Poetry and Presence Explained

I feel a stirring inside my heart, a warm emotion, a realisation or a question. First of all it sits, hovering to the right side of my head but the words do not take form. If I recognize it and pay attention to it, the time will come when I have to grab it. When it enters my mind fully and I see its color, form, texture, if I do not grab it on time, it disappears. Sometimes, if I'm not too late, I can catch its tail and drag it back. But, other times, I can search and search but it's gone. It is like a sacred gift and if I do not accept it, it will go find another poet to give birth to it.

Now, reading poetry is different. When I begin to read a poem, it takes me a while to enter into it. I might have to read the first lines a few times. But very quickly it drops me into another part of myself, usually my heart. The heart is a funny thing because in the heart, I am fully present. Good poetry will ground me in the present where life is so fragrant, lush, vivid and sensual. There, in that place, I completely embrace my humanity. I see the preciousness of each moment. I memorize each sensation.

I have been thinking about the problems, the karma, the suffering in our world and I believe that before we can act in the physical realm, we need to act in the spiritual dimension. We need to use our minds to intend change, we need to abandon control, we need to trust in the healing process of life.

Healing my relationships, my own psyche needs a spiritual component. I cannot be present to others if my pain is lurking in the background. At least an awareness of my pain is necessary. The true essence of human beings is in the present moment. If a past trauma is unresolved, we tend to be stuck in the past or in the future. Our body language can tell us where we are. If I am slouching, curled in on myself, I am in the past. If I am dominating everyone, controlling, orchestrating the scene, I am probably in the future.

I heard a recovering alcoholic say once "we are always becoming something, never happy about who we are right now." I can see myself in this. I am on my way to running ten kilometres, or losing ten pounds by next Wednesday or becoming a Yogi. I am not saying that any of these things are wrong in themselves, it's the motivation behind them that I question. I think, "my life will be so much better", "I will be happier", "sexier", "stronger", "more elastic". Why not just do these things because they make me feel good in the moment? Or because they are fun? That is the difference between being in the future or in the present.

Now, sometimes we need to do this time travel. If we have put out a lot of energy on a new relationship, a new job, a new or stressful situation, we will need to have some time to ourselves to recharge our batteries. My suggestion would be to completely curl into yourself and have a good nap!

As with poetry, life is a sacred gift, that can only be fully lived in the present. Grab it, catch it by the tail and embrace it or it will find someone else to give birth to!