Poem: A Guide to the Overwhelmed

A Guide to the Overwhelmed

Stop.
Find a flower, a single bloom.
Focus on it.
See it's amazing colors,
it's texture.

Touch it.
Breath it,
the soft perfume of a summer's afternoon.

Take your time,
for the flower will die
in a day or few
and this moment is all you have,
your one opportunity
to drink in God's gift of perfection,
to enjoy the very moment of glory it was created for.

Look at it's leaves,
rich, green, perfect cappillaries
bring life and beauty
from the earth, rain and sun
to the blossom you hold gently in your hand.

Months, years even have gone into this moment,
from seed, to this crescendo of color,
seasons of death, of cold and rebirth.

And after it's death?
More seeds. More Life. More beauty.
Life renewed,

a life full of such moments.
A sunrise.
The crisp taste of apple pie on the tongue.
The tenderest touch of a lover.

All reborn like the flower,
sure as love,
sure as your own glorious beauty.

So waste not the moments.
Let them fill you,
and push aside your troubles.
If only for now,
find peace.

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The title was blatantly stolen from one of the links I love, Think Simple Now. I saw the title and dropped everything. I just KNEW there was a poem in there. Only later did I actually read the post. It's well worth reading, less lyrical, but probably more useful to the overwhelmed than my verse.

The picture was taken in Dorset, Vermont last weekend. In a greenhouse of course, since winter's still dancing around those parts. You can click on it for a larger version.

Tom