declaration

for so many years, I have put aside, away, out of reach
those things that i am afraid to declare for myself
for fear of loneliness, being alone, being wrong, being left out in the cold


the soul is funny that way.
it allows us to go traipsing around as if this life were our own
waiting patiently for us to return to gather the tattered pieces that we've strewn about
here and there


a trail we've left for ourselves to find our way home.


it's where the comfort comes from knowing that what we have never owned anyway no longer needs to be ours
it's the place where we stand up for our convictions with confidence, no longer shouting with forced fists closed, but singing softly our humble hymn.
it's a space where emptiness is not a void, but a vessel where we can finally rest with nothing without missing anything. 


this declaration looks like nothing i've known.
it's gentle and kind
and quiet and content


"welcome home, " it offers, as I enter the portal to this new place.



copyright 2010 Alisa Barry

ego or art

sometimes it's hard to distinguish
whether we are creating from our he{art}
or if it's the masterful ego who simply wants attention. adoration. admiration.

and then there's the answer.
without adornment or accomplices.

speaking the bare-naked truth.
you know how it feels when it hits you hard.

no matter, keep going. wherever it comes from
keep creating your art.


copyright 2010 Alisa Barry

devoted to looking at life and its majesty

my imagination is a monastery and I am its monk.

-- john keats


thoughts are perceptions
imagination is creation

that we would dream of kindness and compassion
is all we need to in order to breathe love into this life

let your dreams be your meditation
put them into practice into your daily life.





copyright 2009 Alisa Barry