In God Makes the Rivers to Flow; An Anthology of the World’s Sacred Poetry & Prose, Eknath Easwaran includes a selection from Swami Paramananda entitled “O Infinite Being.”  I’ve written the following poem-like reflections inspired by this selection.

Just Say Yes

Lift our mind to that plane where there is no heaviness,
            where there is no darkness, but only illumination and bliss.
—Swami Paramananda

Just say yes.

Say yes to traffic jams and pouring rain.

Say yes to broken windows and baseball bats.

Say yes to stolen cars and jewelry.

Say yes to saying a final goodbye to people and things you love.

Say yes to silence.

Say yes to leaving.

Say yes to shattered glasses.

Say yes to spilled milk.

Say yes to falling boulders.

Say yes to sprained ankles.

Say yes to dry eyes.

Say yes to dropped hints.

Say yes to kisses.

Say yes to poisonous gasses.

Say yes to bombs.

Say yes to strained tempers.

Say yes to ripe peaches.

Say yes to shouting strangers.

Say yes to too many guns.

Say yes to distorted senses.

Say yes to dandelions blooming all over the lawn.

Say yes to a dozen roses.

Say yes to scattered thoughts.

Say yes to sadness.

Say yes to hands and all that they are capable of.

Say yes to intoxication.

Say yes to dark chocolate.

Say yes to twisted bumpers.

Say yes to mental illness.

Say yes to world religions.

Say yes to lousy presidents.

Say yes to locked doors.

Say yes to saying I love you.

Say yes to stab wounds.

Say yes to rabid dogs.

Say yes to falling stars.

Say yes to lottery winners.

Say yes to going broke.

Say yes to bee stings.

Say yes to puppies and kittens.

Say yes to land mines.

Say yes to submarines.

Say yes to aircraft carriers.

Say yes to sucker punches.

Say yes to broken hearts.

Say yes to wicked whistles.

Say yes to singing bowls.

Say yes to collection baskets.

Say yes to collection calls.

Say yes to darkness.

Say yes to heaviness.

Say yes to everything gone wrong.

Say yes to everything.

Just say yes and keep saying yes until all the darkness turns to light,

all the heaviness turns to light,

all the sadness turns to light,

all the anger turns to light,

all the fear turns to light,

and all-there-is is light.

Say yes to your illumination.

Say yes to bliss.

Just say yes.