Tag Archives: eloquent questions

A Child Sits

Posted on November 22, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Several years ago, during a lively family discussion about war, I was asked where I stood. Peace is simple, yet apparently unachievable. I am opposed to war on the grounds there is a Commandment: “Thou shall not kill!” This underpins all Abrahamic traditions which guide Judeo-Christian and Islamic faiths. Furthermore, this premise is central to the Golden Rule which is universal. Who suffers? Inevitably, it is the weakest, the most vulnerable.

A child sits–

Shivers

Is it the cold?

Hunger

Loneliness, fear

So fragile and weak

In desperate need.

Amidst war’s carnage–

No refuge

Only chaos

Military heroes wreak havoc

Who is the toughest?

The biggest bully?

Kick sand in a child’s eyes.

There is no right side

Real courage

Begs and pleads?

Stop

Wanton, senseless

Violence and death!

Who gains?

It does not take a hero to order bombs lobbed into civilian areas of cities. Nor does it take a hero to hide behind women and children when bombs are lobbed. Last night, I heard a talking head on TV ask who has the moral high ground. Is there really one when the objective of both sides is to punish the most vulnerable. What a silly question. There is no moral high ground in war only criminality.

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Posted in Leadership, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Social Justice and tagged creativity, eloquent questions, human-rights, leadership, Mindful Practice, poetry, politics, religion, senseless violence, social justice, spirituality, teacher as transformer, war. Bookmark the permalink.

The Uses of Not

Posted on November 20, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I wrote about paradox in Warrior’s Quest and part of the motivating force was this poem. It takes real courage to accept paradox and hold the tension. The hole in the whole completes the whole.

Thirty spokes

meet in the hub.

Where the wheel isn’t

is where it’s useful.

Hollowed out,

clay makes the pot.

Where the pot’s not

is where it’s useful.

Cut doors and windows

to make a room.

Where the room isn’t

there’s room for you.

So the profit in what is

is in the use of what isn’t.

Lao Tzu

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Posted in Leadership, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged community, conversational journey, eloquent questions, Lao Tzu, leadership, philosophy, poetry, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Warrior’s Quest

Posted on November 17, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I sat today and was going to post a Lao Tzu poem, The Uses of Not. I typed a short preamble and realized it was a Sabbath poem. Sometimes it is in paradox I find the most sense. It is in questions that I deepen conversations. I am in service of the questions. Earlier this week, I said I spent much of my life chasing answers. This is an echo of Father Richard Rohr who says maturity leads us to stop chasing certainty. I seek eloquent questions with no ready answers: and invite others into conversations. I might have used pirate, but I began reading Shambhala:The Path of the Sacred Warrior by Chögyam Trungpa recently and it offered a new understanding, for me, of the word warrior.

Paradox–

Seemingly incompatible tempest

Space invites space

Forms a spacious meadow.

Deepen conversations–

Without ready answers;

But, eloquent questions

Be open, surprised.

A warrior’s quest–

Lighten the load

Be grateful and receive the gifts

Serve the journey.

Shape paths–

Ready each step

Because it is right

And not fully known.

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Posted in Community, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Sabbath, Synchronicity and tagged chogyam-trungpa, community, conversational journey, creativity, eloquent questions, leadership, Mindful Practice, poetry, shambhala, spirituality, teacher as transformer, warrior. Bookmark the permalink.

From Chaos, Hope

Posted on November 17, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

It was a long day. I just started thumbing through some right brain scribbling and this popped out at me.

From chaos, hope–

Faith springs from community,

Companions bring wisdom,

Symphonic voices–

Harmony of diversity.

Bind together

Mine eloquent questions;

Provides raw materials;

And life polishes–

Rare beauty under pressure.

Hold each other gently

Be unsure together

Be companions.

Break bread

Be safe in this place.

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Unpretentious Intimacy

Posted on November 16, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I am in Vancouver International Airport. I am tired, but, I think, I was rewarded these last few days. I am grateful I was able to turn in and reflect. After a tough day, I people around me reached out and seemed to sense my discomfort. The result was gratifying, but it was not the result. Instead, it was the comfort being with people who cared and brought me into the fold.

I wonder what makes me who I am? Is it the moments I drop my shield of invincibility and show a vulnerable self? That is a scary place, but is so rewarding. It is the slowness of a crock pot where the fruit of intimacy is born. Here, I gain identity in the a relational and caring mirror. But, it sneaks up on me without even realizing it is there.

In a wondrous space

One’s most guarded secrets;

Unshared desires;

Find form—

In a carnival mirror,

Is that me?

Vulnerable—

Lie with a lover

An uncertain first time

Truest intimacy blooms;

That is who I am

Revealed in the other.

Stay human friends.

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What to Remember When Wakening

Posted on November 13, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

It was a long day. I was up at 5:45 AM, on a flight at 11:30 AM, and just wrapping up my day in a different time zone than the one I began the day in. Again, I had a great day and will find time to speak about it as the days move on. I am doing an Art of Hosting workshop and the first day was pretty incredible. It speaks to the David Whyte poem about thing coming to life even when unplanned and only need nourishment and nurturing to come to life.

In that first hardly noticed moment in which you wake,
coming back to this life from the other
more secret, moveable and frighteningly honest world
where everything began,
there is a small opening into the new day
which closes the moment you begin your plans.

What you can plan is too small for you to live.
What you can live wholeheartedly will make plans enough
for the vitality hidden in your sleep.

To be human is to become visible
while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.
To remember the other world in this world
is to live in your true inheritance.

You are not a troubled guest on this earth,
you are not an accident amidst other accidents
you were invited from another and greater night
than the one from which you have just emerged.

Now, looking through the slanting light of the morning window
toward the mountain presence of everything that can be
what urgency calls you to your one love?
What shape waits in the seed of you
to grow and spread its branches
against a future sky?

Is it waiting in the fertile sea?
In the trees beyond the house?
In the life you can imagine for yourself?
In the open and lovely white page on the writing desk?

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Posted in Community, Leadership, Learning Organizations, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, World Cafe Events and tagged community, conversational journey, David Whyte, eloquent questions, leadership, Mindful Practice, poetry, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Stay Human My Friends

Posted on November 11, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I ready for my Sabbath break. Yesterday morning, this Bizarro cartoon was in my blog reader. Todd’s posts are short and provocative, so the link is to his site for those who have not been there before. He gives me pause to think.

I shared this cartoon with a circle of acquaintance. We discussed the Most Interesting Man in the World advertisements for an adult beverage. I am an abstainer so the ads are humourous, but there is no chance I will buy the product.

What about a broader message? Instead of closing with “Stay Thirsty My Friends” or “Stay Filthy My Friend”, we could say, “Stay Human my Friends”?

Thich Nhat Hanh reminds me, “find the ordinary in the extraordinary.” I often miss those things which make me most alive and human. I find, in the ordinary so often missed, the extraordinary and live a mindful life.

Stay human my friends

Be one with the universe

Be compassionate.

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Posted in Community, Haiku, Humour, Mindful Life, Poetry, Sabbath, Synchronicity and tagged Bizarro, community, creativity, eloquent questions, haiku, humour, Mindful Practice, poetry, spirituality, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Hear from the Heart

Posted on November 9, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Silently–

Listen closely,

Differently–

What do you hear?

Pause–

Be open–

Allow momentary glimpses–

Here,

Hear from the heart;

Who do you hear?

The true self–

Breathe a soft invitation;

Surrender to spacious solitude;

Be with one’s self–

Be one’s self–

Oh, so gently.

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Posted in Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged creativity, eloquent questions, Mindful Practice, poetry, spirituality, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Beyond Questions

Posted on November 3, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I close my week with this wonderful poem by May Sarton. As I reflect on the week passed, I hope I am left with more questions than answers and the time to luxuriate in the space between the question and answer. I noticed today and yesterday, when I pause and let go, my monkey mind chatter is greatly reduced. It has been helpful.

The phoebe sits on her nest

Hour after hour,

Day after day,

Waiting for life to burst out

From under her warmth.

Can I wave a nest for silence,

Weave it out of listening,

Listening,

Layer upon layer?

But one must first become small,

Nothing but a presence

Attentive as a nesting bird,

Proffering no slightest wish

Toward anything that might happen

Or be given,

Only the warmth, faithful waiting,

Contained in one’s smallness.

Beyond the question, the silence.

Before the answer, the silence.

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Posted in Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Sabbath and tagged eloquent questions, leadership, May Sarton, Mindful Practice, poetry, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Do Pigs Have Udders?

Posted on October 30, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I had some serious fun today with students. I was alone which is not the norm, but, on short notice, the parent helper could not make it. It is extra demanding on those days where I learn alone with the kids, but it is, many times, the most interesting times. While I was away a most interesting question came up: “Do pigs have udders?” Apparently, this was a hotly debated topic and it was brought up again today. I laughed. It was funny and pointed to an irrevocable truth: human curiosity and eloquent questions lead the way as we learn.

A simple question

Eloquently posed

Curiosity fueled;

The energy behind learning.

What does that mean?

Is it true?

Many more queries;

We seek and fill gaps–

Not with certitude;

Uncertainty prevails.

Years later

I am sure I will smile and chuckle;

I recall–

Appreciate the quality

A simple, provocative question–

Do pigs have udders?

As best as we can learn, they do and it was fun trying to figure it out. Adolescent children ask the darnedest things. Laughter is a great cure for even the most challenging moments.