Joe's Writings

THIS WOMAN'S GIFT

This woman of love, this one so warm.
This home of love, strength and sensitivity.
Oh this woman, she is home.

She is the earth holding the winds,
the seas and the fires of life.

Her winds: the many directions in life.
Her seas: the wholeness of the spirit.
Her fire: the zest and enthusiasm for life.

This whole woman is soon bringing a child into our world.
Dare I even imagine the magnificence,
the beauty of this child coming from such a one as her.

The gift of love, this Being.
The gift she’ll give, this Being.
The gift these Beings bring to me, to us, to us all.

© Joe LaValley 1983

This poem was written out of the inspiration I felt as I considered the gift of childbirth
and motherhood that my relationship at the time had been and was for her daughter.

Some Give All
And do it for naught.

Some give all,
And do it to curry favor.

Some give all,
And do it for the pleasure
Of giving freely to another.

Some give all ,
And do it for a benefit
To come later.

Some give all,
And it’s not at all
A matter of personality
But a manner of Being.

Some give all,
And it’s all about
Acquiring a sense of
Worth of self.

We are though
Inherently worthy
Of love,
Of generosity of
Spirit and of
Support.

We are loved
And we are love
To freely share
With others.

Joe LaValley - July 24th 2011

Desert Soul

She gallops across the desert
In full moon splendor.

Her hooves rhythmically drum
Upon the earth in a pattern
Felt only by those with roots
And burrows at echoing depths.

Her destination is unknown
For she cares not where
Her strides take her.

She is the wind and this
Light upon the landscape
Moves her soul in ways
She can’t help but follow.

She seems alone but
There are others out of sight.
There is a connection amongst them,
It is not consciously realized.

In the night, it is not necessary
For we all must dream alone, as one.
The connections made though,
Affect the dawning new day
And when we encounter others,
The actions we take have a depth
And meaning beyond the obvious.

The hoof beats, the wind moving
Through our mane, the moon in the sky,
All speak of loves intents, those we can know
And those we can’t, for now, until they
Unfold in our days,
In the sun,
In our days,
Of remembrance,
Of our relations,
With the others
Moving with the wind.
Spirit riders
Upon the desert of the soul.

Joe LaValley - July 24th 2011

And She asked unto the Universe... Does Chivalry live?

And then, one day ‘he’ arrived on the scene and answered...Yes. Well, he didn’t actually say yes, but he did in that the first thing he did when they met was he reached out, raised her hand to his lips, and kissed it. If Chivalry lives even within one persons breast then it lies inherently within
all of us equally so,.. Chivalry is a “human” characteristic. One that
belongs equally to both the male and the female of our species.

Chivalry for me, is Generosity; its choosing, to give of oneself to others. Both the mythical
and the so called factual aspects of ‘Knights’ in the days of Chivalry gain their heroic stature
and success, not from thinking and feeling in small & narrow terms but rather from allowing themselves great heights and depths of emotion and thought. This does not always make one ‘look good’ in the moment for the common man shrinks from such power.

A chivalrous person then, lives life largely. They think big! They allow and own a great range of their human emotions. Psychologically they are ‘open’. Many more possibilities exist for them than for the average person. This “openness to possibility” and their ability to call forth the same in others is what makes it possible for them to achieve (so called) “miracles”. The chivalrous persons code of honor it seems to me, is about cultivating personal excellence. Chivalrous people are an opportunity...for personal growth. They show us what WE are capable of, our beauty and magnificence. Our ideals, manifested. They are who we aspire to Be. When we experience an act of chivalry we are faced with a choice. To play larger ourselves or to stay small.

Uncovering our chivalrous aspect (however we term it) is like those of former times who took on the idea that the world was really round and not flat. This altered a large piece of their reality & orientation towards life. The new concept changed their conscious living experience. They intuitively or otherwise came up with and created new options, alternatives and possibilities for themselves. They understood then to some degree that they could be self-determined. They became creators and co-creators of their personal reality and so they broke through where others did not. Chivalrous people easily risk, both publicly and privately. Their noble acts serve to inspire and encourage others to seize their ‘moment points of power’ and express more fully their generous selves.

A chivalrous person recognizes and respects the beauty and validity of all life. They would perform a chivalrous act for an animal as well as for a person. The chivalrous person under-stands that all life is sacred and intimately connected. They remember, whence they came. A chivalrous person is one who champions,..causes and people.

What is the ultimate cause a chivalrous person champions? It is Love. The chivalrous person champions Love. Love is the fundamental motive force in all their actions. Their understanding of this and that they are reality creators makes for the chivalrous person being both so sensitive and so effective. Their actions are a natural outgrowth of the one who recognizes their own magnificence and thus can then see, hear and feel it within others. They can believe in others worth because they know their own. When a chivalrous person chooses a mate, that love will be the person, they most champion. Truly, a heroic love, showering each with a fount of joyful, inspiring energy.

The strength of the champions belief in their own life's course, and their love empowers the champions abilities. Thus, his actions, coming from that love for her, are an acknowledgement of her worth and value to him in his life.

Now, having wrote all of this before looking up any of the following
words in the dictionary, I will now present ‘Websters’ dictionary definitions.

Chivalry - The medieval institution of knighthood as bound by a special code of honor and duty; the position, character, spirit, or virtues proper to a knight, as valor, magnanimity, courtesy, or helpfulness; noble gallantry; knights collectively; hence, gallant warriors or gentlemen.

Chivalrous - Knightly; of knightly spirit or virtues; nobly gallant, courteous, considerate, or helpful; worthy of the age of chivalry.

Gallantry - Dashing courage; heroic bravery; gallant or courtly attention to women; a polite or chivalrous action or speech; gay or fine appearance.

The following word can represent a modern term.

Altruism - Devotion to others or to humanity, as opposed to selfishness.

For me,the ideal chivalrous person would have a commitment to balancing their giving to others with their giving enough loving attention to themselves; their goals, personal interests and life!

Chivalry lives in all of us. Our intent brings it forth.

J o e' s W r i t i n g s