To Do List
Leave a crack in the door,
for you are always available.
Leave a part of your garden
untended
so the wild can have its way.
Leave the milk out —
don’t worry,
it won’t go bad.
It will culture,
and then you can make
creamy butter.
Go to bed earlier
and let go
into the night
to find that the dream world
was never far away.
Open your soul up
to the mystery.
Try not to see all there is to see
so that there’s something left
for the rest of your life
and the lives you won’t remember.
Don’t say all you need to say
so that silence
can speak for you,
so that chance
can have some room.
Don’t fill yourself up too much
or there will be no space
for everything else —
and we all know magic
loves space,
even though its vastness
frightens us.
Stack stones for someone else
to find along their path.
Leave notes for loved ones.
Tie a ribbon around the branch
of an old oak tree — for love —
what you feel of it
and what you remember of it.
Nurse something back to health
just because you can.
Friends……….energy in this world
flows like a river.
What we do to the river
upstream
affects all downstream.
Therefore,
we each have the opportunity
to play magician,
sending others
gentle, cosmic nudges
of support and promise —
for at each
and every moment
the river is moving through you.
They will never know your name.
Keep a door open for the mystery.
Keep a part of you wild.
Remember those who are downstream,
even though
you will never know their name.
March 23, 2010
*I began constructing this poem while sitting at the Wooleyshot Stream which flows over the land I live on now. After living in the city for the past 7 years, I am constantly comforted by the sound of this running water. I haven’t lived near wild, running water in a long time…so, I have a deeper appreciation for it than I ever have. While sitting by the stream, I felt honored to witness its bold flow into the world below.
So many streams and creeks have been rerouted, covered with concrete or asphalt, or filled in with debris for construction purposes. I love that some cities are ‘day-lighting’ creeks and streams that were covered in urban areas (Berkeley, CA and Portland, OR for example). This is a good sign. Our bodies need clean water to live, just as creatures and ecosystems need clean water to live and thrive. By slowing down and observing it, I can begin to find an honorable relationship with it — and I am still learning. I was raised in a fast world…it’s going to take me awhile to slow down.
Lindsay Kolasa 
>Thanks for sharing Lindsay. Your poem made me teary–in a good way. I needed that!
>Hey Lauren…wonderful! I'm glad I could offer you that feeling!
>what a BEAUTIFUL poem, linds…maybe the most beautiful i've read of yours yet…thank you. love, jen
>Lindsay, this is beautiful!
>beautiful! i love this poem. it made my day. thank you love.
>what a beautiful poem and post. thank you.
such enlightening words, you have wisdom, can i ask from someone in Australia, are you from native american heritage ?
June 2017 and your poem still touching hearts
Thank you ❤
Vicki…I am a true Southerner and my ancestry is the common mix of Scots-Irish, English, German, French, Dutch, and…indeed…Native American. My great, great grandmother on my mother’s side was from the Cherokee tribe.
i knew it was there somewhere, I could feel it in your words.
This is so breathtaking beautiful. Reminds and inspires me so, every time, to live my life to the truest, intimately and tightly wound up with my soul.
I thank you so much, both from my heart and from the rest of me, for sharing openly.
Thank you ❤ So glad to emphasize soulful living with some poetry…
Just so beautifully perfect. Thank you, thank you, thank you
Thanks for finding my site and commenting… This particular poem has touched many hearts…and I’m so glad… As well, I believe you left me a kind donation? Thanks again…and blessings on your journey…
I am just reading this poem tonight, 10 years behind you in consciousness. But still so grateful. I just turned 65 this week. I am keeping this poem for inspiration as I turn into this phase of my life. Thank you so much. I would love to post this poem on my FB Page. I absolutely would give you credit; but want to ask your permission first. Thank you! Catherine Bythewood
Go right ahead, Catherine. And, thank you for giving me credit as well…
I’m so glad this poem spoke to your heart…a place we need to tend to so much these days…