A Valley Like This
by William Stafford

Sometimes you look at an empty valley like this,
and suddenly the air is filled with snow.
That is the way the whole world happened—
there was nothing, and then…

But maybe some time you will look out and even
the mountains are gone, the world become nothing
again. What can a person do to help
bring back the world?

We have to watch it and then look at each other.
Together we hold it close and carefully
save it, like a bubble that can disappear
if we don’t watch out.

Please think about this as you go on. Breathe on the world.
Hold out your hands to it. When mornings and evenings
roll along, watch how they open and close, how they
invite you to the long party that your life is.

This poem is part of a series commissioned by the US Forest Service in 1993 for a series of plaques along a 49-mile stretch of the Methow River between Washington Pass and the confluence with the Columbia River. You can read more about the project at the Methow Conservancy.

What You Missed That Day You Were Absent from Fourth Grade
by Brad Aaron Modlin

Mrs. Nelson explained how to stand still and listen
to the wind, how to find meaning in pumping gas,

how peeling potatoes can be a form of prayer. She took 
questions on how not to feel lost in the dark.

After lunch she distributed worksheets
that covered ways to remember your grandfather’s

voice. Then the class discussed falling asleep
without feeling you had forgotten to do something else—

something important—and how to believe
the house you wake in is your home. This prompted

Mrs. Nelson to draw a chalkboard diagram detailing
how to chant the Psalms during cigarette breaks,

and how not to squirm for sound when your own thoughts
are all you hear; also, that you have enough.

The English lesson was that I am
is a complete sentence.

And just before the afternoon bell, she made the math equation look easy.
The one that proves that hundreds of questions,

and feeling cold, and all those nights spent looking
for whatever it was you lost, and one person

add up to something.

High recommendation to contact the Rosewood Family Center if you qualify. They have 2 offices but it’s believed that the Gateway office is where the vaccine clinic is.

phone number 5 0 3 – 7 7 2 – 4 3 3 5
Clinic: 135 NE 102nd

Some folks have had a good experience using the website for OHSU. Appointments come up on the website at 9am Mondays and Thursdays; just keep refreshing: https://www.ohsu.edu/health/covid-19-vaccines-information-and-appointments#section-1319536

Safeway: some folks are having good luck selecting pharmacies in Salem
https://www.mhealthappointments.com/covidappt

No one has tried yet, but we did see that Costco pharmacies (https://www.costco.com/covid-vaccine.html) and Walgreens pharmacies (https://www.walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid-19) are worth trying.

of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,

the long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders

of the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is

nameless now.
Every year
everything
I have ever learned

in my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side

is salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world

you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it

against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.

From: American Primitive
Copyright ©:  Mary Oliver

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone.
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling in the sky the message He is Dead,
Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun.
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

by W. H. Audens

Since April 2020 I’ve received many questions about payment, concerns about my financial well-being, and concern that I’m not well compensated for the value I provide. Some folks have even inquired as to the possibility of their insurance benefits, like Silver & Fit, might be directed to me personally.

First and foremost, thank you all for your compassion and concern. Please do know that I am not in financial straits due to the closure of Portland Parks & Recreation Community Centers. While my career was upended on March 13, 2020, my wife continues to enjoy her career as a software engineer for a large company who provide network infrastructure for the world. We enjoy the relative security this offers us, including fairly generous benefits. 

Because of this great privilege, I am able to offer online classes for a suggested donation price. Not all yoga teachers/therapists are able to do this, but I am. My wife and I made this decision together and it was not made lightly. 

The suggested contribution for my online classes, Yoga in Chairs and Yoga for Vitality, is $2.50 per 75-minute class.

Special, First Saturday Sessions, Yoga for Grief, Healing Our Relationship with Our Bodies, or Yoga Nidra, suggested contribution is $5-$25.

Private Yoga Instruction: $25-$75 per person, per hour, suggested contribution.

Integrated Movement Therapy Session: $50-$120 per person, per hour, suggested contribtion.

How to pay me:

• PayPal
• Venmo
• Send a check made out to “Samatha Yoga” (check the spelling!) to
  Sherri Koehler/Samatha Yoga
  P.O. Box 80156
  Portland, OR 97219

However, if for any reason at all the price is too dear for you at this time, or at any time, just come. For private sessions, reach out to discuss my sliding scale, don’t assume I will turn away anyone who really needs assistance.

The thing is, teaching classes and working with clients is as much about providing a service to a community I care deeply for, as it is a tool for supporting my mental health. I live with Complex PTSD (Complex Trauma), which means I’m always managing anxiety and am often managing depression as well. Connecting in community to teach is one of my most important tools. It turns out that it is even MORE important during a pandemic!

Come to class. Just come.

Bringing your energy and intention to share with us is payment!

Email me a photograph of flowers in your garden as payment!

Send a paper note to my address above as a payment. I truly treasure and save notes from my students to read when I feeling despair for the world.