I must say I faced this morning’s assignment with a bit of trepidation. It was not a good week for many in the world. Or at least my corner of it. 

Reflecting on this, those last few words glared at me…”my corner of it,” gripping my heart, plunging me into an overwhelmingly painful “ah-ha” moment of truth. 

How self-centered I am! Seeking joy and pleasure, expecting it even, day after day only to grieve when calamity knocks on my own door! 

The truth is, horror and hardship happens every day to someone somewhere in this fragile broken world of ours. However do we go on under the weight of such adversity, when at any given moment one us is suffering? However indeed, because when one of us hurting, we all hurt. 

At this point, I am feeling even more out of sorts than when I began, more disappointed in myself, than anything. So reluctantly, I pulled up this week’s posts to review my whining laments hoping to find something Shi Sai worthy to print. Something that didn’t have us all wallowing in despair and loathing…

How did this week’s reverse pan out? Well, it surprised me. And it answered my question. How do we go on, each one of us, when faced with inconsolable sadness? In a word, HOPE! Between the lines of angst and sorrow, I discovered layers of hope sandwiched in…like precious gold ribbons crushed between layers of clay and sedimentary rock. There is always hope. And I realized that that is how we do it. How we survive. How we find the strength to go on. 

The worst thing that could ever happen to us is to find ourselves hopeless. There is a rhythm to the ebbs and flows…some of us riding waves of giddy exhilaration while others find themselves in the undertow. But the most important thing to remember is that we are all part of the same sea. The sea that at one moment glistens in serene tranquility and at others may become a raging temptest. We are all part of it…a sea of precious souls.

As I consider this I realize that I am being a bit hard on myself, but there is one thing I can do. When I am suffering it is acceptable to grieve, just as when I am having a good day, it is important to be grateful. But in that moment of gratefulness it is also important to consider those who are not, to say an extra prayer each time I give thanks for those who cannot. 

May you too find the light of hope when you need it most. I’m going to try to be better at keeping the light on for you.

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse ~ 19 June 2016

Your life’s a precious gift infused with grace

under the skin we are the same

time is elusive

…Yes, you are

dawn looks swell on you!

midst clouds looming dark

hints, alliaceous.
…

prized as medicinal

donning alliaceous bulbs

from nana’s kitchen…

to resist…futile

the night is long…then morning comes!

I made something special for dessert

…feeling the Love this morning

while some take to the sea to sun.

~ kat  

The Shi Sai, (formerly known as a ReVerse) is a form created by Kat Myrman in April 2016. It is a poem created by taking one line of verse from several poems of an author’s own collection. The shi sai is done as a review of a series or collection of poems and therefore, each line should flow in chronological order of the dates the poems were written (from oldest to new). The lines chosen should be the author’s favorite from each poem. This form works best if the author resists the temptation to read the full new poem before all the verses have been added. (It helps one to resist the impulse to change a line to make it “fit”)