We get caught up in the troubles of our mind,
searching for a place where spirit can unwind.
A flicker of light as a firefly are we… passing by;
as small as it’s light in the vast night sky.
Our inner turmoil disappears.
While immersed in nature, inner truth is near.
Each step taken walks us farther from the past.
Each breath taken brings us back into this exact moment known.
STILLNESS in stone, molecular memory calls us home.
Moab, Utah is such a magical place in a prehistoric sort of way. The first time I visited was spring time and as I drove through a canyon passage there during a light drizzle of rain if felt as if a dinosaur should appear at some point along the road.
…
This poem, STILLNESS came to me after a day of hiking in Moab. The day was spent in meandering mode with no sort of goal to accomplish other than being outside. I love being places where I feel insignificant. You know, those places that are so enormous and awe- inspiring where one can feel their own head space slow down and be in the breath of the moment. Nature has been and continues to be a great teacher of healing for me. Nature has its own rhythm and rules. We are simply observers for a short amount of time here.
…
As the sun was near setting I was heading toward the car and contemplating where to go for dinner and how long of a drive to get there I saw this rock in the near distance. I had to stop and stare as if it were going to spin around and reveal a face or something that would speak to me its ancient wisdom for having been in the same place thousands of years. I detoured my direction toward the car and walked to this rock instead. The above poem began coming to me so I pulled out my phone and used my notes app to log the words.
…
It's true, I wanted to get to Moab to get away from some of the pressures of life at the time. I was definitely “caught up in the troubles” of my mind and knew that a half-day drive from where I lived to this incredible place would give me some kind of renewal in the soul. This rock is quite large. As often with photographs its hard to grasp the spacial concept unless seen in reality. It sits near an edge of a drop-off. Its size and location were a perfect combination to help me feel my troubles drop away in its presence. It was one of those moments where I took a few deep breaths and looked in all directions around me to imprint the feeling for future use.
…
“Each step taken walks us farther from our past.” All day I had been hiking, taking many steps, reflecting on life. Remembering the advice I gave a friend many years prior to purchase some good running shoes and get outside rather than continue to mull over the same issues obsessively. The movement of progression in every step forward speaks to me that the troubles of the past can be in the past. “Each breath taken brings us into this exact moment know.” Every experience acquired brings us into the next experience. Our minds can replay some events so much that we coast through life missing the current experience. I am guilty of this stumped awareness. This is something I work on daily to be here, right now.
…
“STILLNESS in stone, molecular memory calls us home.” I really dig the last line of this poem. It speaks to me in the ashes to ashes and dust to dust realm of acceptance. The stillness of that stone and knowing when our time here is done what do we become? This falls into individual beliefs systems which I will possibly write about another time. For me simply, this last line says to be still like parts of nature are. Let the memory of what our body is made of calling us back into that peaceful place of natural serenity.
I love your writing style.
It’s like you’re right there speaking to me, describing your experience.
Thank you ;)
Love the feeling you describe it so accurately describes how I feel when I walk alone just to clear my mind and be in the moment with nature, something healing about those moments.
Lovely prose. So true and well written.
Lovely prose. So true and well written.
Thank you so much for being you! My childhood was not bad at all, my struggles have been in my adult life. I still relate to so many of your poems and I LOVE the inspiration you exude! I ordered your book, supposed to arrive tomorrow and I cannot wait!!!!! Thank you again😻😻