Sleep when you're dead; until then keep learning

 

this ain't a Friends episode

 

and it won't be painless.

 

Pain tells us something's amuck,

 

that there's something to learn,

 

to make you stronger

 

so that you may weather what is sure to follow.

 

It's all right though

 

you'll do just fine

 

just remember to breathe

 

and see clearly

 

without turning away.

 

If you find you've been sleepwalking,

 

change from your pj's

 

lest you nod off again following fashion.

 

Too much curiosity about sweetness

 

killed the cat nonetheless

 

taste the bitterness too

 

then put it in its place

 

on the table of your dreams.

 

Use the sun as your guide

 

inside and out

 

inside never setting

 

know it to be true.

 

Quit pushing

 

the door opens inward

 

let it open and flood your landscape

 

just breathe and stay above it.

 

You are pursued by time

 

timepiece or not

 

grin while it ravishes

 

and gently hold the timeless in your soul.

 

Fight the good fight

 

because you can

 

because you must.

 

When you fall

 

softly or with full force

 

you'll see up close the ground of your being

 

in ways never noticed before.

 

When others fall

 

let them see what they must too

 

everyone's prints are different

 

then

 

lend them yours

 

so they may see beyond themselves.

 

Count your blessings

 

with tax time precision

 

file in timely fashion

 

and let go.

 

The fire is yours

 

to stoke or to douse.

 

It is your call

 

listen for it

 

recognize the familiar voice

 

then act.

 

Tea biscuits

 

need not be taken with tea

 

determine what you want

 

before it's decided for you

 

the transaction barely noticed

 

the whimper unheard.

 

When you are sliding

 

take care to steer in the opposite direction

 

and

 

when your brakes squeak

 

trust you're not the only one who notices.

 

Ignore the symptoms and eventually others

 

will let you know...if you can still hear them.

 

Now go

 

and live

 

and give

 

and sleep will surely come.