haiku heals

photo, D. Bowman

seasons of change

Many forms of poetry romanticize or sugarcoat hard times.  The valor of war, the heartbreak of loss or the heightened drama of an encounter. As a succinct poetic form haiku attempts to understand and help us see difficulty through the lens of the seasons.

A seasonal references become a symbol for the natural cycles of change and rebirth. After a hard winter, spring can thaw a frozen heart.

Haiku helps us see what is alive in the moment and how the rhythms of nature heal.  Without flourish or exaggeration haiku insists we notice each step on the path to recovery.

haiku heals

The practice of reading or writing haiku can help us break the cycle of perseveration, where the repetition of thoughts and actions keep circling us back to isolation and the extreme.

Haiku brings us into the present moment where the grip of the past can begin to loosen. It helps us see beyond destruction and lean toward tenderness, strength and the endurance that is possible for each human being.

Haiku makes us an activist in our own lives.  It invites us to own our experience and thus enables us to change. While not denying the past, haiku nudges us forward with acute attentiveness to the cycles of nature and our interconnection.

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