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  • The Meditation Squeeze Machine

        “It’s the rub between these two things—the squeeze between reality and vision—that causes us to wake up ….” p. 159, Comfortable With Uncertainty, Pema Chödron
        “See yourself jealous, see yourself frivolous, see yourself wallowing in self-pity. You think to yourself, ‘Well, what would Dr. Seuss do in this situation?’ Instead of using it as ammunition against yourself, you can lighten up….” Start Where You Are, Pema Chödron

    Here I am
    hurrying off to sit,
    yet another daily meditation
    session—but no hurry!
    No need to travel!  Sitting
    with the big squeeze
    is simply sitting—

    is operating
    the squeeze machine
    while commenting, “I feel so
    squeezed.”  Is asking, “What
    would Dr. Seuss do?”  Is flooding
    the floor with this sweet and sour
    juice singing, “Drink up!
    Drink up!” Fresh
    squeezed, fresh squeezed—

    life’s juice!”—never

    mind the mess,
                             the emptiness.
                                        5/23/2005

  • how we are forced into silence by the crimes of our state*

    here is what we are learning—how to feel
    from the other side,
    that there is feeling on the other side

    that we are the ones our parents condemned
    all our lives
    that we are the ones we have condemned
    all of our lives

    monstrous—we are beginning
    to understand, we seem monstrous
    but from in here we feel
    terrified, lost, hurting, furious, righteously

    vengeful, forced by our enemies
    to defend ourselves forcefully, innocent,
    blameless, way too busy to be bothered,
    to take the time to see

    what we are becoming
                                                    2/3/2005
           *After reading Adrienne Rich, The School Among the Ruins,
             Poems 2000-2004

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All writings created by me, Susan Fantl Spivack, on this Open Source Singing Frog Press website are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).  Anyone may use and share the unaltered written texts at no charge.  Please cite the source as Susan Fantl Spivack, Singing Frog Press (including the link to this website).  The photos found on this website (unless otherwise attributed) are the work of Jay Spivack.  Anyone may use and share the unaltered photos at no charge.  Please cite the source as Jay Spivack/PhotoGraphics, Singing Frog Press (including the link to this website). CC BY-NC-ND 4.0