Living life wholly, fully, completely,
is a process of learning,
with full awareness
and reverently,
for life IS holy –
I don’t mean religiously,
but yes, spiritually,
and respectfully
of All of Life,
not sacrificially
of yourself,
your own soul,
your learning,
but cooperatively
with humanity,
compassionately,
understandingly,
gracefully,
lovingly,
becoming
wholly
One.
Wholly poems is from Soul Journey: The Poetry of Life. © Susan L Hart
Sometimes we forget to look for the deeper beauty in life. Beauty is easy to see on the face of a young person, fresh-faced and attractive by the definition of the particular culture in which they live. And admittedly, we all love to gaze upon a beautiful face. Beauty gives us pleasure.
But when physical beauty fades around the edges, then we have no choice but to look deeper. And there comes a point in our own evolution when we realize: The full, deep beauty of a person lies in their heart. Ironically, it is in this realization that our own souls grow to another level of beauty. We start seeing and connecting to people in a different way. We start living from the heart.
Some inner wisdom, expressed by the model and actress Audrey Hepburn, who was revered in her time for her exquisite physical beauty:
“The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It’s the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows & the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years.”
Later in life, Audrey worked hands on in some of the poorest communities in Africa, South America, and Asia, to help alleviate poverty and be an example of what the Greeks call “agape”, or love for humanity. She became an icon for beauty yet again, but this time for a different kind, that of her heart.
Yes, (no matter our gender): The wisdom accumulated from our many life lessons, the shine in our eyes, our caring and compassion for our fellow human, our enthusiasm and gratitude for life itself, and a deep desire to keep living it with the full on curiosity and passion of a child – these are what grow us into the fullness of the inherent beauty of our souls.
© Susan L Hart 2024
Eternal Rhythm
The golden leaves fall,
fearing not the decay of
a coming winter.
Death is essential
to the renewal of life –
All will spring again.
If each in nature
can feel this simple rhythm,
so can humans too.
Why do we resist?
Our fears overshadow the
truth of our being.
But the fall leaves know,
they show us that we too will
green the tree anew.
Eternal Rhythm is from Soul Journey: The Poetry of Life. This post is a nod to All Souls’ Day (also known as The Day of the Dead), celebrated by many this weekend. They say the veil is very thin on Hallowe’en. Certainly I have had my own personal undeniable encounters with spirits who still linger.
Remember the ones you love, yes, but resist becoming trapped by the sorrow of their leaving. Celebrate life, always.
© Susan L Hart 2024
Friends send word
that it’s a stellar
autumn back home,
punctuated with pics
of unimaginable
flushes of perfect
color, ringing against
deep blue skies,
nudging my heart
to impossible
yearnings…
For long luxurious
walks scented
by Nature’s turning,
the poignant musk of
her full fruition,
apricot and crimson
ablaze with sunlight,
her dazzling glow
embracing me,
bending my mood
and contemplation.
Whoever could feel
tired or defeated
on such days?
I felt naught
but goodness and
rightness on these
halcyon treks,
Nature teaching me
the natural way
of everything –
It is not death,
but a tender
“see you later”,
only to rise up
again, transformed
in sweet green,
bidding me “hello”,
begging me to
walk and talk
of possibilities,
plans, the rebirth
of everything,
including me.
But just for awhile,
how my heart longs
to stroll once again
‘neath that crimson.
Crimson Reverie is an excerpt from Soul Journey: The Poetry of Life
Posting Crimson Reverie has become an autumn tradition for me. It’s a nod to home and its beauty, my love of nature and its rhythms, family and friends who I miss deeply, so much that I hold dear in my heart. It’s life.
© Susan L Hart / HartInspirations.com / HarteBooks.com / Free ebooks
That round evil man
with his shallow pretty face
leers from my wall.
Cruelly and incessantly,
he chips away at my life
with his sharp little pick-axe.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
My days mete out
in an endless dribble of
tasks and responsibilities,
and he watches me.
Be on time, get it right!
Get up again, do it again.
and again, and again, and again.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
I thought he was my friend
that insidious little man,
Mom said he was!
Just dress for success,
always be on time,
and your life will be right.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
Then one day I woke up
and my life felt all wrong.
Where are my dreams
you cunning little man?
You stole them while
I toiled to your
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
Oh poacher of my hours!
Is there time for me?
Still hope for me?
The Me you took while
I played by the rules,
always obeying time.
And that smug little man
with his false pretty face
just stares coldly at me
from his unfeeling wall.
Silent he is, but for
the relentless
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
Tick-tock Madman is an excerpt from Soul Journey: The Poetry of Life
© Susan L Hart 2024
Susan L Hart / Author 