New Years 2018

New Year 2018

Transformation usually includes a disconcerting reorientation. Change can either help people to find a new meaning, or it can cause people to close down and turn bitter. The difference is determined by the quality of our inner life, or what we call “spirituality.” Change of itself just happens; spiritual transformation is an active process of letting go, living in the confusing dark space for a while, and allowing yourself to be spit up on a new and unexpected shore.

                                                                                                     Richard Rohr

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Another year

Another mess

More greed, more hate

More violence, more death

More poverty, more oppression

Yet each year we celebrate and ending

And herald a new beginning

It seems we have problem

And the problem is we want change

Not transformation

We want to change our habits

But now our hearts, our souls, our minds

But our habits don’t change, unless we change our hearts, our souls, our minds

And that isn’t just change

That is transformation

And transformation

Is a process

A scary, troubling process

It is letting go of what as been

Spinning for a while over the abyss

Like a high flying trapeze artist

Suspect over, nothing

And then only then, after those moments of sheer terror

Do we find something to hang on to

That something new

That something next

And that… well we are never quite sure what it is going to be

When we first let go of what was

It is often unexpected

Sometimes challenging

Often scary

But it is what is next

And there is always a “next”

So this New Year

Don’t resolve to change some habits

Take a moment to breath

And think

Pray, meditate

Then let go

Spin

And grab hold, of God’s new thing

Happy New Year!

evil

“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”

                                           Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956

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We know evil when we see

When we hear it

When we encounter it

We walk, these days, knee deep in evil

Racism

Oppression

Lies

Greed

It is there

In evil people

Insidiously committing evil deeds

And at one level our hearts scream against what we see

And hear

And we hear the screams of those

Who are neglected

Oppressed

Minimized

Bullied

but our hearts are conflicted

we hear the siren call

for safety

and the promise of wealth

and our hearts are dawn

by the sinister power of hate

and by the warped “supremacy” of the bully

and we waver

and we let false shepherds convince us

that somehow

what we know is false is true

and that what we know is true

know at our God level is true,

is false

and we vote for Roy Moore, and Donald Trump

and we celebrate a heartless budget

and we exclude the refugee

and we neglect the poor

scrambling for scraps from the table of the masters

and we slowly sink into the ooze and slime

slowly sink

until there is no return

short of death

Lord may we die

Die to self

Die to greed

Die to hate

Die to patriotism

May we die a million little deaths

On our way to our great death

For in that death is life

For in that loss is victory

For in that letting go, we grab hold of what is good

For in that end, is perhaps

A beginning

Astonishing Light

I wish I could show you,

When you are lonely or in the darkness,

The Astonishing Light

Of your own Being!

                                           Hafiz

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the world is dark

there is no other way to put it

the shortest day of the year

(soon arriving)

Leaves us getting up in the dark

Leaving home in the dark

Getting home in the dark

And spending our evenings, completely in dark

we know darkness

and yet we are told

that a light shines in the darkness

and it cannot be extinguished

ever

ever

ever

to find it?

Look inside

Yes, there

In another place you often think of as dark

The deep place

Where Sacred lives

Look inside

For there glows Sacred Presence

Its astonishing, really!

What is there

Think of it as a baby

Nestled in a manger

Pure Light

Pure love

this demented inn

“Into this world, this demented inn

in which there is absolutely no room for him at all,

Christ comes uninvited.”

                                           Thomas Merton

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There is so little room

For Jesus in this world

It is so crowded with noise

Coming from everywhere

Confusing

Contradictory

False

Scary

It is so twisted and tortured

By hate and fear

We can be a demented race, we humans

So unable to grab hold of our divine image

so challenged by the very idea

of love

yet into this place

into the ooze and slime and old decay

Christ advents

Insistent

Demanding

intrusve

Bringing only himself

Which is enough

Bringing only himself

Unconditional love

Revealing his way to a recalcitrant world

Coming in love

Living love

Dying love

Rising love

And saying gently

Now

You

Over the edge

“O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall

Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap

May who ne'er hung there.”

                              Gerard Manley Hopkins

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Ah the mind has mountains

and cliffs too

and sometimes we fall

we fall

down into the dark valleys

plummeting into frightful places

unable to find something we can grasp

to stop our fearful slide

and yet in those deep places

when we have no place else to go

we find the genesis of our salvation

for in that place, our hand reaching high

we begin again our ascent

into the light

falling upward into grace

and into that new thing

the Sacred has in store

we cannot find this promised land

while hanging grimly to the cliffs

only release will allow us

to fall unto ascent

to die into new life

This is the Sacred paradox

which we must accept and live

other wise we hang

we hang above the abyss

and slowly die

Which God do you Worship?

Which God do you worship?

Do who worship a God who is all about power?

Or a God who is all about love?

Do you worship a God who is all about punishment?

Or a God who is all about forgiveness?

Do you worship a God who is inclusive,

Seeking to draw all people together,

Or do you worship a God who is exclusive,

And who is for you, and your group…

All others “be damned” (literally)

Do you worship a God who is about cold, rigidity

Or a God who celebrates creativity?

Do you worship a God who is all about earthly kingdoms

About places on a map

Or a God who is all about the human heart,

And about the nurture of the soul?

Do you worship a God who penned a book which must be read rigidly and literally

Or does God speak not only through sacred books, but also in the power of the Spirit,

In many ways,

and choose to engage us daily in a living, creative way?

Do we worship a God who demands we deny science

Minimize women

And reject people who are LGBT              QI,

For the sake of this literal interpretation

Or do we understand that God is always bringing new understanding into the

Minds and hearts of people, and a new freedom to love and accept?

God is always doing a “new thing”

Do we have a God who “goes to bed” with politicians

And seeks to establish Sacred rule through political means,

Or do we have a God whose kingdom is not of this world,

And who warns us not to merge our faith with earthly powers?

Which God do you worship?

Which God is the true God.

It makes a difference

hearts full of grace

“Not everybody can be famous. But everybody can be great, because

greatness is determined by service. You don’t have to have a college

degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to

serve. You don't have to know about Plato or Aristotle to serve. You

don’t have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don’t

have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve.

You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.”

― Martin Luther King, Jr.

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what does it mean to be “great”

Trump thinks is about money and power

And the use of that power on others…

Crush, maim

“I win”

Happy Dog things greatness in a human

Is about walks taken

Balls tossed

Snacks offered

It is about kindness

And love

And “being there” (at 5:30 am when he wants to play)

Jesus would agree more with Happy Dog

“The one who would be first must be last”

“The one who would be great must be the servant of all”

This day I will have many chances to be great

They will come in the grocery store

When I am in my office

As I walk the street of my tiny community

And greatness will be measured

Not when I prove how brilliant I am

Or impose my perspective on another

But when I listen

When I care

When I am kind

My one goal this day

Is to be great

With “a heart full of grace

and a soul generated by love”

Angels

Dear God, please reveal to us

your sublime

beauty

that is everywhere, everywhere, everywhere

so that we will never again

feel frightened

my divine love, my love

please let us touch

your face

St. Francis of Assisi

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The angels came

They came to Zechariah

and he was afraid

struck dumb with the enormity of the visit

they came to Mary

and she was afraid

although the moment was pregnant with promise

they came to Joseph

and he was afraid

and perhaps puzzled, and even a little humiliated

this was deep stuff

and did God think he, Joseph was a fool?

they came to shepherds

who must have decided that the last batch of wine

had gone a little bad

and who must had looked incredulously at each other

as the skies shone

“Whoa!  Look at that, dude!”

The angels came

and there was fear

but also hope

be not afraid

be not afraid

be not afraid

for you have God all wrong

all wrong

you can be in awe

you can and should be overwhelmed

you should feel the power and presence

and be driven go beyond who and what you are

propelled into a world new

a life new

a heart new

a mind new

but be not afraid

for this God is love

and if you don’t believe it

soon God will prove it

God will come

not growling and threatening

not in power on the clouds

but crying and

reaching for his mother’s breast

a little gift of love

the sacred wrapped up in ragged cloths

and soon, needing to be changed

and you can touch

God’s face

Solstice

So dark the morn

For no other reason

Than it is that time

As year flows to year

Darkness comes and darkness grows

ever darker

in the black place

beauty hides

the trees melt into an abyss

and peaks and sky blend

until the soaring greatness of the mountain

is lost

black upon black

but even in this dark time

light will come

slowing pushing aside the gloom

until brilliant

the sun turns the cold morning into

white and blue

and diamonds gleaming scattered

snow and ice gathering the light

recklessly sharing their joy

and though we march ever deeper into darkness

solstice will come and

the blackness will turn, will turn

and the world will grow

ever brighter

for this the flow

of each day, each year

this is the pattern of life, of history

the darkness comes

but we, the lovers of light

keep walking, keep living

keep loving

keep hoping

for each year that moment comes

solstice, Advent

the beginning of the beginning

when all is about to turn

and in that moment

we people, living in the dark

remember, if we do not see, the light

and our hearts sing of what is to come

of justice, and love, equity and compassion

generosity and forgiveness

and our souls cry out

for the world is about to turn

(Thanks to the Canticle of the Turning by Gary Daigle, Rory Cooney & Theresa Donohoo

 for inspiration and hope)

sacred and secular

“There is nothing so secular that it cannot be sacred,

and that is one of the deepest messages of the Incarnation.”

                                                           Madeleine L'Engle

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the place where the animals sheltered

became the place where the Sacred sheltered

the common, dusty roads of Palestine

became the place where

Sacred was shared

the gravel roads I walk each morning

as the sun rises

and happy dog dances

becomes my sanctuary where Sacred resides

Sacred too are the precious souls

who come to the place I work

to share, to struggle, to heal

and Sacred are the tired grey heads

to join on Sunday morning

to stir the embers of faith

Sacred is the one who mutters along the side walk

a hundred voices in his head

and Sacred to the single mother who amidst

the chaos of a cluttered living room

hugs her child

even the halls of the mighty

can be Sacred

those places where laws are past

and Sacred too, those souls

tangled in the web of power and wealth

the Sacred is sometimes difficult to see

to touch

but there is nothing, and no one

so “secular”

so immersed in the way of desecration

that the embers of

holiness cannot be stirred

it is our job

to stir the embers of our own soul into fire

that we live love, compassion, generosity, acceptance

to so live

as Sacred children

that we become the power

that bends the world

toward Bethlehem

Hope

Hope is the place where joy meets the struggle

                                           Parker Palmer

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here at the beginning of the beginning

as the world takes a slow breathe

and waits

waits for Sacred presence to make all things new

here as we stand with the whole weight of darkness

at our back

and the smallest hint of light

ahead

we look for hope

we want to have hope

not that we even understand what to hope for,

such are the tendrils of darkness that have woven their way

into the fabric of our being

but still we hope

gazing at a faint glimmer of light

hoping against hope

that we will understand,

that something better, bigger will surface

from deep within

and if we are lucky

something rises within us

call it joy

call it expectation

that what we wait for

here at the beginning of the beginning

will come

joy is energy

it moves our feet, our hands

it moves us forward

toward the light

and when it touches

the challenges

the hurt, the pain

the disappointment, the fear

the anger,

even the hate

when it touches the challenges

it overcomes

and hope is born

and each time hope is born

the light

so dim

so distant

grows

as we move toward morning

and the end of the beginning

3 most important things

“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

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there is nothing left but to be kind

the liars and thieves have left no other path

than this

to overcome evil with good

evil with evil

we whirl into hot discord

soaring every high into hate and anger

burning out

falling again, nothing left

ah but with kindness

we gently sooth the wounds of those

damaged by such careless disregard

those neglected

those robbed

by those driven by such false desires

as power and greed

we have two hands

one perhaps for taking

but the other for giving

and in the giving

forgiving, and healing

calming and nurturing

this is a dangerous trek

into kindness

for we will be called fools

and we will feel like fools

and perhaps we will be fools,

for God’s sake

but it is in lovingkindness

as we stop and plant the seeds of love

making loving wishes over and over in our heart

that our hope lies

what blind voter, convinced by voices that lie

and facts that are alternative

will be swayed by words, by more anger, even by facts?

What hater, convinced that he or she is not safe

And that “they” will soon rend and destroy

Will listen to empty assurances

But kindness speaks, it shouts

It is found in a smile, a kind word

It is found in silence

It is found in a touch, and found in a loaf of bread

It is found in multiple acts of kindness

In shoveled sidewalks, piles of wood

A casserole, a hug

We cannot out evil the evil

We can only counter evil with good

Lived

One person, on relationship

At

A

Time

A serious thing

“it is a serious thing // just to be alive / on this fresh morning / in this broken world.”

                                           Mary Oliver, Red Bird

It is a serious thing to be alive

To walk in the frigid air

And feel the snow crunch beneath my feet

A serious thing to watch happy dog

Do the “I found a stick dance”

It is a serious thing to breathe the freshness

Watch the sunrise

Follow the flight of the raptor soar

Raise up one’s eyes to the mountains

It is a serious thing

to carry

through this beauty

so much ugliness

anger at one who lies, and hates

who divides and bullies

anger at those who would steal from the poor

to give to the rich

despair that those who say they follow Jesus

should blindly and passionately support behaviors,

words, legislation, budgets

that violate the way of Jesus

confusion, about how people can go into Advent and Christmas

singing about the one who came and comes

celebrating love, joy, hope, and peace

and yet be committed to people and policies

which are cruel, and rob people of joy, hope, and peace

and perhaps

even life

how can such a beautiful world be so broken?

And how do I contain both the beauty

And the brokness

Without losing the beauty in the brokenness?

How do all of

Carry the life in the brokenness?

Sometimes we are silent

Sometimes we speak

Sometimes we are angry

Sometimes we are patient

Sometimes we act

Sometimes we wait

But always we listen to the Sacred

We give the sacred the room to move

Deep within our soul

Always we stay connected

Always we carry, as best we can the Sacred with us

And always

Always

Always

We are present

To the small ones

In that way

We might just

survive

no destination

Here is the thing

About this journey we call life

there is no map

there is no road

there is no destination

it is not that we struggle through the valley

and clamber to the heights

and finally make it to that “place that’s really swell” (Pema Chodron)

there are just moments

that come

and go

then come again

moments that make us stumble

and fall

others which life us up

into a semblance of joy

the trick is to catch ourselves,

gently and compassionately catching ourselves (Chodron)

as we move from moment to moment

pain comes and leaves,

then comes again

peace comes, and leaves

then comes again

and we just put one foot

in front of the other

waiting for the advent again

of something

call it love, call it hope

call it joy, call it peace

waiting

and falling

stumbling in the dark

catching ourselves again, and again, and again

with compassion

and taking one more step

in to pain, into ease

into war, into peace

letting go of the pain

letting go too, of the joy

taking one more step

one more breath

with open mind

and a heart

awakened

on our way to

Time to dream

“I want to think again of dangerous and noble things.

I want to be light and frolicsome.

I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,

as though I had wings.”              

                              Mary Oliver, Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays

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what was in that busy head

when you woke up this morning?

as all those twirling thoughts

danced in magical chaos

through your skull

which wraithlike

dancers it you follow,

and in to what unexpected places

did you go?

did you wander into darkness,

wondering why you are even alive?

Or did you find yourself in that clear

high place

where possibilities live and breathe?

were your feet light? Or made of clay?

did you sink or soar?

Ah Sacred One

fill our minds with such wonders

endow us with such hope

that we may rise expectant

and see that heaven

is just beyond the horizon

and arrives

with the rising sun

Touch

“The things that matter most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are moments when we touch one another”

                                            Jack Kornfield

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Walking in the dark

in a wet half frozen world

an old familiar path

down which I have walked many times before

thinking about life

what is it?

this spare existence

but pathway upon pathway

some familiar

some new

and what do we accomplish

as we plod, we plod, we plod

we hang so tight to our doings

to titles

(Rev. Dr. Father Sir)

to those tangible deeds

that we hope, against hope, give our pasts meaning

and our futures purpose

but in the end we realize

that all that really counts is those moments

when we touched another

when we gave them hope, or peace

when we helped them along the way

when we made them feel alive

and perhaps

loved

but touching others is such a fragile task

and so much can go wrong

and sometimes touch can wound and destroy

may we in this world

where pathways cross

and people meet

learn to touch each other

with authenticity, and generosity

gently, kindly

for it is in those moments of touching

that our lives are made

or unmade

and we are our worst self

or perchance

our best

Loves Extremity

“All empty souls tend toward extreme opinions.”

― W.B. Yeats

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standing on the watch towers

we scream our opinion

words laden with hate and fear

black and white

unyielding

fly from our lips

missile like into the dark

weapons of mass destruction

we are vomitus

perhaps hoping that the sheer volume of our polemic

will win the day

words me words

crashing together

tumbling to the ground in a no-person’s land

of hateful rhetoric

and we wonder why we are so empty

we do not fill our empty souls

by projectile hate

or by the consumption of tangible fear

that void within

which causes us so much pain

can only be filled

as we find the Sacred within

and let love and forgiveness seep until

abundance

fills and softens

and calms

and we can once again

see, and feel, and live

compassion and generosity

and we find ourselves

on that middle path

in that middle way

which is love’s extremity

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