Personal Growth

Yellow Bathrobe

I finally settled on Buddhism, she said, but it’s more than just a fashion statement. I’ve always done some of my best work in my bathrobe.

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Words of Comfort

There are days I drop words of comfort on myself like falling rain & remember it is enough to be taken care of by myself.

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Western Mysticism

It’s much easier, he told me, if you like the parts you like & you like the parts you don’t like. Is that some Eastern thing? I said & he said not really since he was from Idaho & it worked there just fine.

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Whales

I remember when the whales had wings, she said. Whatever happened? I said. It got to be too noisy with all the airplanes & other stuff, so they flew into the ocean & never came back. Some days, she added, I think about going too.

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Wheelbarrow

This is a wheelbarrow I filled with all my dreams & my favorite clothes & now all I need is someone to help me push it.

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Watching Ants

I would like to think more about baseball & small engines & the best weedkiller known to man, but I always end up watching the ants on my back porch, thinking we’re not so different after all.

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Weight

This only weighs a lot if you’ve forgotten to do the stuff you wanted to do all along.

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Weight Training

This is a giant block of whatever is most difficult for you to carry & trust me on this, you’ll carry it more times than you can count until you decide that’s exactly what you want to do most & then it won’t weigh a thing anymore.

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Waiting for Signs

I used to wait for a sign, she said, before I did anything. Then one night I had a dream & an angel in black tights came to me & said, you can start any time now, & then I asked is this a sign? & the angel started laughing & I woke up. Now, I think the whole world is filled with signs, but if there’s no laughter, I know they’re not for me.

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Ulterior Motive

What would it take to fly? he said & I said I wasn’t sure, but I knew he’d have to move faster than he did now & he thought about that for a minute & then he looked at me & said you’re trying to teach me something, aren’t you?

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Trusting the Universe

It’s much easier to trust the universe when it’s going well, she said.

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Toothpick Fence

He built fences of whole boxes of toothpicks because he didn’t have enough money for redwood. I know it’s small, he said, but I don’t want everybody just thinking they can walk right in & some day, it’ll be bigger. Fences take practice for everyone.

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