Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Change
By Don

Crisp,
autumn
leaves,
cool
morning
breeze,
seasons
change,
so do we.

Haiku Moment
By Don

Zen state of mind,
free of clutter,
in the now
Haiku Moment
By Don

Desert oasis,
rejuvenation at hand,
give your journey a rest
Retirement ...

"The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender."
--Vince Lombardi
Tuesday Thought: Loving Another

This quote just says it all:

"To love another person is to see
the face of God." --Victor Hugo

Monday, August 30, 2004

Haiku Moment
By Don

High drifting clouds, the setting sun,
the sky explodes in color,
evening makes an elegant appearance

Haiku Moment
By Don

A single boat,
bobbing in the turbulent sea,
Now we know what it is to trust
Monday Thought: Nature's Oratorios

"My profession is to be always on
the alert to find God in nature, to
know his lurking-places, to attend
all the oratorios, the operas in
nature." --Henry David Thoreau

Sunday, August 29, 2004

Haiku Moment
By Don

Simplify your life,
give birth to love
and let it grow
Haiku Moment
By Don

Too many people
prefer their anger to their love,
who needs the weight of anger on their back?
Sunday Thought: Make Friends, Not Enemies

Life is too short! Make a new friend today.
Forgive an enemy. Bear in mind these truly
wonderful words:

"You can't shake hands with a clenched fist."
--Indira Gandhi

Saturday, August 28, 2004

Saturday's Cardinal
By Don

Lone morning cardinal,
perched,
scouting,
honing in,
swooping,
landing,
feasting,
smiling,
it's Saturday.

Haiku Moment
By Don

Lavender fields,
lush, deep, sensual,
Intoxicate yourself with beauty

Saturday Thought: Reach for the Stars

"Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed
in touching them with your hands, but like
the seafaring man on the desert of waters,
you choose them as your guides, and following
them, you reach your destiny." --Carl Schurz

Friday, August 27, 2004

Don't Turn Your Back...On Your Poetry
By Don

Turn your back
on your poetry,
and life's magic
slips away,
like the fragile bloom
off a flower.

Turn your back
on your poetry,
and the secret door
through which truth walks,
closes tightly,
leaving our hearts dark.

Turn your back
on your poetry,
and the spaces
between the known and unknown
reappear in life,
causing us to forsake our faith.

Turn your back
on your poetry,
and small things
cease to amaze,
and what was originally given us
disappears.

Poetry is
given to us by God,
a special language,
seeking magic,
expressing beauty,
and connecting us with what is special.
Haiku Moment
By Don

Nuggets of truth,
tumbling in the stream of life,
Gold washes up on my shore
Haiku Moment
By Don

Life's deeper secrets,
growing and blooming,
like buttercups in a sunny meadow
Haiku Moment
By Don

Small signs,
wonders amaze,
we reunite with what we always have been
Haiku Moment
By Don

Falling leaves,
life turns,
a new season overtakes me
Friday Thought: Friendship

Real friendship does last a
lifetime. The proof for me is
the rediscovery of friends who
played a key role in earlier parts
of my life.

Derk Janssen: My college roommate
at the University of Arizona in the
late 1960s and early 1970s. After
being out of contact for nearly 20
years, we rediscovered each other
in the early 1990s.

Dan Shimp: My best bud from my
early childhood days in Martins Ferry
in the 1950s and early 1960s. After 42
years of being out of contact, we re-
discovered each other just this year.

Tom Kim: My Korean friend who had
seemingly disappeared 10 years ago,
popped up in my life just this week.

Maybe that is why this quote means
so much to me:

"Friendship is a single soul dwelling in
two bodies." --Aristotle

Thursday, August 26, 2004

Haiku Moment
By Don

Savage truth,
breaking through the ice of time,
peace feeds the tree's roots
Haiku Moment
By Don

Symphonic beauty,
Restless splendor,
Crisp satin dreams float like clouds

Thursday Thought: Enemy Within

We all struggle with it...that is our
real enemy within. And who or what
that might be?

"Our greatest battles are that with
our own minds." --Jameson Frank

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Haiku Moment
By Don

Arizona sunsets,
orange, red, and yellow streaks in the sky,
paint your canvas with living color
Haiku Moment
By Don

Certainly uncertainty
is a factor in our lives,
Expand the boundaries of your imagination
Wednesday Thought: Consistency

"Consistency is the last refuge of
the unimaginative." --Oscar Wilde

So much for consistency! Be imaginative
today.

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Late Summer Garden Signs
By Don

Butterflies
in sun bonnets,
lazily dance
in the chilly morning air,
A handsome warty toad,
hiding under leaves,
readies himself
for breakfast,
Petal-less flowers
stand like naked sailors on deck
waiting for orders,
Somehow,
the summer escapes
our grasp.
Haiku Moment
By Don

The forest's secrets,
remain kept,
until there is a path
Tuesday Thought: Loyalty and Competence

In our work worlds, everyone complains there
is no loyalty. Here is an interesting quote to bear
in mind the next time this issue arises in your worklife:

"Top executives should rate their subordinates on
loyalty and competence. Those who are more loyal
than competent should be fired because they are the
dangerous ones. They will stay forever while other more
competent, less loyal people will jump ship as problems
develop.
And the loyal, noncompetent subordinates will “protect”

their bosses from the truth. Reality will be too threatening
and ugly. When truth dies, really bad things happen."

--Shapiro, Slywotzky and Tedlow

Monday, August 23, 2004

In the Small Things
By Don

Rich...
in beauty,
Full...
of life,
Overflowing...
with happiness,
Finding...
great meaning
in the small things in life.
Haiku Moment
By Don

Sands of time,
sifting through the hourglass,
living in the moment
Monday Thought: Getting What We Need

An Answered Prayer

I asked for strength, And God gave me difficulties to make me strong;
I asked for wisdom, And God gave me problems to learn to solve;
I asked for prosperity, And God gave me brain and brawn to work;
I asked for courage, And God gave me dangers to overcome;
I asked for love, And God gave me people to help;
I asked for favours, And God gave me opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted - I received everything I needed.
My prayer has been answered!


--Source: Azriela Jaffe's "Create Your Own Luck" Newsletter.

Sunday, August 22, 2004

Haiku Moment
By Don

Life,
another way of saying...
our connection
Life Connection
By Don

Our life...

a tiny thread,

connecting us
to the whole
of life,

that's all it is.

Sunday Morning: Intelligence

Boy, this is a good one!

"Intelligence is what we use
when we don't know what to do,
when we have to grope rather
than using a standard response."

--Jean Piaget
Coffee Smells and Time
By Don

sunny Sunday morning,
chill in the air,
coffee brewing,
smells different
this morning,

flashback...

smells like it did
20 years ago,
where did the
last 20 years go?

flashforward...

what will the
coffee smell like
20 years from now?

Saturday, August 21, 2004

Awakening in a Dreamdrop
By Don

deep sleep,
far off places appear...
so close,
things touch,
normally worlds apart,
dreaming about life,
living dreams,
deep sleep,
silence in a sleeping raindrop,
standing outside myself,
peering through the keyhole
seeing myself...
in a waking dreamdrop.

Haiku Moment
By Don

Fancy yourself a rainbow,
overflowing with color,
suddenly either/or disappears from your life
The Experience of Meditation
By Remez Sasson

You are sitting alone in a quiet place practicing meditation. Slowly the rush of thoughts slows down. The silence gaps between one thought to the other get longer. You are beginning to experience relaxation and inner peace. There are a few itches, some pain or tension in your body, but as your concentration deepens, you become less conscious of the body and its sensations.

Now you feel calm and happy. Worries and cares disappear. You are still conscious of your surroundings, but as if transported into a new dimension. A few thoughts may still enter your mind, but they are weak now, and you can easily disregard them. As your meditation gets deeper, less and less thoughts claim your attention, until they cease. You feel bliss and peace now.

Though you are not thinking now, and you can completely ignore your surroundings, your consciousness is alive. You experience yourself now as pure essence, not as this or that. You forget about your physical life, family, work, status or economic condition. There is no identification with anything. You feel formless. Your consciousness is now free from the body, emotions and mind.

Are you asleep now? No!


Are you daydreaming? No!

You are existing in an altered state of consciousness, which is different from the ordinary and familiar consciousness.

Where are your thoughts, emotions and body? Only your consciousness exists now.

When the clouds of thoughts and emotions disappear during deep meditation, the Consciousness shines alone. You experience the “Great Emptiness”, which is full of happiness, consciousness, existence, life and power. You experience Reality as it is.


More here.
Saturday Thought: On Roses

The summer's almost gone...
and winter's comin' on...but
it's never to late to think about
roses.

The red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
O, the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.

--John Boyle O’Reilly

Friday, August 20, 2004

Friday Thought: Embrace Life

Literally, give yourself a hug today.
You deserve it. Hug your spouse, a
friend, a child, your pet. If you dare,
hug a stranger. Let each be a reminder
to embrace life everyday.
Haiku Moment
By Don

Color all possibilities
with hope,
all darkness fades
Following the Light
By Don

Living
on a diet of light,
Consuming
what illuminates,
Reveling
in what sparkles and dances,
Flirting
with new possibilites,
Accepting
what this day offers,
Seeing
more clearly each day.
Haiku Moment
By Don

Love is,
there is nothing to know,
simply open to her possibilities

Thursday, August 19, 2004

Night
By Don

It's night,
the air is filled
with persistent sounds
of chirping crickets.

It's night,
the sky
cries silver star glitter
on all who see.

It's night,
my head
is filled with illusive dreams
and sleepy poetry appears.
Haiku Moment
By Don

Birds chirp,
people sing,
hearts rejoice in music.
Thursday Thought: Music

Music plays a special place in
most of our lives. Let the
music ring out in your life
today.

"Take a music bath once or
twice a week for a few seasons,
and you will find that it is to the
soul what the water-bath is to
the body".~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Chance Encounters
By Don

Every moment,
a chance encounter,
with time,
who I am,
who I am becoming,
with other possibilities
left to chance.
Haiku Moment
By Don

Wednesday
mid-week,
equi-distant between weekends.

Wednesday Thought: Real Leadership

I need this. Once again, Peter Drucker
comes through...

"Leadership is not magnetic personality
—that can just as well be a glib tongue.
It is not "making friends and influencing
people"—that is flattery. Leadership is
lifting a person's vision to higher sights,
the raising of a person's performance to
a higher standard, the building of a
personality beyond its normal limitations.'

--Peter Drucker

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Things to Remember
By Don

Honor the questions
you live in life,
Speak honestly with your soul
through daily self-inquiry,
Never allow doubt
to undermine your heart,
Believe in the
ancient wisdom inside you,
Take comfort in knowing
we are all parts of one Magestic whole.
Haiku Moment
By Don

Why blog Haiku?
Sometimes you need a sharp knife
to cut to the heart of things
Tuesday Thought: Being Afraid of the Light

I really like this one:

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid
of the dark; the realtragedy of life is when
men are afraid of the light." --Plato

Monday, August 16, 2004

Haiku Moment
By Don

What of the life
that follows known roads?
What is life without learning?
Monday Thought: Who Am I?

I'm sure that question has occured
to just about all of us at one time or
another in life. Here is an interesting
perspective on this soul-searching
question:

"If I am what I have and if I lose
what I have who then am I?
--Erich Fromm

Sunday, August 15, 2004

One to Remember

"The beauty seen is partly in him who sees it."
--Christian Nestell
Sunday Thought: Finding Peace

"The best remedy for those who are
afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go
outside, somewhere where they can
be quite alone with the heavens, nature,
and God. Because only there does one
feel that all is as it should be and that
God wishes to see people happy, amidst
the simple beauty of nature."
--Anne Frank
Haiku Moment
By Don

Opportunity knocks,
my heart opens,
there is love

Early Morning Feelings 2
By Don

Filled with song,
Nothing wrong,
Life is good,
Doing what I should,
The sun is shining,
Stopped my whining,
Weekend is here,
Give a cheer,
Fall is coming,
Now I'm humming.

Saturday, August 14, 2004

Early Morning Feelings
By Don

Wasted, confused,
utterly bemused,
sadly waiting,
regrettably fading,
losing hold,
unfairly old,
one more day,
try another way,
giving in,
begin again.

Haiku Moment
By Don

Looking, but not seeing,
Walking, but not getting there,
Watch where you're going
Saturday Thought: How We Seek

Self-discovery is an aspect of everyone's
life. We seek in different ways. I am reminded
of this little story that puts the "how" part of
our journey into perspective.

A Vinaya master called Yuan came to Tai-chu
Hui-hai and asked: 'When disciplining oneself
in the Tao, is there any special way of doing it?'

Hui-hai: 'Yes, there is.'
Yuan: 'What is that?'
Hui-hai: 'When hungry, one eats, when tired, one sleeps.'
Yuan: 'That is what other people do; is their way the same as yours?'
Hui-hai: 'Not the same.'
Yuan: 'Why not?'
Hui-hai: 'When they eat, they do not just eat, they conjure up all kinds of imagination; when they sleep, they do not just sleep, they are given up to varieties of idle thoughts. That is why their way is not my way.'

Friday, August 13, 2004

Celebrate Life Today!
The Way Life Is
By Don

Life is joy, life is sorrow,
Live today, not tomorrow,
Plan your life, live your plan,
Expect change, and change you can,
What is fair, what is just,
Accept what is, that we must,
Boldly walk, sometimes run,
Don't forget to have some fun,
We have today and not tomorrow,
Even this day we do borrow,
Pain is human, so is love,
Look about, especially Above,
We are born, and we die,
Celebrate life, give it a try,
What is fair, what is just,
Accept what is, that we must.
Haiku Moment
By Don

Seat yourself in the front row of life,
Better yet,
Stage your own play
Friday Thought: Failure and Success

Often we must fail to succeed in life.
That is a hard one for many of us to
comprehend and accept. I look to the
great philosopher, Michael Jordan, for
insight on this issue:

"I've missed over 9,000 shots in my
career. I've lost almost 300 games.
26 times I've been trusted to take the
game-winning shot . . . and missed.
I've failed over and over and over
again in my life. And that is why I
succeed." --Michael Jordan

Thursday, August 12, 2004

Haiku Moment

Moon beams on chrysanthemums,

Pleasured moments
we hold onto forever
Thursday Thought: Helping Others

Here is a great thought for all of us:

"What do we live for, if it is not to make life
less difficult for each other?" -- George Eliot

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Wednesday Thought: Serenity

Over the years, this small prayer has
helped me on many occasions. It is as
meaningful to me today as it was when
I first heard it as a young boy.

"God give me the serenity to accept
things which cannot be changed;
Give me courage to change things
which must be changed; And the
wisdom to distinguish one from
the other."

Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, Union
Theological Seminary, 1932

Haiku Moment
By Don

Wisdom, like the rocks in a stream,
give shape and texture to our flow,
See the rocks in your life as a plus
Happenstance
By Don

Life,
by design or happenstance?
Maybe both,
Order we impose
because that's what we want to believe,
But aren't you amazed
at what we can only attribute to happenstance?

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

The Heart Place
By Don

A place gentle spirits remember,
where time stands still,
where stars are born,
where gardens bloom year round,
A place that is nowhere yet everywhere,
A place called your heart.
Missing It
By Don

Every day,
climbing mountains
of pain, suffering, anguish,
Every day,
wondering where is joy,
Every day,
holding onto
what destroys us,
Every day,
missing what life is all about.
Haiku Moment
By Don

So much pain and misery,
Why do we suffer so?
Let go
Tuesday Thought: Suffer Not

Most of us spend too much of our life in
suffering. We don't have to! Here is some
re-phrased White Eagle wisdom speaking to
this very issue:

"The man whose heart is filled with love, is never
daunted, is not cast down; he does not give way to
unworthy fears, either about himself, his physical body,
or the welfare of those he loves, because he has been
quickened by the divine light and power, and therefore
nothing can go wrong. Things only go wrong when the mind
of self starts to fret and rail against the circumstances of life,
and you say, "I am disappointed because the circumstances
of life will not go as I...I...I want them to go!" Then suffering
and chaos result, because the contact is cut. "

Monday, August 09, 2004

A Sunday Wrapped in Nature
By Don

Peace finds us
resting beneath Holden's towering oaks,
Monarchs and black-eyed susans
kiss gently in the mid-afternoon sunlight,
Even a hyper-active squirrel
pauses to catch the flower-scented breeze
that makes shadows dance around us,
Slowly what really matters
seeps into our consciousness.

Haiku Moment
By Don

Each breath,
Giving shape to life,
Transforming who we are
Monday Thought: Create Yourself

This quote captures what I am feeling this morning.
It speaks to the huge opportunity each of us has to
give shape daily to our life. That is very powerful!

"To exist is to change, to change is to mature,
to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly."
--Henri Bergson

Sunday, August 08, 2004

Flower Teachers
By Don

So much we learn
in life from flowers,
Brave perky daffodils,
always first,
say get an early start in life,
Frisky painted daisies,
dancing happily
in the mid-morning sunlight,
assure us loyal love and innocence,
Our wise iris friend
quietly fills us with hope,
when we most need it,
Sweet young honeysuckle
drip happiness
onto our troubled day,
The primrose along our path
reminds us we are never really alone in life,
Pay heed to our floral teachers,
Life's secrets they hold.
Haiku Moment
By Don

Sitting on an orange Zinnia petal in the sun,

a lone bumblebee discovers his calling,
kaleidoscopic visions of life emerge
Sunday Thought: Another Take on Success

This is so true. Not sure I exactly like it at
times, but you have to admit--it's true.

"The successful people are the ones who can
think up stuff for the rest of the world to keep
busy at." --Donald Marquis

Saturday, August 07, 2004

Learning by Living
By Don

Everywhere we look,
object lessons in life,
More to learn from living,
than you'll find in any book,
Life ain't so tough,
when you take it a day at a time,
No need for grand plans,
All we have to do is get off our duff.
Haiku Moment
By Don

Sun landing on my face,
I laugh,
A smile bursts forth
Saturday Thought: Use Your Power Within

I really like this statement. It says we should
use the power within us to move our lives
forward.

"Within each of us lies the power of our
consent to health and sickness, to riches
and poverty, to freedom and to slavery.
It is we who control these, and not another."
--Richard Bach

Friday, August 06, 2004

Native World
By Don

Ancient echoes,
sounds of drums,
Memories buried
from long ago,
Rustling in the brush,
a spotted young deer,
Not far away,
a swooping red-tailed hawk,
Forest paths,
old, simple,
quietly marked
by men and women
who aligned
with the stars,
Native world,
seems so long ago,
Deep resounding voices,
speaking in unison
with Mother Earth.
Friday Thought: Put a Little Zen in Your Day

"Zen opens a man's eyes to the greatest mystery
as it is daily and hourly performed; it enlarges the
heart to embrace eternity of time and infinity of space
in its every palpitation; it makes us live in the world as
if walking in the garden of Eden." --D. T. Suzuki
Haiku Moment
By Don

Let your imagination carry you
to strange lands and states of mind,
Be your own travel agent

Thursday, August 05, 2004

Take Time
By Don

Take time
each day
to remember
who you are.

Take time
each day
to share
a smile.

Take time
each day
to receive
life's blessings.

Take time
each day
to say thanks
to those you love.
Haiku Moment
By Don

Wind-sparked waves
rush madly onto the beach,
I am overwhelmed by Nature's sheer power
Thursday Thought: Pay Attention

As I inhale the beauty of northern Michigan, this quote
seems to say it all:

"For every beauty there is an eye somewhere to see it.
For every truth there is an ear somewhere to hear it.
For every love there is a heart somewhere to receive it.
--Ivan Panin

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

Second Wednesday Thought: I Love You

Some days need a second thought. This
one is very simple, but also very powerful.

"I love you, Mary."
Let It Be
By Don

So little of life we really know,
So much farther we have to go,
Noble as our cause may be,
We are never completely free,
Between just you and me,
Let's just let ourselves be.
Haiku Moment
By Don

I look out at the world,
the world looks back at me,
There is always life beyond what we see
Wednesday Thought: Final Acceptances

I am reminded of this jarring quote about our
existence:

"When it comes time to die, be not like those
whose hearts are filled with the fear of death,
so when their time comes they weep and pray
for a little more time to live their lives over
again in a different way. Sing your death song,
and die like a hero going home. {Shawnee}
--Tecumseh

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Trying to Hold On
By Don

Watching,
as life slowly slips away,
Unable,
to stop the inevitable,
Time,
has a way of passing us by,
Nothing,
special about any of us,
The present,
must go on,
With or without us.

Haiku Moment
By Don

Small wonder we are surprised by life's vastness,
it's always much larger than we are,
Stop pretending that we are larger than life
Tuesday Thought: Happiness

"Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on
others without getting a few drops on yourself."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Monday, August 02, 2004

Haiku Moment
By Don

Shooting star,
streaks of hope across the sky,
A new vision is born inside me
Remembering Our Dreams
By Don

Those things that we dream,
keep drifting through our heads,
They cause us to pause,
and reflect even outside our beds,
Remember what you dream,
for within there is delight,
Give wings to your dreams,
like a hummingbird take flight.


Monday Thought: What Brings Us Peace

This little poem seemed to paint a nice picture
of "peace," so I thought I'd pass it along as the
thought for the day:

Peace of Mind
By Robert M. Hensel

Carry me out the ocean, where my drifting
thoughts flow free.
Guide them to a far distant land, that only
the mind can see.
There I shall paint a great portrait, of what
this world should be.
A place without senseless wars, and human
poverty.

Sunday, August 01, 2004

On Poetry
By Don

Poetry...
a daily quest,
reaching inside,
discovering,
transcending,
reflecting,
musing,
relating,
creating,
becoming one...
with our words.
Haiku Moment
By Don

We are capable
of far more than we think,
our best capabilities go beyond thinking

Sunday Thought: 21st Century Literacy

This quote contains a VERY powerful message
for all of us:

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those
who cannot read and write, but those who cannot
learn, unlearn, and relearn." --Alvin Tofler
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