Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Think Big



What keeps you small?  

Wherever that shows up  
no matter  
how minute the issue is —  
if you are small in some way  
Release it.  

It’s time  
to step up to the plate  
Leave your childhood  
protectors behind  
Face them  
Thank them for having  
kept you safe ­—  
Now they are  
keeping you small.  

Acknowledge  
and move on  
to the land of big.  

You are here to add  
to this glorious cosmos  
You are here to  
open our eyes  
to something  
we could not see without you.  
You have a place  
in the stream  
You have a place  
in the world.  

You can’t get there
by being small
     and comfortable
          and safe.

The big picture
is your birthright
It’s time
to step up
and claim it.

3 comments:

Anthony Lawlor said...

YES!!! Time to live the bigness we are. This Image & poem catch that spirit beautifully.

Cari said...

Nice, especially paired with your Yosemite drawing, Sherrie. Important issue much on my mind, and nowhere brings it to you the way Yosemite does. It's where I fell in love with my husband all over again, the first time we went there in 2001, and I saw him weeping at our first sight of El Capitan. It's how I felt when we hiked up to Mirror Lake last May, and I saw Half Dome from her tip top all the way down to her reflection in Tenaya Creek. It's a place of such big magic. I love how you have expressed this, our childhood protectors (or tormentors!) keeping us small. Food for thought. Thank you.

Sherrie Lovler said...

Thanks Tony and Cari!

Yes, Cari, Yosemite is quite magical, and lucky for us, it's within driving distance. I took a trip there a few years ago with my Tai Chi class. It was amazing doing Tai Chi under the watchful eye of El Capitan.
I think you would get a lot out of the book I am reading which is inspiring many of my poems: Nature and the Human Soul by Bill Plotkin. One of the many things he talks about is Childhood Survival Strategies which sometime stick with us longer than needed.