Tag: insight

Poetry by Patrick Jennings
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Like a Bridge Over Travelled Water, Ram Jhoola, Ganges River (Ganga), Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India

Crossing Balance

I cross

Between right and left
Between green and greener
Between here and there
Between past and future
Between mind and body

Every crossing
I behold a few
Who travel the path of balance
At the fulcrum of existence

Neither right nor left but centred
Neither green nor greener, only grass
Neither here nor there but connected to all
Neither past nor future, only this moment
Both mind and body experienced from spirit

The bridge offers choices between opposites
The river flows with the possibility of all things

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Poetry by Patrick Jennings
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A Moment of Repose, Jama Masjid Mosque, Chandni Chowk (Old Delhi), New Delhi, India

A Moment of Repose

I take a moment
Just to sit and be
In my own thoughts
My own body

Reflect on the emotions
All bottled up
Which fill me to overflowing

When they come
Leave the sluice gates open

Don’t restrict the flow

Let them wash over me
Allow them to take what they will

The torrent is hard
And full
A tumult of the repressed

When the tide finally ebbs
Walk the flood path
Take stock of the flotsam and jetsam
Retrieve what is dear and useful

Leave whatever is not
After thanking it
For the lessons

Insight comes
But not without its reckonings

And with these comes healing

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Poetry by Patrick Jennings
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The Straight Path, Route 321, Liebenthal, Saskatchewan, Canada

The Straight Path

The master told her students
This is the path to enlightenment

“But it is so straight”, one replied

True, said the master

“I expected the path to be difficult!” 

The straight path is difficult

“How can it be?
There are no mountain passes to find!
No intersections or forks to choose from!
No sharp curves to negotiate!”

Many students nodded their agreement

The master shook her head

The straight path is difficult because
You want to climb mountains
You expect there to be many paths to choose from
You believe there should be sharp changes in direction

One student had sat quietly through all this
Listening while looking straight down the long path
As far as she could see
Finally, she spoke

“Walking the straight path is impossible
For one who seeks insight
From every roadside attraction”

The master smiled
I am your student! 

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