The things I sometimes omit
from difficult dialogues
could choke a fair-to-middlin’ sized bulldozer.
These omissions are rarely overt.
But still they plague me:
Could I have been more clear?
More direct?
More…?
I once lived in an artistic rural community in Colorado
where there was a goodly amount
of living off the grid.
A community event that called for ‘formal’ attire was subtitled:
come with body,
hair
and clothes all simultaneously clean.
Maybe I need to call for ‘formal’ attire
at any truth-telling party to which I’m invited:
A clean heart,
a clear mind
and an unfettered voice = truth-telling with wisdom and compassion.
Collage done June 2009
Thanks to our friend JP/Deb of Jane Poet - La Poessie Sur Une Mission for this week’s One Single Impression prompt: overt. Thanks, Deb for the prompt, and the outstanding poem and image you posted to your own prompt!
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About Beth Patterson
The Virtual Tea House website became 'word-ripe' when, over a cup of jasmine green, I realized that the web has an expanding part to play in the communal aspects of spiritual growth.
With a master's degree in religion, my career spans 30 years in end of life care and child abuse intervention and advocacy.
Here in beautiful Central Oregon, my spiritual homes of the high desert and the mountains are both in proximity. And for good measure, four hours away is Grandmother Ocean and the stunning Oregon Coast.
I'm making decent progress on the goal set by my mother early on: she taught us that the goal of humanity should be to become ever-more eccentric, i.e. more fully human.
Entering the 'forest-dweller' phase of life, I am honored to host the Virtual Tea House for all who wish to explore how our lives are enriched and made new a thousand times each day by the spirituality we embody. Exploring this engagement together is the purpose of the Virtual Tea House.
Welcome! Let's have a cup of virtual tea together and share what brings us joy, what we are being taught by life, how we are leaning into the Big Questions posed to us each day in sometimes 'distressing disguises'.
Follow me on Twitter, if you must
http://twitter.com/MyraB