Outside The Feeling

Outside the feeling, Where time passes And the sanctity of life evolves, I sometimes pause to skinny dip my mind, Feeling the nakedness of time Upon the skin of my soul. We are timeless in our togetherness; Separated only by the lives we choose And the illusions of meaning we assign to them. Most of the time I am in a state of perpetual bliss Moving effortlessly between life and illusion; Reality and fantasy. I once looked closely at a leaf and years later; Or was it a lifetime; Or a moment. I looked again. The leaf was unchanged. Was I? This, the same air that I once breathed, Even still, surrounds me, and this, The same sunlight, still bathes me, Even in the differing moments That we know as time. Such Peace I have found comes from Love The appreciation comes from you. It is from the Us that We are. I have come to know it as Forever. You ask me, “how are you doing?” or “What have you been up to?” I am unchanged. I am without purpose, desire, goal, or need. I am. Then, I am again. The vacuum between us disappears Through Empathy, Recognition, and Acceptance. Things are Always. We move among them Seeking to identify ourselves through them; Lending meaning and purpose to the story We tell ourselves. Well, we all crawl down a different burrow, Not recognizing our Neighbors thoughts As our own. If but only we could turn our gaze This way - Or That.