Welcome

Primitive religion is not believed, it is danced!

Arthur Darby Nock

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

Elizabeth Browning



Thursday, May 31, 2018

We carry their hearts

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“They want us to be afraid.
They want us to be afraid of leaving our homes.
They want us to barricade our doors
and hide our children.
Their aim is to make us fear life itself!
They want us to hate.
They want us to hate 'the other'.
They want us to practice aggression
and perfect antagonism.
Their aim is to divide us all!
They want us to be inhuman.
They want us to throw out our kindness.
They want us to bury our love
and burn our hope.
Their aim is to take all our light!
They think their bricked walls
will separate us.
They think their damned bombs
will defeat us.
They are so ignorant they don’t understand
that my soul and your soul are old friends.
They are so ignorant they don’t understand
that when they cut you I bleed.
They are so ignorant they don’t understand
that we will never be afraid,
we will never hate
and we will never be silent
for life is ours!”
― Kamand Kojouri

______________________________________

here is the deepest secret nobody knows…
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) (ee cummings)

it is also true, that you carry mine in yours

we are bound you and I
whether I know you, or not
whether I like you or not
or understand you

we are bound together regardless of race, or culture
or creed

education or standing
nationality

we are bound together by something older than the foundation of the world
something deeper that the greatest depth in the sea

we are bound together that that which carries us both
and compels us to communion

Oh we can deny it
And those in power often do
They foster fear, feed hate
Promote division
Build walls (or try to)

And seek expulsion, or even eradication

In anger some pick up guns, and kill
Or place guns in the hands of others

We are all too good at denying our bond
Denying that we all carry some of the Sacred in us
And so are brothers and sister
Bound together

But in that denial we deny ourselves
We exclude ourselves
We isolate our selves

You have only to look in the eyes
Those tight, angry eyes ( you know of whom I speak)
To know this truth

To know the pain that comes
From such a refutation of our very nature

It is hard not be afraid
It is near impossible to avoid hate
And we are often cowed into silence

But our brothers and sisters, dying on the streets of America
Hiding in terror under the desks of our schools

Our brothers and sister,
Bleeding in the dust of Gaza
Lying in the rubble in Syria

Call to us
We experience their pain, their fear, their horror
Their deaths
We feel the terror in their breasts
As bullets fly and bombs fall

For we carry their hearts
In our hearts

And so we must say to those who have chosen not to be fully human
Those who have denied their sacred DNA
Those who have closed themselves off, so they do not look
Past themselves

We must say to them, no matter what the cost…
“that we will never be afraid,
we will never hate
and we will never be silent
for life is ours!”




Wednesday, May 30, 2018

love and power

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“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
___________________________

Today I watched the world burning
I watched as greed men abused the earth, and lusted for more
I watched as men and women in leadership, tacitly approved torture
I watched our “leader” lie and lie and lie again
And assail the rule of law
I watch congress remain silent while the checks and balances that have kept our country safe
Were eroded

I watched a modern day Pharisee (Franklin Graham) judged and demean and play God
Suggesting that only he, and those who violate the spirit of Jesus’ teachings every day
Are the keepers of the Kingdom

I watched our country reaffirm its commitment to violence as a way of life
And listened to people choose guns over children

I heard hate, and saw hate
I heard greed and saw greed
I heard arrogance and saw arrogance
I heard judgement and saw exclusion
I heard racism and saw functional genocide

Ah what a world we live in
So full of evil and dysfunction

And I, I too
I am in the mix, with my own stuff
My own hate
My own desire that God judge and punish
That someone (who shall not be named) just die

Mea Culpa
Mea Maxima Culpa

Kyrie Eleison

On me
On those I love
Yes, O Sacred One

Even on those whom, today, I wished were gone

I think it is time
To dwell on the beauty of life
To run with the stars

And to remember God’s love
And God’s power
And what can happen
When power and love come together

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

letting go

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“There are too many people today who instead of feeling hurt are acting out their hurt; instead of acknowledging pain, they’re inflicting pain on others. Rather than risking feeling disappointed, they’re choosing to live disappointed.
                                                                        Brene Brown
____________________________________

Avoid it
Avoid it at all costs

That pain, that feeling
That disquieting thought
That uncomfortable truth

Stuff it down
Hide it repressive
Fill the trash can of your soul

What can go wrong?

Ah, the problem is that trash
Almost always,
Eventually
Stinks

Rot, rot
Fester, fester

And sometimes the trash can explodes
And what we chose not to deal with, not to express

Expresses itself
It attitudes
Feelings
Words
Actions

It explodes with in us
And we struggle with illness and pain
But it also explodes from us
And we act our pain and anger
Our hurt,

Wounded we wound
Fearful we live out our fear, creating fear

Infected we infect.

There is another option
We can accept
We can embrace
We can touch our pain, and let it go

We can notice what we think
And accept what we feel
And take a deep breath

And let it go

Call it what you will
De-fusing
Forgiveness
Centering

We touch all that is wounded in us
And then turn from it
And do what we care about

We love
We serve
We help
We heal

It is an old truth
“You can only lose what you cling to.” – Buddha

It is a basic truth
“whoever wants to save their life will lose it”

Ah my dear ones
Tonight turn off the TV
Shut down the computer
Ignore your phone

Walk out into the darkness
Gaze at the stars stretching into the eternal

And “give to the winds thy fears;
hope and be undismayed.
God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears,
God shall lift up thy head” (Traditional hymn)

You have everything to lose
Thank
God


Monday, May 28, 2018

Regard

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“Not every story has a happy ending, ... but the discoveries of science, the teachings of the heart, and the revelations of the soul all assure us that no human being is ever beyond redemption. The possibility of renewal exists so long as life exists. How to support that possibility in others and in ourselves is the ultimate question.”
                                                          Gabor Maté, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
______________________________________________________________

Do I believe it
Really?

That no human being is ever beyond redemption
Do I believe it about Trump?
Do I believe it about you?
Do I believe it about me?

It is an important question

For in that answer is the genesis
of who we see others
feel about others
talk about others
treat others

Do we believe that every person is sacred
That each person carries divine DNA

Do we trust that this divine element
Woven into the fabric of each of us
Change the whole
As small as this element may be?

Jesus said yes
The tiny bit of yeast can affect the dough
Just a tiny bit of sacred, and determine who we are

So here is the larger question
The ultimate question
How do we support that possibility in others and in ourselves?

One wise sage once suggested that we must create a “free and friendly space” (Nouwen)
which gives others the freedom to cast off the alien self, created by the world
and become ourselves

that sacred child
How do I do that?

The simple answer is love
But what does love look like?

Perhaps at a profound level it is a matter of giving someone the sense
That there is someone there
Someone for them
Someone who cares

Perhaps, as Rogers once suggested
It is a matter of unconditional positive regard
An offering of worth
That gives the other hope

It stretches my imagination to believe
That this might truly help the most damaged among us
Especially the successful and powerful who are damaged
For with power and wealth their dysfunctional efforts to prove their worth
Are so intrusive
And powerful
And persistent

But what is our option?
We have tried hate
We have tried reward
We have tried punishment and resistance

Why not regard?

I know I do not have this regard in me
I know it will have to borrow it from the Sacred
But perhaps now is the time

In spite of the fact that there may not be a happy ending
To
Try


Sunday, May 27, 2018

love or fear

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“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address
______________________________________

sometimes I think our fear is killing us

fear of failure
drives us into a lifestyle of stress and over work
and kills joy

fear that we are not enough
causes us to numb our lives
with alcohol or drugs

fear of strangers causes us to
execute compassion
and kill kindness

fear of other faiths
causes us to close our hearts
and kill forgiveness and love

fear causes us to hate
and judge
to oppress
and even to kill (literally)

fear feeds on fear
and feeds on us
and makes us less

there is only one antidote,
love!

wisdom reminds us
that “perfect love casts out fear”

but in the midst of fear
love is hard to find
in most cases

I have to import it

I cannot overcome fear by myself
and love?
it has to come from the place it ALWAYS lives
from the Sacred One

it has to come as Spirit
it has to come into that place at the center of who I
am, that place that makes me “me”
it has to come
into heart and soul

and only when it does
can I move beyond fear

can I move beyond the fear
that I will fail
that I will be rejected
that I will be hurt

only then can I dispel my greatest fear
that I will end up isolated
alone
without respect
without affection
without friends
surrounded by books and cats
but alone

so come O Love
come as Spirit
come through the smile of another
come through the beauty of the mountain
come on the wind
come through a child’s laughter
come in the Morels that grace the slopes
come in the flowers, pushing their way through the soil
come from places expected
and unexpected

come O love


Saturday, May 26, 2018

The power of love

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”
― Jimi Hendrix

 “Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.”
― George Carlin

 “Let the first act of every morning be to make the following resolve for the day:
- I shall not fear anyone on Earth.
- I shall fear only God.
- I shall not bear ill will toward anyone.
- I shall not submit to injustice from anyone.
- I shall conquer untruth by truth. And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
_________________________________________

Peace!
Is it that hard?
Apparently, yes!

When we worship power,
And love money
When our false self egos are in control

Peace does not come easily
Whether it be inner peace, relational peace
Or world peace

There is only one antidote
Love

Not love as that mushy feeling we human’s feel
Which may, much of the time, be mostly hormones
Not the love of mother’s day cards (although that love is beautiful)

But Love
As that power, that presence, that is love
That love that is God

This reality is tough
It refuses to fear
It forgives
It sees the best in even our enemies
It is tolerant of all people
But intolerant of injustice and inequity
Intolerant of anything that harm a Sacred Child
(and we are all Sacred Children).

It is honest
It does not lie, does not dissemble

This is the Love we see from the Sacred
This is the love that walked dusty roads and ate with “sinners”
This is the love that hung on a cross
To model the way to the Kingdom

In this world where the is so little people
And people who are not “love”
And do not love
And perhaps cannot love

We need a little Love
(And a whole lot of God)

Friday, May 25, 2018

Hate is a waste


“Hate is a lack of imagination.”
― Graham Greene, The Power and the Glory
_____________________________________

I hated today!
I admit it
I heard the words echoing around in my skull
As I listened to him speak,

Why can’t you just die!

It is all too easy, this thing called hate
All to easy

But hate is a lack of imagination

if I hate
I do not have the ability to see
the good in you
the possibilities in you
the sacred in you

if I hate
I have already given up
on change
and reconciliation and compassion

if I hate I can do nothing more imaginative
than violence
I have no better solutions than
lying
misrepresenting
excluding
judging
picking up a gun

hate is a colossal waste of energy

________________________________

Lord help me not to hate
I find it all too easy

Thursday, May 24, 2018

My religion is love


My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.
The Dali Lama
_________________________________________

when you get to the center of it all
after you dig through all the pages of all the tomes
and listen to all the words of oh so many teachers

you will find that there are just some people
who embody what you want to be
who glow with the Spirit
who are lit up from within

when you are with them
you find
you are more,
you wake up
to who you really are

and then you realize
that what makes them who they are
is kindness
deep rooted
persistent kindness

the source of which
is in the very nature
of the Sacred One
they love

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

That's my child


“I believe that appreciation is a holy thing--that when we look for what's best in a person we happen to be with at the moment, we're doing what God does all the time. So in loving and appreciating our neighbor, we're participating in something sacred.”
                                                                                                    Fred Rogers
__________________________________________________________

I don’t believe God is a man
Or a Woman

I think we make a mistake, at some profound level
When we anthropomorphize God

We make God too small

God becomes something contained, limited
Rooted in time and space
God becomes mine, and not yours
God is for me, and not you

It is better to think of God as bigger
Broader
Less definable
After all, who can define infinity, really?

And yet images can be helpful
And I love the image of God a Parent
And image which gambols through the pages of the sacred texts

Not just a parent, a good parent
A doting parent

I love the idea that God
Looks upon these strange creatures called humans
And see them with the eyes of delight

Knowing the worst
But believing the best
Hoping against hope, that we will grow up
Into the divine image

But most of all I like the idea that echoing through
The darkness of failure
And the haze of uncertainty
Echoing down through the immensity of eternity

I can hear the voice of One who loves me
Saying

“Hey, that’s my kid!”

Sacred Child

I like the idea, although it torment me at times
As I am sure it does Sacred
That the same voice says the same thing
About every person who on this fine spring day

Takes a breathe
And feels their heart beat

Yes, every person
Sacred may say it with sadness in some cases
And with all the hopelessness of a parent watching a child
Make choices he or she abhors

But God says it, nonetheless

With appreciation
For what was, what is (at times)
And for what may yet be


Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Walking each other home


That's what it's all about!
We are here to walk each other home.

I have tried hard over the years, to figure out what the teachings
of Jesus were all about

People have taken the words of Jesus
and made them mean so many different things

they have used Jesus words to inspire works of great love and compassion
and used them to justify acts of violence and hate

they have used his words to heal
but also to wound

Some people use Jesus’ words to promote generosity
but many more use them to justify greed and selfishness

but this is what it is all about
I believe Jesus calls us to walk each other home
Even when we don’t quite know where “home” is
Even when the way is long
Even when the path is torturous and vague

We walk each other home
We care for one another
We carry one another

If we must use some of our strength, some of our resources
To help another along that path,
We do it

We do it whether that person deserves it or not
for Jesus never worried about merit
all he ever saw in another was a precious soul

Oh, sometimes he was saddened by what he saw
But he always, still, wanted to help that person home
Tax collector
Fisher, farmer, cook, cleaner
Man on the street
Woman by the well
Thief on a cross
Blind one, sick one, wounded one, hated one
He simply sought
With the love of God in him
To walk them home
To that place of peace

So we are here to walk each other home

And it is not acceptable to leave others behind,
so that we might get there ourselves
It is not OK to leave others behind,
To make our journey easier

No precious soul, and we are all precious souls,
Can be left behind by our choosing
By our decision to exclude
By our choice to shame, to minimize
By our decision to go the way of wealth and power
And our decision to abandon the poor, the ill, the aging, the addicted

For we are here to walk each other home

I know I do not always succeed in this task
I have walked by people (literally or figuratively)
I have left some there, in the dust, by the side of the road
Broken and bleeding

I suspect you don’t either
But we do carry some of God’s power (Spirit)
And we do carry some of God’s love, for God has given us his love

And when love and power come together?
We not only want to do good, we have the power to do it
So this day
As the rain falls
And the thunder rolls
And the clouds encase the earth

I will remember the words of the man Jesus
The words of the eternal Christ

We are here, to walk each other home

Monday, May 21, 2018

spiritual poverty


“When will our consciences grow so tender
that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?”
                             Eleanor Roosevelt
_____________________________________

Are we so empty
So fearful

That we have lost our ability
To give
And to welcome?

In the mist of a rainy evening
I watch the horses play
Musical hay piles

Wandering distractedly
Sadie, the alpha
Aged and bony though she may be
Still queens over the pasture

Finally settling
And so to the others

And then, magically
From the darkness under the trees
Come the deer

Tentative
But eager

Finding their way to the piles of hay
And there they
Graze
The haves and the have nots

All stomachs being sated
Because of generosity and welcome

How it speaks of the poverty
Of those with obscene wealth
That they must grasp for more

Knowing that because they do
Someone goes hungry
Someone sleeps on the street
Someone has no health care
Someone lives in despair

How it speaks of the poverty
Of those with all the power
Who misuse that power
Who lie and cheat and steal

Gasping, consuming, gorging themselves

On what does not
Will not
Can not satisfy



Sunday, May 20, 2018

Trees of Heaven, Seeds of Hell


You can't plant the trees of Heaven, ...
with  the seeds of Hell. "

                             Ammar Al- Shukry
____________________________________

It doesn’t matter
It does
Not
Matter

Whether you are trying to Make America Great Again
Or
Establish the Kingdom of God

It does not matter how you define yourself
Or your spirituality

You cannot create good out of evil
You cannot build greatness out of greed
You cannot create justice if you lust for power
You cannot create hospitality with fear
You cannot generate compassion out of judgement

We cannot create world of peace and equity
A world of love and justice
By insisting on our own way

The way to what is good
Is not merely paved with good intentions
But with good actions
And good hearts

With compassion and generosity
Equity and equality
Acceptance and love

There is no other way to make American Great
There is no other way to usher in the Kingdom

It takes sacrifice
And giving
Sometimes it takes dying
Always it takes love

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Live in the questions


“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart.
...live in the question.”
Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
________________________________________________________

I have so many questions
The longer I live
The more I have

It seems as for every answer
There are 5 questions,
Waiting to ambush me

And so I walk each day
With so much unresolved
Living the questions

Knowing that perhaps there is no answer
to be found in this world
in this moment

only in the depth of eternity
and maybe not then

perhaps then it won’t matter anymore
as I find resolution
and return to the One from whom I came

Why do children get sick?
Whey do parents brutalize their children, mental, and physically?
Why are we so selfish?
Why do wicked people seem to prosper?
Why do we so easily believe liars?
Where am I going?
Has my life been worth anything?
Why am I so often lonely?
Why do I do so many stupid things?
How do we create change?
How do we defeat evil?

These things torment me, and go unresolved
Yet I will hold them patiently
And I will let them go
For they are of no earthly good
Of no heavenly good either

and the answers are sometimes worse
being not the answer
really

so

I will live in the questions...
And keep walking
Keep searching
Keep trying
Keep loving (as best I can)

peace

Friday, May 18, 2018

be kind


“Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.”
                              Henry James

 “Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
                              Desmond Tutu
________________________________________________

Where did it go?
It must be hiding some place?

Perhaps it is under the desk in the White House
Or ensconced in some back row in Congress

Perhaps it is hiding behind the pulpit a church

Maybe, just maybe, there is a webpage someplace
Where it is to be abundantly found

But kindness seems to have left the building!

I find far too little of it left in my soul
Replaced instead by outrage
And a desire to attack and overwhelm
With the brilliance of my rhetoric, with the force of my anger

Where or where is love
Where is kindness
Where are those little bits of good, put together?

They are there, I believe
Those little acts of kindness

Kindness is in the hands of a older farm widow
Who knits shawls and blankets for people who are struggling
Kindness is in the help given, freely and without question, by an aging farmer
Who gives of his time and his skills to help in so many practical ways
It is in the gentle counsel of the woman everyone calls when life caves in
Counsel given in the context of great trial (cancer) within her own family
It is given through the hands of nurses
Through the listening ears of healers

Those “little bits of good” do litter the universe

And the tipping point is there
That place where those acts of kindness overwhelm the world

But it takes us all
All of our little acts
All of those brief moments

So today
Let us try to be kind

And no matter how today turns out
Remember there is always
tomorrow