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"The Buddha said, "Faith is the beginning of all good things." No matter what we encounter in life, it is faith that enables us to try again, to trust again, to love again. Even in times of immense suffering, it is faith that enables us to relate to the present moment in such a way that we can go on, we can move forward, instead of becoming lost in resignation or despair." ~ Sharon Salzberg
***

A mighty wind
blew night and day
It stole the oak tree's leaves away
Then snapped it boughs
and pulled it's bark
Until the oak was tired and stark.
But still the oak tree held its ground
while other trees fell all around.
The weary wind gave up and spoke,
"How can you still be standing, Oak?"
The oak tree said, "I know that you
can break each branch of mine in two,
carry every leaf away,
shake my limbs and make me sway.
But I have roots stretched in the earth
growing stronger since my birth.
You'll never touch them, for you see
they are the deepest part of me.
Until today, I wasn't sure
of just how much I could endure.
But now I've found, with thanks to you
I'm stronger than I ever knew.

--Johnny Ray Ryder, Jr

***

Your skeletal form
Silhouetted against the winter sky
Branches covered with frost
Your limbs chilled by the frigid air

It was not long ago
When summer shone on your fruit
And your leaves were nurtured by the sun
The sap ran strong, and coursed through each twig

But now your foliage lies scattered
In gutters and along fences
The lush green leaves
Are dead and brittle

Each one a memory
Each one a faded jewel
Each one you grew
And nurtured

A storm then came
Which tore off a limb
First it bent
Then it snapped
The sound of wood tearing
Unheard in the scream of the wind

Now the sap is congealed
On your amber wounds
But the jagged splinters still remain
As reminders you cannot forget

The limb is gone and the bark hangs loose
But you still remember the feel of the wind
Whistling through its twigs
The rustle of its leaves in a breeze

Dark clouds scurry across the darker sky
Winter chills right to the core
It numbs but not enough to ease the sorrow

But winter will pass and spring will come; it always does
Your branches will thaw and again bear fruit
New limbs will grow
And will provide comfort with their shade

Stronger and fuller you will grow
With each passing year
As you learn to take in stride
The seasons of life

--Cass Chin

***

Healing is an amazing journey
Cure is a desired destination
Remissions are the craved vacations
Symptoms are the warning signs

Pain is an incredible teacher
Suffering is an option indeed
Hope is a needed companion
Faith is a great friend in need

Apathy is a doorway to depression
Anxiety is a forerunner to stress
Emptiness is a whisper for wholeness
Resistance is a call for acceptance

Frustration is a mask for anger
Denial is avoidance of honesty
Silence is indigestion of feelings
Numbness is intolerance for thoughts

Courage is a risk worth taking
Intuition is a gift worth following
Forgiveness is the means to inner bliss
Gratitude is the beginning of wisdom

Openness is changing a victim mindset
Flexibility is trying over and over again
Strength is overcoming the fears and doubts
Growth is learning from the pains with joy

Health is a relative term and goal
Healing is a never-ending process
Wellness is the reward of the journey
Wellbeing is the experience of peace

Patience is a reliable test
Will is a powerful measure
Trust is never the question
Love is the ultimate answer

Darina S.


***

I stood in front of that black-limned door-

I heard the bolts thrown open

I heard the locks click

I heard the un-used hinges squeal.


I stood there, held captive, against my will

As that door swung open

And I looked inside

And beheld the soul-searing blackness within

And I trembled.


I heard the howls and wails

Of Grief and Anguish

I heard the cries of Fear

And Loneliness and Rage.


The cold winds foul with Sadness

Cutting with icy fingers of Pain

Rushed by my face

And swirled around me

And tears bled from my eyes.


I stood there, terrified, frozen

And then

An ageless endless eternity later

Before I had to step inside

The door slammed shut in front of me.


Blinded by tears I heard the crash

And fell to the floor, huddled in exhausted relief

Thanking the God of creation

And all who would hear

That I had not had to step inside.


I have turned my back on that door

And tried to forget that it is there

But sometimes I feel a cold draft

On the back of my neck

And I know, that having been opened once,

It is not so securely locked as it was before

And I shudder.


I send my love through that crack

That hairline crack that the draft seeps through

I send my heart through

To those

Who had to step through that door

To the wailing darkness inside.

And I pray that they will not be lost

But will find their way through

The Grief and Pain

To the door that

Lies on the other side.

To Life.

--Jane Chin

***

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on,
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting–
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

~Mary Oliver

***

In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me
there lay an invincible summer.
--Albert Camus