Real Power

Indian Paintbrush, Grand Mesa, CO, USA, Aug 2017
Photo by Delphina Raven

Real power 
Comes from 
Breaking through barriers
Not asking for handouts

It makes you harder 
And yet softer too
Because you understand
What it takes
And how much inspirational power
It has

Adversity won’t stop you
Not when the fight is worth it
And it is imperative 
For the whole of all of us

Forward progress
Comes from forward momentum
In spite of life’s
Challenges and adversities
And because of life’s
Intricate beauty 

Difficulties are essentially
Growth opportunities
An innate drive
To be an optimal version of who you are

It needs not
More add-ons
But stripping away of
Nonessential baggage
Expectations
Fancy adornments

Dig deep
And there you recognize
That fiery strength
Merge it with raw courage
That has always existed
An oft-ignored gift inside yourself

No need for more
For you have everything you need

Be self-disciplined
Have self-control
Let experiences become foresight
No matter how painful

Become responsible for yourself
Compassion and understanding
Flow through
For all

Gift of a Giving Heart

Photo Credit: Delphina Raven, Balfour, BC, Canada

A heart
No matter how brittle
How broken, how scarred
Somehow heals up

When she gives the gift
Of giving
Of nurturing
some more

At the same time that she gives
While the gift of giving
Is unwanted
It pains the most

Yet

When she stops giving
Is also when the heart
Breaks some more
And tears start flowing again

No amount of tears shed
No amount of self-rejection
No amount of self-depreciation
Can patch that up again

Until she gives the gift of a
Giving Heart
That it begins healing again
Creating the telltale scars

Hopefully received this time
And the gift of the giving heart
Heals the pain around
One earthling at a time