Fredom from Rules

If you're going to fall, fall forward, I guess.
You pick yourself up, dust off and continue.
I kind of like rules in a way, if I'm strong
enough to follow them.  Guilt can presumably
be avoided if you follow all the rules
/commandments, flawlessly, forever.  Does that
leave anybody out?  I'm out.  (Thrown out at first)
At least you know where you stand if "you're doing
the right thing" by being "good" and "fitting in", trying
to please so you don't ruffle feathers or rock boats.
I do like the freedom to risk making my own rules
at times, though, when I'm feeling brave.  Restrictions
always seem to me, like a stop sign on a trafficless road.
Look both ways before running it--if you have to.
Too bad I got a quite a bit of guilt programmed into
my pea brain way back when. It's all got to be undone,
if I'm going to move forward unhampered by trying
not to break all the conflicting rules I've ever learned.
Or, I could start chiseling out my own 10 commandments
or throw all of it

out and trust myself to make the wisest
decisions for myself and my happiness thus affecting all
others with the same good feelings as I have staying true
to me.


Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates
Photo © Dennis Frates

Deer Me

One wonders where the world is going
in such a hurry?
I like a slower pace to my life, actually.
Move to a place that is more in the flow
of nature's pace.
Animals may be affected by the worlds'
vibrations of frenetic activity,
but for the most part when they're in
nature, mostly away from humans,
their pace is relaxed and peaceful.
I want to walk with them, sit with them,
in the wild bringing me back, I'm sure,
more to my real nature--one wholly
uninfluenced by the general madness
of the world!
Two buck 3 pointers wandered into the
nature area where I run, recently.
A bike sped by me and them, and they
just lay in the grass looking at it go by.
Me, on the other hand, walked slowly
by them and they promptly stood up,
walked back a few paces half behind
a tree watching me pass.  Wild they
were but not daft.  They may have come
in under darkness but they stood out like
the beauties they were in the bright
sunlight of midday.
I want to hang out with them.  If they
would trust me to come close enough.
As it were, they were pretty shy and
skittish and it may take some doing
to develop a more accepting relationship.
My eye is still on the hills where the
pace is slower and the animals are more
relaxed and come to meet you halfway
in your acknowledgment to get acquainted.


Copyright  © 2013 Gary Frates
Photography © Dennis Frates

Healing Our World

Giving yourself
permission
to have a mission,
a purpose
greater than yourself,
can be...so healing.
The bigger the purpose
the better--one that
keeps you going,
working at it, expanding
endlessly creative
solutions along the way. 

Many people have
the same purpose
but contribute in
their own unique way.
A big mission
needs us all
pitching in
with what we have
to offer to succeed.
Each person
becoming
green and shining
enables the
whole forest
to be as we are.



Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates
Photography © Dennis Frates

Unceasing Joy

Back to back joy
Sunrise to sunset--and beyond!
Better we actually lay
down for rest for the night
when the sun does!
It knows.  It's sensible.
It doesn't stay up
like we're tempted to do
with our energy sources
to light the way, while
the sun has gone to bed
way before our extended
hour of ceasing activity.
So a few more lines and
I'm cutting off all power
to this machine and chase
the sun in my dreams
and it can meet me at
the other end tomorrow
morning for another shot
at a precious day of doing
what I love--back to back,

unceasing joy--all day long.


Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates
Photograph © Dennis Frates

Choose Your Path

Sometimes our path
winds and winds,
leading us through
some pretty
rocky terrain.
We may miss
the beautiful views
along the way
while trying to stay on it.
We want to get where
we're going in life
as soon as possible--
to our delicious goals!
A straight shot may
prove to be slippery, 
on the mountain.
Though intoxicated
with eager anticipation,
we may choose to take
a more relaxed,
scenic, winding route
smelling the flowers
in such a heavenly
scented decor--
God's gift for our vision.
So set out.
Accept there is a path.
You see you how
others have gone.
You may also want
to get off the beaten path
and create your own way,
as you traverse the
enchanted mountainside.
Your choice.
There's a purpose for
having this power
to choose over most, 
if not all,
areas of your life trip--
your happiness
may depend
greatly upon it.
So, you are...
free to choose.


Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates
Photograph © Dennis Frates

On my way

I'm finding my way in life
groping forward
on my hands and knees,
as it were,

in the dark.
Oh, this thing works that I 
didn't know about before! 
I can rely on that to refuel me
on my path to wellness.
Such a comfort to know that
something works!  It's just a
small refueling point among
the many that uplift my spirit,
renew my body, and make
me ready to receive

nourishment
that wasn't there before.
Do this, go here, rest, be active--
it's all interwoven effortlessly for us
to follow--a synchronistic trail
throughout the day.  By listening

within, we're directed, staying
on the path, always in the now.
Thankful for finding these points
of renewal, on a path leading to where
I want to go, even if I don't know
where that is yet, I know and feel
I'm on a good path leading me
somewhere and not circling
the wagons, endlessly.



Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates
Photography © Dennis Frates

Silent Stillness

The deafening quiet
silences my heart.
Like a peace
that pervades
a windless lake.

I'll sail tomorrow.

Anchored in time,
I retrieve my limbs
from reaching
for more
than they can
easily grasp.


Looking within
I get acquainted
with the me
that feels

intimately and deeply

accessed best
in this
peacefully quiet state.



Copyright © 2103 Gary Frates
Photograph © Dennis Frates

Unexpected Possibilities

If it were up to me
to predict my future
my crystal ball would
have to have
a lot more polishing.
I'm convinced that
forcing my way through
situations is not my
preferred way to proceed.
So without the needed
energy, motivation, drive &
desire to get some things
accomplished I needed to
do, I could easily say that
as much as I need and want
to do these things today, I
don't feel I have what it
takes to get them done.
So I go into default rest mode.
Rest and recuperation mode.
The universe looks out for me
but doesn't always inform me
of what's going on and how it's
managing its devious ways.
So I pass through my usual
everyday rest mode and come
out of the other side like
I just did an energetic walk-
through of my whole life
and here I am at my present
age, feeling I passed through
a time warp and I wake up in
2013, my energy being restored.
I think I can do the next thing
on my list.
I usually feel better from resting
but this was such a contrast from
black to white, not going
through any gray areas at all.
Like I arose from the grave and
was granted a second chance at
at life, not just any life but here,
fully present and functioning
pretty much on all cylinders firing
at once life.
So to ask me if I could get the things
I needed and wanted to do today done
you wouldn't want to ask me for a
reliable answer of what was not only
possible but very probable, given my
rejuvenated condition all pivoting on
a simple resting procedure I do
normally everyday, but today I struck
pay dirt!
Before that happened, I really could not
see that a divine intervention--a seeming
"miracle" to me--could change things
around so drastically and affect the rest
of my day so profoundly.
I think I'm going to try to open myself
up to unusually miraculous events
manifesting into my life just because I'm
deciding to leave a space for the
unexplainably unknown to enrich and
fuel-inject my path and passion in life
forward to success and fulfillment
and accomplishment beyond my wildest
expectations.



Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates

Photograph © Dennis Frates

Life is Fun

My intuition often encourages me
to do counter intuitive things
that a now lessened fear level
enables me to pull off for a try.

I'm not as sensitive to an error
or mistake in contemplating
the consequences of following it
as best I can.

Trust is built up slowly, with me.
You earn it by who you are.
Intuition is earning it.   
It wants to teach me,
I guess,
some lessons in life--
by trying to follow it's guidance,
building up a relationship 
allowing for
"miscommunications" occasionally
between us.

I want to learn:  Life is easy,
or can be--my choice.
I want to learn:  The unlimited nature
of the universe is not going away
because I slip back
into my limited perspective.
I want to learn:  Everything I can
of interest to me
in this one lifetime.

Life is fun.
Fun is inside us.  
It needs to be released
out into our life
for it to be fun, also.



Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates
Photograph © Dennis Frates

Days Come and Days Go

So what if I mess up a blog post.  I want to write what I want to write whether other people want to read it or not.

That first sentence was probably enough to move you on to another page.  That's ok.  I am writing this for me, and If I post it, for you.  My days, when I think back to them, are as varied as a week.  In the morning things happen and then afternoon comes and into the evening seems like another day.

Well, I stay up so late sometimes, it seems like I'm starting another day but it's just my way of winding down, doing things later at night until I can feel sleepy enough to hit the sack.

I made juice today.  I love juice, green juice with sweet fruits to make it taste good.
The fatigue I feel right now is not commensurate with the amount of energy I put forward today, I don't think.  I even had an hour nap.

My body seems stretched in many directions at once. From all the activities in my life right now.  Its summer, for God's sake.  I'm supposed to be taking it easy to recuperate for the next school year.  That's what most sane teachers do--take the summer to reevaluate all that went on during the year that definitely will not go on the next year.

I feel impoverished of spirit a lot from doing a job that doesn't totally satisfy me.  My spirit is saying we're hungry down here give us something fun to chew on; its dull and boring doing what you're doing when the whole world is open to you to explore and use your gifts and talents at things that satisfy you and turn you on.

I've cheated my spirit out of the fun it so deserves before, and so unhappy was it that it demanded that I take total time off and do just what's fun no matter if I starve to death or not.  It and I was so happy I was able to pay back that debt.  It's no fun to owe somebody something for a long period of time and not or not be able to pay them back.
Not fun at all.

So where am I going with all this??  If I knew, you'd know. I don't plan, I just explore where my mind goes and write it down.  Ideas come.

I really don't like the weakness and fatigue I feel all the time.  I want to work out more but don't.  I won't make excuses.  I think there's a way.  I just have to find it.  Exercise is very fun to do--I didn't say easy--fun.

Overall my digestion is improving and the times that I do feel full power flowing through me are really supercharged. Months ago, I would have not felt this way. I was crippling to get through each day most times.

What else do I have to say before I shut this down for the night?
Life is so enjoyable in these evening hours just typing away with/at my thoughts and possibly sharing them with a broader audience.

Well this is going to be a different post than what I normally do.  Now let me

go back and read it and see if I want to share intimate details about my life with people I hardly know.


Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates
Photograph © Dennis Frates

Goose Flesh

The geese know
how to do it.
They mate for life.
They have no
alarm clocks,
getting up early
with the sun.
Sleeping in?
They don't
know what
that's about,
but they do know
the value of a nap
during the day.
They're on no diets.
If they eat too much
they just fly it off.
They don't work
for anybody
instead
they work for
each other
taking turns
being lead bird
in the V
or keeping watch
over group naps
in the park
or field.
There's power
and safety
in the group.
So they
stick together.
Their needs
are rather simple.
There's always
more cooperation
than competition
when you're
part of a flock.
Birds in the wild
free to come
and go
are pretty much
happy
all the time...
They live joyously
in the now.
Everyday
starts the same-
getting up singing
to the sunrise
(or honking
if you're a goose)
to bed

at night
and doing it
all again,
tomorrow.



Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates
Photograph © Dennis Frates

If I knew then...

Ever wish what you know now
you knew then?
Why did the universe set it up this way,
the best for the last?
If I could live my life backwards with
what I know now, they'd call me a genius
or crazy (which I sometimes get anyway:).
With all the pressure a fast-paced
life presents, we get to go where we're going
faster, and the trade-off may be worth it.
After all, who wants to wait, right? 
Instant enlightenment, instant everything.
People, though, are clamoring for more
peace of mind and freedom from
"constant connection".
Quiet is a valuable premium these days.
Some are choosing to spend a weekend
"disconnected" until Monday.
Unplug everything, and see
if you can take the silence.
It'll be there when you get back.
Where are we going in such haste, anyway?
Do we know?  Is it even remotely justifiable?
Or are we caught in the stream, with no choice
as to its speed? 

Maybe we could step out for a bath in the sun?
Something's apace as to why
the world has played out as it has.
Some secrets are no more
though many mysteries
still remain.



Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates
Photograph © Dennis Frates

Act Despite Fear

The march outward
becomes the
march inward
turning around
and taking a
look at yourself
often takes courage
especially
if your house
needs some
cleaning.

No one's going to
or can
do it for you.
This is an
in-house job--
making decisions
from a loyalty
to your own
deepest values,
to your authenticity
to being absolutely true
to yourself--
no less being considered.

Fear may come
at anytime
on your path--
expect it,  face it,
feel it, and walk
through it,
shirking not to
its intimidation--
and then let it go,
moving on to the
next challenge.

You may view it
as an adversary
wanting you
to run,
quivering
from this non-thing
artfully, skillfully,
even meticulously
crafted
in your ill-used
imagination
gone awry.

Yes, an in-house job.
Your mind, emotions
and body all in concert,
taking risks

in each step
along the path.


Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates
Photograph © Dennis Frates

Affectionately Yours

I keep watering the plant
and it keeps growing.
Should I forget, the
leaves stick their tongue
out at me.
Kids in school, with utter
shock and exasperation,
would run up to me on
the playground
"He stuck his tongue out
at me!", as if I had a
magic wand and could
make it
(and him) turn to stone
(or worse).
Well, did you do
something to irritate him?
No, they would lie.
Aw, c'mon.  You must have
done something.
Well, he was chasing me
and wouldn't leave me alone
yes?.....so I squirted water
in his face.
Hmmm, you think
maybe he didn't like that?
I don't care...
and on it would go
until apologies were
made by both sides.
Little kids can get
over stuff pretty rapidly
if they can tell someone
about it. 
I mean, why ruin
a day of fun over a chase,
and some water in the face?
The last day of school everyone
donned bathing suits, armed up
with all manner of squirt guns,
and let each other have it
to their hearts content.
It was payback time for
a year of frustration without
retaliation.
Like plants who need watering
regularly, kids shouldn't have to
wait til the end of school year
to tell their "friends" what
they think of them with a little water.
Kids, like plants, grow best when
watered as needed.

Copyright © 2103 Gary Frates
Photograph © Dennis Frates

There's Enough!

There's enough!  There really is enough.
We've erroneously been taught the opposite.
Fears of scarcity passed down from our
parents and their parents' parents
and on back
have twisted our little 5 year old minds
into believing that no matter how
much you have or don't have it's not going
to be enough to get you through to the next
refueling point.
But the opposite case can also be made for
abundance and satisfaction with what you
now have.
Somehow the universe delivers when there's
a need.  It's not like its stock of sand grains
or tree leaves is in short supply and we have
to ration for the coming season.
There's always been enough--just the right
amount actually.
Wanting more or less is OK.  A good balance
is the aim.

Your needs are always provided for.

Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates
Photograph © Dennis Frates

Nothing up here, let's go down

Writing is a way of digging into the well
down deep--for water, oil, gold or what-
ever valuable is down there.
But if you look around on the surface
where everybody's been, everything's
pretty much picked over.
Oh, you might get lucky with your
metal detector and uncover some
trinket without much digging, but
that may take a lot of walking in
the hot sun while you wait for a find.
I'm talking about drilling to the center
of the earth--to China if you're in the
USA or visa versa.  You go deep to the
core, to the center--a penetration with
clarity and simplicity--and you see
how uncomplicated it all is--whatever
you're looking at or for and present it
as such.
But on first pass, there's nothing there,
or it appears so.  You have to dig.
And you never know what you'll find
deep within, so much has been deposited
and long forgotten over the eons.
Exploring space, water, or earth will
yield equally heretofore unknown
finds maybe no one's ever seen or heard
of before such is the creative nature of
the universe.
So let's go find out what's over the hill,
down the rabbit hole if we can squeeze in
or at the end of a dark, dark cave
which probably some creature has
discovered before you and has made it
their home
so you'd better knock before entering
and wear protective gear
or good running shoes.
You never know until you go in what's
there.

I don't know about you, but I'd
like to find out--just for the fun of it,
if nothing else.



Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates
Photograph © Dennis Frates

The Universe Delivers

I'm not saying don't go for your dream.
But you might have to be ready to receive
it. 
If you fear having what you actually
are asking for, the universe doesn't see
that as a good consequence for you.

That doesn't mean stop wanting it.
If it's not materializing out of thin air
on your doorstep tomorrow morning...
you might not be ready to receive it.

Why else would it stay away?  It has nowhere
else to go.  It has your name and address on it.
The universe knows where you live. 
It's your dream.  The universe has your order
and wants to deliver it.  That's its job.

Sometimes we spruce up the place when
we have company over.
We get a little ready to entertain visitors.
If they arrived and you weren't ready,
they'd say, "Weren't you expecting us?
How come the table's not set?"  and it
would cause a lot of embarrassment.

So readiness is the key to accepting what
you want.
Get ready and it comes.  The universe knows
(don't ask me how, it just does) when you're
ready.  Why would it deliver to someone who's
not ready?  You'd have to send it back until
you had room to receive it.

So you do your part
and the universe will do its.
Kind of simple, actually.
You just have to get ready.
And

the universe delivers.



Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates
Photograph © Dennis Frates

Machines are Wonderful

Machines are wonderful
but it's not good to mess
with my impatient nature.

I can always find something
to write with and on but
when the machine is not
working correctly it could be
a while before I figure out
the problem and get back
on line to continue working.
Inspiration could fly out the
window by then and my good
nature with it.  By the time I
calm down from all the stress
hormones released I could
have finished my piece by
hand many times over albeit
slightly more unreadable
than a neat typing job might
do first time every time IF
the machine is working
properly.
Just saying...


Copyright © 2013 Gary Frates
Photograph © Dennis Frates