I am not one to let coffee go to waste

For how long
have I been living on autopilot?
Living the same cycles
over and over again
without critical analysis
of my intentions, purposes,
beliefs,
values?

Was it a method of survival,
sticking close to what I knew
and could trust,
when so much beyond
felt out of control,
despairing?

Was it an avoidance of vulnerability,
of coming face to face
with my deeper self
and acknowledging the change I wanted,
dreamed of,
but did not dare manifest?

Now, with space,
the questions and reflections pour into me
like a hot cup of coffee
filling the mug,
reaching the brim
and overflowing.

I can avoid them no longer
as a pool of coffee collects around the cup
and I am not one
to let coffee go to waste.

Noticing

Noticing
my wanting
to cross items off my to-do list.

Noticing
my yearning
to announce a project as complete.

Noticing
my fear
of diving into waters of vulnerability
when I feel fragile.

Noticing
my tendency
to want to do the easy things
rather than the hard and messy things.

Noticing
my hesitancy
with meeting new facets of me
and letting the old ones go.

Noticing
the discrepancies between
what I claim to desire
and the actions I take.

Noticing.

is an explanation enough?

Is it enough
to reach a realization at the end,
to finally have in hand
an explanation
of why I feel the way I do?

An explanation
cannot replenish
the time lost, energy wasted,
minutes and heartbeats traded for depression
because at the time,
I could see no other option.

Is it something, though?
Can it kickstart the sheep
as I try to fall asleep tonight?

At the time,
I could see no other option.

this time will be different

Time and time again
I’m knocked down to my knees
by an event of immense magnitude
because all the smaller signs along the way,
I’ve missed.

Tragedy, sickness, death,
these are what it takes for me to stop,
re-evaluate my priorities,
make space to enjoy this gift of a life
I’ve been blessed to receive.

Maybe this time will be different.
Maybe this time I will carry forward
the gratitude, the presence,
the love I have found again.

I need this time to be different,
and will make it so.

standards

Please, oh please,
stop being so hard on yourself
day after day.

Who sets the bars, the standards
you race to meet?
The person who sets them
maintains the power to change them.
Is it you?

more than self care

I take at least a dozen breaths,
formulate in my mind what I want to say
typing it out,
erasing, and typing it out again.
This is a safe space.

I ask the question.
How do you know when
you need more than just self care?

Reactions range from widened eyes,
to nodding heads and note-taking,
but him; he offers empathy.
We hardly ever need an engine replacement;
maybe it’s just an oil change or a tire rotation that we need.

Muted on the microphone,
I tremble and quiver in my thick wool sweater
as a tear slides off my cheek
and lands on the keyboard.