Love is the Imperative

Sweet ecstasy of morning and robins singing that sweet eternal spring song, nascent dreaming Spring. Opening to that possibility. The glorious sweetness of Spring The freshness of the day with unlimited possibilities. Unlimited creative possibilities as well stay focused as part of the morning meditation on Blue Heron Pond. Tremendously creative spirit right now, centered. Awake! Awake the morning is calling to awaken.
My center grounding to this spot here on Blue Heron Pond. Enjoying the absolute simplicity of the morning by Blue Heron Pond.
Do we have the strength of conviction and courage to sit by the pond with exquisite attention to the sound of robins and to the creative inspiration, the crackling vivacious scintillating energy of life. The glorious rhapsody of spring, the affirmation of continuity. The awe and connection to eons when people first felt the awe and hope of Spring. For millennia, after long hard winter the first shoots of green and flowers. A long winter all the food supplies exhausted. The animals scarce. The old and infirmed died. Children born. The circle of life starting over again. This is the continuity. My imperative as an artist or as a person it is very simple: Look! Listen! Be awed!

This is the imperative that I wrote Vermont my home,

CARE WELL

The last poem is
for this elegy to the pond –

sacred body of water
who has taught me more
of reverence than any church.

wiser in its quiet wisdom,
than any holy book or tome.

care well!
it seems to say.
care well!

swimming in the freezing
waters, ice cold springs
surprise and awaken me!

finches, darts of yellow
race across the fields.
blue jay screech warns!
robins, plump, are ready to nest.

care well!
it seems to say.
care well!

frogs’ night chorus more
joyous and godly than any
Bach chorale; tulips divine
the intersect of mystery,
revelation from the earth
and desire from the sun.

The Blue Heron is
nowhere in sight, sage
of these meadows who
nests high in the hemlocks,
is patiently biding her time.

Care well,
she seems to say.
Care well!

In a few years or less
I will be dead, but I
don’t grieve this passing.

I will grieve if we have
not loved this earth with
sublime tenderness,
reverenced the pond as
dearly as our gods, cherished
the wisdom of a flower,
and held the divinity of
each living creature as a
mirror of god’s love.

I believe that as god
spun the planet earth
on her course and
brought it to life


She set it free with this
single blessing:

“Care well!

How do we live in the world with reverence, not for some god or gods of our imagination, not some external moral authority based on our fears and fantasies and miasms of childish emotions. How are we truly coming close to that spirit of a truly wise and tender spirit?
There is too much violence and destruction, our interactions with such misunderstanding and malice, our phenomenal capacity for greed, and our rapacious interaction with the planet. Our spirits should be joyfully singing and opening the our souls to the ecstasy of life and love, yet we choose the lesser. Do I choose personal vanity of anger over the wisdom of the Earth; we choose greed over generosity of spirit. We have far greater capacity to choose a life-affirming way of being in the world. Yet we choose to often, a world such violence and greed. What is the legacy that we leave the next generation?

Violence in all levels is on my mind this morning in all the guises it wears. The destruction of the planet, global warming, militarism, the insane volume of hatred and violence we see on the television, movies, and all the video games. We are culture it seems that worships violence and war. The USA sacrifices the education of our children, the health of a nation, the safety of the environment, and spend more than all of Europe, Russian, and China combined on military. What is this insanity all about?

The Buddhist principle is the mandate --Do no harm. It then compels us to ask, what does this mean? What is the principle of no harm? By opposing this violence in the world do we become a force a power and energy presence for a greater Love? A profound love needs to hold us close, as close as a suckling child to a mother. We need to fill our spirits with the capacity for genuine love. Love that is transformative. Love that embraces the world as a sacred gift.

My imperative as an artist is to celebrate the magnificent beauty of the planet. To hold dear the water, to savor the sweetness of the air, the clarity of the skies, the preciousness of each breath.
How do we live and act in the Miracle Mind?
I sit in meditation by Blue Heron Pond the sun is making its mark around the stand of pines. Sunlight illuminates white rock sits implacable in the center.
Act wisely and well in the world. Turn off the television. Fold the newspapers. Look at this wisdom of a Spring day. The wisdom of the day is a conversation of love. Love as a celebration. Love as joy. Love is the imperative.

Love is the imperative

tender
loving
spirit

care
love
courage

you

other

the Earth

love
is
the
imperative.

namaya @Blue Heron Pond