One Clear Path

Dream wakes me with words,
“Pay attention! One clear path —“
(So many directions.)

***

The labyrinth calls. 
One path in,
One path out. 
Twists and turns,
Facing all the directions,
In the center place, a nest —

Searching for the one way,
The one thing,
The word, the phrase,
The workshop, the quote,
The “once and for always”
obsessive narrowing of focus.
The pathway to bliss,
Peace and presence assured,
Pain kept at bay.

I yearn for the Celtic path,
A triple spiral,
One continuous path,
Just three turns in one circuit.
A deeper stillness,
A singular path
To the nest within me.

What if focus could be a deepening,
A compassionate returning,
Again and again, 
To the radiant spark within,
A practice of breathing,
Stopping, 
Resting,
Releasing,
Opening,
Receiving,
Repairing,
Rejoicing.

Then returning and re-engaging,
Each time with more ease,
To what is close and essential,
Yet also — strangely —
To what is larger and more complex.

Amidst the difficulties
And the chaos
And the untoward —

…….My dog in his last days,
…………His suffering eyes,
…….My body aching with each step,
…………Each bend an agony,
…….My heart yearning,
…………For simple acts of love.

Amidst all of that,
I come back to 
The one I am becoming,
The one who pauses
To breathe in courage
And love
Then turns to face
What is.