What If

What if…

we were awake to our mortality

and instead of begging time

recognized the beloved moment

for what it is–

Radiant with the unbelievable

breaking the night,

its undeniable reminder that we are called

to the prescient now

with all its terrible, glorious unknowns.

What if…

we live the beautiful,

simple seconds, and minutes,

and hours, and days,

each as the gift they are

to be unwrapped-released- into

existence, vibrating to life,

filling the emptiness with

the magnificent ordinary-

the spilled milk of living.

What if…

We see scattered toys,

the mess, pretend preparations

for the forgetfulness of adulthood–

the joyful lostness of wild imaginings-

where fearful tigers tussle

with woolen crocodiles and threadbare rabbits

prepare a feast–this magic place where good wins,

pain erased with a tenderly applied

bandage and a kiss.

What if…

We welcome discomfort as an old friend-

sit awhile and accept the company.

Replace weariness with wonder

at the mystery of it all.

Invite the unexplained,

and the stranger, to tea

leave fear and guilt to their own devices.

See others with tenderness not judgement;

Replace comparison with compassion.

What if…

We began again-

refused to drown out the music

inviting us to dance, to embody ourselves

and each other in unified unknowing-

when poised at the choice of Joy–

leap with arms extended, palms open

to receive the inexhaustible generosity

that waits for us, not just once a year

but every day-

What if?

The featured image is courtesy of Julie Jablonski and used with her kind permission for Cultivating and The Cultivating Project. 

Susan Mulder

Susan Mulder finds herself on a journey to find peace with herself and in the world. Writing poetry is a way she challenges herself after laying down her previous career/s to pursue God’s path for her future. With a terminal degree in fine art in painting, she has held several positions in what she calls her ‘old life’. Though Mulder continues to paint and exhibit and is the author of a poetry collection, No Ordinary Time, she finds her deepest expression (and joy) in writing and within the eyes of her grandchildren.