Rebirth
Thicket
Click for meditationRegarding "Thicket"
A thicket, particularly
One in the middle of the woods,
Can be so intimidating
Because of the prospect of
Getting lost within it.
If you go in, you may not easily
Come out! It is common
To lose your bearings,
Even with a compass.
As an example, I was once
In a spruce thicket in
The Maine woods with
Someone else. He was no
More than 15 feet to my
Right, and we were
Both dressed in blaze-orange
Clothing. I lost sight of
Him! If it was not for
The fact I could hear him,
I would not have known
He was there! A thicket can
Be a metaphor for life —
Scary, daunting, confusing —
But, if you keep your
Head and stay calm, all should
Be alright. The old saying is,
“What doesn’t kill you
Makes you stronger.”
On the other side of a thicket
Comes a tremendous confidence
Boost upon exiting.
This also happens with
Major life events – death,
Divorce, job loss, illness, handicap,
Financial disaster, etc. These
Things are part of our pilgrim’s path.
They can be very painful,
But can lead to tremendous,
Personal character growth, just
Like leaving a thicket…
Leo Carroll
December 5, 2018
If I e’er
Entered this place,
Would I be
Able to find
My way back out,
Or would I get
Lost in a tangled
Maze of conflicting
Directions,
Decisions, and
Doubts, thus
Leaving me
Turned ’round
And ’round about, or
Would I be fine,
This apparent
Obstacle
But a further
Steppingstone
Along my
Winding
Path, and each
Straw-hued
Swamp
Stalk just a
Walking stick,
For me to depend
Up’n and to
Have…?
The Universe’s Manger
Click for meditationRegarding "The Universe’s Manger"
Seeing the
Beating heart of the
Baby robin was like looking at the
Beating heart of
All of earth’s life –
Every life, every heart, all
Combined into
Just one life, one
Single, big beating heart,
A composite heart, and
All shown to me
From my living room
Window, where a
Robin’s nest
Was but bare
Inches away in
A boxwood shrub,
And rather than having to
Travel to strange
And exotic
Lands in search of
Strange and exotic life,
All I had to
Do was to peek
Through the glass and
See the embodiment and
Meaning of all life,
Any kind of life,
Wherever it
Resided in this
Universe, and it
Was safeguarded in
Front of me by
A mother robin,
Which humanity would
Zoom light years to
See, if it was ever rumored
To chirp on another
Planet’s rock.
Leo Carroll
May 16, 2018
Is there a life
With more meaning than
Yours? Is there pink
Flesh I should more honor
In awe?
Is there a heart
Which sweeter, lighter beats?
Is there a clearer
Chirp of born again, new
Beginnings?
Is there a season
Which comes with gladder
Tidings? Is there a
Warmer nest to soothe
Robin’s crying?
Running on Wings
(Finding Grace at "Station Ten" in Boot Camp)
Click for meditationRegarding "Running on Wings"
Some years ago, I
Injured my right leg and ankle.
I had always been athletic, and loved
Playing sports, so when I
Lost the ability to
Run, fully run, it was a
Big loss to me. I missed the
Freedom to exert myself at a very
High level, and I realized I
Had to change my approach, or
My health would deteriorate. And
So I started to concentrate on
What I could do rather
Than what I couldn’t do,
And I discovered I could
Compensate for my lack of
Mobility in other ways.
I added swimming to
My exercise regimen, then
Weight training, stationary bike
Riding, and many other things.
I eventually began to take
Physical fitness classes.
This lead to one class called,
“Boot Camp,” in which
I was subjected to
A wide set of activities,
One being to run between
Two fluorescent-orange, floor cones.
When I first attempted this,
It was very difficult,
Because I ran with a limp. But
I kept trying, and my limp
Became less, and I finally reached the
Point of being able to slowly jog –
And I felt like my feet
Had wings, eagle’s wings, and
It was as if my body was
Lifted off the litter to soar…
Leo Carroll
November 7, 2018
I find myself running on feet
As if they were surely eagle-winged,
When I once thought I would
Ne’er run again, until, that is, my
Healing would come when I walked
Those tall, sweet grasses in the
Fair meadows of Elysium…
But here I am now, my gait
Restored to where I can at least
Meekly jog, and so I race back and
Forth between two fluorescent cones, as
If my feet were finally loosed of the earthen
Cords which kept them bound…
Climbing Meg’s Mountain
Click for meditationRegarding "Climbing Meg’s Mountain"
This poem was written
Less than 12 months after I had joined
A new health club in the town where I lived, and
It also coincided with a period in my life
When I was in need of rejuvenation. I found myself
Taking part in my first-ever, spinning ‘Pedal to End Cancer’
Fundraiser. The lead instructor for the three hour
Ride was a whirling dervish, who took us on
A very intensive, cardio-demanding,
Simulated mountain climb, all to the
Pulsating sounds and cadence of great music. For
One straight hour she pounded us with
An endless barrage of merciless
Spinning commands and exhortations,
Which appeared to have no end to them…
She seemed oblivious to any and all
Difficulties we had keeping up with her!
It was our job to do what we had
To do! As part of completing that
Strenuous, wild ride, I was also
Reminded of the tremendous challenges
Occurring in the lives of other people,
Particularly with respect to cancer. And so
Today, right now, I look back with so
Much gratitude to that first ‘Pedal to End
Cancer’ experience, and I thank that
Spinning instructor for helping to lift me up
Out of myself, and for enabling me to
See that if cancer survivors could endure
Years, even decades, of debilitating
Treatment just to live one more day, then
I could do a mere three hour ride, and I could
Express gratitude for what I had received
As blessings in my life.
Leo Carroll
March 5, 2019
“Pump it!…, Push it!…”
“Keep back in your saddle!…”
“Keep your peddle strokes
Even and smooth!…”
“We’re going to do ‘jumps’
To the count of two – – up!…, up!…, up!…”
“We have a double chorus!!!…”
“Slide!…, Slide!…, Slide!…”
“Down to hand position three!…”
“Keep your elbows loose and relaxed,
And tucked into your body!…”
“Back in lohhhhwww!!!…”
“Keep working, keep working!…,
Watch your cadence!…”
.
.
.
…And thus on and on and without mercy, her
Commands continue and cascade and escalate, one upon the other,
Relentless, unyielding, pounding, driving me into the ground, and I know on this
Sunday morning that any mountain, this mountain, can be climbed
With the exhortation and aid of this endless
Fusillade from a ponytailed woman in the female form of an
Absolutely whirling tornado, and all I have
To do is “pump it”, and any doubt and despair can
Be conquered by my spinning flywheel, and cancer can
Inexorably be crushed and tossed into the fathomless dustbin
With its twin gargoyles of terror and fear.
On the Beach
Click for meditationRegarding "On the Beach"
Sometimes,
Sometimes it may seem
As if everything
Has crumbled down
Upon you and all
Around you…
It may very well have, at
Least from your
Perspective…but
Sooner or later,
Though, the sun lifts
Above the horizon, the
Moon rises, the
Tide pulls back, and
The first crocus
Shows the
Beginnings of
Spring…
Leo Carroll
April 22, 2018
What broke me
Down came like a dark,
Rogue sea, from
All directions
Without hint of mercy.
But now that the
Waters have pulled
Back, they leave
Me on the
Beach basking,
Like a grain
Of sand burnished,
The starless night having
Passed…