Spring Comes and The Grass Grows By Itself

I love spring. It has so much to teach us about expansion, opening, and living in the moment. In his March Centering Hint, Tom Crum included the following Zen phrase:

Spring comes

and the grass

grows by itself

It reminds me how much stress, struggle, and effort I add to daily life. When I can remember that I am supported by the love of friends and family, by my faith, and by Universe, all tension and fear fall away. A smile appears. And spring comes.

Feel your breath as you inhale slowly. Feel it flow up into your lungs, expanding your chest, relaxing your shoulders, and upholding your posture. Enjoy the exhale, too, as it takes with it any residual effort, all worries, all need and fear. We are not in control. Ahh, yes. And we are loved and held. Every moment.

Good ki!
Judy Ringer

Love Is Its Own Reward

Sometimes I spend all my time making money
Then I spend a lot of money trying to buy a little more time
Always something different we are looking for
One thing I know -- love is its own reward

Out on the road sometimes I long to stay in one place
When I'm home I start to wishing to be any other where
Always something different we are looking for
One thing I know -- love is its own reward

Love can move the mountains
It works like gravity
Bringing things together like you and me

Sometimes I look for the one to make me happy
Then I look for all the reasons why you're not the perfect one
Always something different we are looking for
One thing I know -- love is its own reward

Some times are hard
That's just the way it goes
Good times in hard times...love will make it so

For all the times that I wish my life were different
If I can just keep my heart open I can end this private war
Always something different we are looking for
One thing I know -- love is its own reward
Always something different when love comes through the door
One thing I know -- love is its own reward

-- Ellen Stapenhorst

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Thanks, Ellen for your post on 2/28 - "Love and Breath." I love your song (above), "Love's Reward." Reading your post made me want to hear it again, so I started up my Come Back Home disk and got a little closer for a little while. I love your music. I guess that's mainly what I wanted to say. And in not-too-distant second place, is to echo your words:

How do I know love? For me it is feeling connected to life, to that which is around me…feeling bigger than my small self. Being centered, being present, being open and permeable, and doing what I can to serve life. I feel it in my heart, physically. When I need more love in my life, I can start loving, and voila! There is love in my life! Maybe it’s always there, it’s just my awareness that slips away. I wrote a song once called “Love is Its Own Reward”…now all I have to do is remember I can start the process of being in love.

We can start the process of being in love by loving. And we can invite someone else to center by centering ourselves. And with these conscious choices, we change not only ourselves but everything.

Love and Ki,
Judy

Judy Ringer