Recipe for meditation on a saturday morning

Three small cups of coffee,
spaced over several hours
mix in a portion of
coconut coffee sand
sip and savor
rattle on for an hour
then another cup of Trader Joe Chai
Costa Rican beans all in Jack's
small thick porcelain cup



tied to an iPhone
learning to breathe
and be
via bluetooth

Am I that Jacked up?

snapshots from the big picture window
in La Mesa...

watch birds in Enrique's pepper tree

a jungle at eyeball level
cactus and flowering trumpet vines
crawl the veined pepper bark

flit from feeder to tree

watch with cataract clear eyes
then with my Alaska binocs
see sparrows the size of pigeons
poised in the peppercorns and leaves

...and dream for the kids.

we talk of how our children will grow
their children
through the future
that's beyond
our reasonable reach
and smile old folks smiles
and remember being young

another ingredient:

30 minutes of caffeine induced focus
spent doing meaningful work for pay

help my students find a path
learn to think, research, imagine
a teacher's life
without the cells and bells
trading the classroom
for a computer and phone

que the chorus

can I do it?
is it possible?
could I be happy?
could I live this way?

and then the morning chores ... wrong word
duties?
not quite
opportunities
... yes
helping janice
defines my present
knowing
moments are just moments
being together is a gift
we didn't appreciate
until
it was almost lost.

Yes a bit of marital laughter
saturday morning confluence
then, with a laugh...
off to mediate
on three cups
of strong coffee

And to my surprise listening to
Karen Sother's Sacred Pause
--- well worn words
--- worked

caught me up
helped me find the (not so )
still quiet place of mediation
add spontaneous yoga
i am in the breath
escaping the spit of time

watched the floaters dance
shadow sheeted
on back lit eyelids
the breath moves
the liquids of me
in clockwise motion
iFind
"peace in the midst of it all"

Is it as simple as mixing some spiced, dark roast
into Jack's cup and
laying down on my mat
with Karen Sothers in my ears?

yes... on this saturday morning
that's all it took
used the jingle jangle coffee
to power the moment
escape the tail chase
of persistent distractions
that track my
worn worrier's mind.

what will work for you?
will you try something new?
or shrug and tug
at your triggers
till the monkey roars
and time becomes
like a toothache
in the night

my screen saver
Machupuchare at sunrise
the air is still
cumulous clouds
over the fishtail
vapor mountains
in the
stratosphere

peaceful moment
charged with certainty
of storm
followed eventually
with momentary stillness

then hear the prayer flags
whisper beyond the tent flap
as it begins again