Over at Real Toads, Bjorn calls on us to write a manifesto for 2018. I’m one for goals, not New Year’s resolutions. But when I reflected on this post, I realize there is one vision I can achieve, and 2018’s as good a year as any to do so.
I have practiced centering prayer for many years, and the welcoming prayer for at least the last few. Nevertheless, I often allow my frustration over what I can’t control to overrule my serenity. Then I “Cry ‘Havoc!’, and let slip the dogs of war” .
It’s time to change. It’s time to…
Ride the Dragon
“Feel and Sink into…”
…The joy of pouring out a poem on an empty page, the sorrow of another work burden added to my overfull plate, the glory of that monumental accomplishment…
feel it
to the depth of my being-
ride the dragon
“Welcome…”
…The feel of her skin on my fingertips, the scathing disappointment in myself or others, that experience of the sublime…
welcome all
like a guest in my home…
ride the dragon
“Let Go”
…of the smile on my son’s face as he embraces a new experience, of saying that unwanted, last goodbye, of this transformative moment of eternity…
let go
with wide-open arms-
ride the dragon
“I let go of my need for security, affection, control, and I embrace this moment as it is…”
ride the dragon…
don’t shove it back in the cave
to continue living
ordinary unhappiness…
ride the dragon!
A special thanks to Robert J. Wicks, author of Riding the Dragon: Ten Lessons for Inner Strength in Challenging Times, for his extended metaphor of “riding the dragon.”
Frank J. Tassone 
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