Sunday, February 26, 2012

What Have You Overlooked?


Week 8


What Have You Overlooked?

Tweets



1.   We all benefit from looking up.

2.   One of architecture’s great inventions—centuries ago—is the arch.

3.   The man knows the real angel; that’s why he bought the print, framed it, placed it above. he’s seen him. That’s why he bought

4.   Do you have a nook where your comfort is sure, where your mind is quieted?

5.   We seat ourselves, lean back, look up and feel at ease, sigh maybe. Then we look down, don’t we? Is this true for you?

6.   We are made for worship.

7.   We each have our angel, who is not meant to be denied.












Icon

Over the man’s chair
where he finds comfort
with his books
hangs a print
of an angel made
of carved wood—
a statue that in
its real life
stands 12 feet tall.
He’s playing his pipe
in praise—that angel—
as memorialized in
the 150th Psalm.
The man in the chair
sees less of him
than you might think,
as the angel remains
at his back.
Perhaps that’s the point—
acknowledged by his
furtive bow as he
enters the room.


© 2012 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Sunday, February 19, 2012

When It’s Time to Stop Time


Week 7


When It’s Time to Stop Time

Tweets


1. Imagine the yesteryear scene in a small town, a suburb or neighborhood in a larger city. How does it feel?

2. This is what centennial celebrations do for 10 days or so and prices are rolled back 100 years.

3. I’m thinking it might be fun to paint a Norman Rockwell picture in my own mind.

4. I’ll paint the playground at Longfellow school—that yellow brick building that still stands—playing kickball before the 8:50 am bell.

5. Slow down is what I hear. Find the time to not do. Stop doing and clear clutter.

6. We can’t go back, but we can go in, or, perhaps, out. Mere things can pass into the background.

7. Stop! Where are you needed? Stop time. Be there, where you’re needed. So productive…







Recess

Let’s make believe
today—
the two main streets
of the downtown
that cross each other
and run a half-mile each
have been closed
to car traffic
and thrown open
by the city fathers
for play-day.
It’s a mild Sunday afternoon,
people strolling and milling
with no cause—
some with their kids—
stopping for an ice cream
or glass of wine,
looking in store windows,
skirting an open fire hydrant
for the rowdy, pausing
for the bocci ball
played at a corner patch,
sitting on benches,
saying hello, smiling,
running into old friends,
making new ones.


© 2012 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Sunday, February 12, 2012

When You Can’t Make Heads or Tails of It

Week 6


When You Can’t Make Heads or Tails of It

Tweets


1.   The situation is threatening and confusing. Where do I turn?

2.   Something is missing, but what? I don’t know. My take on this leaves me limited.

3.   If I got bold, aggressive, easing my angst, I would only make things worse.

4.   What am I afraid of? I’ll shoulder some possibilities.

5.   I’ll do nothing, except stay attentive.

6.   I face it, still, not face it down.

7.   Then something breaks I don’t expect, something else clears, and I see the way through.







Knot

What is it
that troubles me,
that won’t come clean?
It’s an irritant
in itself,
compounding the situation.
If my closest friend
came to me with
the same complaint
I would have
no answer.
I will go to
my own confessional—
try on my innermost
honesty,
then do the only thing.
I would offer
that friend
were he to ask the
same of me:
wait and watch.
As Rilke has written,
see the night
a stone will fall,
a star will rise.




© 2012 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Sunday, February 5, 2012

See It There, Right in Front of Your Face

Week 5

See It There, Right in Front of Your Face

Tweets


1. Some times it’s just the obvious, isn’t it? Just the obvious.

2. Have you seen a sheep sheared? Sounds mundane? See for yourself.

3. Any fool knows…? Oh yeah?

4. “I’m bored,” she says. Whose problem is that? Whose task to solve it?

5. What is more compact and perfect than a scallop shell resting on your flattened palm?

6. You don’t need to put up zeal on a daily basis, but a week without it leads to dark Sunday afternoons.

7. Often the obvious isn’t obvious until it’s seen. Then it is and what a revelation!






Seizure

Let me wander
among the givens
Let me see through
the transparent
Let me hear the noise
Smell the pungent
Tear off the loose
Push off the firm
Pierce the soft
Wear the worn
Savor the edible
Squeeze the grape
Bleed from the spear
Shiver at the cold
Bend at the crooks
Float the river
Climb the steps
Roll down the slopes
Mine the ore
Whistle at the wondrous
Oh, dear master,
let me be awake




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







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