Before I Knew To Look - Serial Readings

From "The Beautiful Not Yet: Poems & Essays"

Hi Everyone.

When we did our google poll folks expressed that they really enjoyed my serial poetry readings. So I’ll be continuing to read from my own books of poetry, but also poetry and prose from poets and authors that inspire me. Often I begin my day with poetry and mediation as a centering practice. “Before I Thought To Look” was published in my collection The Beautiful Not Yet: Poems & Essays.

It is easy to find myself lost in the unchangeable past or unseeable future. But when I stop and really pay attention everything I need is already here— in the eternal now. There is something shining in the world, a great luminous mercy that I so often encounter in small moments. It happens when I catch the scent of lilacs on the air, or a brief smile between strangers on the street. It happens when I am folding laundry or chopping carrots. It can happen at any time I surrender to being exactly where I am. The great luminosity that threads through the world doesn’t go away because I’m not paying attention. It is always there, indeed it can be as close as the palm of my hand. It is always there, always waiting…before I even knew to look.

In my experience, when I am open to receiving messages from the universe, the more messages I receive. Someone once told me that synchronicity is when the Message Writer winks. I like that idea. There is something shining just below the surface of things that is always waiting, patiently, with grace and good humor for me to notice.