Take the Measure of the Day

Take the Measure of the Day

Strands

Intricate, delicate,

the web in an upper

corner of my garage.

The (to me) nameless spider

is moving so quickly, adroitly

over those slim strands.

Graceful though she is,

she seems too big for them,

too active at the moment

for them to hold.

But they do

as she goes about her business,

pretending I’m not here,

repairing or extending,

I don’t know.

I see no entangled prey

So I’m thinking that today

the job is maintenance.

To Ponder

            1.   Some days are meant to set themselves up without our

                  help.

            2.   At least at their beginning, we best approach them with a

                  light heart and open hand.

            3.   We don’t know where they should go, what they should  

                  do, or what they will provide or demand.

            4.   That is, until . . . or unless we fall into their rhythm, so

                  unlike what we may have had in mind.

            5.   If we can bring ourselves to care, the question to ponder

                  is What wants to be seen, heard or felt.

            6.   Slow now, listen, look—it’s all soft to the eyes, ears and

                  skin.

            7.   Now, go there. It’s likely to turn out well.

© 2013 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.
__________________________________________________________

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See What Has Been Wrought

See What Has Been Wrought

Farm

What is a farm?

I mean the old

family farm . . .

If I knew I’d share it with you,

so taken am I

with the original idea.

                        But that doesn’t seem

to work anymore.

Don’t get me wrong,

the farm has rumblings—

the underside of thunder

that jostles from the innards

of the current survivors.

                        The hours they work

in acceptance of fears

bring a pittance

for their efforts

only because the

property they’ve owned

for so long brings

an owner’s return.

                        But it won’t last.

Here’s the story:

Love that farmer’s daughter,

smart at school,

gone for honors

at the university.

She’ll be a senator

some day—

corrupt and hapless

as that may seem.

She’ll appear

and work and do

and inspire the next,

planting seeds that take root.

To Ponder

            1.   Ways of life pass by and are gone. Their absence is more

                  than memories of youth that have thinned out.

            2.   They’re really gone, not to be repeated, no longer

                  serviceable to new tastes and ambitions.

            3.   What has gone that you remember warmly is still part of

                  you and helped make you.

            4.   There’s a rightful place in life for regret, not a clinging, but

                  appreciation for past value.

            5.   Typically, we move through these passages without much

                  difficulty, or even thinking about them.

            6.   Then looking back, the true lesson is seeing the gift in the

                  evolving landscape; how we have grown by what’s been

                  sacrificed.

            7.   What green shoots have made their appearance? What

                  have we planted that we’d overlooked?

© 2013 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.
__________________________________________________________

If you enjoy reading this story, you may wish to order WHOA! Are They Glad You’re in Their lives? available on Amazon Kindle and in print edition too. 

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Find Destiny Around the Corner

Find Destiny Around the Corner

Force

Just now,

it whispered itself

out of my mouth—

a funny word,

extruded—

I heard

as a young boy

and didn’t know.

It stayed with me—

that weird word

I never learned

in a formal way—

till I somehow

felt its meaning.

Moments ago,

to serve the haunting,

I looked it up.

Do you have a

word like that,

one that forces

its way out of you?

To Ponder

            1.   Seemingly, some things come along out of nowhere

                  and make a claim on us.

            2.   I have found myself responding to a question about

                  which I know little, getting into it, and seeing that I know

                  quite a bit .

            3.   What, lying beneath the surface, are you prepared to

                  take on to which you bring unique strengths?

            4.   There’s a word for seeing what others—and even you—

                  haven’t seen and now do: Creativity!

            5.   There’s often an uncanny timeliness between what

                  freshly has been discovered and some need that new

                  knowledge serves.

            6.   Be receptive to a funny sound you’ve never heard

                  before, a taste for a new dish, going where you’ve never

                  gone.

            7.   See how natural it can be to make a new friend of

                  someone you’ve always avoided.

© 2013 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.
__________________________________________________________

If you enjoy reading this story, you may wish to order WHOA! Are They Glad You’re in Their lives? available on Amazon Kindle and in print edition too. 

  • Kindle Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?

  • Print Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?

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