bobklipp

9-22-24

Today I have my quiet time in the forest preserve.

I take my usual spot, sitting before “my tree”.

I stop to wait for emotions to rise, but I feel only

peace, acceptance.

Most of the trees are still green, a few have started

to turn golden.

On my tree the leaves are all down, they lie dry and

brittle on the ground.

This is a moment for me to connect to the beautiful

sadness that aging is.

Realizing how grateful we are for the opportunity to

complete our life.

To learn the things we learned, do the things we did,

be the ones we were.

And now how important it is to release the learning,

the doing, to release even the being.

9-19-24

This morning I stop, content to be present to the full moon in the

dark western sky, there are no clouds.

The eastern sky slowly turns to silver, the sun still below the horizon.

The beauty of this morning is overwhelming as is its’ ordinariness,

as is the day as are we, let no vanity hinder my appreciation.

It has been vanity indeed, that has been my greatest struggle.

“How will it make me look, how will it make me feel?” has opposed

inner peace, and acceptance, interfered in every choice.

I used to hate it when a freight train passed during my meditation,

Now I love how its’ passing animates the silence.

9-1-24

Today is a good day for reflection.

I have come to terms with many things that have hidden in my

unconsciousness for a lifetime.

Today I feel more at peace.

Today I am able to say that I am grateful for my childhood,

grateful for my upbringing, all the events and choices.

Being born is not just an event of my first breath-

Being born is discovering your place in the Great Mystery,

and recognizing it as home.

9-3-24

Everyday these moments become more precious,

Everyday the sky becomes more attractive,

Everyday I want less, and everyday I have more,

Everyday my secrets scream until I let them out,

Everyday I wonder what dying means,

Everyday I become more comfortable with being lost,

Everyday changes and everyday remains,

Everyday I learn for the first time what I already knew,

And everyday I become a little less certain of what I believe to be true.

8-29-24

The morning arrives, silver sky, warm temperatures, the wind soft.

I start the day with dark thoughts, I want to justify this thinking.

The darkness surely has its’ allure.

I do well for a while, but inevitably I find a dark cave, crawl in, and

lick my sores.

The wounded animal in me will survive as long as the “better angels” do.

Let me see this life, let me see myself with honesty and clear vision.

The wounded animal and the better angels are not opposites.

They are the ingredients that create oneness, and the harmony of the

universe.

8-13-24

Priorities changing, nothing left to gain.

Pleasure seeking, approval seeking, enlightenment seeking.

Seeking is the work of our lives, we can only learn this from ourselves.

It is not about gaining anything, but about releasing everything.

The seeking has brought us rewards and suffering, even a little wisdom-

But its’ time passes.

Today as always, just to witness reality is the gift we receive.

Our senses provide everything we need, judgement fades away.

The rewards are there if I am willing to receive them.

This moment is not a banquet, it is gratitude for fasting.

This moment is not an orchestra and choir, but appreciation for silence.

This is not a moment of golden sunshine, but a moment of peace in the gathering darkness.

This is not a moment to commit to memory, but there will never be a moment better than this.

8-6-24

This morning I arrive in time to see the sunlight reach the cloud tops

in the western sky.

At ground level everything is stillness.

Occasionally I hear a bird call, but they remain unseen.

The squirrels too, unseen.

No movement in the trees, the winds at rest.

Let me follow the lesson plan that I get from the natural world.

Let me solve the riddles and complete the tasks that present

themselves today.

Let me learn to believe in my calmness more than I believe in my

anxiety.

The slow movement of the clouds, the changing nature of reality,

It all just goes so well, who am I to question.

8-8-24

More and more, believing in the unseen, unknown,

Less and less in expectation and accomplishment.

We do what we do, we are who we are, we go where we go.

All things combine to create existence.

And yet, I believe there is more, there is so much that creates wonder.

Yes it is the natural world, but maybe the natural world is a bridge.

A bridge to what is beyond my grasp, beyond my understanding.

The Great Mystery, let it never be beyond my wonder,

Let it never be beyond my appreciation.

7-30-24

I don’t know if my higher power is creating the universe, or in the afterlife,

Or performing world changing miracles.

I believe my higher power is in me changing my mind,

And in that unknown wilderness people call “my heart”.

7-25-24

Today I arrive at the park, held by a quiet feeling of sadness.

A sadness that does not need to be resolved, or overcome,

But a sadness that needs to be accepted.

The acceptance that we can only go so far in our relationships.

We can choose to love without end, but the feeling of love ,

Like all feelings is impermanent.

People don’t choose to stop loving, and we don’t say we stop loving,

But we start acting like we stop loving, often without intention.

I can surrender myself to a relationship for a very, very, very long time,

But I cannot surrender absolutely and forever.

I must return to myself, and I must know who I am when I am alone.

As the song goes, we can choose to love after the love is gone,

And that is usually for the best, but it is a choice we make,

Remaining true to our own light.

7-14-24

A storm passed through overnight, the morning sky is clear.

Distant clouds slowly changing colors,

The sun offers first light from below the horizon.

The birds are very active, a day of abundance for them.

Let me drink up this peaceful time that I have been granted.

Recent events have been troubling.

I will be bombarded with news and opinions in media and conversation.

I must stay present and detached from social reality,

Present and connected to natural reality, trying to stay balanced.

Although I do not know what lies ahead, I know there is no turning back.

I will not trade the peace of the moment for fear of the future.

I will not avoid conflict. I will endure.

7-7-24

Living in a world ruled by numbers,

Ruled by judgement, measurement, achievement.

I just can’t do it anymore, make more, work more, sound better,

Look better, weigh less, take more steps than yesterday.

I have ignored my soul for the sake of vanity.

I must find my way back to this moment.

It is only in this moment that I can experience acceptance.

Forsake all measurements and achievements,

All my hidden desires for more, more,more, less, less, less.

I am so easily lost, a compliment, or an insult, and I become

Disconnected, unbalanced, and obsessive.

Learning once again that the only chance I will ever have of

Being at peace with myself, is learning to live from that deeper

Place within, that lives in the now, and knows only acceptance.

7-11-24

Today uncertainty is more apparent than usual.

It’s hard not to slip into negativity.

I am tempted to judge myself and jump into the negativity pool too.

Let me withhold judgement and allow the day to unfold of its’ own accord.

I am to be present to the day, not necessarily involved.

Let me be mindful of my tendency to make things worse instead of better.

Today let me remember to be grateful for the “bad stuff”,

Because there is no good stuff and bad stuff, there is only stuff.

Now my mind relaxes and my thoughts flow along.

A feeling of peace holds me,

And I get to watch the clouds travel through the morning sky.