May 2024 – Janis Dehler

All That Is

I wanted to write of peace, then I thought of wars.
I wanted to write of hope, then I thought of suffering.
I wanted to write of compassion, then I thought of judgment.
I wanted to write of the flowing river, then I thought of ravaging floods.
I wanted to write of the beauty of water, then I remembered those dying of thirst.
Instead, I write of the purple iris unfolding before me in peace, love, and beauty.
All that is, I trust, in this one, wondrous moment.

“You are a limitless consciousness, Love, and the One who contains within yourself all that is.”

-Raphael Zernoff

“Being present is being connected to all things.”

-S. Kelly Harrell

“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.”

-Aristotle

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Good Neighbors

It is spring and I am practicing setting good boundaries with my deer friends who have increasingly befriended our property and my plantings. While they enjoy a chomp on a green and succulent Hosta; clip off the top of the prized Asiatic lily that I have been waiting to see for two years; leave me phlox that stand stripped of their vibrant purple; I am left dealing with my feelings of being invaded by those who are not aware of what it is they do. In one word: fences. I have been planting fences. Telling myself this is mine and that is yours. Will it work? As in all relationships it is an unknown, but I am making change for me with a desire to live happily with those who love our land and bring beauty when they visit. Life is about connection, is it not? Letting it all go without stating my honest feelings and clarifying my position feels unsatisfying and lacking in integrity. How can I get upset when I have not done my part? Yes, Robert Frost, let us hope that “good fences make good neighbors.”

“When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated. This is why we sometimes attack who they are, which is far more hurtful than addressing a behavior or a choice.”

– Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection

“Creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and consideration for boundaries, can lead you to the path of personal happiness.”

-Nancy B. Urbach

“No” is a complete sentence.”

-Annie Lamott

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To Living, To Life

I express deep gratitude to the mother who said yes to birthing me into this world—a world of beauty, challenges, pain, love expressed, with opportunities to give, develop this soul, give of self.

Beauty not found in perfection in her or me, but beauty in the raw truth of living. The opportunity to walk this earth, breathe this air, touch another human, feel the depth of pain expressed in tears, learn to keep going when all seems lost.

I look at mother robin who created her fragile nest atop our trellis against the east facing wall and see determination, duty, purpose, and faith as she watches the rise of sun in each day, protects her eggs, and waits for life to unfold.

In beauty it is so. Joyous good wishes to all mothers in this day and always.

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”

-Pablo Picasso

“Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers…strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength.”

-Barbara Katz Rothman

“Birth is an experience that demonstrates that life is not merely function and utility, but form and beauty.”

-Christopher Largen

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A Soul Journey


Dark fog deprives perception.
What I don’t know fills the ocean.
What I do know fills a thimble.

In each day, certainties fall.
The full picture is not perceived.
Dark fog deprives perception.

I strive to see into my soul,
clouded with years of unknowing.
What I don’t know fills the ocean.

Layer by layer the path clears.
Trust in the journey begins to form.
What I do know fills a thimble.

“Lack of true knowledge is the source of all pain and sorrows.”

—Yoga Sutras

“The more I see, the less I know for sure.”

—John Lennon

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”

—W.B. Yeats