills to be paid, and,
Hey, great! It’s that game!
Should pay the bills now,
and letters to write.
Geez, now it’s so late
might as well give up for the night.
I think of young mothers
most every day.
How do they focus
in the heat of the fray?
As I sit here alone struggling
to connect paper and pen...
It seems my unconscious
is just not my friend.
1 comment:
Hi Andie,
I just wanted to say that I was touched by your poem. I’m guessing that the effect was different for me than others. You see, one of my clients is dealing with Alzheimer’s.
When I began working with Jack, I would quiz him about his background and childhood. I was thinking that somehow I would be exercising his brain somehow. But it was quickly obvious that this was a futile attempt. I soon realized that it was now all about him… who he is now… what he is doing. He would begin fragmented sentences; I’m guessing they were excerpts of his past. And I began agreeing with him, no matter what the topic or issue. I began reinforcing his self-esteem, again in fragmented fashion.
I will cut to it here: We now have a comfortable relationship. I try to make him smile and we look for simple things in our environment which bring us pleasure. We discuss the “right now”.
Your poem took me right back there. Because life is not a complicated or complex organism, we make it that way in our minds. It’s a continual series of simple moments lined up one after another. It’s up to us whether or not we enjoy these moments. For me, it took a lot of practice to get into the habit of simple enjoyment.
Your poem was beautiful and melodious. I will be keeping an eye on your writing here.
Thank you,
Kel
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