respect

  • Bridges of the Scattered Self

    Bridges of the Scattered Self

    When estrangement gains its hold,
    a quiet severing begins,
    not only from the voices without,
    but from the murmur within.

    We imagine the gulf yawns
    only between ourselves and another,
    a space grown cold and wide.

    But look again.
    The mind wanders a forgotten path,
    a memory foggy with time,
    or a future yet unspun.

    Thoughts drift like leaves
    blown far,
    on a wind we cannot name.

    And the body
    experiences the phantom pull
    of somewhere else
    while remaining rooted
    in this precise moment.

    Even the eyes,
    which are windows
    to an invisible world,
    gaze blankly into the present
    while concentrating
    on a far-off shore.

    Our fragmented
    and scattered selves,
    each floating aimlessly
    in its own ocean.

    Kindness
    should therefore be
    a gentle hand
    that unites all differences.
    And respect
    the bridge we build,
    thought by careful thought.
    Allow connection to be
    the gathering, a homecoming
    of all our scattered parts,
    welcomed back
    into the warmth of now.

    Filed under: 🜂 Other – reflecting on connection, relationships, and the spaces between souls.

  • Control

    Control

    Control over a person
    Takes many forms:
    Thoughts, emotions, movements,
    Environment, habits,
    The pace of a relationship,
    A group, an organization,
    Natural resources,
    The wealth of a nation—
    The list goes on.
    And on.

    A relationship
    Bound by authority
    Cannot breathe,
    Cannot thrive.

    Wisdom lies in respect
    For the other.
    Control is rooted
    In disregard.

    Those who seek
    To control others
    Reveal their emptiness—
    Lacking meaning,
    Trapped in their own
    Prison of dominance.

    But those who love,
    Who feel empathy,
    Who offer kindness—
    They experience life,
    They create and become.
    For them, freedom
    Is the wellspring of meaning.

    We live in what we
    Create for others.

    But how do we embrace
    Our abundance?
    The abundance of rights
    And freedoms—
    Individual, collective,
    In harmony—
    The rights of our earth,
    Above and below.

    The freedom to express
    And…

    We see, hear, and feel
    Peace in its beauty—
    And its horrors
    In the chaos of survival.

    One lives fully,
    The other clings
    To survival.

    We do not live
    Our abundance together.
    Why?

    Filed under: 🜁 Self – tracing the inner landscapes of thought, feeling, and becoming.