The Heart of the Matter
July 31, 2013
In Case You Are Wondering What This Blog Is Really All About

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Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:45 PM | Comments (0)

July 29, 2013
The Upturn Is Upon Us!

Let me be the first to declare that, despite the gloomy pronouncements of the naysaying media, there is a glorious upturn upon us. Yes, it's true. That is, IF you are willing to shift your focus just a bit and let the joy and happiness inside of you come out.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:57 PM | Comments (1)

July 27, 2013
Cruising with Rumi

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On a bone cold February afternoon,
23 miles from home,
in a car I leased three months ago,
sky outside turning the color
of old men's teeth,
I listen to Rumi, 800 years gone
from praising everything that breathed,
my heart racing with him
through towns with no name,
everyone love drunk and laughing.

Lights are flashing everywhere,
especially behind me,
not white
like those that lit up Rumi's eyes,
no, more like red,
the kind that signal stop
and oops
and maybe I should slow down and pull over.

Rumi, on the 5 CD changer,
is unconcerned,
his monologue of love making perfect
sense, as I,
poised, tribal, and whole,
anticipate a large man of the law approaching,
and reach for my license,
not the poetic kind I prefer,
but the other one,
the one with the photo
no one will ever show their mother,
even as the uniformed man
standing tall by my door
beckons me slowly to roll down my window
and announces, like a small town accountant
wishing he was home for lunch with his wife,
my speed,
which was 20 over the limit,
Rumi still holding forth
beneath an ancient Persian moon.

He had kind eyes, my sudden companion
in his well-pressed uniform,
kind eyes and a smile that spoke of long winters
keeping roads safe for travelers like me
who, somehow, must have missed the sign
about a mile back,
veiled, as it was, by that old willow tree
and the last few rays of light
finding their way past the steepest hill in town,
the one where all the kids go sledding,
eyes on fire,
kids, as far as I can tell,
who have never heard of Rumi,
the officer of the law,
or me.

(This poem, by the way, cost me $150).

Excerpted from this book

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:19 PM | Comments (3)

July 22, 2013
Why Groucho Raised His Eyebrows

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Order the book here

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:04 PM | Comments (0)

July 14, 2013
Every Breath Is a Prayer

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Here's a little secret:
Every breath you take
is a prayer.

22,000 times a day
it rises, unannounced,
then returns
to who knows where.

You do not need to kneel,
you do not need to speak,
and the only pilgrimage necessary,
is the one from head to heart --
the one all people seek.

Excerpted from this book
More
More
Photo

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:19 AM | Comments (1)

July 06, 2013
Focus!

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More

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:44 PM | Comments (0)

An Act of Holy Kindness

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:05 AM | Comments (1)

July 05, 2013
Hoffman and Ditkoff Ride Again!

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Good news!

Stuart Hoffman and I are collaborating on a new series of audio poems that will soon be available for downloading at a website near you.

Stuart's music.
My poetry.

If you want to know when the first ones will be ready, simply click the comments box below and leave us your name and email address. Or email us. Or Facebook us. Or take us out for dinner the next time you see us.

Click the link below for the words to the first piece...

THIS THIRST

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There is an aching deep within my heart
that cannot be explained.
It wakes me in the middle of the night
and write these lines --
a kind of fishing in a great sea I cannot find by day.
This escapade is not the search for something new.
It is not the need to find --
more it is the being moved,
my being pulled by an unseen moon,

how small birds, when days get cold, make their way
across dark skies to the place where they were born,
how a feather falls to earth
and a child, finding it, looks up,
why dogs pace back and forth before a door
as their master turns for home.

Ah, this restlessness, this thirst, this ache,
this silent undertow inside
that takes me back to the hidden spring
where lions come to drink,
and snakes,
why birds sing when they are all alone
and the long ride home on an empty train
often feels like an arrival.

What inspires us

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:16 PM | Comments (0)

July 02, 2013
Peace Is a Feeling

Here is the first in a series of four short videos promoting PEACE FOR PEOPLE 2013. Next releases: 8/1, 9/1, and 9/21 in honor of International Peace Day.

The Prem Rawat Foundation

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:17 AM | Comments (0)

July 01, 2013
UNITY: The Movie

Totally inspired Kickstarter project. A way to help draw attention to the need for love, unity, and compassion on planet Earth.

Thanks to Monika Winslow for the heads up.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:44 PM | Comments (2)

Welcome to Mitch Ditkoff's blog about what's really important in this life: Peace, gratitude, love, joy, clarity, and the effort required to wake up and smell the roses. Enjoy!

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