Time to Grapple with That Big Idea?

Week 30

Time to Grapple with That Big Idea?

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            1.   Have you ever muttered, “My head hurts,” but it’s not a

                  real headache?

            2.   I have, when I’ve been hard at work in thought and it

                  doesn’t seem to go anywhere.

            3.   So it’s a feeling of pleasure, not pain, when the tumblers

                  fall into place and we sense we’ve made progress.

            4.   Then might come another downdraft when we doubt our

                  conclusion, that pain again, though of another sort.

            5.   That’s the mud-encased seepage toward clarity, and if

                  we push through the softening, hints of light appear.

            6.   Delivery then becomes a possibility, yet to be tested,

                  even, perhaps, another mile to go.

            7.   Convenience, the siren, has been dismissed; as

                  simplicity—always the best solution—has been hard-won.

Editor

How does the

energy work

that goes into

contemplation?

Just to say

I’m going to

think about

something,

to ponder it,

what lifts that up?

We choose to think,

don’t we?

Thunderbolts come,

other thoughts

and sentiments

waft in

and we step out

on our mind’s feet.

There’s a stern

editor at work

somehow

and a feeling

that animates,

but what if

the editor’s

got it wrong?

To feel that . . .

that’s the energy

to bid welcome,

the thrust to

know at some

distance.

© 2012 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Proper Consent

Week 29

Proper Consent

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            1.   The prose poem below puts me in mind of The True

                  Believer, the book that put Eric Hoffer, the

                  “longshoreman-philosopher,” on the map.

            2.   His evidence: revolutionaries most often replace the

                  oppressive regimes they’ve overthrown with one equally

                  sinister or worse.

            3.   How easy is it to be so right; to have unassailable points

                  of view!

            4.   How easy is it to think, “Well, any fool knows that . . .

                  (You finish the sentence.) O, those unintended

                  consequences!

            5.   How will I test my convictions? How will I question my

                  so-called truths? Might I start by exploring them as

                  propositions?

            6.   When I “know” I’m “right” about something, I’ve found,

                  still, that I can be wrong when I’ve sought and found

                  such tests.

            7.   Whom do you respect? They will listen to you. Be sure to

                  listen to them.

Zealot

I stand in full fierce view of a none-too-small infraction—how

occasioned—I don’t know, that in all likelihood requires putting

            aside my well laid plans and without flinch applying my singular,

            conscientious remedy. This unanticipated engagement is with a

            small four-wall-wood-fenced civic construction site surrounding

            a sewer or electronics installation.

I can smell the four-wall is of fresh pine, just built. Someone has

carelessly spilled a can of green paint over the front wall and the

dreadful evidence running down is dried hard.  Well, that needs

to be sanded smooth right this minute, then all walls painted—

by me, of course, to rid us of this egregious disorder.

© 2012 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.

______________________________________________________

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Random Cues

Week 28

Random Cues

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            1.   Any part of life’s everything can light like a grasshopper

                  upon anything.

            2.   Capture a grasshopper as I did once as a boy and you’ll

                  find you’ve lost it.

            3.   See that something, recognize its blessing, let it roll over

                  you like seaside mist.

            4.   Or riding in a summer car, your hand out the window,

                  fingers spread apart, wind weaving like fleece sliding off

                  your palm.

            5.   What a ride up your backbone to be barked at by a

                  gaggle of guarding geese—a fierce little scaring.

            6.   Something good just happened to me. What was it?

            7.   What, really, did the moment say? What was it I said

                  back with the tilt of my head?

Now

Every heartbeat

Is a gift,

you can’t count it.

Every chirp

of a wren

is a cell’s trill,

you can’t

claim it.

Every wave

of the deep grass

Is a covering,

you can’t

clutch it.

Every kiss

a drop of love,

you can’t

store it.

Every rebuke

is a jolt,

you can’t

bind it.

            Memory

can fool—

you can

use it

to hurt

yourself.

Life’s moment

speaks—

not in

muffled

tones.

How will

you

listen?

© 2012 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Calibrations of Soul

Week 27

Calibrations of Soul

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            1.   Gate-keeping is one of life’s most underrated functions.

            2.   Bread could not appear on our tables without a chute’s

                  opening to let grain flow.

            3.   At given times, it’s critical to know on which side of the

                  gate you stand.

            4.   At this moment, let’s say I’m inside the door thinking of

                  the possibilities outside.

            5.   I’m grateful of protection; it can be an aid to fulfilling

                  priorities.

            6.   I can think about that door and I can feel about it.

            7.   When do I bless surprise and when with composure do I

                  go out?

Dislocations

The door, there,

in the corner, closed,

protects me

from unwanted sounds,

light, and other

possible intrusions.

Yet I smile

at its imperfections

in that regard

or, I’ve just

acknowledged,

its perfections—

the sealing is

not complete

nor should it be.

There is seepage

at its edges,

a knock can come

seeking permission,

or an angel,

cursing,

can throw it

open.

© 2012 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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The Way It Is

Week 26

The Way It Is

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            1.   Life is just flat out wondrous.

            2.   Think how nice and free-form not to be in control.

                  Wrap your arms around those times. Roll with them.

            3.   Think how often we would have screwed up if we had

                  done it our way.

            4.   Of course, we do get it right most of the time, when our

                  competence shines and we’re true to the call.

            5.   So flexibility is key, with an openness to see how things

                  are in the moment.

            6.   Markets surprise us; stun us might be a better way to

                  put it. Who would think our product or service could have

                  met that need?

            7.   Let’s lighten up and enjoy being startled. We’ve been

                  blessed.

Work

The ways of work

the ways of people

to get things done

to get things done right

to get right things done right

What about getting the

wrong things done right?

Doesn’t it work out

sometimes to end up

at the wrong address?

You might meet something

or somebody you’re

supposed to . . .

Tolerance, tolerance,

is what I say!

Let’s find some blessedness

In mistakes.

Yes, let’s laugh

right now.

It was supposed

to be

this

way.

© 2012 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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