I just picked up (again) Ten Poems to Open Your Heart by Roger Housden.  I am a HUGE fan of all the Ten Poem books... To Change Your Life, To Set You Free, etc.  I think Roger Housden is just amazing.  He takes 10 poems and then just talks about how they have impacted him and how they relate to his life experiences.  So much wisdom in these little books, and a great way to get into poetry if you (like me) find it a bit intimidating.

The first poem is from my favorite poet Mary Oliver, and i wanted to share it.

West Wind #2
by Mary Oliver

You are young. So you know everything. You leap into the boat and begin rowing. But listen to me. Without fanfare, without embarrassment, without any doubt, I talk directly to your soul. Listen to me. Lift the oars from the water, let your arms rest, and your heart and heart's little intelligence, and listen to me. There is life without love. It is not worth a bent penny, or a scuffed shoe. It is not worth the body of a dead dog nine days unburied. When you hear, a mile away and still out of sight, the churn of the water as it begins to swirl and roil, fretting around the sharp rocks--when you hear that unmistakable pounding--when you feel the mist on your mouth and sense ahead the embattlement, the long falls plunging and steaming--then row, row for your life toward it.

Again this is from ten poems to open your heart, by roger housden.  There is nothing i can say about this poem, read, enjoy, and i believe you will agree.  No comment is needed.

Just incredible!

The Third Body
by Robert Bly

A man and a woman sit near each other, and they do not long
At this moment to be older, or younger, or born
In any other nation, or any other time, or any other place.
They are content to be where they are, talking or not talking.
Their breaths together feed someone whom we do not know.
The man sees the way his fingers move;
He sees her hands close around a book she hands to him.
They obey a third body that they share in common.
They have promised to love that body.
Age may come; parting may come; death will come!
A man and a woman sit near each other;
As they breathe they feed someone we do not know,
Someone we know of, whom we have never seen.

I just saw the Robert Redford film Lions for Lambs.  What a powerful film!

I have added the trailer here, if you are not familiar with the film. 

This truly is a must-see film!

I am left with many questions as to what to do next. What can be done to make a difference? Unfortunately i have no answers at this  point, so i am just left with the feeling that i want to encourage others to see this important film.

I would be very interested in the opinions and views of others that have seen this film.

This story is from Day to Day, on NPR and it totally fascinated me today.

November 28, 2007 ·

For centuries, each Dalai Lama has been succeeded by a young boy who is considered to be the previously leader's reincarnation, following his death. But the current 72-year-old Dalai Lama is suggesting that the Tibetan people chose their next leader through a vote while he is still alive.

"He's always been a modernistic sort of person and he wants to modernize the instition," says Robert Thurman, a Buddhist studies professor at Columbia University. He's not saying that reincarnation can be controlled by a ballot, Thurman adds, instead he's calling for a more democratic approach to Tibet's political figure-head.

China, which accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking independence for Tibet, condemned the Nobel Peace Prize winner's proposal. Ironically, the atheist communist government's main objection is that the move subverts Buddhist tradition.

The Tibetan spiritual leader says it is up to the Tibetan people to decide.

"If people feel that the institution of the Dalai Lama is still necessary, it will continue," he says.

Read more or listen to the story here.