Thoughts...in the key of me.

So I suppose it's appropriate to write the annual "what I'm thankful for" entry, considering today is Thanksgiving day!!! First of all, I'm extremely thankful to be home for Thanksgiving this year to celebrate and share it with my family. Last year I was up in Black Mountain and it was a very difficult day because it was the first Thanksgiving I had ever spent away from home.

I'm thankful for my life and how it's turned out, even though I may not be exactly where I want to be right now. I'm thankful for my parents, who have been amazing teachers throughout my life. I'm thankful that they have never pressured me to be anything other than the person I am....that they let me major in what I wanted in college instead of pressuring me to major in something "more stable" or something that would accomodate a more lucrative career. I'm thankful for my talents, because when I stop to think about it I am talented in many ways.

I'm thankful for coffee.
I'm thankful for music, because without it I would go stark raving mad.
I'm thankful for the outdoors and that nature speaks to me so strongly.
I'm thankful for my mind, that I am able to think for myself instead of being a clone.
I'm thankful for God, because I constantly realize that I need more grace than I thought, and He is always faithful to extend that to me.
I'm thankful for my old friends, my new friends, and what they've taught me.
I'm thankful for my camera, because with it I can share how I see the world sometimes.
I'm thankful for the relationships I've had, because I know that they are working to teach me what love really is through the heartbreak.

I hope all of you reading this take a second to think about the simple stuff you're thankful for, as well as the big obvious stuff. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving, everyone!

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

I've been getting into some Rumi lately... even though he was a Persian scholar and philosopher, his poems have surprising insight into matters of faith and love. Here's one I found earlier today that struck me.

God has given us a dark wine so potent that,
drinking it, we leave the two worlds.

God has put into the form of hashish a power
to deliver the taster from self-consciousness.

God has made sleep so
that it erases every thought.

God made Majnun love Layla so much that
just her dog would cause confusion in him.

There are thousands of wines
that can take over our minds.

Don't think all ecstacies
are the same!

Jesus was lost in his love for God.
His donkey was drunk with barley.

Drink from the presence of saints,
not from those other jars.

Every object, every being,
is a jar full of delight.

Be a conoisseur,
and taste with caution.

Any wine will get you high.
Judge like a king, and choose the purest,

the ones unadulterated with fear,
or some urgency about "what's needed."

Drink the wine that moves you
as a camel moves when it's been untied,

and is just ambling about.

Here's some of my poetry that I ran across.....haven't posted them in a while, so I figured I would. (the last one's a collection of haiku I did once...)


December 8, 2005
Heart-Shaped Paper Lanterns
The pinkish shadow
Reminds me of how it felt
To meet you
And to see you now

I could pull this feeling
Craft it, fold it
Make it a vessel
For the music
Trailing after you

Don't forget
Each moment's hope
Tucked away
As the light source
Until each sense
Each piece of time
Casts a rainbow shadow

I'll take the rainbow
Tie it in my hair
To remember

January 29, 2006
Peach Tea
The sun shone in my glass
Causing an auburn glow
Similar in color to the rolling drawls
Of the modern-day Scarlets
Talking of subjects as vast as a magnolia bloom
The squeals and laughter
Rolling across my ears
As I tasted the soul of the South

I remember those girls
Who chose to soak themselves
In bows and tiny cups of porcelain
Filled with tradition
While I was immersed in the cold creeks of heritage
And christened with red clay

Now watching this dance of smiles and gestures
The air thick with perfume and words
I fade into the auburn glow
And play the part


February 18, 2005
little candy hearts
showing me my hoped fortune.
is this what love is?


the coffee's strong tonight.
the memory's aroma
relaxes to sleep.


familiar song plays;
it is summertime again
with the rain falling.


too bad i must watch
love's telling interactions.
i did know that once.


boy not expected
holds a boom box above him
serenades the queen.


home is where it is:
the heart, the problem, the x.
what to do is key.