In this hustle and bustle of western culture It can be difficult to stand on the edge of Pausing Of slowing down, watching, waiting Of not giving into the chronic cry Of do, do, do What if? I wait, and be? Pause and reflect? It doesn’t mean I’m not valuable or productive What if waiting…
Category: Ponderings
Ode to Lighting Candles
On this growing colder November day As the light lessens And darkness knocks at my door I hear my candles whispering their request “Will you please grant us light?” Such a simple thing The striking of the match against the box The flame as it leaps from the tip of the wood The smell…
Ode to Morning Frost
You remind me of glitter Your sparkling, shining self along my porch railing As if my daughters, when they were small, Had sprinkled you along the railings edge, atop Elmer’s glue And scattered you about. Glitter, The fun and glitzy shininess of it Sparkling on my floor, walls, chairs and furniture It would get everywhere….
Ode to 50
I knew you were approaching; but honestly, I was a bit apprehensive about your arrival. I wondered to myself, “How would I like to honor crossing this threshold?” My souls answer, “Kauai” After the gift of journeying 49 years, I knew to pay attention. And so, rather swiftly, my soulful creative inner traveling guide danced…
Ode to Pike Place Market
We first beheld each other in the fall of 1979, through the eyes of the original Starbucks mermaid logo. I was a bright eyed, enthusiastic, falling in love with Seattle fan. A virgin coffee drinker, deeply ensconced in my Scottish/Canadian tea drinking roots, I was lured to your domain by my summer camp gang from…
Ode to Genau
From the moment of our introduction in Vienna, Austria, I knew we were to become dear friends. What a delightfully wonderful presence you are: Precise and playful, Full of promise and hope, Statement and simplicity. You can be exclaimed with a shout and strong conviction Or whispered quietly and almost musically from the lips. With…
Ode to Springtime
“Forget me not,” we cried, All the while knowing that sometimes, during the deep dark days of winter, You wondered would we rear our beautiful bowed heads? While the skies darkened, and the rains fell, We were quietly working our magic in the deep dark soil of the earth, Simply waiting for our time to…
Ode to Hands
To left and right, to the shared balance of power between you, to the openness as you extend your palms in a welcoming greeting, I bow. To these ten fingers, to left and right, to the clapping and meeting as you salute others in peace, recognizing the presence of each divine soul, Namaste. To hands…
Reflections on Vienna
It began with a new pair of shoes, as all magical stories do, and ended with a ride in a horse drawn carriage. Could this be a fairy tale? Quite possibly. It doesn’t have a wicked witch, a prince or an evil spell but it does have: beauty, color, beginnings, middles and endings and a…
Ode to soul filled Color
You stopped me dead in my tracks as I rounded the corner in the Albertina Museum. Your blossoming colors reached into my heart and my senses came alive to your fragrance, as if your very perfume could fly through the air from your canvas. Chagall, your mastery and imagery of ‘sleeping woman with flowers’ spoke…
Ode to Plumbing
Flush, Whoosh, Whir, Gone. When you function in your natural calling, oh what a joy you are! Flush, Stop, Bubble, Spew, Oh no! Are you protesting something from within? How may I assist you? Clean up your mess, wipe the floor, call for help! Oh plumbing, I beseech you to follow your call again 🙂…
Searching for beauty in the desert
Yesterday, I returned from a four day trip to Albuquerque, N.M. Upon first impression it was: barren, desolate, and brown. The city and surroundings felt worn out, old and tired. I was there because my eldest daughter was participating in the WAC indoor track championship for Seattle U. She’s a thrower; translation, she spins in…
Sharon Richards 