So blessed readers (and blessed you will be indeed should you opt to explore the link I will post here shortly) having a few days off to catch up on projects, both domestic and creative is shaking many words and images from the rafters of my artistic attic.  Several posts on the Bedlam Farm Creative Group feed have inspired me and one by my favorite poet really got me thinking. Here is where you can find the poem: quarryhouse.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/poem-reaching

Tom Atkins is an extraordinary poet. Having met him in person at a gathering last September I know he would describe himself as anything but extraordinary. Indeed the power of his writing is an uncanny ability to infuse the ordinary with profound insight. He is also a visual artist whose paintings and photographs give life to his powerful inner vision.  Often the combination of his words and images speak right to the core of my being.  People who know me would attest that is no easy task. Someone recently inquired about my religious persuasion to which I replied “Skepticism.”  I wanted very much to reply as HH Dalai Lama says “Kindness is my religion. ” Well, at least when my actions speak for me, that is true.

So Tom’s poem has me reflecting on where my first impulses are inclined to go.  It did not take me long to recognize I am the one looking through a telescope.  This accounts for my ability to see right past the countertop crumbs, cobwebbed door frames and impending garden weed invasion. I am focused on what’s out there, not what is underfoot. Sometimes that is an excellent coping mechanism, particularly during mandatory staff meetings and dental work.  When I can translate the vision into teenspeak, it can get my daughter through a nasty bout of angst. At the very least, broader vision gives me a hopeful perspective which overcomes my self-prescribed skepticism.

Don’t get me wrong. I know how to use that magnifying glass.  If I have learned anything in over a half a century it is how to make lists.  They are a necessary focal point for a mind that wanders far afield. Its just that my lists don’t have to be completed for me to start on the path towards an objective. They are a fluid part of the process, evolving as the journey unfolds. Every trip has more than one map because you just never know when an unexpected detour might call you off course for a new adventure.

I admit there are times when the details of life threaten to overwhelm me.  Its my cue to reach for the telescope and scan the horizon for “whats not quite seen.”

Toms blog can be found at  slicesofmysoul.com . His poems and artwork post at quarryhouse.wordpress.com/quarry-house-on-the-web.  I am profoundly grateful for the inspiration his work gives me  and for  the encouragement of my fellow Bedlam Farm Creative Group members.

Walk gently on the path and may adventure find you ready.