Category: Community

Aug 11 2010

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

Humans prepare for the future all their lives,

yet meet the next life totally unprepared.

–Drakpa Gyaltsen

Phenomena XXXV:  posterity


River of Time

Note in a Bottle

Words

strung like beads

into thoughts

woven

into frayed patches

a fragile parchment

from your past

A note

in a bottle

set adrift

in the river

of time

If the words

reach you

can you see to it

that they are read

and then sent

once again

on their way

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–May 16, 2008

Aug 10 2010

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

It is a city built of bones,

and daubed with flesh and blood,

in which old age and death,

pride and hypocrisy

are the inhabitants.

–Dhammapada, verse 150

Phenomena XXXIV:  dying



Doorway

Mort

At some instant

one day

the words will cease to flow

their creator (or vessel)

having passed through

the Door

between herenow

and therethen

The words left behind

the ideas they expressed

the actions they instigated

will be all

that remains

to weigh the meaning

of this particular existence

Regret is extinguished

if the words

have expressed

peacefulness

concern and care

and a life lived well

–Robyn Serven

–September 21, 2007

Aug 09 2010

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

Like a cowherd

driving cows off to the fields,

so old age and death

take away the years from the living.

–Dhammapada, verse 135

Phenomena XXXIII:  aging


Spectacle

Speculation

One day

maybe

the world will be

as I envision it

But that will be

in some far distant

day to come

and this is now

It is improbable

that I will see

and experience

my vision

Change occurs

too slowly

or perhaps

aging occurs

too fast

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–March 9, 2008

Aug 08 2010

Spreading the Lessons Learned Inside the Liberal Bubble

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to speak informally at length with several college-aged young adults. Most were at least a decade or so younger than me, and it was interesting to compare how a younger generation’s perspective was both different and similar to that of my own. We covered a wide variety of subjects in a relatively short period of time, but one particularly interesting discussion grabbed my attention. To some extent, it might as well have sufficed for the main idea of every related topic we covered. Many were within a few semesters of graduation, and starting to contemplate what life after college would have in store for them.  

Aug 08 2010

Sunday Musings

A few things… after the drop.

Aug 06 2010

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

One who experiences the unity of life

sees one’s own Self in all beings,

and all beings in one’s own Self,

and looks on everything with an impartial eye.

–Bhagavad Gita, Chapter VI, verse 29

Phenomena XXXII:  adapting


Mirages

Cellular Diversity

Organismystically

we form and transform

the words and thoughts

building an understanding

a commonality

cells aligning

and recombining

Not by becoming

blind–deaf–dumb

but through sampling

our differences

does this creature

avoid being stillborn

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–June 20, 2008

Aug 05 2010

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

The wise ones,

ever meditative and steadfastly persevering,

alone experience Nirvana,

the incomparable freedom from bondage.

–The Dhammapada, verse 23

Phenomena XXXI:  musing


Seeds

What if?

What if rainbows

came in textures

and kaleidoscopes

played with sound

What if feelings

were for wearing

and thoughts weighed

each a pound

Would hope appear upward

and love feel cerise?

What would be the taste of freedom?

What would be the scent of peace?

Could I pay my rent

in moonbeams

when the future

becomes our toy?

When hate and greed

are left behind

could I measure wealth

in joy?

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–February 26, 2008

Aug 04 2010

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

if in day to day life you lead a good life,

honestly, with love, with compassion, with less selfishness,

then automatically it will lead to nirvana.

–Tenzin Gyatso (the fourteenth Dalai Lama),

from Religious Values and Human Society

Phenomena XXX: ephemeron


Searching for Fertile Ground

Leaving Nothing but Footsteps

I tread

lightly

though life

Soft footsteps

shaped like words

sown

like apple seeds

along the years

Applying color

like a butterfly’s wings

to attract the prey

Don’t be concerned

I will not harm you

I need only what allows

the next moment

and the hope that ideas

germinate

after I have passed

I have tread lightly

through life

and intend

to leave it lightly

as well

And maybe just

a little better

for my having

been here

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–April 11, 2008

Aug 03 2010

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

He who seeks happiness

by hurting those who seek happiness

will never find happiness

–M. K. Gandhi, from his poem, Violence

Phenomena XXIX: helping


Beyond the End

Fifty-two

Keep your mouth closed

and embrace a simple life,

and you will live carefree until the end of your days.

If you try to talk your way into a better life

there will be no end to your trouble

–from the Tao te Ching

–tr. by J. H. McDonald

I could embrace

a simpler life

might enjoy

being carefree

but…

…there would be people

some like me

and some not

with lives filled

with much concern

too many troubles

and my heart

is filled with care

Until they have

better lives

I must try

to talk the world

into a better way

Really

It’s no trouble

at all

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–March 30, 2008

Aug 02 2010

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

Everyone has the seed of awakening

and insight within his or her heart.

Let us help each other touch these seeds in ourselves

so that everyone can have the courage to speak out.

–Thich Nhat Hanh

Phenomena XXVIII: planting


Relative Size

Small Moments

I am not John Chapman

But I’d be honored

if some of my words

were the seeds

for someone like him

If history

has taught me anything

it is that

it will not be me

who can spread those words

and the thoughts they express

It takes someone like you

rather than someone like me

All I can do is

interact with you

make a minor adjustment

in those small moments

that make change possible

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–June 6, 2008

Jul 30 2010

Mue in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

For as long as space endures,

for as long as living beings remain,

until then may I too remain,

to dispel the misery of the world.

–Shantideva, The Bodhicaryavatara

(The Way of the Bodhisattva)

Phenomena XXVII: living


Spark

Short Circuit

Sapient spark

arc of life

light and heat

radiant energy

signifying something

So much potential

so often diminished

grounded through

selfishness and greed

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–February 4, 2008

Jul 29 2010

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

All that we are is the result

of what we have thought:

it is founded on our thoughts,

it is made up of our thoughts.

If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought,

pain follows him, as the wheel follows

the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.

–Dhammapada, verse 1

Phenomena XXVI: transgressing


Bruise

Torture

How much

information

did you get

from the fly

after you picked off

its wings?

What intelligence

did you gain

from the butterfly

when you

crushed it

with water?

Did the squirrel

divulge secrets

concerning

a ticking bomb

as you

dissected it

Did you

move on

to people?

Knocking

the corners off

those

with too many

sandblasting

the surface

of those

too different

forcing into focus

the fuzzy people

is how some people

spend too much time

It’s a short step

from here to torture

Is it forward or back?

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–April 18, 2008

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