Birthing

How did humanity
arrive at this place?
Almost overnight,
viral war torn,
scarred, skeptical,
frazzled, frightened,
lonely isolation,
madly missing
the joy of life.

Humanity’s vitality
slowly but surely
leaking away,
drained by a
lurking thieving,
deceitful beast,
gluttonous gorger
swallowing whole
all who yield.

But the wheel of
fortune ever turns,
the black jar of
Pandora’s woes
morphs to womb
of fathomless
mother goddess
of a Golden Age,
a new humanity.

It’s time to birth
transformation
from destruction,
swimming upwards
to shimmering light,
gulping great drafts
of rarefied air,
reclaiming life and
eager to live it.

I wrote this poem in the middle of the pandemic, August 2021. One might say we have moved beyond this, so why post it? Because this event was part our spiritual awakening, and we are still sorting out all of the implications and effects it had on the collective we call humanity.

Birthing is an excerpt from Humanity’s Lament: Poetry for Our Times. It’s free.

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Eduardo & the Green Obsidian

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Meeting Eduardo was a delightful surprise. So, for that matter, was the green obsidian.

On a bright summer afternoon, I walked down an El Centro street just after a lunch with my friend Barbara. In that moment I was in a very good mood. The city streets were already quiet by then, as many of the small shops had closed for a siesta.

I casually noticed a young man sitting on a stoop as I passed him. He appeared to be one of the transient travelers often seen on the downtown streets, selling their handmade jewelry to make travel money. About four paces past him, I was stopped in my tracks. A voice in my head said clearly, “You MUST go back. This young man needs your help.”

I continued to pause and I listened. The direction was repeated. I have learned not to ignore my intuitions, so…

I about-faced and walked back. He looked up from his work and smiled warmly. Rather than displaying his jewelry on a ground cloth, he had devised an upright stand so it could be viewed at eye level. Aside from his beautiful handmade necklaces and bracelets, he was also reselling some cheap trinkets. The first thing to catch my eye was a small, silvery Eiffel Tower.

Thought to self, “Ah yes. Paris. Some day…” But I knew buying a $2 charm was not going to make Eduardo’s day a whole lot better.

I continued to look. Many of his necklaces featured turquoise, but as much as it is my favorite stone, nothing really grabbed me. Suddenly Eduardo handed me a necklace from the other side of the stand, and the moment my eyes fell on it, I knew it was meant for me. Sleek and smooth, largish and tear-drop shaped, the stone set in the necklace was a dark, lustrous opaque green. Held up to the light, I could see faint rainbow colors. There was a magic to it.

I told him in Spanish it was the piece I wanted. I did not dicker on the price in this case. I was happy enough with what he quoted, and, I had a deep sense that Eduardo badly needed the money. I expressed my delight at the beauty of the stone. He seemed pleased. He told me it was obsidiana (Spanish for obsidian), and that it was very special to the Mayan people.

Eduardo had woven the obsidian into a thread neckband of olive green and black. He invited me to sit beside him so he could fit the length to me and add the clasp. But when he took out his lighter to burn the thread ends (as I had just seen him doing on a bracelet as I walked up), the flame failed to ignite. At that exact moment, Eduardo reached his completely broke point. He embarassedly asked to borrow a dollar so he could purchase a new lighter.

I said sure. He procured one from the store next door, then sat beside me again. I asked his name and where he was from. Peru. He had only been in Ecuador for a couple of weeks. We chatted happily while he worked, me in my broken Spanish and he in his imperfect English. It didn’t matter about the gaps. We understood each other in all the ways that were important.

As Eduardo was making the final fitting, a young couple walked up and the woman exclaimed how beautiful the necklace looked. It was me! I paid Eduardo the money, and we cheek kissed in the Spanish way before I departed.

He looked at me. “Esta fue una reunión de corazones, si Susanna?”

I smiled. “Yes Eduardo. It was indeed a true meeting of hearts.” I hugged him, then proceeded on my way.

As it turned out, this meeting was not just about Eduardo’s predicament. I also had been working through a rough period in my life. When I later researched it, I discovered that green obsidian is a Gaia Stone and is sometimes called “The Soul of the Earth”. It is associated with the heart chakra and is said to promote loving relationships between people. Green obsidian is therefore held very sacred by the Mayan people.

Later I had the stone mounted on a silver wire so I could wear it more often. Because of the special way it came to me, the green obsidian represents my love for humanity. When I wear it, I feel connected to the All and loved in return.

It magically found me at just the right time, and the messenger was Eduardo.

Eduardo & the Green Obsidian © Susan L Hart 2024

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The Illusion of Civilized

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Civilized is not
computers and skyscrapers,
it’s caring for Life.

As our buildings get taller and our computers faster, it seems that modern society is simultaneously sliding downward in terms of the fundamental life principles needed to build a truly great civilization. There are cultures we might label as “primitive” that have or had a much greater grasp of the ethics and integrity of a respectful and fulfilling society.

In the Star Trek series (there are several), there is a law of noninterference called “The Prime Directive”. It dictates that there be no interference with the natural development of any primitive society. In the Star Trek stories, the defining line is that another (alien) society must have achieved warp speed technology on their own before any contact can be made with them. These days I wonder what civilizations might be observing us and just shaking their heads. Observation of our incessant human wars could be one example.

“Sorry, we would really like to help you, we see you are floundering around and it is really painful to watch. But, you haven’t figured out certain basic things on your own yet… Give us a call when you get it.”

Inspirational Quotes:

As we stand on the brink of WW3, the first quote from Albert Einstein is particularly poignant:

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” ~ Albert Einstein

“Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.” ~ Sigmund Freud

“What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy?” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there would be peace.” ~ John Lennon

“When the enemy has no face, society will invent one.” ~ Susan Faludi

The haiku Lunacy is an excerpt from Humanity’s Lament. It’s free here.

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Springtime Suite

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How our souls yearn for spring, for the sweetness of it, the rebirth of green and the feeling that no matter how hard the winter was, we endured it. We are finally rewarded with the chance to start afresh…

Our dreams are renewed in spring; we feel like anything is possible. The vitality of life runs through our veins again, just as the sap flows in the trees.

My heart drifts back to sweet memories of spring, accompanying my dad to the sugar bush, snow still on the ground, but the sun promising the coming warmth of summer. And hauling a big tin of maple syrup home, feeling the abundance that the Earth had provided. Even as a kid I appreciated it, the sweetness of this simple annual ritual with my father.

Our backyard boasted both a cherry and an apple tree. One would flower pink, the other white. I loved walking way down to the end of the yard, simply to admire the beautiful blossoms and breathe in their intoxicating, delicate scent.

Much later in adulthood, I discovered travel stories of Japan, and now my soul yearns to visit a place where the cherry blossom is revered and celebrated. Some day I will, paying homage to girlhood memories, springtime, my father, and the beauty of life, which ideally we should celebrate every day.

But oh, how it feels easier to celebrate that beauty in springtime!

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” ~ Albert Camus

Trill

As birds can transcend the ground and fly towards the heavens, they have been revered in various cultures (particularly indigenous) as messengers between deity and man. What a lovely and comforting thought, that feathered spirits with wings of angels communicate with us here on Earth.

Modern research grounded in this physical world has apparently revealed the positive effects of bird song. Their music allows us to relax, refocus, and center ourselves in what is natural and real. For my part, I remember the way my spirit lifted with the arrival of springtime and the sound of the first robin’s call. My heart sang along with it.

Nature speaks a language that we understand when we calm our minds and enter a state of presence in the moment. Our hearts assimilate the messages, and our souls feel great joy in them.

Pulsing

Sweet zephyr riffles
elegant emerald fronds,
echoes river ripples.

Trill is an excerpt from Our Beautiful Earth. Pulsing is an excerpt from Hart Haiku Vol. 1 / Shop all ebooks / Find freebies here

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Freedom from Fear

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What is external
that controls you with fear is
what is NOT your friend.

Fear has a way of dissolving our resolve, when it is strong and threatening enough. Discernment, critical thinking and our wise intuition go quickly out the window. The black ooze of fear grips us in a stranglehold. To say fear is uncomfortable is an understatement. It undermines that which we long for and value – comfort and safety.

But as Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said in his first inaugural address, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

When we are gripped by fear, we become very vulnerable to the manipulations of those who like to control others. We just want relief, in the fastest way possible. The controllers are only too happy to spoon-feed it to us, in order to gain their advantage.

When we are fearful is exactly the time when we should not succumb to the “easy and fast solution”. It’s the time to stand back, take a deep breath, and look for the way that makes sense logically, does not undermine our own moral compass, and perhaps most importantly, what ultimately feels right at a gut instinct level.

Never give over your own power out of fear of the unknown. Look for the truth of “what is” in yourself, rather than succumbing to the manipulations of others that are rooted in your fear of “what is not”.

Believe it or not, that is ultimately what will keep you safe, and you can also take comfort in the fact that you were true to yourself. Comfort derived otherwise is false, and you build your house on shifting sand.

Inspirational Quotes:

“Becoming fearless isn’t the point. That’s impossible. It’s learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.”  ~ Veronica Roth, Divergent

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” ~ Nelson Mandela

“I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

“Through every generation of the human race there has been a constant war, a war with fear. Those who have the courage to conquer it are made free and those who are conquered by it are made to suffer until they have the courage to defeat it, or death takes them.” ~ Alexander the Great

What is your greatest fear, and what do you do (what have you done) to overcome it?

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The haiku Fear is from Humanity’s Lament: Poetry for Our Times. It’s a free download here.