Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Enlightenment

Many spiritual teachers - in Buddhism, in Islam - have talked about first-hand experience of the world as an important part of the path to wisdom, to enlightenment.

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
Martin Luther King Jr. (Famous Quotes)

I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and Non-violence are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as vast a scale as I could. 
Mahatma Gandhi (Gandhi Quotes)

We are formed and molded by our thoughts. Those whose minds are shaped by selfless thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them.
Lord Buddha (Buddha Quotes)










Midweek Motif ~ Enlightenment


So much has been said about enlightenment that maybe there is nothing more to say.  But I don't believe it.  In big ways and in small, we all have some experience with enlightenment.  What can you say?  

Your Challenge:  Write a poem containing a nugget of enlightenment.  

~


Excerpt from Augeries of Innocence
BY William Blake

Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Thro’ the world we safely go.
Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.
. . . .
 
(lines 56-62; read the rest HERE at Bartleby.com)

BY  Sara Teasdale

I shall gather myself into myself again,
I shall take my scattered selves and make them one,
Fusing them into a polished crystal ball
Where I can see the moon and the flashing sun.

I shall sit like a sibyl, hour after hour intent,
Watching the future come and the present go,
And the little shifting pictures of people rushing
In restless self-importance to and fro. 

Admit Something

BY Hafiz
Everyone you see, you say to them,
Love me.
Of course you do not do this out loud;
Otherwise,
Someone would call the cops.
Still though, think about this,
This great pull in us
To connect.
Why not become the one
Who lives with a full moon in each eye
That is always saying,
With that sweet moon language,
What every other eye in this world
Is dying to Hear.


~
For those who are new to Poets United: 

  • Post your enlightenment poem on your site, and then link it here.
  • Share only original and new work written for this challenge. 
  • If you use a picture include its link.  
  • Please leave a comment here and visit and comment on our poems.

(Our next Midweek Motif is "foolishness")


Good luck to all of you who are writing a poem a day during April.  I am using prompts from Poetic Asides, NaPoWriMo, Magaly Guerrero  and Imaginary Garden with Real Toads.  We'd love to know if you are attempting the challenge.  Please share links to the sites you are using for prompts and community during the challenge. 
Thanks!  ~Susan for Poets United


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37 comments:

  1. Thank you for the bright and shiny! Here's our little nugget

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  2. Hello everyone,

    Hope you like my attempt at this week's challenge :)
    xoxo

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  3. I'm joining in today with a very small nugget.
    Thanks Susan.

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  4. Oh my wonderful Poets United! Here it is 9 in the morning! I finally got to sleep near 3, so I'm not unhappy to have slept in on this journey. I'll be coming around to see you all ASAP. I just linked my nugget, too. LOVE!

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  5. Glad you got to sleep in Susan. Enlightened and inspired by each of you and by nature!!!

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  6. I agree with you, Susan. There are (and there will always be) things left to say about enlightenment. I think the actions that define the world change with the times, and this evolution will always leave room for more philosophizing, more studying, more poetizing...

    P.S. I LOVE this bit from Buddha's quote: "Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them."

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for posting your poem, Magaly. It is so fine to see you here! I like that part of Buddha's saying, too. I am not that selfless to have joy following me, but sometimes I feel it right alongside.

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    2. I think we can have wonderful shadows of joy, when we choose to be good to others while leaving the Self in.

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  7. Oh, how cool, Susan. The world needs enlightenment now as never before. And that poem by Hafiz is an amazement. He knew stuff. LOL.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I agree. "This great pull in us
      To connect."

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  8. I really enjoyed writing to this wonderful prompt Susan though I became a little bit personal today...it's well past midnight here...so see you tomorrow friends :)

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    Replies
    1. If it's past midnight, it's near time to scoop up the Sun! Thank you for your poem.

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  9. Thank you for these gems - poems!! The Hafiz example was read last Sunday for our Easter service!

    Here's a tiny response the that poem...

    "I’ve known those full moon eyes –
    always saying the unsaid
    I love you."

    Thank you, for the challenge...I'm not sure I'll power-up again today to make a worthy effort...but I wanted you to know I enjoyed your post, Susan.

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    Replies
    1. Hannah--you might share "Always More" or even the latest one you wrote with the little toes. Enlightenment often blooms in your poems. It's neat about the Hafiz! Love me/you.

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  10. Time to sleep again, Susan....see you all tomorrow. Thanks for the wonderful prompt.:)

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    Replies
    1. You are very welcome, Panchali. Good dreams.

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  11. What an excellent prompt. Thank you Susan. For me, writing this poem became such a wonderful process. I literally cried after I finished. Not because it's so special but because it actually did push me to some thinking and some realizations. I guess poetry can have impact on the reader, but it can also enlighten the writer.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Myrna. Writing does that for me, too. Increasingly, I follow Parker Palmer's advice to write about what I don't know but want to know, a process of opening!

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  12. Susan,

    I think enlightenment is a huge requirement worldwide right now....No shortage of directions with this prompt!

    Thank you Susan,
    Eileen

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    Replies
    1. You are very welcome. If only the entire world of diverse peoples could aim for enlightenment at the same time!

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  13. Good evening, all,

    It's 1:30 am here, on this stormy Greek Orthodox, Holy Thursday, and I've just written my very first, little contribution for Susan's prompt. I must get to sleep, since I have to be up by 6am, but wanted to join in, since I couldn't on Sunday, and missed you all!

    Will get round to visiting everyone soon!

    Thanks, Susan!

    Goodnight from a cold and rainy Crete!

    Poppy

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  14. Hello...sorry, first entree wrong...please, delete it... thinking about the theme...my approach with inspiring art....thanks, Susan! ~ Love 'Who lives with a full moon in each eye' by Hafiz

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  15. Good to realise (with a little nudge from Susan) that my Wednesday April poem for 'Imaginary garden with real toads' also fits this prompt! I am only doing the 'garden' prompts this April as I have been unwell and wanted to work within a smaller community than Poetic Asides has become. I must say I am thrilled with the prompts so far, and with the brilliance of the other poets participating. You will find all my efforts at my blog.

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  16. These prompts are good.... looking forward to having a read around...

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  17. Mr Linky not working. Will try again tomorrow. Thursday midnight here. Must go or will turn into a pumpkin:)

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    Replies
    1. Please do not turn into a pumpkin. I don't know what the glitch was, but it seems alright now. See you later.

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  18. Thank you for the bright prompt..sharing some lines though not so effective but contain sincere thoughts

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for posting, Anjum. I haven't seen you for a while.

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  19. That's all for this week folks. Next weeks theme is foolishness. Is this the opposite of enlightenment? or a way to enlightenment?

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