National Poetry Month is celebrated every April. This year I took time
to engage in reading a variety of poems. I was so moved by their
subtle beauty, honesty, and symbolism. Just a few phases
could evoke so much joy or sadness, insight, remorse or comfort.
I attended a meditation conference in April and I felt inspired to
express my own feelings in ink and so I wrote the following haikus.
Daffodils grin to
greet the rosy dawn, the fat
cat sleeps in the sun.
Glimpsing emptiness
on path to timeless zen, is
enough this Spring day.
Il Won hall sit to
cultivate awareness seeds
dharma flower mind.
We are all facing a global situation of fear and sadness. The War in Ukraine and the lingering pandemic can cause us to feel alone and powerless. Yet each of us can foster change in the world. We all possess an inner light of love and healing. There are many ways to cultivate this light and share it with others. It takes hard work, attention, courage, deep faith, grattitite, and the realization that we are all connected. 
To heal Mother Earth, (Gaia) we must first manifest the changes needed within ourselves as the following paper will explain. I hope the wise words and practices will cultivate a feeling of inner hope, love and, peace for you and our planet. 
On Tuesday, Dec. 21st, 2021, once again the sun will travel its shortest path through the sky, giving us the shortest day and the longest night of the year. Winter begins. Holiday lights shimmer and glow, reminding us that