Have you noticed
the way you lean
shoulder in
as if holding up the mountain?

Not for the mountain's sake
but because the holding
gives you form
and purpose

or so you want to believe.

The mountain has no need
of your effort
to be itself.

But who are you
without the holding
and leaning in?

This role you play
is a grand illusion
as if by holding this pose
you will someday awake as
Atlas himself.

The One who you are
is hiding
beneath the layers of days
of effort
of holding this shape.

To be who you are
You must surrender.

After all these years
you must fall to your knees
at the foot of the mountain.

From this place,
you will begin to find
your true form.

Do not be afraid to weep.
There is suffering in this world
and those who now move to cross the veil
may need your tears to keep their boats afloat
as they drift across the nine waves.

What good can come from
stemming the tide?
No man has ever succeeded in holding back the ocean,
and in his surrender
She has only ever offered mercy.

"I will always be gentle with you, my beloved.
Even when my waves swell
and carry you away from this place,
I will not forsake you."

Who is to say when it is our time?

We have only this moment
to love and offer the fullest
expression of ourselves.

If my ship sails tomorrow, let me waste not today
an ounce of energy in
holding back.

This is no time
for a stiff upper lip,
nor should we hear weeping
as anything
other than the One True Song
it is.

From source we come,
to source we go,
but in between
in this moment
we have forgotten
and we weep
at our own forgetting
to love
with every fiber of our being.

So let us weep for them that go before us
Let us sing for them
that our tears and voices
become the morning song and falling rain
as they arrive
at last
on the shores of the One True Home.

from a certain view
we're always moving uphill
against our own resistance
the rain coming down
the winds pushing us back
toward the comfort of the valley
from which we came.

the chance to turn back
arising in every step
this next boulder may be too high
this next gust of wind and water
may be too cold to bear.

but with a turn of the head
a turn of the world
this uphill struggle
constantly fighting
unseen enemies of our own making
becomes a rush
of running downhill.

dancing our way out of the lush green valley
we are forever more heading towards
the freedom of the sky
all burdens have dropped away
too tired themselves to follow us here
to the summit
here we are but one leap away
from the ultimate freedom.

unattached to earth
floating
toward the vast infinity of space
where all is possible
and dreams are born
to rain down
to nourish all those
still on the journey up the hill
still looking over their shoulders.

let us all endeavor
to make this life
an offering
that will turn all their weary faces
toward the sun.