A POEM FOR PORTLAND ~ *grow*

the more you pick
the more they’ll grow
she said
and I chuckled to myself
with this girl after my heart
reminding me
of how back home
every morning in the summer
I pick the jasmine blossoms
because the more you pick them
the more they sprout, bloom + grow

because sometimes we need
a little pinch
a little prodding
a little momentary discomfort
in order to evolve + grow …
our hardships + challenges
force us to dig deeper
into the well of our own strength + brilliance
and doesn’t it make sense
that the more we share
the more there is to go around
in this ever-expanding world
of abundance + possibilities

and I’ve never seen more hospitality
and kindness in any other American city
than what I’ve seen in Portland
people go the extra-extra mile to share
from their gardens
from their hearts
and from the most rare + precious commodity of all:
time + attention,
shared freely here –
the only real commodity
that runs out eventually
and yet ~
we give it
because what better gift is there?
than our one-pointed focus
fully present
holding the other person
in the embrace of our gaze

because that’s all we really ultimately have
is time, attention, presence
ourselves + each other
and the more we give
the more we naturally seem to receive
and the more we are fully here
present and listening
with our whole bodies
the more magic that funnels in
and everything becomes softer
and more effortless
and slowly and gently …
the petals
of the flowers
in our hearts
bloom full.

Love + flower petals,