A poem I wrote today inspired by a conversation with my friends in our Music & Poetry Twitter space sharing about this amazing 30-day meditation challenge I did in December

{the benfits of meditation:}

what does it 
mean to be free?

from the stories
that came before,
oppressing you even 
more?

from the ideas of who you need to be,
even the ones
of what it means
to be free?

from the narrow minds
that walk the lines
or
from self-imposed
confines?

from the voices in your head,
thoughts playing on repeat,
feelings that you never wish
to actually truly meet?

if only…
one day…
i could be free
for all the things I want to 
do and be…

for art
for adventure
for music
for friends
for tea
for deep conversations
for long naps
for walks by the sea
for kisses
for laughter
for sharing grief
for dreaming
for savoring
for making-believe
for soaking up sun
for meaningful work
for some simple fun
for all the things
that make you sad
for all the things
that make your heart glad
for all the things
accessible
to you and me 
- surprisingly - 
for free!

funny how it is,
what we seek
is always
right in front 
of us
yet we always 
seem to
miss

then 
one
fine
day
you
realize
that
simply
“FREE”
is
what
you 
have 
always
been 
and 
will
always
be

{self-realization}

---

spoken version

This came through the other day, wrote it down in a matter of three minutes, felt moved to take pictures today…

Feeling encapsulated by the deadening dullness of the limited shared reality, the wanderer crosses the threshold of imposed commonality to get lost in the vastness of the void where anything is possible. The lucrative unknown holds an elusive quality, a mystery that beckons to be explored, but never unravelled completely for its intricate secrets weave themselves into ever more complex patterns that strike with their inherent stoic simplicity. Shapes and visions blend, merge and dance into a series of processions that disappear in the blink of an eye only to re-emerge in a more-vivid-than-before kaleidoscopic formation of pure delight and fascination. The meaning is obscured by palpable presence penetrating to the core of all and revealing itself as the cradle of existence. Non-being implies being, darkness gives birth to light, quiet superimposes noise, life is swallowed by death only to burst into more life, all opposites unite and return to the origin of all things where they have always been. A spark, a thirst, a hunger rekindles the fire again and explodes into an outburst of desire to know itself. A universe is born anew. Welcome, yes, you.