Finding Home

Sit and be still Or try to be In body, in mind in spirit In sitting, patience For all to fall apart To fall away To fall into place Let the breath Slow down the body's rush Tether your warring mind Give space for your aching heart Breathe in and out Sit, be still Or try to be Breathe and fall into A place albeit brief, But a moment nonetheless Of peace.

For this new year, I pray for you these: Clarity on how to proceed Amidst life's dilemmas A recognition that there are Embers of purpose Still very much alive Here in your existence Renewed belief that no one knows you more than you do Trust in your inner intelligence As it leads you to your truth Resolve that no one is coming Only for the very reason that you're only neck deep In waters that only come up to your bruised knees You only need to see that While you can ask for help And those who answer Can lend you a hand It is only you who can save yourself. Remember, remember You were created intentionally, Given sacred breath Fortified by life Finally, I pray that you know In your body, heart, mind and soul, That you are worthy, You are worthy.

  Bayabas There is enough for everyone The birds and me They peck at the topmost Where my hands can't reach They take only what they need I on the other hand or Perhaps most humans For that matter Take more than what is necessary I'm afraid there won't be Any left-- the sweetness The succulence, The joy of the experience So I want more to ensure I have a stockpile of pleasure Most humans too But the birds, they soar And I with most humans remain Standing on lowly ground.

Years ago, a friend who owned a Gowns-for-Rent boutique in our city and other cities proposed to me that I be one of her models for their billboard ad featuring women of various kinds of strength. At that time, I was well immersed in the world of CrossFit. I was 35 at that time and had been the fittest in my entire life at that point. She had this concept of how she wanted to present a juxtaposition of this perception of society's yardstick of femininity and strength. I marveled at her idea. But I was clearly unsure of myself and other considerations living in a small city where everyone knew everyone, and everyone talked about everyone as if they truly knew everyone and having your face plastered on a tarpaulin 24/7 apparently was the dealbreaker. As much as I love to share my thoughts on social media through poetry and essays, my image presented to the public as a model was a totally different beast altogether. She told me in her very caring and sensitive manner that she understo...

  This Good Life Orioles singing Coo of turtledoves Sweet Guava on my tongue Sugar Apple (Atis) too Mulberries in fruition Morning coffee Gently waking me Dew on grass Cradling my feet Sunlight through trees Words of affirmation: How are you? How is life treating you? I hope things get better for you. Shared stories of enduring Of past hope  Now manifesting It’s true what they say We don’t have to solve  Our entire lives And things never really Get solved They come together and Unravel, weave and unhinge This is just how it is And these seemingly, miniscule Things are what Carries us through Like remembering  To come up for air In the midst of mindless submersing in the chaos of the world Breathing like we’ve never Breathed before And finally knowing in our bones how life is good, and saying, Ah, life is really good. 

 “My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to find peace with exactly who and what I am. To take pride in my thoughts, my appearance, my talents, my flaws and to stop this incessant worrying that I can’t be loved as I am.” ― Anaïs Nin       This quote caught my attention this morning primarily because of the first phrase that was strongly similar to the iconic line as Ethan Hunt receives his mission in the series of films, Mission Impossible. Then I read further. Ah, I thought, what a powerful message.  I picked a random photo on my laptop with the intention to post the quote with a catching photo as well. In this photo I am frolicking on the shores of my favorite place which also happens to be a university having a seafront with a backdrop of a majestic mountain range. The year is 2019, the year where I was the happiest. But as with all things, happiness comes and goes. "It is more than just our happiness alone we came to gain," a line from Gifts from ...

     An orange ladybug landed on my arm yesterday afternoon as the boys and I were out in the garden earthing. I knew it was my mother visiting us, perhaps wanting to earth with us too. (Brief backstory of how I came to associate my mother with the orange ladybug: one landed on my thigh the night she was laid to rest. I was an island away due to lockdown.) She came to me in a dream again last night. In the dream I was planning out a program holding space for people through Yoga and Meditation. She was there to observe and witness how I worked. I woke up feeling once again comforted, seen and held.       I've often wondered whether she would have been proud of my accomplishments no matter how small and shortly after having these questions in my heart, I knew that she was because she had always been attuned to the essence of experiences. The lessons versus the grade with her words that have always guided me all throughout those highly stringent academic ...