2009-2019

Aiyana and I 

2009, Coventry CT

2019, EO Smith High school 

Peace 

Inner and outer strength combined

Moving within

Takes me beyond myself 

To serve 

That which I serve 

Becomes my strength 

My reason 

And my love in action 

-RM

Whether we recognize it or not, whether we're rewarded for it or not, we all serve some cause, idea, etc. We serve in different ways, in different capacities, at different times. What do you serve and how?

Asian pears on our farm 

High school

Peace 

Mid September?

Dear friends,

I'm excited to let you know that I'm close to having my second book of poems ready for print. I hope to have it printed around mid September.

I plan to sell it here at the farm, at the Willimantic Food Coop and on my Etsy shop as in the past: (www.etsy.com/shop/shundahaishop)

I'm also in the process of deciding which environmental organization I will donate the money from the book to. My first book, Fertile Ground: Beauty and Brokenness raised $850 for organizations such as Natural Resources Defense Council; Provincetown Center for Coastal Research; Center for Whale Research; and pollinator work.

Thank you always for your feedback and encouragement 😊

Peace 

Sena's first day at UCONN

Here's what Sena posted on her Instagram page yesterday. I just wanted to say, one, that I think it's brave of her to express her excitement and vulnerability in such an open, sweet way; and two, I am so grateful that she has people in her life that would respond in such an encouraging way.

Peace 

The world needs us

Facing things as they are can be heart wrenching and exhausting. Yet doing so is the only doorway to our salvation and redemption on a personal as well as a collective level. For those involved in any kind of spiritual practice at any level, THIS is the practice. 

Peace 

Return

How did we get so lost

When it is all so simple? 

Return to simple happiness

Loving the earth 

Loving each other 

Protecting nature

Protecting one another 

Return 

That's all we need to do

-RM

May we be mindful of all our choices and their impact on the rest of the world. Thanks and respect to all the people fighting to protect the Amazon and any other part of the earth, our home. May we all do what we can to help.

I love this image! It is not mine, and I don't know its source to give proper credit.

Peace 

About regret

We dread regret. We stress ourselves lest we regret anything; we pretend we have no regrets; the word regret is almost taboo. We think that if we regret anything important, that make us a loser.

Yet to have regrets is more natural than not to. Regret is universal. Since we can never be sure of making the "right" decision, as it is impossible to know all facts and their ramifications, we should not feel ashamed of feeling regret sometimes. We should feel human, owning our vulnerability and limited understanding, and we should move on from there feeling more whole.

Peace 

Fundamental goodness

Peace 

Changes starting next week

I was going to write about it, but instead I made a 5 minute video. Check it out here.

Peace 

So simple

I don't know if there is a grand scheme of things.

I don't know if there is meaning.

I don't know why things happen.

But I do know I can choose.

I know that I have power to act kindly in whatever I do, with sympathy for another.

That's all I need to know.

Peace 

Prepare the ground

Having the seed is not enough 

Before it blooms 

The ground must be prepared 

Each difficulty in our lives 

Each joy, each nuisance 

Each ordinary moment 

If we're awake

Help us prepare the ground 

Peace 

Contentment

Sitting on the bench this morning, with my flowers, coffee, books. With morning sunlight, birds, bumblebees. Knowing that what drives me is good, even though the outward manifestations are always difficult.

Peace 

Pebbles on the road

Nothing extraordinary about 

Truth, beauty, love

Or anything we need 

Pebbles on the road 

Lay scattered everywhere 

Sometimes we trip and notice 

Sometimes we walk right past 

Peace 

Rumi always

Yes, and...

be careful what you wish for...

(Sorry, don't know the source of this image.)

Peace 

Remain bewildered

May we have the strength and courage, the openness and good fortune, to remain bewildered.

Peace 

Adolph von Menzel

This is Menzel's Blind Man's Buff, but to me it's a beautiful metaphor for life, and the need to drop the armor. Much easier said than done though.

My own armor right now is stress and it's exhausting me. Even when I have nothing to do or worry about, I worry about that. The mind just wants to keep spinning.

These are hard times for many people I know. Help and strength to all.

Peace 

Kaleidoscopes

Judge the action

The words

The thoughts 

But not the person 

We are kaleidoscopes 

Reflections upon reflections

Built up throughout a lifetime 

Who can see through the daze

Clearly enough 

To judge what's at the core?

12 years

This is Sena and I, 12 years ago when she was only 3, and we were just starting to think about farming.

Today, we are still farming, and she just had her interview at Yale University! Crazy how it goes by....

Peace 

Success redefined

To see what I am seeing 

Hear what I am hearing 

Feel what I am feeling

To be present in my life

Just as it is right now 

To give indiscriminately 

Give what I have to give 

Share what I have to share 

To be awake and to contribute:

My definition of good fortune and success 

Peace 

In and out

In and out of brokenness 

In and out of beauty 

And always the unknown 

Always the uncertainty 

Such are the doorways 

That lead us in to you 

Peace 

The shed door

Aiyana, Sena and their friend, Ella painted the shed door. (The horse is painted on).

Aiyana's been on a major creative spurt lately. It makes me so happy to see her.

Peace 

I have to

I have to share this beautiful, affirming and potentially transformational video, that someone posted in response to my poem on Facebook. And with Loreena McKennitt's amazing voice in the background, I was literally brought to tears in recognition.

https://youtu.be/orxEawi9qro

Share the medicine

May we all find whatever we need to heal, and may we be able to freely share it in a helpful way with others who also need it.

Peace 

Nurture

Seeds can lay dormant
In the ground
For years
Till one day they emerge
Surprisingly 
Delightfully

And so it is with us:
Nobody fully knows
What lays within us
All we can do
Is nurture the conditions
For something beautiful
To bloom